Eugen Julius Theodor Hultzsch (29 March 1857 – 16 January 1927) was a German

indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is of ...

and

epigraphist Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

who is known for his work in deciphering the inscriptions of

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, ...

Early life and education

Born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

on 29 March 1857, Hultzsch studied at the Dresden College of the Sacred Cross and the University of Lipsia, where he studied Oriental languages. On completion of his graduation, Hultzsch moved to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where his passion for

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

began. In 1886, Hultzsch moved to and settled down in

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, where he was employed by the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

(ASI) as Chief Epigraphist to the Government of Madras.

Career in epigraphy

Hultzsch joined the

(ASI) in 1886 when the

Epigraphy Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

section of the ASI was formed and was the ASI's first chief epigraphist. Hultzsch deciphered inscriptions in a number of Hindu temples in

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

and later published them. He edited volumes 3 to 8 and a part of volume 9 of ''

Epigraphia Indica ''Epigraphia Indica'' was the official publication of Archaeological Survey of India from 1882 to 1977. The first volume was edited by James Burgess in the year 1882. Between 1892 and 1920 it was published as a quarterly supplement to ''The Indi ...

''. Among his best known work are his decipherment of the inscriptions of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. In South India, he is remembered for his deciphering of the inscriptions in the ''

Pancha Rathas Pancha Rathas (also known as Five Rathas or Pandava Rathas or Ainthinai kovil) is a monument complex at Mahabalipuram, on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, in the Kancheepuram district of the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Pancha Ra ...

'' in December 1886 and the

Brihadeeswarar Temple Brihadishvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram () by its builder, and known locally as ''Thanjai Periya Kovil'' ("Thanjavur Big Temple") and ''Peruvudaiyar Kovil'', is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on t ...

Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is the 11th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian religion, art, and architecture. Most of the ...

in October 1887. The inscriptions on the Pancha Rathas were published in volume one of the book ''

South Indian Inscriptions ''South Indian Inscriptions'' is an epigraphical series that has been published by the Archaeological Survey of India in 34 volumes from 1890 through the present. The texts are supplemented with summaries and an overview of the texts, both in Eng ...

'' while those of the Brihadeeswarar Temple in volume 2.

Later life

In 1903, Hultzsch resigned from the ASI and returned to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

, where he served as professor of Sanskrit at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. Hultzsch was succeeded as Chief Epigraphist by V. Venkayya. Hultzsch died on 16 January 1927 at the age of sixty-nine.

Notes

References

* * Biography in ''The Indian Biographical Dictionary'' (1915)
Hultzsch's 1925 edition of the Inscriptions of Aśoka at archive.org
*Janert, Klaus Ludwig (1974)

in: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie'' 10, p. 31 f. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hultzsch, E. 1857 births 1927 deaths German Indologists 19th-century German historians 20th-century German historians 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers