Almut Hintze, FBA (born 7 June 1957) is an academic, philologist, linguist and scholar of Indo-Iranian studies and

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...

. Since 2010, she has been Zartoshty Brothers Professor of Zoroastrianism at the

School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

Career

Born in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

on 7 June 1957, Almut Hintze completed her

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher e ...

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at the

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

in 1984. She then studied for a

Master of Philosophy The Master of Philosophy (MPhil; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. In the United States, an MPhil typically includes a taught portion and a significant research portion, during which a thesis project is conducted under supervision. An MPhil m ...

degree at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, which was awarded in 1986, before she completed her doctorate (

Dr phil Phillip Calvin McGraw (born September 1, 1950), better known as Dr. Phil, is an American Celebrity, television personality and author best known for Television presenter, hosting the talk show ''Dr. Phil (talk show), Dr. Phil''. He holds a do ...

.) in Indo-Iranian studies at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

in 1990. The

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

awarded her

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

(Dr hab.) in 1997 for a study of the semantics of "reward" in

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

and

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

literature. She spent three years as the Heisenberg Junior Research Professor at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

until 2000, and simultaneously as a Research Fellow at

Clare Hall, Cambridge Clare Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1966 by Clare College, Clare Hall is a college for advanced study, admitting only postgraduate students alongside postdoctoral researchers and fellows. It ...

(where she remained for another year). In 2001, she joined the

(SOAS) as the Zartoshty Lecturer. She was promoted to senior lecturer in 2005, then three years later to a readership. In 2010, she was appointed Zartoshty Brothers Professor of Zoroastrianism at SOAS."Hintze, Prof. Almut"
''Who's Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 1 July 2018."Almut Hintze"
''SOAS University of London''. Retrieved 1 July 2018. According to her British Academy profile, Hintze's research focuses on "the languages, religions and history of pre-Islamic Iran and Central Asia with special attention to Zoroastrianism" and "Ancient and Middle Iranian philology and linguistics".

Honours and awards

In 2015, Hintze was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # C ...

, the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...

for the humanities and social sciences."Professor Almut Hintze"
''British Academy''. Retrieved 1 July 2018.

Personal life

Hintze is married to

Eugenio Biagini Eugenio F. Biagini is an Italian historian, specialising in democracy and liberalism in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain, Ireland and Italy, and is currently Professor in Modern British and European History at the University of Cambridge ...

, a Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Cambridge University. The couple have a son.

Selected publications

* * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hintze, Almut Living people 1957 births German philologists 21st-century linguists Women linguists Fellows of the British Academy Zoroastrian studies scholars Heidelberg University alumni Alumni of the University of Oxford University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni 21st-century translators