JUSTI, Ferdinand Wilhelm Jakob. Marburg 2.6.1837 — Marburg 17.2.1907. German Iranian and IE Scholar. Professor in Marburg. Son of a minister, Wilhelm J., and Friederike Ruppersberg, grandson of Karl Wilhelm J. (1767-1846), Professor of Philosophy and Theology at Marburg. In 1856-59 studies at Marburg (under Gildemeister), then 1859-60 at Göttingen Semitics (Ewald), Sanskrit and IE linguistics (Benfey). Ph.D. 1861 Marburg. Enlarged version of the diss. accepted as habilitation at Marburg still in 1861. From 1865 ao. and from 1869 ord. Professor at Marburg. Formally he was a Professor of Germanic philology, but also taught Oriental languages, being thus Gildemeister’s successor. Member of Prussian and Göttingen academies. Married 1868 Helene Schepp (1844–1924), three sons including Karl (1873-1949, Professor of pathology) and Ludwig (1876-1957, art historian), grandson Eduard (1904-1986, Professor of Physics).
Justi’s famous Handbuch contained, among other things, the first Avestan dictionary. In order to learn more of Zoroastrianism he also studied Pehlevi and was among the first, who really understood the function of Aramaic ideograms in it. His Namenbuch was a fruit of 30 years’ research. With its 4500 names of 9500 persons it comprises beside Iranian also occurrences in Greek, Semitic, Armenian and Georgian sources. Later interests were the history of ancient Iran and modern Iranian languages (Kurdish). Zoroaster he located in north-western Iran in the 7th–6th century. During his holidays he studied the folk traditions of the neighbourhood of Marburg and illustrated them in numerous sketches and aquarels.
Publications: Diss. Die Zusammensetzung der Nomina in den indogermanischen Sprachen zunächst in Hinsicht ihrer Form. 78 p. Marburg 1861, part of Über die Zusammensetzung der Nomina in den idg. Sprachen. 133 p. Göttingen 1861.
– Handbuch der Zendsprache. 22+424 p. Lp. 1864 (grammar, chrestom. and dict.).
– Der Bundehesh, hrsg., transkribiert, übersetzt und glossiert. 32+288+118 p. Hildesheim 1868 (the Indian recension).
– Beiträge zur alten Geographie Persiens. 1-2. 27+32 p. Marburg 1869-70.
– Ein Tag aus dem Leben des Königs Darius. 32 p. Sammlung gemeinverständlicher wissenschaftlicher Vorträge 178. B. 1873.
– Kurdische Grammatik. 34+256 p. St.Petersburg 1880.
– “Ueber die Mundart von Jezd”, ZDMG 35, 1881, 327-414.
– Geschichte des alten Persiens. 8+252 p. B. 1879; Geschichte der orientalischen Völker im Altertum. 547 p. B. 1884; “Geschichte Irans von den ältesten Zeiten bis zum Ausgang der Sassaniden”, Grundriss Iran. Philologie 2. Strassburg 1904, 395-550.
– Iranisches Namenbuch. 18+526 p. Marburg 1895.
– Review of Bartholomae’s Altiranisches Wörterbuch (1904), IF 17, 1905, Anz. 84-131; many articles and reviews.
– Hessische Trachtenbuch. 94 p. 32 pl. Marburg 1905.
Sources: *L.C. Casartelli, JRAS 1907, 1119-1121; E. W. L. Justi, N.D.B. 10, 1974, 703f.; R. Schmitt, Encyclop. Iranica 15:3, 2009, 253-257 (online 2012); Stache-Weiske 2017, 533; Wikipedia with photo (little more details in German version); picture in Rau 39, two others in TITUS Galeria.
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