VULLERS, Johann August. Bonn 23.10.1803 — Bonn 21.1.1880. German Oriental (Arabic and Persian) Scholar. Professor in Giessen. Born in a Roman Catholic family, son of cooper and wine merchant Johann Theodor V. and Margarethe Pützfeld. Educated in Bonn. From 1822 studied at Bonn Catholic Theology, philosophy (Windischmann) and soon also Oriental languages (Ritter, Freytag). In 1827-30 studied in Paris Arabic & Persian (Silvestre de Sacy), Syriac (Quatremère), Turkish (Kiefer) and Chinese (Abel-Remusat). He also spent 6 months in Berlin studying Sanskrit under Bopp. Ph.D. 1830 Halle. PD 1831 Bonn. Now also studied Sanskrit under A. W. von Schlegel. From 1833 Professor of Oriental Languages at Giessen (ord. 1835), at the same time studied 4 years medicine at Giessen in order to understand Oriental medicine. Hon. Dr.med. 1846 Giessen. Retired a few years before his death. Twice married, with Klara Elisabeth Karth and after her death with Henriette Fohr.
Vullers was the first scholar to deal with New Persian with the methods of historical linguistics and study its Old and Middle Iranian background (excluding the numerous loans from Arabic). Important was also his attempt to understand Oriental medicine, including Indian Āyurveda. At Giessen he also taught Sanskrit.
Publications: Edited in Arabic & transl. into Latin: Harethi Moallaca. 25+62+26 p. Bonnae 1827; Tarafae Moallaca. 8+90+31 p. Bonnae 1829.
– Fragmente über die Religion des Zoroaster aus dem Persischen übers. und mit einem ausfuehrlichen commentar versehen. 32+130+14 p. Bonn 1831.
– Grammaticae arabicae elementa. 40 p. Bonnae 1832.
– Chrestomathia Schahnamiana… Edited, annot. & glossario locupleti instruxit. 13+267 p. Bonnae 1833; edited: Mirchondi historia Seldschukidarum. 8+278 p. Giessen 1838; transl. Mirchondi Geschichte der Seldschuken. 8+246 p. Bonn 1838; Syntaxis et ars metrica Persarum. Giessen 1850; Vitae poetarum persicorum ex Dauletschahi historia poetarum excerptae, persice at latine. 1. Hafiz. Bonn 1839; 2. Anvar. B. 1868; Firdusii liber regum qui inscribitur Schahname. 1-3. Leiden 1876-84 (3. completed by S. Landauer).
– “Alt-Indische Geburtshilfe aus Susruta’s System der Medicin übers. & erkl.”, Janus 1, 1846, 225-256.
– Institutiones linguae persicae cum sanscrita et zendica comparatae. 12+208 p. Gissae (Giessen) 1840.
– Lexicon persico-latinum etymologicum. 11+965+1566 p. Bonn 1855-64; Supplementum Lexici persico-latini continens verborum linguae persicae radices. 8+136 p. Giessen 1867.
Sources: *F. Babinger, “Ein Halbjahrhundert morgenländischer Studien an der hessischen Landes-Universität. Joh. Aug. Vullers”, Nachrichten der Giessener Hochschulgesellschaft 2, 191, 68–88; Dugat, Histoire des orientalistes. 2, 1870, 265-272; L. Paul, Encyclop. Iranica online ed. 2016 with photo and further references; German Wikipedia.
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