The course will aim to cover the main issues presented by the Christian Sogdian documents. The most important factor in reading Christian Sogdian texts is the initial position of the verb in some canonical texts. We will discuss this feature with examples.

We will be reading a selection of Christian Sogdian texts. We will read parts of C 1 [E 23] “The Passion of St. George” (ed. Hansen) and C 2 [E27], 60 “From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers” (ed. Sims-Williams) but also C 2 [E 27], 68 “From the Persian martyrs under Šābuhr II” (ed. Sims-Williams). Then we will turn to selected pages from a Sogdian lectionary (ed. Barbati). If we have time, we will read [E26/] n145 “A Christian polemic against Manichaeism” (ed. Pirtea).

• Level: There are no formal requirements for participation in the course, though some previous knowledge of Sogdian or another Middle Iranian language and of Sogdian script would be an advantage.
• Materials: All the materials will be provided.

First we will treat the grammar of Middle Persian, the language of the Sasanian empire, with its complicated Pahlavi script. We will also study the much easier Manichaean script.

Three texts will follow. 1 Ardā-Wirāz-Nāmag chap. 1-5 (ed. Vahman): A text in Pahlawi script of the 4th or 5th cent. This is a text that contains a Jenseitsreise, a “journey to the other side”, to prove to Zoroastrians that their way is correct. Then 2. Shāpuhragān (ed. MacKenzie): A text in Manichaean script, which Mani dedicated to the second king of the Sasanid state, Shapuhr I (240–270). This text will give us a sample of 3rd cent. Middle Persian. And 3. One text from the Pahlavi psalter (ed. Andreas-Barr). This is a Christian Psalter text in Pahlavi script dated to the 7th cent. It was originally in Syriac and has been translated into Middle Persian.

• Level: No previous knowledge is required, though some knowledge of Middle Persian and of the Pahlavi and Manichaean scripts would be an advantage.
• Materials: All the materials will be supplied.

This course introduces the Old East Iranian languages of the Avestan Zoroastrian corpus: Old Avestan (the Gāthās, Yasna Haptaŋhāiti), Middle Avestan, and Young Avestan. As a key witness alongside Vedic Sanskrit and Old Persian, Avestan is central to Indo-Iranian and Indo-European reconstruction. The course surveys the Avestan corpus, phonology, morphology, and syntax, highlighting correspondences with Vedic and other Indo-European languages. Students read selected liturgical, hymnal, and prose texts, assessing their linguistic, religious, and socio-cultural significance. Emphasis is placed on grammar, word-formation, ritual lexicon and phraseology.

• Level: No previous knowledge of Avestan is expected. The course is designed for students at beginner/intermediate level with interests in Historical and General Linguistics, Iranian, Indic, and Indo-European Studies, interested in language comparison and reconstruction. While a basic understanding of another ancient Indo-European language (such as Latin, Greek or Sanskrit) would be advantageous, it is not a prerequisite for attending this course.
• Requirements: Homework exercises and active discussion in class.
• Materials: Detailed bibliographies and presentations will be provided in class. For beginners, we strongly recommend: Martinez/de Vaan, Introduction to Avestan (for participant discounts please contact organizers). Please download Enyclopaedia Iranica online articles by Hoffmann (“Avestan Language I-III”), Kellens (“Avesta, the Holy Book of the Zoroastrians”), Gnoli (“Avestan Geography”), Boyce (“Avestan People”). More advanced students may wish to consult Cantera/Redard, “Introduction to Young Avestan”, Kellens/Redard, “Introduction à l’Avesta”. For information on Avestan religion and ritual in historical and comparative context, see Cantera, “A Substantial Change in the Approach to the Zoroastrian Long Liturgy”, Sadovski, Ritual formulae and ritual pragmatics in Veda and Avesta”, “Ritual Formulae, Structures, and Activities in Vedic and Avestan Liturgies”, and “A Step Forward in Reaching to the Indo-Iranian Backgrounds of the Avestan and Vedic Liturgies”.

Khotanese is a Middle Iranian language once spoken in the ancient kingdom of Khotan in Northwest China. It is attested in manuscripts dating from the 5th to the 10th c. AD, mostly of Buddhist content. This course is focused on the synchronic grammar of Old Khotanese. After an introduction to Old Khotanese phonology and morphology, we will delve into a selection of original texts representative of Old Khotanese literature. While reading the texts, we will also discuss selected problems of Khotanese historical grammar, the history of Khotanese Studies, and Khotanese palaeography.

• Level: No previous knowledge of Khotanese is required, though basic familiarity with any Indic, Iranian or Central Asian language will be helpful.
• Requirements: There will be short daily homework assignments.
• Materials: Course documents will be provided; no textbook is required. The following books can be consulted as useful preparation for the course, but are not compulsory readings:
  1. Emmerick, R.E. 2024. A Handbook of Khotanese. (Beiträge zur Iranistik 51) Wiesbaden: Reichert.
  2. Sims-Williams, Nicholas. 2025. An Old Khotanese Reader: The Tale of Bhadra. (Beiträge zur Iranistik 53) Wiesbaden: Reichert.