Samuel Nyberg, one of the most well-known scientists in the West, did a lot of research on the Pahlavi language and Zoroastrian religion. The scope of his study was extensive, and the investigation and analysis and research in the ancient religions of Iran was one of the works that Nyberg continued until the end of his life.
Samuel Nyberg, a Swedish scholar in Iranology (1889 – 1974 AD) is one of the most famous scholars who did in-depth research into Pahlavi language and ancient Iranian religions. He wrote what he had learned about the Pahlavi language in a two-volume book called “Pahlavi Manual.” This book guides all students and those who want to know that ancient language. In the first volume, he has included texts such as Yadegar Zariran, Ardeshir Babkan’s Karnameh, parts of Dinkard, Andarznameh Poryotkeshan, Iranian stone inscriptions, and other examples, and he has published the second volume under the name of “A Manuel of Pahlavi Grammar.”
Henrik Samuel Nyberg was born on December 28, 1889. His father was responsible for his education until the age of 13 and introduced him to the Latin and German languages. In his father’s high-profile library, he found the travel book of Swedish geographer and traveler Sven Anders Hedin, which was published under the name “Passage through Khorasan and Turkestan,” and read it with great interest. From that time, an attachment to the East was formed in him.
After several years of studying these languages, Nyberg started studying the oriental and classical languages. He had such a rich and rare talent for learning languages that he could learn Aramaic, Syriac, Turkish, Persian, Sanskrit, and other ancient languages. After several years of teaching and language learning, Nyberg researched the Arabic language and about Ibn Arabi, the Andalusian philosopher, and conducted research in the field of Islamic Studies.
In 1923, Nyberg started researching the Pahlavi language with endless enthusiasm, and from that time until the end of his life, this language became an integral part of his life. While teaching at Uppsala University, Nyberg had a distinct approach towards Zoroastrianism. In this field he did extensive research and also trained students, such as the Swedish linguist and Iranologist, Geo Widengren, who finally succeeded Nyberg (passed away in 1996).
Nyberg’s outstanding work mainly was research in the Pahlavi language and ancient Iranian texts, especially the Zoroastrian religion. Nyberg was interested in the etymology of words and the study of Pahlavi’s philosophical texts. In 1937, a book in Swedish was published by him about the ancient religions of Iran and made his name more famous. Samuel Nyberg traveled to Iran eight times and pursued his scientific and research work in Iran. He died in February 1974.
Several of Nyberg’s books have been translated into Persian, for example, “Pahlavi Handbook” – in 2 volumes (Asatir Publications, 2011- with a foreword by Katayoun Mazdapour). In the preface to the publication of the Pahlavi manual in Iran and the unique value of Nyberg’s work in this book, Mazdapour writes: “Nyberg is one of the most skilled scientists who researched and explored the Pahlavi language and made the results of his experience and work available to everyone in the form of a learning guide. After the publication of this textbook, learning and benefiting from it is inevitable for every student doing research in the Pahlavi language.
The Religions of Ancient Iran” is one of Nyberg’s other works translated into Persian (translated by Safiyoddin Najmabadi- Iranian Center for the Study of Cultures, 1359). Some of its chapters are titled as follows: Zoroaster in History, Social Religion of Ancient Iran, Philosophy of Zoroaster: Izadology and the Afterlife, Sassanid Period: Avesta Collection.
