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(Hellen Robert Toussaint; b. 17 December 1884, d. 5 July 1935), Swedish Indologist, Indo-Europeanist, and Iranist, born in Gothenburg as the son of an army officer. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 4, pp. 389 CHARPENTIER, JARL (Hellen Robert Toussaint; b. 17 December 1884, d. 5 July 1935), Swedish Indologist, Indo-Europeanist, and Iranist, born in Gothenburg as the son of an army officer. Charpentier matriculated at Uppsala University in 1902 and in 1908 earned his doctor’s degree there with the dissertation Studien zur indischen Erzählungsliterat…

ISIDORE, (b. Vilna, Poland ca. early 1770/d. Herat, ca. 1838,) Polish officer in the Persian army. BOROWSKY, ISIDORE, (b. Vilna, Poland ca. early 1770/d. Herat, ca. 1838,) Polish officer in the Persian army. His brother was said to be a well-known poet, perhaps the literary historian Leon Borowsky (1784-1846). According to family traditions (Tavakkoli, pp. 26-27), Borowsky fled to England, “when the Russians attacked Poland, together with the king of the country,” which presumably refers to the third partition …

(1860-1944), Swedish author and prolific translator of Persian works of literature. A version of this article is available in print Volume XII, Fascicle 3, pp. 234-235 HERMELIN, AXEL ERIC (b. Svanshals, June 22, 1860; d. Lund, November 8, 1944), Swedish author and prolific translator of Persian works of literature. He was born into an aristocratic family in Svanshals, south Sweden, and had a traditional education, at the end of which he spent a couple of years at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Uppsala, whic…

(b. Stockholm, 1818; d. Shiraz, 1879), Swedish physician in Shiraz, 1848-79. A version of this article is available in print Volume IX, Fascicle 2, pp. 156-157 FAGERGREN, CONRAD GUSTAF (b. Stockholm, 7 August 1818, d. Shiraz, 10 October 1879), Swedish physician in Shiraz, 1266-96/1848-79. Fagergren was the son of a wood-carver and was first trained as a bath attendant and barber-surgeon. Later he studied medicine in Stockholm and traveled in Europe, eventually enrolling in Russian military service. While with an army corps…

a board game. A version of this article is available in print Volume V, Fascicle 4, pp. 393-397 i. The History of Chess in Persia The game of chess has a long history in Persia. Although its origin is wrapped in obscurity, it appears from its name, the organization of its pieces, and the earliest Persian traditions that it developed out of various ancient Indian board games (e.g., aṣṭāpada, cf. Mid. Pers. hašt-pāy, see below). In India chess may have been known already to Patañjali (2nd cent. b.c.), but the first certain mention of catur-aṅga- occurs quite late, in the 6th century of our…

Wikander soon became known as a brilliant young scholar with wide interests and a deep knowledge of many fields. In 1935 and 1936, he and Geo Widengren (1907-1996) were among the members of the Avesta seminars, held by his older compatriot, the professor of Semitic languages at Uppsala University, H. S. Nyberg (1889-1974). WIKANDER, OSCAR SIG (b. 27 August 1908, Norttälje, Sweden; d. 20 December 1983, Uppsala, Sweden; FIGURE 1), Iranist, comparatist, and historian of religions. i. BIOGRAPHY Wikander was born in a small town in Central Sweden, as the son of a pharmacist. H…