Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst

Born in Ireland as Desmond Durkin. Did a masters in Dublin (Ireland) before moving to Münster (Germany) where I completed a doctorate in 1991 in Old Indian grammar. Then I prepared a grammar of Parthian and Middle Persian, but only published it in 2014. From 2000 to mid. 2001 (18 months) working on a dictionary on Manichean Parthian and Middle Persian for a project lead by Nicholas Sims-Williams, published in 2004. Form mid 2001 I have been working for the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences in the project ‘Turfan Studies’, responsible for the Middle Persian, Parthian and Sogdian fragments. From May 2007 to 2016 Director of the Turfanforschungsstelle (‘Turfan Studies’). From Feb. 2010 Honorary Professor in Iranian Studies at the Freie Universität, Berlin and from Jan. 2012 Habilitation in Münster and venia legendi for Indoeuropean Linguistics. I supervise students mainly in the subjects Manichaean Iranian Studies, and on the Silk Road. I am chairman of the ‘Languages and Cultures of the Silk Road (Silk Road)’ for the Doctoral program of the Berlin Graduate School of Ancient Studies.