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'''Heinrich Roth''' (December 18, 1620 in [[Dillingen an der Donau|Dillingen, Germany]] – June 20, 1668 in [[Agra]]; also known as ''Henricus Rodius'' or ''Henrique Roa''<ref>Cf. Vogel, ''Heinrich Roth'', NDB 22, 2005, p. 106.</ref>) was a [[missionary]] and pioneering [[Sanskrit]] scholar.

== Life ==
Having been born in Dillingen and raised in Augsburg, where his father Konrad Roth (died 1637) worked as [[Doctor of both laws|''Doctor utriusque iuris'']] for the [[Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg|Prince-Bishopric]], from 1635 to 1639 Heinrich Roth studied [[Rhetoric]] at the [[University of Dillingen]] and [[Philosophy]] at the [[Akademisches Gymnasium Innsbruck|Jesuit college in Innsbruck]]. In 1639, he became a [[Jesuit]] in [[Landsberg am Lech|Landsberg]], and from 1641 to 1645 taught at the [[Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich|University of Munich]], before returning to Dillingen to start [[Theology|theological]] studies, which he completed in [[Ingolstadt]] in 1649. The same year, he was [[Ordination|ordained priest]] in [[Eichstätt]].

On behalf of [[Francesco Piccolomini (Jesuit)|Francesco Piccolomini]], in 1649 Roth was assigned to the so-called [[Ethiopian mission]] to India.<ref>''Instructio A.R.P. Generalis Francisci Piccolomini pro P(atre) Henrico R(oth) Ingolstadio ad missionem Aethiopicam profecturo'' (1639); cf. Anton Huonder, ''Deutsche Jesuitenmissionare des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts'', Freiburg, 1899, pp. 213 sq. (German)</ref> Traveling by the land route via [[Izmir|Smyrna]] (1650) and [[Isfahan (city)|Isfahan]], he arrived in [[Goa]] by 1652. He worked first on the Island of [[Salsette]] off Goa, where from time to time he acted as Portuguese interpreter. He was then sent on an embassy by one of the native princes, and via [[Uttarakhand]] finally reached the [[Mughal Empire]] and its residence in Agra in 1654. Acting as rector of the Jesuit residence in Agra since 1659, he was involved in the persecution under [[Shah Jahan]] and [[Aurangzeb]].

Next to learning the [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Kannada]] and [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] languages, Roth at Agra for several years also acquired a profound knowledge of classical [[Sanskrit]] grammar and literature from local [[pandit]]s. The French explorer and philosopher [[Francois Bernier]], who got acquainted with Roth in these years, got to appreciate him as one versed in expert knowledge of the culture and philosophy of religions in India<ref>Bernier mentions Roth several times in his ''Voyage dans les États du Grand Mogol'', Paris, 1671 (cf. the English translation in ''Travels in Hindustan'', new ed., Calcutta, 1904, pp. 109 sqq.)</ref>

In 1662, joined by fellow Jesuit [[Johann Grueber]], who was on his way back from China, Roth revisited Europe by the land route via [[Kabul]], and arrived in [[Rome]] in February 1664. [[Athanasius Kircher]], in his monumental work ''China illustrata'', published their itinerary, Roth’s description of the Sanskrit alphabet, and some short excerpts of Roth’s other works.<ref>Athanasius Kircher: ''China monumentis qua sacris qua profanis nec non variis naturae et artis spectaculis aliarumque rerum memorabilium argumentis illustrata''. Amsterdam 1667; pp. 91 sqq. (''Iter ex Agra Mogorum in Europam ex relatione PP. Joh(anni) Gruberi et H(enrici) Roth'') and pp. 156-162 (''Itinerarium St. Thomae Apost. ex Judaea in Indiam'' and ''Dogmata varia fabulossissima Brachmanorum''); cf. also [[Max Müller]], ''Lectures on the Science of Language'', London, 1866, p. 277.</ref> Traveling north to Germany, Roth held some public lectures in [[Neuburg an der Donau|Neuburg]] on the history and culture of the Mughal Empire, excerpts of which subsequently appeared in print.<ref>''Relatio rerum notabilium Regni Mogor in Asia'', Straubing, 1665, and Aschaffenburg, 1668 (which contains the first information concerning Kabul to reach Europe)</ref> In [[Vienna]], Roth succeeded in gaining financial support from emperor [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]] to have his Sanskrit grammar – the first such work ever compiled by a European, which Roth had completed in Agra by 1660<ref>Cf. Arnulf Camps, ''Studies in Asian mission history 1956-1998'', Leiden/Boston/Köln, 2000, pp. 75-104 (partly German).</ref> – appear in print, but the project was stopped by the Jesuit [[Superior General of the Society of Jesus|Superior General]] [[Giovanni Paolo Oliva]].

Ordered by Oliva to set up a Jesuit mission in [[Nepal]], Roth traveled back via [[Constantinople]] and [[Surat]],<ref>Cf. Claus Vogel, ''An old letter from Surat written by German Jesuit Heinrich Roth''. In: Annals of the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]] 58, 1987, pp. 609-619.</ref> returning to Agra by 1666, where he died in 1668 before he could embark on the Nepalese mission. His gravesite is still visible at the Padri Santos chapel in Lashkarpur, a suburb of Agra.<ref>Photos of the memorial are added as an appendix to: Claus Vogel, ''The Jesuit missionary Heinrich Roth (1620-1668) and his burial place at Agra.'' In: Lars Göhler (Ed.): ''Indische Kultur im Kontext. Rituale, Texte und Ideen aus Indien und der Welt. Festschrift für Klaus Mylius.''Wiesbaden, 2005, pp. 407-412.</ref>

== Work ==
Heinrich Roth's Sanskrit grammar, that he had completed by 1660 in Latin language under the title ''Grammatica Linguae Sanscretanae Brachmanum Indiae Orientalis'' (the manuscript of which is preserved today at the [[National Central Library (Rome)|Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale]] in Rome) and that was augmented by preliminary studies for a complete Sanskrit-Latin dictionary, made him a pioneering scholar in modern Sanskrit studies in Europe. Further works include studies on the Hindustani and [[Devanagari]] alphabets, on [[Vedanta]] and on [[Vishnu]]. Also, a total of 35 letters, written by Roth from India and during his travel back to Europe, survive at the [[Royal Library of Belgium]] in Brussels.

== Bibliography==
=== Editions of Roth’s work===
* Arnulf Camps/Jean-Claude Muller (Edd.), ''The Sanskrit grammar and manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth, S.J. (1620–1668). Facsimile edition of Biblioteca Nazionale, Rome, Mss. Or. 171 and 172'', Leiden, 1988. (includes a complete list of Roth’s surviving works and references to where parts of them have previously been printed)

=== Studies on Roth ===
* Arnulf Camps, ''The Sanskrit Grammar and Manuscripts of Father Heinrich Roth S. J. (1620–1668). Introduction. The History of his Sanskrit Manuscripts.'' In: Arnulf Camps, ''Studies in Asian mission history 1956-1998'', Leiden/Boston/Köln, 2000, pp. 84–104.
* Claus Vogel, ''Heinrich Roth'', in: [[Neue Deutsche Biographie]] 22, 2005, pp. 106 sq. (German) [http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0001/bsb00016410/images/index.html?id=00016410&fip=84.147.218.177&no=1&seite=122 online]
* Claus Vogel, ''The Jesuit missionary Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) and his burial place at Agra.'' In: Lars Göhler (Ed.): ''Indische Kultur im Kontext. Rituale, Texte und Ideen aus Indien und der Welt. Festschrift für Klaus Mylius.''Wiesbaden, 2005, pp. 407–412.
* Claus Vogel, ''An old letter from Surat written by German Jesuit Heinrich Roth''. In: Annals of the [[Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute]] 58, 1987, pp. 609–619.
* Claus Vogel, ''Die Vorarbeiten des Jesuitenmissionars Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) zu einem Sanskrit-lateinischen Wörterbuch.'' In: Helmut Eimer (Ed.): ''Vicitrakusumañjali. Festschrift für Richard Othon Meisezahl anläßlich seines achtzigsten Geburtstages.'' Bonn, 1986, pp. 131–146. Shortened English version: Claus Vogel, ''The preliminary work done by Heinrich Roth (1620–1668) on a Sanskrit-Latin dictionary''. In: Aligarh Journal of Oriental Studies 4, No. 1, 1987, pp. 69–74.
* Bruno Zimmel, ''P. Heinrich Roths SJ Expedition nach Nepal''. In: [http://mdzx.bib-bvb.de/cocoon/jbdill/Blatt_bsb00007622,00070.html Jahrbuch des Historischen Vereins Dillingen an der Donau 70, 1968, pp. 64-78]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (German).

== Notes ==
<references />

== External links ==
*{{BBKL|r/roth_h|band=8|autor=Claudia von Collani|artikel=Roth, Heinrich|spalten=740-742}}
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13206a.htm Catholic Encyclopaedia biography]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Heinrich}}
[[Category:1620 births]]
[[Category:1668 deaths]]
[[Category:17th-century German Jesuits]]
[[Category:Jesuit missionaries in Tibet]]
[[Category:Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty]]
[[Category:People from Agra]]
[[Category:Sanskrit grammarians]]
[[Category:German Roman Catholic missionaries]]
[[Category:Jesuit missionaries in India]]
[[Category:German expatriates in India]]
[[Category:German expatriates in China]]
[[Category:German Sanskrit scholars]]
[[Category:Missionary linguists]]

Heinrich Roth - Revision history

>Ser Amantio di Nicolao at 15:51, 22 April 2021