Friedrich Max Müller was a British philologist and Orientalist of German origin. He was one of the founders of the Western academic disciplines of Indian studies and religious studies. Müller wrote both scholarly and popular works on the subject of Indology. The Sacred Books of the East, a 50-volume set of English translations, was prepared under his direction. He also promoted the idea of a Turanian family of languages.
Müller in 1883
Portrait of the elderly Max Muller by George Frederic Watts, 1894–1895
1875 Vanity Fair caricature of Müller confirming that, at the age of fifty-one, with numerous honours, he was one of the truly notable "Men of the Day".
In uniform, 1890s
Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studies and Asian studies. Traditional Oriental studies in Europe is today generally focused on the discipline of Islamic studies; the study of China, especially traditional China, is often called Sinology. The study of East Asia in general, especially in the United States, is often called East Asian studies.
Ancient Assyrian antiquities in the British Museum. In the 19th century, the placing of spectacular antiquities in the new museums brought unusual interest from the general public to Oriental studies.
Hayton of Corycus remits his report on the Mongols to Pope Clement V in 1307.
Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (徐光啟) (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements (幾何原本) published in 1607
The old building of the Asiatic Society, in Calcutta, founded by William Jones in 1784