Books by Catherine Saliou
Edited book with contributions of numerous friends, students and colleagues of Bernadette Cabouret
A synthesis of the history of the Roman Near East
Libanius (born 313, died post 393) was a sophist (professor of rhetoric). He was born in Antioch ... more Libanius (born 313, died post 393) was a sophist (professor of rhetoric). He was born in Antioch and taught in the city from 354 until his death. His works are many and varied. Among his speeches, the Antiochicos or « Antiochean » (speech), is entirely dedicated to the praise of Syrian Antioch. Libanius delivered it during the Antiochean Olympic Games of 356. In the edition of the collected speeches of Libanius in the “Collection des Universités de France” it takes up volume III. Odile Lagacherie and Michel Casevitz edited the Greek text and translated it into French. My task was to write the introduction (47 pages) and the historical notes (122 pages). I discussed the text as a historical source.
The introduction deals first with the date of the text. A detailed analysis follows: this analysis shows the compliance of Libanius to the rules and clichés of the rhetoric of praise. The speech is nonetheless an important document for the history of Antioch and its famous suburb, Daphne, but also for the history of the civic and urban reality from Hellenistic times to Late Antiquity. Libanius claims to inform his listeners both about the past and the present of his city. Nearly a third of the Antiochicos is devoted to its past. Libanius tells of the legends of pre-foundations and foundation, and then gives an outline of the history of the city in the Hellenistic period. These narratives are a valuable source concerning the various functions of the foundation stories, the conditions of their emergence and their importance at the beginning of Late Antiquity. The main function of these narratives, however, is to celebrate contemporary Antioch. The important thing for Libanius is the present, and the Antiochicos can be used as a source not only about the realities of the urban landscape and the functioning of the institutions in the fourth century but also about some of the great debates of the 4th c. The excavations conducted in Antioch and Daphne have so far produced a lot of mosaics but few results of relevance to knowledge of public architecture and the urban space, and the texts which inform us about the history of Antiochean urban space are in their majority written after the middle of the fourth century: in many ways, and despite its rhetoric, the best source on Antioch in 356 is in fact the Antiochicos. For this reason, I took care to identify, analyse and evaluate all the insights given by Libanius, and chose to provide the text with a topographic index (p. 202-205). In ancient rhetorical tradition, the orator must speak on behalf of the city, as its servant. The way in which Libanius understands this task and carries it out it is in itself the subject of history. The study of the text as a historical document depends on our understanding of Libanius’ goals when he pronounces his speech, and then revises it for publication. Libanius’ aims are to build a consensus and to contribute to maintaining the Antiocheans as an imagined community, regardless of their religion, and to defend Antioch as a city (polis), in an era where the traditional vision of the city and its role within the Roman empire is questioned not only by Christianity, but also by the institutional changes linked to the emergence of a new definition of the empire. The introduction concludes with a study of the reception and posterity of the speech.
In the notes, my goal was both to explain the text and identify its historical interest and the questions it raises. The 36-page bibliography is indicative of the breadth and quantity of the reading required. But beyond just reading, this work conducted in 1993 led me to undertake a great deal of research and to specialize gradually in the field of the urban history of the Late Roman East. Many notes are based on articles published between 1999 and 2016 regarding in particular the Antiochicos, or more generally the work of Libanius, or Antioch, studied from different angles under various aspects and with the help of multiple sources. A lot of work has also been done to explain the various allusions made by Libanius and to highlight the apport of his speech to the cultural history of Late Antiquity.
For reviews, see:
http://www.hsozkult.de/searching/id/rezbuecher-27409?title=m-casevitz-u-a-hrsg-libanios-antiochicos&q=Malalas&sort=&fq=&total=48&recno=1&subType=reb ;
A. Busine, L’Antiquité Classique 86, 2017, p. 351-352, disponible en ligne : http://www. https://sites.uclouvain.be/antclas/AC_2017_cr/Busine_Casevitz.pdf).
La mesure est un fait social et un objet historique dont l’étude relève de l’histoire des savoirs... more La mesure est un fait social et un objet historique dont l’étude relève de l’histoire des savoirs et des techniques, de l’histoire économique, mais aussi de l’histoire institutionnelle et politique, car pour être opératoires, les mesures doivent être communes à des groupes, aux différentes échelles des sociétés ou des territoires. L’étude de la mesure et de ses usages dans l’Antiquité ne peut se passer de la documentation archéologique, dont cet ouvrage collectif, issu d’une journée d’études organisée par la Société Française d’Archéologie Classique le 17 mars 2012, présente quelques aspects (poids, tables de mesure, monnaie, amphores, épaves de navire, monuments d’architecture).
Auteurs des contributions : Véronique Chankowski et Claire Hasenohr, Carla Cioffi, Kahina Rezkalla-Boussaid, Stefano Camporeale, Frédérique Duyrat, Pierre-Louis Gatier, Gérald Finkielsztejn, Yvon Garlan, Emmanuel Nantet, Jean-François Bommelaer. Le sommaire est téléchargeable ici.
Vitruvius’ treatise on architecture, finished around 25 BC and dedicated to Augustus, is organize... more Vitruvius’ treatise on architecture, finished around 25 BC and dedicated to Augustus, is organized into ten books, consecrated respectively to a presentation of the fundamental theoretical (I) and material (II) principals of architecture, temples (III-IV), public civil buildings (V), private buildings (VI-VII), hydraulics (VIII), gnomonics (IX) and finally mechanics (X). At the heart of these volumes, book V has a central place. After a preface consecrated to the justification of his stylistic choices, the author broaches successively public places and their layout – basilica, curia, theatres and the quadriporticos that are associated with them, baths, sports facilities, and harbours. The book constitutes a fundamental literary source for the study of each of these categories of buildings, the majority of which were amenities central to every Roman city-state. Furthermore, at the start of his development consecrated to theatrical architecture, a long digression on harmony, whose function is to offer a theoretical foundation for Vitruvius’ reflections, forms an essential reference in the history of the transmission of the harmonic theory, developed in Greece at the end of the Classical Era, to the Roman world.
The edition of De Architectura in the Collection des Universités de France is a collective work, to which the publication of book V brought an end. The work of editing, translating and commenting the text has been my personal work, but this volume takes its place in a tradition whose rules have been respected. The manuscripts used are those which were used for the preceding volumes of the series.
In the introduction (p. VII-LXXII) and the commentary (p. 85-385), I tried to apply a true historical reflection. This consists not only of making the Vitruvian normative discourse understandable, but also to define the context of its development and highlight its historical interest, based on all the sources at the disposition of a historian: ‘literary’ texts of all genres, in Latin and in Greek, archaeological and architectural publications, and inscriptions. Thus, in the introduction, the presentation of the content and the aim of the book allow me to show that the Vitruvian definition of spaces and public buildings corresponds with a taxonomy theorised later on and made explicit by the legal experts of the Imperial era, of which Vitruvius’ testimony evidences the relative length of existence, thus confirming the conclusions suggested by the epigraphic documentation of the republican era. The study of the sources of book 5 and the function, at the heart of this book, of the references to the Greek world and to Italy or the ‘Latin’ world also allow me to show that this book constitutes a major source, not only for architectural and urban history, but also for intellectual and cultural history. This conclusion is based on a detailed study of the text, carried out over 300 pages of commentary. An appendix is consecrated to the archaeological tradition related to the sounding vessels mentioned by Vitruvius in chapter 5.
Choice of reviews: Ph. Fleury in Revue des Études Latines 2009, 299-300;; John Bulwer in BMCRev 2010 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-04-11.html); H. Wulfram, in Museum Helveticum 67/4, 2010, 247-248; J. Des Courtils in Revue des Études Anciennes 112/2, 2010, 532-533 ; G. Raepsaet, in L’Antiquité classique 80, 2011, 310.
This work is derived from a symposium organized in May 2004 at the University of Poitiers. The sy... more This work is derived from a symposium organized in May 2004 at the University of Poitiers. The symposium had two complementary objectives: to draw up, a few years after the exhibition ‘Gaza méditerranéenne’ (Institut du Monde Arabe, September 2000, cf. J.-B. HUMBERT (dir.), Gaza méditerranénne. Histoire et archéologie en Palestine, Paris 2000), a new summary of the contribution of archaeology to the understanding of Gaza and its territory in Late Antiquity; to highlight the need for new research on the Gazan sophist Chorikios (first half of the 6th C.), whose works illustrate in an exemplary fashion, because of its predilection for descriptions of buildings and works of art, the need for a dialogue between archaeologists and specialists on texts and constitutes in a more general fashion an important source for the study of the culture and history of the century of Justinian.
In the first part, after the presentation of the known sites of Late Antiquity in the Gaza Strip (J.-B. Humbert, M. Sadeq) and works in progress on the site of Nuseyrât (R. Elter, A. Hassoune), trade is treated using ceramics brought to light during recent excavations (P. Ballet, D. Dixneuf), and the interest of the latest discoveries of mosaics is illustrated by a study of animal representations (P.-L. Gatier). The second part opens with a new examination of the handwritten tradition of the work of Chorikios of Gaza (E. Amato); the place of the orator in the history of rhetoric in Late Antiquity is defined through the reading of declamations (B. Schouler) and epithalamiums (R. J. Penella); the documentary input of these speeches is evidenced with two contributions focusing on the world of the stage in Late Antiquity (V. Malineau) and on the urban space of Gaza (C. Saliou, see infra). Finally the ways in which ekphrasis was integrated into the festive life of the city-state are the object of a study that takes the whole ‘School of Gaza’ into account (D. Renaut) and the career of a public figure from Gaza is outlined starting from a funeral oration coming from this school (A. Laniado).
My own contribution aims to illuminate the contribution of the oratory of work of Chorikios to the history of the urban space of Gaza under the reign of Justinian. It consists of a definition of the characteristics of this source and shows how it can contribute to our knowledge of the form of the city and an understanding of the processes that constitute the urban landscape. At the same time as being a part of the tradition of rhetorical praise, the Gazean orator’s speech is rich in pieces of information about the city’s most important spaces and buildings, but also about the participants and methods of construction and restoration of civil public buildings, ramparts and churches of the city in the second quarter of the sixth century. This information falls under, in the same ways as epigraphic and narrative documents, the history of civic institutions and urban construction in Late Antiquity and, more precisely, constitute historic materials on the Southern Levant in the 6th century.
This collective book, which remains a reference, has been one of the first scientific publications on Gaza since the thesis of C. M. Glucker (The City of Gaza in the Roman and Byzantine periods, 1987). With the book edited in 2004 by B. Bitton-Ashkelony and A. Kofsky (Christian Gaza in Late Antiquity, cf. [91]), it paved the way to the renewal of interest for the cultural history of Gaza in Late Antiquity, which is now a very dynamic field of research (see for instance the acts of the colloquium L’École de Gaza, espace littéraire et identité culturelle dans l’Antiquité tardive, edited by E. Amato, A. Corcella, D. Lauritzen, published in 2013).
Choice of reviews: J. Patrich in BMCRev 2006 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2006/2006-10-11.html); G. Agosti in Medioevo Greco 6, 2006, 292-295; L. Di Segni, Journal of Roman Archaeology 20/2, 2007, p. 643-655; R. M. Parinello in Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo 5/2, 2008, 545-565 (sp. 558-560).
The title under which this book appeared, chosen by the commercial editor, is anachronistic: even... more The title under which this book appeared, chosen by the commercial editor, is anachronistic: even if the word ‘urban planning’ appeared at the beginning of the 19th Century, urban planning did not constitute an autonomous discipline until the following century.
Actually the treatise of Julian of Ascalon is a private compilation on urban law, probably completed in the 6th century AD and attributed, by handwritten tradition, to a certain Ioulianos, architect from Ascalon. It deals with the hazards and side-effects of artisanal activities, and with the place of economic activities in the heart of, or on the edge of urban areas, neighbourhood relationships and private construction in the urban context. Its organization is based around the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. My work constitutes the first critical edition on this source, which is essential to the study of urban history and the history of law in Late Antiquity.
The book is composed of an introduction (p. 9-30), an edition and translation of the text (p. 32-77), and a thematic commentary (p. 79-132). Two annexes complete the developments consecrated to metrology. An index of Greek words closes the set. The introduction is consecrated to the study and tradition of the text, its structure and its dating. In the commentary, I study the metrology of the text and I attempt to define more precisely the objective and the status of the author. I then examine the realia of the treatise; this development is based largely on the study of its rich concrete vocabulary, whether this means the names of occupations or terms relative to architecture or techniques of construction. A final part is consecrated to the presentation of what the treatise brings to the history of law. Indeed, it also constitutes a fundamental document for the study of relations between local uses and imperial law.
The research covered by this book was interdisciplinary, and involved philology, archaeology, and law. The fact that some journals asked two contributors to review the book (see below) highlights what is, in my view, the principal strength of my work. However, it was a difficult task and I pursued it in several articles [28; 29; 41; 42].
Choice of reviews: M.-Chr. Hellmann in Topoi 7/1, 1997, 391-392 and G. Charpentier, ibidem, 392-393 ; B. H. Stolte in Byzantinische Zeitschrift 91, 1998, 200-201; J. Koder in Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 48, 1998, 336-338; N. G. Wilson in Journal of Roman Archaeology 11, 1998, 678-679 and and B. S. Hakim, ibidem, 680-682; A. J Boudewijn Sirks in Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechstgeschichte, romanistiche Abteilung,116, 1999, 407-410; J. Balty in L’Antiquité Classique 68, 1999, 641-642; G. Tate in Syria 77, 2000, 348-349.
This book, together with Les Lois des bâtiments, was awarded the Schlumberger Prize by the The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1996).
This work, published in 1994, is derived from my thesis. Its title takes up that of the Antoine D... more This work, published in 1994, is derived from my thesis. Its title takes up that of the Antoine Desgodets’ commentary of the “Coutume de Paris” published by Martin Goupy in 1748. The objective is to present and analyse the standpoints of Roman law concerning neighborhood relationships, to link them with the archaeological data that can help to shed light on them or on which they can help to shed light, and to evidence their evolution. The initial hypothesis was that the definite characteristics of constructed spaces depend, at least in part, on legal factors. Reciprocally, when it comes to construction, the decisions and reflections of legal experts and legislators, whilst anchored in a doctrinal or legislative tradition, also take into account the practical reality of the world around them. On both these counts, legal literature can also be considered as a source for the history of urban architecture. The results of the thesis allowed me to validate this hypothesis.
The starting point for the research is an analysis of the great legal bodies of the Digest and the Theodosian and Justinian Codes. These compilations were carried out at the end of Antiquity but they bring together older texts. This documentation is sometimes completed or defined with the help of literary sources (Vitruvius, Frontinus), epigraphic documents or texts of legal content not contained in these great compilations. Because of the extent of the chronological period covered by the texts brought together in the Digest and the Codes the research focus on the entire Roman period, from the century of Augustus to the century of Justinian. The question of the period of validity of the different legal standpoints examined overlaps with the wider question of the rhythm and modalities of legal ‘standardising’ in the Roman Empire. In the field of neighbourhood and construction law, the spread of Roman citizenship the progressive erasing of the distinction between the provinces and Italy, and the practice of legal analogy are some of the reasons for the convergence of legal practices. It is possible, to define and qualify this general remark, to appeal to sources from the Roman era that are found outside the traditional body of Roman law: urban regulations in the Hellenistic tradition, known largely thanks to epigraphy and papyrology, and unofficial collections of law from Late Antiquity. The epigraphic and papyrologic documentation indicates a continuity of traditions inherited from the Greek world in that which concerns the regulation of the urban space – the evolution of private law being apart – in the cities of the Eastern part of the Roman world. The customs of Late Antiquity bear witness to the existence of local uses up until the end of Antiquity.
The body of the thesis is organized in three parts consecrated respectively to the immediate neighbourhood (common ownership, urban servitudes such as servitus tigni immittendi or oneris ferendi), problems with water (water supply, rainwater, waste water, implementation and outline of pipes), and possible conflicts linked to elevation (height, light, view, balconies, spacing between houses, use of roofs).
The study highlights the evolution of conceptions and thought of Roman legal experts, and the conclusion underlines the dual structure of legal regulation of neighbourhood relationships in the urban context, based on the one hand on a system of voluntary contractual agreements under private law – servitudes -, abundantly treated in jurisprudential literature, and on the other on regulated, local measures, which are less well known.
Admittedly, this book is not without flaws and hasn’t been edited accurately. However, its scientific value lies in two strong points: the proposal of new approaches as regards the relationship between private houses and urban context; the methodological choice in tackling Roman law, and in using it in historical research, by balancing law, and archaeology. Interest in law has now become fashionable among historians but at that time it was something new, and it can be said that this book was pioneering. I pursued the enquiry begun in this book with the edition of the treatise of Julian of Ascalon and with articles relating to common ownership of partition wall, to some cases of conflicts between neighbours, and to the role played by the architects in preventing such conflicts. The reappraisal of Zeno’s law, which concerns private construction in Constantinople in the fifth century AD, follows on also from this first research.
Choice of reviews: M.-Chr. Hellmann in Topoi 5/2, 1995, 621-625; Y. Janvier in Latomus 54/2, 1995, 443-446; Ph. Leveau in Annales HSS, 1995/5, 1110; J. M. Rainer in Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechstgeschichte, römische Abteilung 113, 1996, 537-543; L. Capogrossi Colognesi in Antiquité Tardive 5, 1997, 353-355, and F. Baratte, ibidem, 353-355; C. Sotinel in Revue des Études Anciennes 98, 1996, 238-239; Cl. Moatti in Revue Archéologique 2001, p. 154.
This book, together with Le traité d’urbanisme de Julien d’Ascalon, was awarded the Schlumberger Prize by the The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1996).
Papers by Catherine Saliou
Asia Minor. An international Journal for Archaeology in Turkey, 2024
Recent excavations in Gözeneler (Hatay) have unearthed the remains of a porticoed street decorat... more Recent excavations in Gözeneler (Hatay) have unearthed the remains of a porticoed street decorated with mosaics. A continuous mosaic represents part of an illustrated and versified calendar following the Antiochean order of the months from November
to March. Each month is represented by a named figure and is associated with a sign of the zodiac by an epic verse. These verses form an epigraphic counterpart to the known epigrams, in Latin and Greek, relating to the months. In addition to the calendar mosaic panels, two panels with dedication inscriptions were exposed in the portico. The mosaic panel adjacent to the calendar mosaic contains a dedicatory inscription and two damaged busts of figures in medallions. The inscription (dated AD 596, according to our reconstruction) confirms the identification of the site with the ancient Epiphaneia and introduces a bishop called Romanos. Finally, one panel contains a dedicatory epigram. These discoveries demonstrate the high level of culture and prosperity of Epiphaneia in late Antiquity and provide new insights into the relationship between image, written text, and urban space in late antiquity.
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2023
C. Morrisson et J.-P. Sodini (dir.), Constantinople réelle et imaginaire. Autour de l’œuvre de Gilbert Dagron = Travaux et Mémoires 22/1, Paris,, p. 79-102., 2018
Annuaire de l’École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Section des sciences historiques et philologiques. Résumés des conférences et travaux 153, 200-206., 2022
I-Les rues des villes de l'Orient romain tardif
II-L'espace urbain d'Antioche sur l'Oronte
The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2012
During antiquity, Gaza was prosperous. Located at the point of arrival of caravans from the Arabi... more During antiquity, Gaza was prosperous. Located at the point of arrival of caravans from the Arabian Peninsula and Arabian Gulf and connected with the Mediterranean Sea by two ports, Anthedon and Maiuma, the city was an important commercial center, which played a particularly significant role in the incense trade. Keywords: classical civilization; Late Antiquity
dans Kaja Harter-Uibopuu (éd.), Studien zu Bau und Recht in der Antike, Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag, p. 131-149, 2022
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Books by Catherine Saliou
The introduction deals first with the date of the text. A detailed analysis follows: this analysis shows the compliance of Libanius to the rules and clichés of the rhetoric of praise. The speech is nonetheless an important document for the history of Antioch and its famous suburb, Daphne, but also for the history of the civic and urban reality from Hellenistic times to Late Antiquity. Libanius claims to inform his listeners both about the past and the present of his city. Nearly a third of the Antiochicos is devoted to its past. Libanius tells of the legends of pre-foundations and foundation, and then gives an outline of the history of the city in the Hellenistic period. These narratives are a valuable source concerning the various functions of the foundation stories, the conditions of their emergence and their importance at the beginning of Late Antiquity. The main function of these narratives, however, is to celebrate contemporary Antioch. The important thing for Libanius is the present, and the Antiochicos can be used as a source not only about the realities of the urban landscape and the functioning of the institutions in the fourth century but also about some of the great debates of the 4th c. The excavations conducted in Antioch and Daphne have so far produced a lot of mosaics but few results of relevance to knowledge of public architecture and the urban space, and the texts which inform us about the history of Antiochean urban space are in their majority written after the middle of the fourth century: in many ways, and despite its rhetoric, the best source on Antioch in 356 is in fact the Antiochicos. For this reason, I took care to identify, analyse and evaluate all the insights given by Libanius, and chose to provide the text with a topographic index (p. 202-205). In ancient rhetorical tradition, the orator must speak on behalf of the city, as its servant. The way in which Libanius understands this task and carries it out it is in itself the subject of history. The study of the text as a historical document depends on our understanding of Libanius’ goals when he pronounces his speech, and then revises it for publication. Libanius’ aims are to build a consensus and to contribute to maintaining the Antiocheans as an imagined community, regardless of their religion, and to defend Antioch as a city (polis), in an era where the traditional vision of the city and its role within the Roman empire is questioned not only by Christianity, but also by the institutional changes linked to the emergence of a new definition of the empire. The introduction concludes with a study of the reception and posterity of the speech.
In the notes, my goal was both to explain the text and identify its historical interest and the questions it raises. The 36-page bibliography is indicative of the breadth and quantity of the reading required. But beyond just reading, this work conducted in 1993 led me to undertake a great deal of research and to specialize gradually in the field of the urban history of the Late Roman East. Many notes are based on articles published between 1999 and 2016 regarding in particular the Antiochicos, or more generally the work of Libanius, or Antioch, studied from different angles under various aspects and with the help of multiple sources. A lot of work has also been done to explain the various allusions made by Libanius and to highlight the apport of his speech to the cultural history of Late Antiquity.
For reviews, see:
http://www.hsozkult.de/searching/id/rezbuecher-27409?title=m-casevitz-u-a-hrsg-libanios-antiochicos&q=Malalas&sort=&fq=&total=48&recno=1&subType=reb ;
A. Busine, L’Antiquité Classique 86, 2017, p. 351-352, disponible en ligne : http://www. https://sites.uclouvain.be/antclas/AC_2017_cr/Busine_Casevitz.pdf).
Auteurs des contributions : Véronique Chankowski et Claire Hasenohr, Carla Cioffi, Kahina Rezkalla-Boussaid, Stefano Camporeale, Frédérique Duyrat, Pierre-Louis Gatier, Gérald Finkielsztejn, Yvon Garlan, Emmanuel Nantet, Jean-François Bommelaer. Le sommaire est téléchargeable ici.
The edition of De Architectura in the Collection des Universités de France is a collective work, to which the publication of book V brought an end. The work of editing, translating and commenting the text has been my personal work, but this volume takes its place in a tradition whose rules have been respected. The manuscripts used are those which were used for the preceding volumes of the series.
In the introduction (p. VII-LXXII) and the commentary (p. 85-385), I tried to apply a true historical reflection. This consists not only of making the Vitruvian normative discourse understandable, but also to define the context of its development and highlight its historical interest, based on all the sources at the disposition of a historian: ‘literary’ texts of all genres, in Latin and in Greek, archaeological and architectural publications, and inscriptions. Thus, in the introduction, the presentation of the content and the aim of the book allow me to show that the Vitruvian definition of spaces and public buildings corresponds with a taxonomy theorised later on and made explicit by the legal experts of the Imperial era, of which Vitruvius’ testimony evidences the relative length of existence, thus confirming the conclusions suggested by the epigraphic documentation of the republican era. The study of the sources of book 5 and the function, at the heart of this book, of the references to the Greek world and to Italy or the ‘Latin’ world also allow me to show that this book constitutes a major source, not only for architectural and urban history, but also for intellectual and cultural history. This conclusion is based on a detailed study of the text, carried out over 300 pages of commentary. An appendix is consecrated to the archaeological tradition related to the sounding vessels mentioned by Vitruvius in chapter 5.
Choice of reviews: Ph. Fleury in Revue des Études Latines 2009, 299-300;; John Bulwer in BMCRev 2010 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-04-11.html); H. Wulfram, in Museum Helveticum 67/4, 2010, 247-248; J. Des Courtils in Revue des Études Anciennes 112/2, 2010, 532-533 ; G. Raepsaet, in L’Antiquité classique 80, 2011, 310.
In the first part, after the presentation of the known sites of Late Antiquity in the Gaza Strip (J.-B. Humbert, M. Sadeq) and works in progress on the site of Nuseyrât (R. Elter, A. Hassoune), trade is treated using ceramics brought to light during recent excavations (P. Ballet, D. Dixneuf), and the interest of the latest discoveries of mosaics is illustrated by a study of animal representations (P.-L. Gatier). The second part opens with a new examination of the handwritten tradition of the work of Chorikios of Gaza (E. Amato); the place of the orator in the history of rhetoric in Late Antiquity is defined through the reading of declamations (B. Schouler) and epithalamiums (R. J. Penella); the documentary input of these speeches is evidenced with two contributions focusing on the world of the stage in Late Antiquity (V. Malineau) and on the urban space of Gaza (C. Saliou, see infra). Finally the ways in which ekphrasis was integrated into the festive life of the city-state are the object of a study that takes the whole ‘School of Gaza’ into account (D. Renaut) and the career of a public figure from Gaza is outlined starting from a funeral oration coming from this school (A. Laniado).
My own contribution aims to illuminate the contribution of the oratory of work of Chorikios to the history of the urban space of Gaza under the reign of Justinian. It consists of a definition of the characteristics of this source and shows how it can contribute to our knowledge of the form of the city and an understanding of the processes that constitute the urban landscape. At the same time as being a part of the tradition of rhetorical praise, the Gazean orator’s speech is rich in pieces of information about the city’s most important spaces and buildings, but also about the participants and methods of construction and restoration of civil public buildings, ramparts and churches of the city in the second quarter of the sixth century. This information falls under, in the same ways as epigraphic and narrative documents, the history of civic institutions and urban construction in Late Antiquity and, more precisely, constitute historic materials on the Southern Levant in the 6th century.
This collective book, which remains a reference, has been one of the first scientific publications on Gaza since the thesis of C. M. Glucker (The City of Gaza in the Roman and Byzantine periods, 1987). With the book edited in 2004 by B. Bitton-Ashkelony and A. Kofsky (Christian Gaza in Late Antiquity, cf. [91]), it paved the way to the renewal of interest for the cultural history of Gaza in Late Antiquity, which is now a very dynamic field of research (see for instance the acts of the colloquium L’École de Gaza, espace littéraire et identité culturelle dans l’Antiquité tardive, edited by E. Amato, A. Corcella, D. Lauritzen, published in 2013).
Choice of reviews: J. Patrich in BMCRev 2006 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2006/2006-10-11.html); G. Agosti in Medioevo Greco 6, 2006, 292-295; L. Di Segni, Journal of Roman Archaeology 20/2, 2007, p. 643-655; R. M. Parinello in Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo 5/2, 2008, 545-565 (sp. 558-560).
Actually the treatise of Julian of Ascalon is a private compilation on urban law, probably completed in the 6th century AD and attributed, by handwritten tradition, to a certain Ioulianos, architect from Ascalon. It deals with the hazards and side-effects of artisanal activities, and with the place of economic activities in the heart of, or on the edge of urban areas, neighbourhood relationships and private construction in the urban context. Its organization is based around the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. My work constitutes the first critical edition on this source, which is essential to the study of urban history and the history of law in Late Antiquity.
The book is composed of an introduction (p. 9-30), an edition and translation of the text (p. 32-77), and a thematic commentary (p. 79-132). Two annexes complete the developments consecrated to metrology. An index of Greek words closes the set. The introduction is consecrated to the study and tradition of the text, its structure and its dating. In the commentary, I study the metrology of the text and I attempt to define more precisely the objective and the status of the author. I then examine the realia of the treatise; this development is based largely on the study of its rich concrete vocabulary, whether this means the names of occupations or terms relative to architecture or techniques of construction. A final part is consecrated to the presentation of what the treatise brings to the history of law. Indeed, it also constitutes a fundamental document for the study of relations between local uses and imperial law.
The research covered by this book was interdisciplinary, and involved philology, archaeology, and law. The fact that some journals asked two contributors to review the book (see below) highlights what is, in my view, the principal strength of my work. However, it was a difficult task and I pursued it in several articles [28; 29; 41; 42].
Choice of reviews: M.-Chr. Hellmann in Topoi 7/1, 1997, 391-392 and G. Charpentier, ibidem, 392-393 ; B. H. Stolte in Byzantinische Zeitschrift 91, 1998, 200-201; J. Koder in Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 48, 1998, 336-338; N. G. Wilson in Journal of Roman Archaeology 11, 1998, 678-679 and and B. S. Hakim, ibidem, 680-682; A. J Boudewijn Sirks in Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechstgeschichte, romanistiche Abteilung,116, 1999, 407-410; J. Balty in L’Antiquité Classique 68, 1999, 641-642; G. Tate in Syria 77, 2000, 348-349.
This book, together with Les Lois des bâtiments, was awarded the Schlumberger Prize by the The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1996).
The starting point for the research is an analysis of the great legal bodies of the Digest and the Theodosian and Justinian Codes. These compilations were carried out at the end of Antiquity but they bring together older texts. This documentation is sometimes completed or defined with the help of literary sources (Vitruvius, Frontinus), epigraphic documents or texts of legal content not contained in these great compilations. Because of the extent of the chronological period covered by the texts brought together in the Digest and the Codes the research focus on the entire Roman period, from the century of Augustus to the century of Justinian. The question of the period of validity of the different legal standpoints examined overlaps with the wider question of the rhythm and modalities of legal ‘standardising’ in the Roman Empire. In the field of neighbourhood and construction law, the spread of Roman citizenship the progressive erasing of the distinction between the provinces and Italy, and the practice of legal analogy are some of the reasons for the convergence of legal practices. It is possible, to define and qualify this general remark, to appeal to sources from the Roman era that are found outside the traditional body of Roman law: urban regulations in the Hellenistic tradition, known largely thanks to epigraphy and papyrology, and unofficial collections of law from Late Antiquity. The epigraphic and papyrologic documentation indicates a continuity of traditions inherited from the Greek world in that which concerns the regulation of the urban space – the evolution of private law being apart – in the cities of the Eastern part of the Roman world. The customs of Late Antiquity bear witness to the existence of local uses up until the end of Antiquity.
The body of the thesis is organized in three parts consecrated respectively to the immediate neighbourhood (common ownership, urban servitudes such as servitus tigni immittendi or oneris ferendi), problems with water (water supply, rainwater, waste water, implementation and outline of pipes), and possible conflicts linked to elevation (height, light, view, balconies, spacing between houses, use of roofs).
The study highlights the evolution of conceptions and thought of Roman legal experts, and the conclusion underlines the dual structure of legal regulation of neighbourhood relationships in the urban context, based on the one hand on a system of voluntary contractual agreements under private law – servitudes -, abundantly treated in jurisprudential literature, and on the other on regulated, local measures, which are less well known.
Admittedly, this book is not without flaws and hasn’t been edited accurately. However, its scientific value lies in two strong points: the proposal of new approaches as regards the relationship between private houses and urban context; the methodological choice in tackling Roman law, and in using it in historical research, by balancing law, and archaeology. Interest in law has now become fashionable among historians but at that time it was something new, and it can be said that this book was pioneering. I pursued the enquiry begun in this book with the edition of the treatise of Julian of Ascalon and with articles relating to common ownership of partition wall, to some cases of conflicts between neighbours, and to the role played by the architects in preventing such conflicts. The reappraisal of Zeno’s law, which concerns private construction in Constantinople in the fifth century AD, follows on also from this first research.
Choice of reviews: M.-Chr. Hellmann in Topoi 5/2, 1995, 621-625; Y. Janvier in Latomus 54/2, 1995, 443-446; Ph. Leveau in Annales HSS, 1995/5, 1110; J. M. Rainer in Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechstgeschichte, römische Abteilung 113, 1996, 537-543; L. Capogrossi Colognesi in Antiquité Tardive 5, 1997, 353-355, and F. Baratte, ibidem, 353-355; C. Sotinel in Revue des Études Anciennes 98, 1996, 238-239; Cl. Moatti in Revue Archéologique 2001, p. 154.
This book, together with Le traité d’urbanisme de Julien d’Ascalon, was awarded the Schlumberger Prize by the The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1996).
Papers by Catherine Saliou
to March. Each month is represented by a named figure and is associated with a sign of the zodiac by an epic verse. These verses form an epigraphic counterpart to the known epigrams, in Latin and Greek, relating to the months. In addition to the calendar mosaic panels, two panels with dedication inscriptions were exposed in the portico. The mosaic panel adjacent to the calendar mosaic contains a dedicatory inscription and two damaged busts of figures in medallions. The inscription (dated AD 596, according to our reconstruction) confirms the identification of the site with the ancient Epiphaneia and introduces a bishop called Romanos. Finally, one panel contains a dedicatory epigram. These discoveries demonstrate the high level of culture and prosperity of Epiphaneia in late Antiquity and provide new insights into the relationship between image, written text, and urban space in late antiquity.
The introduction deals first with the date of the text. A detailed analysis follows: this analysis shows the compliance of Libanius to the rules and clichés of the rhetoric of praise. The speech is nonetheless an important document for the history of Antioch and its famous suburb, Daphne, but also for the history of the civic and urban reality from Hellenistic times to Late Antiquity. Libanius claims to inform his listeners both about the past and the present of his city. Nearly a third of the Antiochicos is devoted to its past. Libanius tells of the legends of pre-foundations and foundation, and then gives an outline of the history of the city in the Hellenistic period. These narratives are a valuable source concerning the various functions of the foundation stories, the conditions of their emergence and their importance at the beginning of Late Antiquity. The main function of these narratives, however, is to celebrate contemporary Antioch. The important thing for Libanius is the present, and the Antiochicos can be used as a source not only about the realities of the urban landscape and the functioning of the institutions in the fourth century but also about some of the great debates of the 4th c. The excavations conducted in Antioch and Daphne have so far produced a lot of mosaics but few results of relevance to knowledge of public architecture and the urban space, and the texts which inform us about the history of Antiochean urban space are in their majority written after the middle of the fourth century: in many ways, and despite its rhetoric, the best source on Antioch in 356 is in fact the Antiochicos. For this reason, I took care to identify, analyse and evaluate all the insights given by Libanius, and chose to provide the text with a topographic index (p. 202-205). In ancient rhetorical tradition, the orator must speak on behalf of the city, as its servant. The way in which Libanius understands this task and carries it out it is in itself the subject of history. The study of the text as a historical document depends on our understanding of Libanius’ goals when he pronounces his speech, and then revises it for publication. Libanius’ aims are to build a consensus and to contribute to maintaining the Antiocheans as an imagined community, regardless of their religion, and to defend Antioch as a city (polis), in an era where the traditional vision of the city and its role within the Roman empire is questioned not only by Christianity, but also by the institutional changes linked to the emergence of a new definition of the empire. The introduction concludes with a study of the reception and posterity of the speech.
In the notes, my goal was both to explain the text and identify its historical interest and the questions it raises. The 36-page bibliography is indicative of the breadth and quantity of the reading required. But beyond just reading, this work conducted in 1993 led me to undertake a great deal of research and to specialize gradually in the field of the urban history of the Late Roman East. Many notes are based on articles published between 1999 and 2016 regarding in particular the Antiochicos, or more generally the work of Libanius, or Antioch, studied from different angles under various aspects and with the help of multiple sources. A lot of work has also been done to explain the various allusions made by Libanius and to highlight the apport of his speech to the cultural history of Late Antiquity.
For reviews, see:
http://www.hsozkult.de/searching/id/rezbuecher-27409?title=m-casevitz-u-a-hrsg-libanios-antiochicos&q=Malalas&sort=&fq=&total=48&recno=1&subType=reb ;
A. Busine, L’Antiquité Classique 86, 2017, p. 351-352, disponible en ligne : http://www. https://sites.uclouvain.be/antclas/AC_2017_cr/Busine_Casevitz.pdf).
Auteurs des contributions : Véronique Chankowski et Claire Hasenohr, Carla Cioffi, Kahina Rezkalla-Boussaid, Stefano Camporeale, Frédérique Duyrat, Pierre-Louis Gatier, Gérald Finkielsztejn, Yvon Garlan, Emmanuel Nantet, Jean-François Bommelaer. Le sommaire est téléchargeable ici.
The edition of De Architectura in the Collection des Universités de France is a collective work, to which the publication of book V brought an end. The work of editing, translating and commenting the text has been my personal work, but this volume takes its place in a tradition whose rules have been respected. The manuscripts used are those which were used for the preceding volumes of the series.
In the introduction (p. VII-LXXII) and the commentary (p. 85-385), I tried to apply a true historical reflection. This consists not only of making the Vitruvian normative discourse understandable, but also to define the context of its development and highlight its historical interest, based on all the sources at the disposition of a historian: ‘literary’ texts of all genres, in Latin and in Greek, archaeological and architectural publications, and inscriptions. Thus, in the introduction, the presentation of the content and the aim of the book allow me to show that the Vitruvian definition of spaces and public buildings corresponds with a taxonomy theorised later on and made explicit by the legal experts of the Imperial era, of which Vitruvius’ testimony evidences the relative length of existence, thus confirming the conclusions suggested by the epigraphic documentation of the republican era. The study of the sources of book 5 and the function, at the heart of this book, of the references to the Greek world and to Italy or the ‘Latin’ world also allow me to show that this book constitutes a major source, not only for architectural and urban history, but also for intellectual and cultural history. This conclusion is based on a detailed study of the text, carried out over 300 pages of commentary. An appendix is consecrated to the archaeological tradition related to the sounding vessels mentioned by Vitruvius in chapter 5.
Choice of reviews: Ph. Fleury in Revue des Études Latines 2009, 299-300;; John Bulwer in BMCRev 2010 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-04-11.html); H. Wulfram, in Museum Helveticum 67/4, 2010, 247-248; J. Des Courtils in Revue des Études Anciennes 112/2, 2010, 532-533 ; G. Raepsaet, in L’Antiquité classique 80, 2011, 310.
In the first part, after the presentation of the known sites of Late Antiquity in the Gaza Strip (J.-B. Humbert, M. Sadeq) and works in progress on the site of Nuseyrât (R. Elter, A. Hassoune), trade is treated using ceramics brought to light during recent excavations (P. Ballet, D. Dixneuf), and the interest of the latest discoveries of mosaics is illustrated by a study of animal representations (P.-L. Gatier). The second part opens with a new examination of the handwritten tradition of the work of Chorikios of Gaza (E. Amato); the place of the orator in the history of rhetoric in Late Antiquity is defined through the reading of declamations (B. Schouler) and epithalamiums (R. J. Penella); the documentary input of these speeches is evidenced with two contributions focusing on the world of the stage in Late Antiquity (V. Malineau) and on the urban space of Gaza (C. Saliou, see infra). Finally the ways in which ekphrasis was integrated into the festive life of the city-state are the object of a study that takes the whole ‘School of Gaza’ into account (D. Renaut) and the career of a public figure from Gaza is outlined starting from a funeral oration coming from this school (A. Laniado).
My own contribution aims to illuminate the contribution of the oratory of work of Chorikios to the history of the urban space of Gaza under the reign of Justinian. It consists of a definition of the characteristics of this source and shows how it can contribute to our knowledge of the form of the city and an understanding of the processes that constitute the urban landscape. At the same time as being a part of the tradition of rhetorical praise, the Gazean orator’s speech is rich in pieces of information about the city’s most important spaces and buildings, but also about the participants and methods of construction and restoration of civil public buildings, ramparts and churches of the city in the second quarter of the sixth century. This information falls under, in the same ways as epigraphic and narrative documents, the history of civic institutions and urban construction in Late Antiquity and, more precisely, constitute historic materials on the Southern Levant in the 6th century.
This collective book, which remains a reference, has been one of the first scientific publications on Gaza since the thesis of C. M. Glucker (The City of Gaza in the Roman and Byzantine periods, 1987). With the book edited in 2004 by B. Bitton-Ashkelony and A. Kofsky (Christian Gaza in Late Antiquity, cf. [91]), it paved the way to the renewal of interest for the cultural history of Gaza in Late Antiquity, which is now a very dynamic field of research (see for instance the acts of the colloquium L’École de Gaza, espace littéraire et identité culturelle dans l’Antiquité tardive, edited by E. Amato, A. Corcella, D. Lauritzen, published in 2013).
Choice of reviews: J. Patrich in BMCRev 2006 (http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2006/2006-10-11.html); G. Agosti in Medioevo Greco 6, 2006, 292-295; L. Di Segni, Journal of Roman Archaeology 20/2, 2007, p. 643-655; R. M. Parinello in Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo 5/2, 2008, 545-565 (sp. 558-560).
Actually the treatise of Julian of Ascalon is a private compilation on urban law, probably completed in the 6th century AD and attributed, by handwritten tradition, to a certain Ioulianos, architect from Ascalon. It deals with the hazards and side-effects of artisanal activities, and with the place of economic activities in the heart of, or on the edge of urban areas, neighbourhood relationships and private construction in the urban context. Its organization is based around the four elements: fire, water, air and earth. My work constitutes the first critical edition on this source, which is essential to the study of urban history and the history of law in Late Antiquity.
The book is composed of an introduction (p. 9-30), an edition and translation of the text (p. 32-77), and a thematic commentary (p. 79-132). Two annexes complete the developments consecrated to metrology. An index of Greek words closes the set. The introduction is consecrated to the study and tradition of the text, its structure and its dating. In the commentary, I study the metrology of the text and I attempt to define more precisely the objective and the status of the author. I then examine the realia of the treatise; this development is based largely on the study of its rich concrete vocabulary, whether this means the names of occupations or terms relative to architecture or techniques of construction. A final part is consecrated to the presentation of what the treatise brings to the history of law. Indeed, it also constitutes a fundamental document for the study of relations between local uses and imperial law.
The research covered by this book was interdisciplinary, and involved philology, archaeology, and law. The fact that some journals asked two contributors to review the book (see below) highlights what is, in my view, the principal strength of my work. However, it was a difficult task and I pursued it in several articles [28; 29; 41; 42].
Choice of reviews: M.-Chr. Hellmann in Topoi 7/1, 1997, 391-392 and G. Charpentier, ibidem, 392-393 ; B. H. Stolte in Byzantinische Zeitschrift 91, 1998, 200-201; J. Koder in Jahrbuch der Österreichischen Byzantinistik 48, 1998, 336-338; N. G. Wilson in Journal of Roman Archaeology 11, 1998, 678-679 and and B. S. Hakim, ibidem, 680-682; A. J Boudewijn Sirks in Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechstgeschichte, romanistiche Abteilung,116, 1999, 407-410; J. Balty in L’Antiquité Classique 68, 1999, 641-642; G. Tate in Syria 77, 2000, 348-349.
This book, together with Les Lois des bâtiments, was awarded the Schlumberger Prize by the The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1996).
The starting point for the research is an analysis of the great legal bodies of the Digest and the Theodosian and Justinian Codes. These compilations were carried out at the end of Antiquity but they bring together older texts. This documentation is sometimes completed or defined with the help of literary sources (Vitruvius, Frontinus), epigraphic documents or texts of legal content not contained in these great compilations. Because of the extent of the chronological period covered by the texts brought together in the Digest and the Codes the research focus on the entire Roman period, from the century of Augustus to the century of Justinian. The question of the period of validity of the different legal standpoints examined overlaps with the wider question of the rhythm and modalities of legal ‘standardising’ in the Roman Empire. In the field of neighbourhood and construction law, the spread of Roman citizenship the progressive erasing of the distinction between the provinces and Italy, and the practice of legal analogy are some of the reasons for the convergence of legal practices. It is possible, to define and qualify this general remark, to appeal to sources from the Roman era that are found outside the traditional body of Roman law: urban regulations in the Hellenistic tradition, known largely thanks to epigraphy and papyrology, and unofficial collections of law from Late Antiquity. The epigraphic and papyrologic documentation indicates a continuity of traditions inherited from the Greek world in that which concerns the regulation of the urban space – the evolution of private law being apart – in the cities of the Eastern part of the Roman world. The customs of Late Antiquity bear witness to the existence of local uses up until the end of Antiquity.
The body of the thesis is organized in three parts consecrated respectively to the immediate neighbourhood (common ownership, urban servitudes such as servitus tigni immittendi or oneris ferendi), problems with water (water supply, rainwater, waste water, implementation and outline of pipes), and possible conflicts linked to elevation (height, light, view, balconies, spacing between houses, use of roofs).
The study highlights the evolution of conceptions and thought of Roman legal experts, and the conclusion underlines the dual structure of legal regulation of neighbourhood relationships in the urban context, based on the one hand on a system of voluntary contractual agreements under private law – servitudes -, abundantly treated in jurisprudential literature, and on the other on regulated, local measures, which are less well known.
Admittedly, this book is not without flaws and hasn’t been edited accurately. However, its scientific value lies in two strong points: the proposal of new approaches as regards the relationship between private houses and urban context; the methodological choice in tackling Roman law, and in using it in historical research, by balancing law, and archaeology. Interest in law has now become fashionable among historians but at that time it was something new, and it can be said that this book was pioneering. I pursued the enquiry begun in this book with the edition of the treatise of Julian of Ascalon and with articles relating to common ownership of partition wall, to some cases of conflicts between neighbours, and to the role played by the architects in preventing such conflicts. The reappraisal of Zeno’s law, which concerns private construction in Constantinople in the fifth century AD, follows on also from this first research.
Choice of reviews: M.-Chr. Hellmann in Topoi 5/2, 1995, 621-625; Y. Janvier in Latomus 54/2, 1995, 443-446; Ph. Leveau in Annales HSS, 1995/5, 1110; J. M. Rainer in Zeitschrift der Savigny Stiftung für Rechstgeschichte, römische Abteilung 113, 1996, 537-543; L. Capogrossi Colognesi in Antiquité Tardive 5, 1997, 353-355, and F. Baratte, ibidem, 353-355; C. Sotinel in Revue des Études Anciennes 98, 1996, 238-239; Cl. Moatti in Revue Archéologique 2001, p. 154.
This book, together with Le traité d’urbanisme de Julien d’Ascalon, was awarded the Schlumberger Prize by the The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (1996).
to March. Each month is represented by a named figure and is associated with a sign of the zodiac by an epic verse. These verses form an epigraphic counterpart to the known epigrams, in Latin and Greek, relating to the months. In addition to the calendar mosaic panels, two panels with dedication inscriptions were exposed in the portico. The mosaic panel adjacent to the calendar mosaic contains a dedicatory inscription and two damaged busts of figures in medallions. The inscription (dated AD 596, according to our reconstruction) confirms the identification of the site with the ancient Epiphaneia and introduces a bishop called Romanos. Finally, one panel contains a dedicatory epigram. These discoveries demonstrate the high level of culture and prosperity of Epiphaneia in late Antiquity and provide new insights into the relationship between image, written text, and urban space in late antiquity.
The aim is to explore the relationship between memory, history and society, by studying the role of the proper names of buildings or urban spaces, which can also be referred to as "urban place names", as a support for communicational memory. The study focuses on urban place names explicitly given as such, and referring to an emperor or a member of the imperial family. Its first results show the possibility of a systematic study of urban place names, and of the role played by imperial eponymy. The continuity in this field between epigraphic and literary sources is striking. The examples collected confirm the importance of baths as a support for communicational memory, and as « places of memory » for the relations between city and emperor. Moreover, they highlight the performative role of the inscriptions.
René ELTER, archéologue, chercheur associé à l’École Biblique et Archéologique Française de Jérusalem, coordinateur scientifique du programme « Intiqal » pour l’ONG Première Urgence Internationale,
présentera une conférence intitulée :
"Gaza : nouvelles données archéologiques"
Jeudi 16 mai 2024 de 14h à 17h, EPHE, Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, 54 boulevard Raspail, salle 1.
La séance peut être suivie à distance. Contact pour obtenir le lien: catherine.saliou@ephe.psl.eu.
« L’architecture des établissements d’assistance charitable à destination des pauvres, des malades, des étrangers, des pèlerins, dans la province protobyzantine d’Arabie » jeudi 3 février 2022 de 14h à 16h, en Sorbonne, salle D052
La conférence peut être suivie à distance. Pour obtenir le lien de connexion, contacter : catherine.saliou@ephe.psl.eu.
Jeudi 1er avril 2021 de 14h à 16h
en visioconférence (lien de connexion ci-dessous ; contact : catherine.saliou@ephe.psl.eu.)
« Les inscriptions de l’église de ‘Aqīrbāt et l’épigraphie de la Notitia Dignitatum »
Jeudi 12 décembre 2012, en salle D52 (EPHE-Sorbonne), escalier E, de 14h à 16h.
L’objectif du workshop sera, loin de tout dogmatisme, de favoriser l’émergence d’une réflexion commune entre des spécialistes de différentes aires culturelles et de différentes périodes, à travers la comparaison d’exemples précis et une réflexion sur le vocabulaire, les concepts et les méthodes. On admettra ici que l’expression « espaces publics » désigne l’ensemble des espaces ouverts, communs, accessibles à tous ou au plus grand nombre. Parmi ces espaces, les espaces de circulation (rue, route, place…) présentent des caractéristiques communes, qui les rendent susceptibles de se prêter à une approche comparative (transculturelle ou transpériodique), et qui doivent en rendre l’analyse particulièrement féconde.
Ces espaces sont des espaces partagés (par tous ceux qui s’y déplacent, mais aussi par ceux qui s’y installent ou qui en sont riverains); ce sont des espaces de mobilité, et cette mobilité fait naître un sens de lecture, implique l’existence de points de repère, et plus généralement entraîne l’émergence de relations particulières entre les acteurs, l’espace et l’écrit ; ce sont enfin des espaces dotés d’une histoire parfois très longue, et cette histoire a, elle aussi, des conséquences sur les relations entre acteurs, espace et écrit (phénomènes de contextualisation, réinterprétation, remploi, effacement). On propose donc de resserrer la thématique du workshop autour de ces espaces de circulation. Le titre proposé invite à s’interroger sur la façon dont les écritures exposées contribuent à la définition de ces espaces comme espaces « publics ».