François Jacques (5 February 1946 – 3 May 1992) was a French historian and a specialist on
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. His work focused on municipal life of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
and profoundly contributed to a renewal of the historical perspectives on this issue.
Career
After he obtained the
agrégation of history, he taught at the
University of Reims as lecturer and then he was appointed professor at the
University of Nantes
The University of Nantes (french: Université de Nantes) is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire a ...
in 1981 and Lille in 1985.
His State doctoral thesis was defended in 1980 under the direction of
André Chastagnol
André Chastagnol (21 February 1920 – 2 September 1996) was a French historian, specializing in Latin epigraphy and literature.
After teaching at the Universities of Algiers, Rennes and Paris-X, he finished his career as a professor at the Pa ...
. François Jacques was also a student of
Hans-Georg Pflaum
Hans-Georg Pflaum (3 June 1902, Berlin – 26 December 1979, Linz) was a German-born French historian.
Life
Pflaum, who came from a Jewish family of industrialists, at first studied law in Breslau and Heidelberg, afterwards taking a position in ...
. His analyzes on municipal life, especially the book based on his State doctorate, ''Le privilège de liberté'' (1984), helped establish the idea of the vitality of the municipal civilization under the Roman Empire. He did this by stressing maintaining the autonomy of the cities and by challenging a
historiography
Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
which emphasized primarily the interference of the central government.
Bibliography
Books
*1983: ''Les curateurs des cités dans l'Occident romain de Trajan à Gallien'', Paris, Nouvelles éditions latines,
Read online
*1984: ''Le privilège de liberté. Politique impériale et autonomie municipale dans les cités de l'occident romain (161-244)'', Collection de l'École française de Rome, 916 pages
Read online
*1990: ''Les cités de l'occident romain'', Paris
*1990: in collaboration with
John Scheid, ''Rome et l'intégration de l'empire. Volume I : Les structures de l'Empire romain''
Articles online
* « Quelques problèmes d'histoire municipale à la lumière de la lex Irnitana », ''L'Afrique dans l'Occident romain (Ier siècle av. J.-C. - IVe siècle ap. J.-C.)'', Actes du colloque de Rome (3-5 December 1987): École Française de Rome, 1990. pp. 381–401. (Publications de l'École française de Rome, 134
Read online*« Municipia libera de l'Afrique proconsulaire », ''Epigrafia. Actes du colloque international d'épigraphie latine en mémoire de Attilio Degrassi pour le centenaire de sa naissance'', Actes de colloque de Rome (27-28 mai 1988): École Française de Rome, 1991. pp. 583–606. (Publications de l'École française de Rome, 143
Read online*
Le schismatique, tyran furieux», ''
Mélanges de l'École française de Rome'' (''MEFRA''), 94-2, 1982, pp. 921–949.
* with Bernard Bousquet,
Le raz de marée du 21 juillet 365. Du cataclysme local à la catastrophe cosmique», ''MEFRA'', 96-1, 1984, p. 423-461.
*
Un exemple de concentration foncière en Bétique d'après le témoignage des timbres amphoriques d'une famille clarissime», ''MEFRA'', 102-2, 1990, pp. 865–899.
*
Propriétés impériales et cités en Numidie Méridionale», ''Cahiers du centre Gustave Glotz'', 1992, 3, pp. 123–139.
Bibliography
* André Chastagnol, Ségolène Demougin,
Claude Lepelley
Claude Lepelley (8 February 1934 – 31 January 2015
on DRACONTIUS) was a 20th-21st-century Fr ...
, ''Avant-propos'', in André Chastagnol, Ségolène Demougin, Claude Lepelley éd., ''Splendidissima civitas. Études d'histoire romaine en hommage à François Jacques'', Paris, 1996. pp. 3–6 (with bibliography by François Jacques at pp. 8–11).
External links
''Le privilège de liberté. Politique impériale et autonomie municipale dans les cités de l'Occident romain (161-244)'' (monographie)on Persée
''In memoriam : François Jacques (1946-1992)'' (liminaire)on Persée
''Humbles et notables [La place des humiliores dans les collèges de jeunes et leur rôle dans la révolte africaine de 238''] (article)on Persée
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacques, Francois
20th-century French historians
French scholars of Roman history
Writers from Bourges
1946 births
1992 deaths