Jehan Desanges (3 January 1929 – 23 March 2021) was a French historian,

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

and

epigrapher Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

, a specialist in the topic of

North Africa during Antiquity The History of North Africa during the period of Classical Antiquity (c. 8th century BCE – 5th century CE) can be divided roughly into the history of Egypt in the east, the history of Ancient Libya in the middle and the history of Numidia and Ma ...

Biography

Desanges was born in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. He graduated in 1953, and was a lecturer at the ''École des hautes études'' in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

from 1958 to 1959. He was chef de travaux, then assistant professor of ancient history at the

University of Dakar Cheikh Anta Diop University (french: Université Cheikh Anta Diop or UCAD), also known as the Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar, is a university in Dakar, Senegal. It is named after the Senegalese physicist, historian and anthropologist Cheikh ...

between 1959 and 1963. He was in charge of teaching in ancient history at the

University of Algiers The University of Algiers (Arabic language, Arabic:جامعة الجزائر – بن يوسف بن خـدة ), commonly called the Algiers 1 University, is a public university, public research university located in Algiers, Algeria. It is the ...

between 1963 and 1964 and at

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 ...

between 1964 and 1976, before becoming a senior lecturer after the defense of his thesis in 1976. From 1983 to 2001, he was director of studies at ''

École pratique des hautes études The École pratique des hautes études (), abbreviated EPHE, is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is highly selective, and counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions. It is a constituent college o ...

'', VI Section, then director of pensioned studies. Member, then President, of ''

Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques The Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques (CTHS) (''Committee for Historic and Scientific Works'') is a French research institution created by the Minister of Public Education François Guizot on 18 July 1834 for the purpose of 'leading ...

'', member of ''

Société des Antiquaires de France The Société des Antiquaires de France (Society of Antiquaries of France) is a Parisian historical and archaeological society, founded in 1804 under the name of the Académie celtique (Celtic Academy). It is now based at the Louvre, in the pavil ...

'', former head of the Interuniversity Network of Studies on Ancient North Africa and Medieval Islam. A former member of the National Council of Universities, the Scientific Council and the Board of Trustees of the French School of Rome, of the Scientific Council of ''

Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale The Institut français d'archéologie orientale (or IFAO), also known as the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, is a French research institute based in Cairo, Egypt, dedicated to the study of the archaeology, history and language ...

''. He was also a member, then president, of the scientific council of Aouras magazine, member of the Scientific Council and the Editorial Board of the ''

Encyclopédie berbère ''Encyclopédie berbère'' (English: ''Berber Encyclopaedia'') is a French-language encyclopaedia dealing with subjects related to the Berber peoples (''Imazighen'' in Berber language), published both in print editions and in a partial online ...

'' as well as of the Editorial Board of the Graeco-Arabica series (Athens). A member of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, Jehan Desanges was a Research Fellow at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

then visiting Fellow at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

in 2004. A corresponding member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...

from 2000 onwards, he was elected a full member on 4 May 2012 in the seat formerly held by

Claude Nicolet Claude Nicolet (15 September 1930 – 24 December 2010) was a 20th-21st century French historian, a specialist of the institutions and political ideas of ancient Rome. Biography Career A former student of the École normale supérieure, ag ...

. He died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, aged 92.

Honours

Main publications

*1962: ''Catalogue'' ''Des tribus africaines de l'Antiquité classique à l'ouest du Nil'', éd. Publications de la section d'histoire de l'université de Dakar *1978: ''Recherches sur l'activité des Méditerranéens aux confins de l'Afrique'' ''(VIe siècle avant J-C. – IVe siècle après J.-C.)'', éd. Collection de l'École française de Rome *1980: ''Pline l'Ancien, histoire naturelle, 1-46 (L'Afrique du Nord)'', texte établi, traduit et commenté, éd. Les Belles Lettres, Paris *1988: ''Les Routes millénaires'' (in collaboration with M. Mollat du Jourdin), éd. Nathan, Paris *1993: ''Sur les routes antiques de l’Azanie et de l’Inde. Le Fonds Révoil du musée de l'Homme (Heïs et Damo, en Somalie)'' (in collaboration with E.M. Stern and P. Ballet), éd. l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, nouvelle série, XIII, Paris *1999: ''Toujours Afrique apporte fait nouveau. Scripta minora'', éd. Boccard, Paris *2008: ''Pline l’Ancien, histoire naturelle, Livre VI, 4e partie (L’Asie africaine sauf l’Égypte, les dimensions et les climats du monde habité)'', texte établi, traduit et commenté, éd.

Les Belles Lettres Les Belles Lettres is a French publisher specialising in the publication of ancient texts such as the '' Collection Budé''. The publishing house, originally named ''Société Les Belles Lettres pour le développement de la culture classique'', ...

, Paris *2010: ''La Nouvelle Carte des voies romaines de l’Est de l’Africa dans l’Antiquité tardive d’après les travaux de P. Salama'' (Direction with

Claude Lepelley Claude Lepelley (8 February 1934 – 31 January 2015
on DRACONTIUS) was a 20th-21st-century Fr ...

and Noël Duval), éd. Brepols, Turnhout

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desanges, Jehan 20th-century French historians 21st-century French historians French philologists French epigraphers Academic staff of the École pratique des hautes études Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Writers from Nantes 1929 births 2021 deaths