This dissertation engages with multiple temporalities of a single, paradigmatic site in southern Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) named “Tello” in Arabic and “Girsu” in Sumerian. The large-scale excavations at this site carried out by a team led by the French diplomat Ernest de Sarzec from 1877 onwards marked the “discovery” of the “Sumerians” and triggered an archaeological sensation in Europe. I bring the art history of this site from the third millennium BC into the present by constructing what I call a “site-world:” the totality of material encounters across time and space discussed not in isolation but as embedded in an understanding of the mutual constitution of past and present, and of object and subject. This analysis relies on two main, methodological interventions, both of which emerge from a comprehensive critique of existing disciplinary practices. First, I expand the range of sources to be consulted by reaching across disciplinary boundaries and incorporating local accounts that have been systematically neglected. These sources span from official records such as the Ottoman Imperial Archives to the diaries of individuals such as the steamship employee Joseph Mathia Svoboda. Instead of relying on Eurocentric archaeological narratives based on individual glory, I investigate the material foundations for archaeological research and demonstrate the existence of local and international networks characterized by asymmetrical relationships that were sustained by nineteenth-century colonialism. Second, I expand the temporal range of analysis by reaching across time periods and incorporating those eras that have been left out of prevailing art historical and archaeological narratives. Critiquing the scholarly reliance on narratives of nineteenth-century “discovery” in a putative terra incognita, I investigate ancient, Hellenistic, and Medieval Arabic sources and include “pre-discovery” histories of local engagement with the site of Tello. I show that the enlistment of the putatively self-evident notion of “discovery” as an explanatory model served to gloss over the millennia-long histories of local engagement with ancient Mesopotamian sites. In accordance with these two methodological interventions, I carry out formal, iconographical, material, and contextual analysis of artworks from Tello in conjunction with critical readings of ancient Sumerian texts, Medieval Arabic accounts, and late Ottoman archival documents on their design, production, excavation, transportation, and exhibition. Similarly, production processes in the third millennium BC are discussed alongside reception processes in the Hellenistic period, Medieval Islamic period, and the third millennium AD. I make the deliberate choice of concentrating largely on rarely discussed topics ranging from the exhibition contexts in the Ottoman Imperial Museum to the intersections of Mesopotamian archaeology with the politics of land tenure and related regulations; from the text-image dialectic in Sumerian art to phenomenological modes of visualization; or from the Medieval Islamic engagement with Tello and the statues of Gudea to the local and international networks of looting that have largely remained intact since the second half of the nineteenth century. All in all, I argue for a radical change in perspective in our engagements with pasts, presents, and futures, and contend that this change is not merely a matter of historiographical accuracy: it both informs our understanding of ancient contexts and constitutes an ethical position to address various burning issues in art history and archaeology today, including the restitution and repatriation of antiquities and the decolonization of the field.

Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)) / The Fertile Crescent, due to its geographical characteristics, has always been an area troubled with conflict and warfare. The men who participated in these wars, from ca 2000 BCE to 1000 BCE operated from an ethos which was governed by a system of rules, all which were conceived to be the creation of divine will, to which kings and their warriors (keymen) were subject. The cuneiform texts from Mari, Ugarit, Ebla, Amarna and others, have not only thrown light on the political, social, religious and military aspects of those turbulent times, but have also given insight into the formation of armies as well as the commanders who led those armies and the royal officials who governed cities and provinces, all appointed by the monarch in order to effect the smooth running of his kingdom. They also shed light on the formation of coalitions and alliances in order to promote peace, arrange marriages to the daughters of other ruling powers and to promote trade relations. These were no easy tasks, considering the diversity of peoples, the birth and fall of kingdoms and empires, and the ever shifting and changes of loyalties of greedy kings and their men, to attain power and conquest for themselves.. However, these texts also give glimpses of the human side of the king and the close relationships between himself and his men of authority, whilst the women of the court also played their role in some areas of the social field. The responses, of these people towards matters and events, whether they were confrontations, marriage alliances, trade ventures or hunting expeditions, occurred within an ever changing world yet, it was also a world with an ethos of ancient traditions, which did not disappear but instead remained, albeit in adapted or altered form, to be a part of their contextual reality. / Biblical Studies

Thesis (D. Litt. et Phil. (Biblical Studies)) / The Fertile Crescent, due to its geographical characteristics, has always been an area troubled with conflict and warfare. The men who participated in these wars, from ca 2000 BCE to 1000 BCE operated from an ethos which was governed by a system of rules, all which were conceived to be the creation of divine will, to which kings and their warriors (keymen) were subject. The cuneiform texts from Mari, Ugarit, Ebla, Amarna and others, have not only thrown light on the political, social, religious and military aspects of those turbulent times, but have also given insight into the formation of armies as well as the commanders who led those armies and the royal officials who governed cities and provinces, all appointed by the monarch in order to effect the smooth running of his kingdom. They also shed light on the formation of coalitions and alliances in order to promote peace, arrange marriages to the daughters of other ruling powers and to promote trade relations. These were no easy tasks, considering the diversity of peoples, the birth and fall of kingdoms and empires, and the ever shifting and changes of loyalties of greedy kings and their men, to attain power and conquest for themselves.. However, these texts also give glimpses of the human side of the king and the close relationships between himself and his men of authority, whilst the women of the court also played their role in some areas of the social field. The responses, of these people towards matters and events, whether they were confrontations, marriage alliances, trade ventures or hunting expeditions, occurred within an ever changing world yet, it was also a world with an ethos of ancient traditions, which did not disappear but instead remained, albeit in adapted or altered form, to be a part of their contextual reality. / Biblical Studies

The dissertation is intended to show whether it is possible for a Roman traveller to make a journey around the Roman world in the year C.E. 210, within 180 days, in a manner similar to that of Phileas Fogg, a character in Jules Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days (1874). The Roman's 180-day adventure to complete the journey within the set time incorporates logistics and itinerary on ancient roads, canals and sea voyages, and quotes Horace, Juvenal, Pausanias, Ovid and Strabo. Verne linked the past, an ancient two thousand year old water system in Aden - with his traveller who also visited the site. The Roman traveller will link the past with the present, viewing ancient building and engineering works such as the Lyonnais aqueducts, and the Greek use of curvature in design when building the Parthenon. Parts of such construction remain in situ for the present-day traveller to view. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies / (M.A. (Specialization in Ancient Languages and Cultures))

Le héros grec Amphilochos, descendant mythique de la célèbre famille des hérosprophètes Mélampodides, était, comme son père Amphiaraos, un devin reconnu et un soldat aux aptitudes militaires formidables. Après avoir participé à la seconde expédition contre Thèbes et à la guerre de Troie, celui-ci aurait pérégriné dans bon nombre de contrées en fondant plusieurs cités situées entre l’Espagne et la Syrie. Quelque temps après sa mort brutale en combat singulier contre un autre devin nommé Mopsos, Amphilochos fut élevé au rang de divinité oraculaire à Mallos de Cilicie, une cité dont il avait été lui-même le fondateur. À l’époque romaine, Amphilochos avait acquit, en plus d’un statut ontologique supérieur, une très grande réputation dans cette région où il rendait des oracles à des pèlerins qui venaient eux-mêmes le visiter dans son antre. Cette recherche, qui vise d’une part à étudier de façon exhaustive la légende d’Amphilochos, tente surtout de déterminer, malgré un nombre restreint d’indices, les modalités de la révélation oraculaire dans le sanctuaire de Mallos de Cilicie. / The Greek hero Amphilochos, the mythical descendant of the famous family of the Melampodides hero-prophets, was, like his father Amphiaraos, a recognized soothsayer and a soldier with formidable military skills. After taking part in the second expedition against Thebes and the Trojan War, he is said to have wandered in many a land and founded several cities lying between Spain and Syria. Soon after his sudden death in a single combat with another seer named Mopsos, he was elevated to the rank of oracular divinity in Mallos of Cilicia, a city which he himself founded. During the Roman period, Amphilochos, indued with increased ontological status, got into high repute in this region where he gave oracles to the pilgrims who came and visited him by themselves in his abode. This research, which aims first to explore exhaustively the legend of Amphilochos, attempts above all to determine the terms of the oracular revelation in the sanctuary of Mallos of Cilicia, in spite of little compelling evidence.

Salvien de Marseille est un auteur incontournable pour l'histoire du Ve siècle ap. J.-C. Il s'est abondamment exprimé au sujet des Barbares, d'une façon si positive que cela ne cesse de nous étonner, au vu des invasions qui s'étaient produites dans sa Gaule natale peu avant la période où il rédigea le De gubernatione dei. Une étude attentive de ce que Salvien affirma au sujet des Barbares démontre que celui-ci utilisa souvent des topoï pour parler d'eux. Parfois aussi, il inversa ces topoï, se plaçant ainsi en opposition avec la tradition littéraire romaine. Ce mémoire s'attache à identifier ces topoï et voir comment Salvien de Marseille s'accordait ou se détachait des idées reçues sur les Barbares dans chaque cas. / Salvianus is an important author when studying fifth century history. He witnessed the barbarian invasion and destruction of his native Gaul, yet he expressed positive evaluations of the Barbarians in this treaty De gubernatione dei. A careful study of Salvianus’ analysis of these Barbarians reveals that he often used topoï when discussing them. However, contrary to Roman literary tradition, he also reversed these topoï and portrayed them in a positive light. This Master’s thesis examines and identifies these topoï, and assesses the extent to which Salvianus adhered to the Romans’ preconceived ideas on Barbarians in each case. This research will demonstrate that although he used traditional literary forms, Salvian was able to express original ideas through the manipulation of the Roman literary tradition.

La présente recherche porte sur le dieu de la guerre des Grecs anciens, Arès. La communauté historienne s’entend pour affirmer qu’Arès était un dieu de second ordre et un dieu mal aimé par les Grecs de l’époque. Les investigations des historiens du XXe siècle sont axées sur les documents littéraires et elles ne font que reformuler, dans la majorité des cas, le contenu de ceux-ci. Alors, afin de bénéficier d’un regard nouveau sur le dieu, on a étudié Arès au travers les documents épigraphiques pour corroborer ou non nos présentes connaissances. Le dieu de la guerre tel que présenté dans les écrits littéraires est-il le même que celui qui est véhiculé dans l’épigraphie de l’époque? La réponse à cette question nous permettra d’établir si nos connaissances actuelles sont valables et elle les complètera. La recherche épigraphique s’effectue en cinq étapes. D’abord, on voit si le côté militaire d’Arès était également prédominant au sein des inscriptions. Ensuite, on porte une attention particulière aux documents épigraphiques pouvant démontrer un Arès mal aimé. Le tout se poursuit avec la mise en relation du dieu et des anciens serments. Enfin, on termine avec une approche plus géographique qui nous permet de définir deux foyers importants du dieu de la guerre, soit la cité de Métropolis et l’île de Crète. À la suite de ce parcours on a déterminé que l’appréciation et l’importance que les Grecs accordaient à ce dieu n’était pas unanime. Le ressentiment des Grecs variaient selon les individus et les lieux. On a aussi été capable d’établir des faits au sujet d’Arès : son domaine d’action prédominant restait le militaire dans les inscriptions; il était un réel dieu, présent, respecté et loué; il possédait d’importants lieux de culte à Lato et Métropolis. Compte tenu d’une redéfinition notable du profil d’Arès, une révision des sources littéraires propres à Arès s’impose ainsi qu’une évaluation complète de toutes les autres sources (iconographique, archéologique, numismatique, épigraphique, etc.). / This study talks about the god of war for the ancient Greeks, Ares. The historical community asserts that Ares was a god of second order and unloved by the Greeks of this period. Investigations of historians of XXe century are focus on literary sources and they simply restate, in most cases, the content of them. To gain a new perspective on the god, Ares was studied through the epigraphic documents to corroborate or not our present knowledge. We want to know if the Ares, as presented in the literature, has been the same as that was transmitted in the ancient Greek epigraphy. The answer to this question will help us to see if our current knowledge is right and deepening it. The epigraphic research is done in five steps. First, we determine whether the military side of Ares was also predominant in the inscriptions. Then we pay a specific attention to documents that propose an unloved Ares in the epigraphy. After, we establish some links between the former oath and Ares. Finally, we close the epigraphic study with a geographic approach who allows us to determine two important sites that belong to the god of war, the city of Metropolis and the island of Crete. Through this process we were able to determine the appreciation and the importance, which the Greeks gave to this god, were not unanimous. The resentment of the Greeks varied among individuals and places. We were also able to establish some facts about Ares : his dominant sphere remained the military in the inscriptions; he was a reel god, present, respected and praised; he possessed important places of worship in Lato and Metropolis. In conclusion, we redefine Ares profile, so it would be interesting that a research reviews the literacy sources about him. Furthermore, an evaluation of all the sources (iconographic, archaeological, numismatic, epigraphic etc…) would also be appropriated.

En continuité avec les ouvrages récents (Veyne 1981, MacMullen 1988 et Kelly 2004) qui tentent de relativiser les effets néfastes de la corruption lors du Bas-Empire, ce travail étudie le suffragium, le processus de nomination des fonctionnaires de bureaux, afin d'évaluer comment les acteurs sociaux du IVe siècle considéraient ce phénomène. Ce système, organisé d'une telle façon que les hauts fonctionnaires devaient fournir des lettres de recommandation aux candidats postulant à des postes au sein de la fonction publique, serait devenu complètement corrompu durant le IVe siècle et les lettres de recommandation auraient commencé à être systématiquement vendues. Pourtant, les lois de Constantin, Constance et Julien ne fournissent aucune preuve tangible que le suffragium était dans tous le cas vénal à cette époque. Bien au contraire, les empereurs ajoutaient la plupart de temps des épithètes au terme suffragium pour spécifier qu'il parle du suffragium vénal. Généralement, les empereurs sont présentés comme farouchement opposés au suffragium et à toutes les tractations qui y sont attachées. Loin d'être aussi hostiles envers les « pratiques corrompues », les empereurs de la dynastie constantinienne firent preuve d'un certain pragmatisme en voyant qu'ils ne pouvaient contrôler toutes les nominations de ceux qui voulaient entrer dans la fonction publique et que ce n'était pas nécessairement à leur avantage de le faire. Les empereurs se concentrèrent plutôt sur les restrictions entourant les promotions afin de faire en sorte que les personnes qui avaient de réels pouvoirs soient celles qui avaient démontré leurs qualités tout au long de leurs années de service. Bien qu'ils n'aient pas concrètement légiféré sur les critères d'embauche des candidats, cela ne veut pas dire que n'importe qui pouvait obtenir un poste. À travers l'étude des lettres de Libanios et de Symmaque, ce travail démontre que les hauts fonctionnaires ne fournissaient pas de lettres à quiconque le demandait, puisque leur réputation pouvait être entachée par le fait d'avoir recommandé un mauvais candidat à un de leurs amis. Les hauts fonctionnaires qui recevaient les recommandations pouvaient également soumettre les candidats à des examens afin d'être certains de la qualité de l'individu. Ce système officieux de contrôle des candidats vint pallier, en partie, les déficits de la législation impériale. Conjointement, la loi et les usages permirent à l'administration de fonctionner en lui fournissant des candidats qui répondaient aux critères de l'époque. / In line with recent literature (Veyne 1981, MacMullen 1988 and Kelly 2004) that attempts to relativize the negative effects of corruption during the later Roman Empire, this paper examines suffragium, the process of appointing officials, in order to demonstrate that this phenomenon is not as bad as the historiography of the twentieth century makes it out to be. This system, which was organized in such a way that the high officials had to provide letters of recommendation to candidates to positions in the public service, became completely corrupted during the fourth century and the letters were eventually systematically sold. Yet the law of Constantine, Constantius and Julian provides no tangible evidence that suffragium was bought in all instances during that period. On the contrary, the emperors often added an adjective after the noun suffragium to specify that it was bought. Typically, emperors are portrayed as fiercely opposed to suffragium and all negotiations pertaining thereto. The emperors of the Constantinian dynasty were not nearly as fierce against those "corrupt practices and they even showed some pragmatism, having understood that they could not control all appointments of those who wanted to enter the public service and that it was not necessarily in their best interest. The emperors focused mainly on legislation surrounding promotions to ensure that people who had real power were those who have shown their qualities throughout all their years of service. Although they did not specifically stated the criteria for hiring candidates, it does not mean that anyone could enter. Through the study of Libanios' and Symmachus' letters, this paper demonstrates that high officials did not provide letters to anyone who asked for them, as their reputation might have been tainted by having recommended a poor candidate to their friends. High officials who received the recommendations could also ascribe certain tests to the candidates to be certain of the individual's quality. This informal system of control of the candidates compensated, in part, for the deficits in the imperial legislation. Together, these two systems enabled the administration to function by providing candidates who met the criteria of the time.

Cette recherche a pour but d’éclaircir le rôle logistique des lixae dans les armées romaines et l’évolution de celui-ci entre la fin de la période républicaine et de l’Empire tardif. Bien que ceux-ci soient souvent associés aux vivandiers et aux valets d’armée, leur présence dans les armées ne se limite pas à ces deux rôles. Aussi, il sera d’abord question du contexte civil dans les armées romaines en rapport avec les lixae. L’étymologie et l’historiographie des lixae seront ensuite traitées avant d’entreprendre la description et l’analyse de leurs différents rôles d’après les sources anciennes. La dernière partie de cette recherche sera consacrée aux différents rôles des lixae dans les armées romaines et à leur évolution à travers le temps. L’hypothèse avancée dans la recherche est celle d’une spécialisation du rôle marchand des lixae dans les armées entre la période républicaine et la période du haut empire et de l’empire tardif. Enfin, l’ensemble des sources anciennes mentionnant les lixae est regroupé dans deux catalogues en annexe de la recherche. / This research aims to clarify the lixae’s logistic role in the Roman armies and it evolution between the end of the Republican period and the Late Empire. Although the lixae are often associated with sutlers and camp-followers, their presence in the armies is not limited to these two roles. This research will first define the civilian context in the Roman armies in relation with the lixae. The etymology and historiography of the lixae will then be treated prior to the description and analysis of their different roles according to ancient sources. The last part of this research will focus on the changing role of lixae in the Roman armies. The hypothesis advanced in this research is that the merchant role of lixae in the armies becomes more specialized over time. Finally, all the ancient sources mentioning lixae are grouped in two catalogs in the appendix of this research.

La résolution des images a dû être modifiée afin de respecter les droits d'auteurs. Voir le tableau comprenant la liste des vases afin de trouver ces images en meilleure qualité. / La présente étude sert à rassembler tous les vases attiques à figure rouge présentant des scènes sexuellement explicites connues à ce jour. Un examen attentif de ces sources permit de les décrire ainsi que de les comparer afin d'en faire ressortir les similitudes et les différences. Ces vases, étrangement, proviennent majoritairement d'Étrurie, ce qui surprend lorsqu'on sait qu'ils ont été fabriqués en Grèce. Grâce à l'étude du commerce à cette époque, on constate que ces vases n'occupaient pas une grande place dans les relations commerciales entre Grecs et Étrusques. De plus, ces derniers les utilisaient dans un contexte funéraire, ce qui diffère grandement des Grecs. En effet, ces derniers semblent avoir utilisé ces vases dans un contexte où le vin était central, le symposion. Bien que ce genre de banquet était une activité généralement domestique, on se rend compte, à la lumière de découvertes archéologiques, que les vases sexuellement explicites auraient pu être utilisés dans un contexte lié à la prostitution, les bordels. Ceci nous amène donc à nous questionner quant au statut des femmes qui y sont représentées. Finalement, l'étude des sources littéraires, de peu contemporaines aux vases à l'étude, nous renseigne, en partie, sur les opinions quant aux différentes pratiques sexuelles de l'époque. Au final, bien que des pistes théoriques intéressantes se dégagent de l'étude de ces vases, il reste que des conclusions sûres et hors de tout doute sont impossibles étant donné le manque de source. Ces vases présentent donc un portrait à mi-chemin entre la réalité et le symbolisme de la sexualité en Grèce antique. / This study serves to collect all the red-figure Attic vases with sexually explicit scenes known to date. A close examination of these sources made it possible to describe and compare them to bring out the similarities and differences. These vases, strangely, come mainly from Etruria, which is surprising when we know that they were made in Greece. Through the study of trade at that time, we see that these vases did not occupy an important place in the trade relations between Greeks and Etruscans. In addition, they used them in a funerary context, which differs greatly from the Greeks. Indeed, they appear to have used the vases in a context where the wine was central, the symposion. Although this kind of banquet was generally a domestic activity, we realize, in light of archaeological discoveries, that sexually explicit vases could have been used in a context related to prostitution, brothels. This leads us to question the status of the women that are represented. Finally, literary sources that are contemporary of the studied vases, tells us, in part, on different views on the sexual practices of the time. Finally, although interesting theoretical tracks emerge from the study of these vases, it remains that firm conclusions are impossible given the lack of source. These vases therefore gives us a portrait halfway between reality and symbolism of sexuality in ancient Greece.