Josette Elayi | |
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![]() Elayi in 2014 | |
Born | Josette Elayi 29 March 1943 |
Nationality | French |
Other names | Josette Elayi-Escaich |
Spouse | Alain Elayi |
Awards | Knight of the Legion d'honneur |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Ancient history |
Sub-discipline | Phoenician studies |
Josette Elayi-Escaich (French pronunciation: [ʒoʊzətəlɑːjiːəskɑːʃ] ; born 29 March 1943) is a French ancient historian, specialising in Phoenician and Near-Eastern history. [1] [2] She is an honorary scholar at the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS). Elayi has authored numerous archaeology and history works, and literary novels. She is also a novelist and has campaigned for reform and activism against bias in CNRS research policy. In 2007 Elayi was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour by the French state.
Josette Elayi ( née Escaich) was born on 29 March 1943 in Les Bordes-sur-Lez, a small former commune now merged into Bordes-Uchentein in the Couserans (part of the Ariège department) in France's Pyrenees mountains. She studied in the nearby town of Saint-Girons. At the Saint-Girons high school, Elayi had an affinity for science and literature, but a skiing accident caused her to fall behind in science. Elayi recounts that "the literary course was much more rewarding than the sciences at the time". Elayi's parents wanted her to become a teacher, but after her baccalaureate, she went to Toulouse to study classical literature. Elayi is a holder of a Doctorat ès Lettres, the highest doctoral degree in France, and multiple other degrees in oriental languages from Lyon, Paris and Nancy universities. [3] [4]
Elayi taught literature in Émilie de Rodat school in Toulouse between 1966 and 1968 before moving on to Notre-Dame school in Lyon where she taught for the next four years. [4] In 1973, Elayi obtained a teaching position in the Lebanese University's faculty of letters in Beirut. Elayi's interest in the history of the Phoenicians was stirred during her short stay in Beirut. When the Lebanese civil war broke out in 1975, she moved to Baghdad where she taught French literature at Al-Mustansiriya University until 1978. [3] [4] She settled in Paris in 1980, where she taught at the Lycée Charlemagne before joining the CNRS as a researcher in ancient history in 1982. [4]
Elayi is versed in fifteen modern and extinct languages. She has developed a multidisciplinary historiography method that combines epigraphy, numismatics, archaeology, economics and sociology; she applied this methodology in her works on the history of the Phoenicians. [5] She writes regularly in journals and has received two prizes from the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres , and a prize from the French Numismatic Society (Société française de numismatique). [6]
In 1982, when she was recruited by the CNRS as a senior researcher, Elayi found that her field of research, the history of ancient Phoenicia, was not included in university curricula; it was confined to the Oriental studies department which existed until 1991. Phoenician studies were then consigned to the department of Antiquity studies. The CNRS allowed Elayi full-time research and freedom to choose her subjects without teaching-hours constraints. [7] In 1988 her relationship with the CNRS took a negative turn; faced with the lack of support of the committee, Elayi started her own research group, the Association for the research on Syria-Palestine in the Persian Period (ASPEP). ASPEP was embraced and supported by an international network of researchers and obtained public and private funding. Elayi also launched and directs a specialized international journal the Transeuphratène, and wrote a number of historical monographs about Phoenicia and the Ancient Near East. Elayi's work focuses on advancing research in the field of Phoenician history. [7] [8]
Her celebrated Trésors de monnaies phéniciennes et circulation monétaire (Ve-IVe siècles avant J.-C.) [Treasures of Phoenician coins and monetary circulation (5th-4th centuries B.C.)] showcases 75 Phoenician coin treasure troves, of which 20 were previously unpublished. The work highlights aspects of the economic and political history of Phoenician and ancient Near-Eastern cities in the 4th and 5th centuries BC; it delves into and adds new chronological data to the political and economic context of the first bronze coins production, circulation, control and production workshops. [9] This research was followed up by her 2016 Phoenician Coinages, a body of knowledge completely dedicated to mainland Phoenicia numismatics under the Persian hegemony. [nb 1] The book summarizes 59 monographs and journal articles written following over 30 years of research by Elayi, her spouse Alain-Gérard, and other contributing scholars; [10] noting that Elayi and her spouse developed an original method for the metrological study of coins including distinguishing monetary standards or legal weight, from a manufactured standard. [11]
Elayi has written a number of novels that draw inspiration from her real life experiences and contemporary issues. In 2009, she published her first novel Le survivant [The survivor] based on her experience of the civil war in Beirut. Two years later, Elayi wrote her second novel, Secrets de granite [Secrets of granite]; the book is inspired by her native Ariège region. [3] L'ombre de Saddam [The shadow of Saddam] came out in 2015; the geopolitical thriller portrays Saddam Hussein before his seizure of power. [12] Her 2017 Pourquoi je suis devenu un terroriste [Why I became a terrorist] came two years after the Paris terrorist attacks, it follows a Spanish student's descent into extremism. [13] Elayi's 2018 novel Arwad, une île syrienne à la dérive [Arwad, a drifting Syrian island] draws parallels between the fall of the insular Phoenician city of Arwad and war-time Syria. [14] In 2019 Elayi published Ange Garelli where the Corsican protagonist is haunted by the discovery of a secret linking him to Napoleon Bonaparte. [15] [16] In 2023 Josette Elayi published Le roi qui noya Babylone and Le voyage d'Archimède au 21e siècle with her husband, Alain-Gérard. [16]
Elayi is married to Alain-Gérard Elayi, a Lebanese nuclear scientist; they have two children together. [3] [17]
Elayi had a contentious relationship with the CNRS, criticizing what she perceived as corporatism, ambiguity, and bias in its evaluation processes for French research. She raised concerns about errors in the recruitment and promotion of researchers and teams, which she argued negatively affected the quality of French research, particularly during the 2002 and 2003 budget cuts that led to reduced funding and worsening working conditions for researchers. She advocated for reforms, addressing these issues in media outlets and through two books where she proposed a more equitable distribution of resources based on evaluations of researchers' competencies. [7] [18] [19] [20] Elayi was consulted by successive research ministers in an effort to create the Agency for the Evaluation of Research and Higher education which saw the light in 2007. [7] Elayi is a vocal defender of the teaching of classical languages, which was threatened by curriculum reforms spearheaded by then-Minister of National education and research Najat Vallaud-Belkacem. The reforms proposed to replace Latin and Greek classes by an "initiation to ancient languages" course within the French courses, and to integrate the teaching of these two languages within the French literature courses. Elayi criticized the lack of a timetable, a program, funding or continuity and expressed indignation that teaching of classical languages would be left to non-specialized teachers and to the discretion of headmasters. [21] Despite nation-wide polemic the bill was passed in August 2016. [22]
In 1995 the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres awarded Elayi with the Gregor Mendel prize for her work on coin economy and circulation in Phoenicia and the Ancient Near-East in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. [nb 2] [23] Six years later, the academy awarded Elayi and Hussein Sayegh with the Adolphe Noël des Vergers prize for their research on the Phoenician port quarter of Beirut. [nb 3] [24] In 2001, she received the Babut Prize from the French Numismatic Society for her research on ancient coins. [25] In 2007 Elayi was decorated Knight of the Legion of Honor by then Minister of superior education François Goulard for her work on Phoenician history. [3]
The WorldCat database lists more than 200 publications by Josette Elayi in her various fields of expertise; [4] she has authored more than 44 books and is the editor of seventy one books. [26] [27]
This following is a list of her most widely held publications:
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: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The sarcophagus ofEshmunazar II is a 6th-century BC sarcophagus unearthed in 1855 in the grounds of an ancient necropolis southeast of the city of Sidon, in modern-day Lebanon, that contained the body of Eshmunazar II, Phoenician King of Sidon. One of only three Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi found outside Egypt, with the other two belonging to Eshmunazar's father King Tabnit and to a woman, possibly Eshmunazar's mother Queen Amoashtart, it was likely carved in Egypt from local amphibolite, and captured as booty by the Sidonians during their participation in Cambyses II's conquest of Egypt in 525 BC. The sarcophagus has two sets of Phoenician inscriptions, one on its lid and a partial copy of it on the sarcophagus trough, around the curvature of the head. The lid inscription was of great significance upon its discovery as it was the first Phoenician language inscription to be discovered in Phoenicia proper and the most detailed Phoenician text ever found anywhere up to that point, and is today the second longest extant Phoenician inscription, after the Karatepe bilingual.
Jean-Jacques Barthélemy was a French Catholic clergyman, archaeologist, numismatologist and scholar who became the first person to decipher an extinct language. He deciphered the Palmyrene alphabet in 1754 and the Phoenician alphabet in 1758.
The Temple of Eshmun is an ancient place of worship dedicated to Eshmun, the Phoenician god of healing. It is located near the Awali river, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northeast of Sidon in southwestern Lebanon. The site was occupied from the 7th century BC to the 8th century AD, suggesting an integrated relationship with the nearby city of Sidon. Although originally constructed by Sidonian king Eshmunazar II in the Achaemenid era to celebrate the city's recovered wealth and stature, the temple complex was greatly expanded by Bodashtart, Yatonmilk and later monarchs. Because the continued expansion spanned many centuries of alternating independence and foreign hegemony, the sanctuary features a wealth of different architectural and decorative styles and influences.
Edward Lipiński, or Edouard Lipiński, was a Polish-Belgian Biblical scholar and Orientalist, professor and exegete at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
Eshmunazar II was the Phoenician king of Sidon. He was the grandson of Eshmunazar I, and a vassal king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Eshmunazar II succeeded his father Tabnit I who ruled for a short time and died before the birth of his son. Tabnit I was succeeded by his sister-wife Amoashtart who ruled alone until Eshmunazar II's birth, and then acted as his regent until the time he would have reached majority. Eshmunazar II died prematurely at the age of 14. He was succeeded by his cousin Bodashtart.
Bodashtart was a Phoenician ruler, who reigned as King of Sidon, the grandson of King Eshmunazar I, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He succeeded his cousin Eshmunazar II to the throne of Sidon, and scholars believe that he was succeeded by his son and proclaimed heir Yatonmilk.
Gaby Emile Layoun was the Lebanese Minister of Culture, announced as part of the cabinet led by Najib Mikati. He represents the Free Patriotic Movement. Layoun is married and has two children. He holds a diploma in engineering, a Lebanese Baccalaureate in mathematics (1982) and a Sacred Heart of the city of Zahle.
The Phoenician port of Beirut, also known as the Phoenician Harbour of Beirut and archaeological site BEY039 is located between Rue Allenby and Rue Foch in Beirut, Lebanon. Studies have shown that the Bronze Age waterfront lay around 300 metres (330 yd) behind the modern port due to coastal regularisation and siltation. It was excavated and reported on by Josette Elayi and Hala Sayegh in 2000 and determined to date to the Iron Age III and Persian periods. Two nineteenth-century Ottoman docks were also unearthed during construction, just to the north of this area at archaeological sites BEY018 and BEY019.
Phoenico-Persian Quarter is located in Beirut, Lebanon.
Abdashtart I was a king of the Phoenician city-state of Sidon who reigned from 365 BC to 352 BC following the death of his father, Baalshillem II.
Yatonmilk was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and a vassal to the Achaemenid king of kings Darius I.
The Baalshillem Temple Boy, or Ba'al Sillem Temple Boy, is a votive statue of a "temple boy" with a Phoenician inscription known as KAI 281. It was found along with a number of other votive statues of children near the canal in the Temple of Eshmun in 1963-64 by Maurice Dunand, and is currently in the National Museum of Beirut.
Eshmunazar I was a priest of Astarte and the Phoenician King of Sidon. He was the founder of his namesake dynasty, and a vassal king of the Achaemenid Empire. Eshmunazar participated in the Neo-Babylonian campaigns against Egypt under the command of either Nebuchadnezzar II or Nabonidus. The Sidonian king is mentioned in the funerary inscriptions engraved on the royal sarcophagi of his son Tabnit I and his grandson Eshmunazar II. The monarch's name is also attested in the dedicatory temple inscriptions of his other grandson, King Bodashtart.
Baalshillem I was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He was succeeded by his son Abdamon to the throne of Sidon.
Baalshillem II was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and the great-grandson of Baalshillem I who founded the namesake dynasty. He succeeded Baana to the throne of Sidon, and was succeeded by his son Abdashtart I. The name Baalshillem means "recompense of Baal" in Phoenician.
The Arwad bilingual, also the Arados inscription, is a Phoenician-Greek inscription from Arwad, Syria.
Amoashtart was a Phoenician queen of Sidon during the Persian period. She was the daughter of Eshmunazar I, and the wife of her brother, Tabnit. When Tabnit died, Amoashtart became co-regent to her then-infant son, Eshmunazar II, but after the boy died "in his fourteenth year", she was succeeded by her nephew Bodashtart, possibly in a palace coup. Modern historians have characterized her as an "energetic, responsible [woman], and endowed with immense political acumen, [who] exercised royal functions for many years".
Abdamon (also transliterated Abdamun ; Phoenician: 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤀𐤌𐤍, was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He was succeeded by his son Baana to the throne of Sidon.
The Phoenician sanctuary of Kharayeb is a historic temple in the hinterland of Tyre, Southern Lebanon, that was excavated in three stages. In 1946, Maurice Chehab, head of Lebanon's Directorate General of Antiquities, led the first mission that revealed a Hellenistic period temple and thousands of clay figurines dating from the sixth-to-first centuries BC. Excavations in 1969 by Lebanese archaeologist Brahim Kaoukabani and in 2009 by the Government of Italy yielded evidence of cultic practices, and produced a detailed reconstruction of the sanctuary's architecture.
Al-Kharayeb is a historic municipality in the Sidon District in the South Governorate, Lebanon. The town is 77 km (48 mi) south of Beirut, and stands at an average altitude of 190 m (620 ft) above sea level. The town boasts a rich historical legacy, with archaeological excavations revealing a complex settlement history spanning from Prehistory to the Ottoman period. Notably, Kharayeb's origins can be traced back to the Persian period, when it played a pivotal role in the region's agricultural and economic landscape, culminating in the construction of its Phoenician temple around the 6th century BC.
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