Au service de l’épigraphie romaine

Founded in 1995, the Société Française d'Épigraphie sur Rome et le monde romain (SFER, French Society of Epigraphy on Rome and on the Roman World) was born of a desire of specialists in Roman history to provide a forum for French researchers to promote and exchange their points of view on Latin or Greek epigraphic documents, renewing our knowledge of Roman antiquity. It is one of three such societies in the world, along with the British Epigraphy Society in the United Kingdom and the American Society of Greek and Roman Epigraphy in the United States, which also brings together Canadian researchers. It is affiliated with the International Association of Greek and Latin Epigraphy, AIEGL, from which it was inspired.

The sessions organized by the Society have allowed the presentation of unpublished documents, the examination of very different methods and approaches that are exploited by epigraphists, from the classical prosopographical study to more recent analyses of quantitative history, or anthropology and cultural history. 

The studies presented first recall the birth and history of this learned society, which was founded a quarter of a century ago. It is an opportunity to remember the pioneering role of the founders, under the benevolent auspices of André Chastagnol, and the decisive action of Claude Lepelley, the first president, or to pay tribute to the memory of Jean-Louis Ferrary, former president, who died in the year of SFER's 25th anniversary. In a second part, former presidents of the Society have presented their thoughts through thematic dossiers or specific cases that reflect the richness of historiographical debates and scientific progress. Finally, a third section gathers contributions from foreign colleagues who have participated in the cultural expansion of the Society, highlighting the international exchanges that it has generated and fostered.