Soheir Bakhoum, also Suhayr Salīm Bāẖūm (1 April 1947 - 19 June 2003) was an Egyptian-French

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

, who specialised in

Roman Alexandria The history of Alexandria dates back to the city's founding, by Alexander the Great, in 331 BC. Yet, before that, there were large port cities just east of Alexandria, at the western edge of what is now Abu Qir Bay. The Canopic (westernmost) br ...

. A

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

dedicated to Bakhoum was published in 2008 and entitled ''Aegyptiaca serta in Soheir Bakhoum memoriam: mélanges de numismatique, d'iconographie et d'histoire.''

Biography

Born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

in 1947, Bakhoum was awarded her first PhD from

Alexandria University Alexandria University () is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an independent entity in 1942. It was known as ...

in 1973, followed by a PhD in 1986 from

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; ) was a public university, public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Paris. In 2018, it m ...

. A former curator of the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, where she worked from 1970 to 1974, Bakhoum joined the

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

in 1989. Her 1999 work on the Antonine period in Alexandria, was described by Francois Planet as "ce livre est simple et accessible. L'auteur a procédé avec méthode et employé les meilleurs outils pour nous offrir l'accès à ce dossier complexe ..this book is simple and accessible. The author has proceeded methodically and used the best tools to give us access to this complex area. As editor of the '' Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum,'' volume 4 on the coinage of Alexandria from the reigns of Augustus to Trajan, her work was described by

William E. Metcalf William E. Metcalf, FSA (born December 16, 1947) is an American numismatist, ancient historian, and former curator, who is an expert in the study of Roman coins. He is especially known for his pioneering work on Roman provincial coins and particu ...

as bringing "the coinage of imperial Egypt to a level of accessibility consistent with its importance", although a review by Erik Christiansen was less favourable, citing mistakes in identification.

Georges Le Rider Georges Charles Le Rider (27 January 1928 – 3 July 2014) was a French historian, librarian and administrator, a specialist in Greek numismatics, who headed the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. He had a filial relationship with Henri A ...

described the volume as "bien fait ell done with explicit descriptions, and he hoped this volume would be followed by others fully describing the collection. Bakhoum died in Paris in 2003, after a long illness.

Legacy

dedicated to Bakhoum was published in 2008 and entitled ''Aegyptiaca serta in Soheir Bakhoum memoriam: mélanges de numismatique, d'iconographie et d'histoire.'' Reviewed by Paul Edmund Stanwick, he described how the book "is a fitting recognition ... in that it both acknowledges and extends her work".

Arnaud Suspène Arnaud may refer to: People * Arnaud (given name), the French form of the German given name Arnold * Arnaud (surname), the French form of the name Arnold * Arnauld family, a noble French family prominent in the 17th century, associated with Janse ...

agreed with Stanwick, describing the work as paying tribute to an endearing colleague.

Selected works

* Soheir Bakhoum, 'Dieux égyptiens à Alexandrie sous les Antonins. Recherches numismatiques et historiques.', ''Revue numismatique'', Series 6 - Volume 157 (2001) * Soheir Bakhoum, ''Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum France 4. Department des Monnaies, Medailles et Antiques. Alexandrie I. Auguste - Trajan''. (1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bakhoum, Soheir 1947 births 2003 deaths Alexandria University alumni Paris-Sorbonne University alumni Women numismatists French numismatists Classical archaeologists French women curators Egyptian women curators Egyptian archaeologists

Biography

Legacy

Selected works

Further reading

References