Maxime Robert is currently enrolled in the Master 1 programme Mondes anciens (specialization: Roman History) at the University of Lille. His research explores the role and significance of Nisibis in the context of the Roman–Persian frontier in Late Antiquity, focusing on the city’s political, economic, religious, and military dimensions around 363 CE, and on the consequences of its transfer to the Sasanian Empire.
In April 2025, he participated in the international workshop “From Topography to Urban History” at the École française de Rome, where he deepened his understanding of spatial analysis and urban historiography, and reflected on their application to under-documented cities like Nisibis.
He is currently undertaking an internship on ontology-based parsing and representation of historical case studies, contributing to the development of semantic tools for historical knowledge modeling as part of the Ex-Patria project.
His language training is a crucial component of his research. During the 2024–2025 academic year, he has been enrolled in the Beth Yulpana Introduction to Syriac course at the University of Lille, taught by Michael David Ethington. To further enhance his linguistic and epigraphic skills, Maxime is set to attend the Summer School in Oriental Languages, organized by the University of Lausanne and held at the Venice International University on the island of San Servolo, Italy, from July 10 to 19, 2025. During this program, he will follow:
- Syriaque oriental 1 : initiation, taught by Simon Brelaud (IFPO, Erbil)
- Inscriptions hébraïques, araméennes et grecques de Venise et d’ailleurs, taught by David Hamidovic (Université de Lausanne)