Institut français du Proche-Orient
The Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) is a French social science research institute with offices in Amman, Jordan, and Beirut, Lebanon, and work in Iraq and Palestine. It used to operate in Syria (Damascus and Aleppo) until 2011. IFPO was created in 2002 by merging three older institutes: IFEAD (Damascus, established 1922), IFAPO (Syria and Lebanon, established 1946), and CERMOC (Lebanon, 1977; Jordan, 1988). It is part of France’s network of foreign research institutes, under the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) and CNRS, as UMIFRE no. 6.
In 2010, IFPO opened a research center at the Erbil Citadel in Iraqi Kurdistan. The institute has three departments: Archaeology and Ancient History (Director: Carole Roche-Hawley), Arab Studies, Medieval and Modern (Director: Iyas Hassan), and Contemporary Studies (Director: Matthieu Rey).
IFPO recruits researchers from France, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and other countries. Researchers are chosen for projects lasting up to three years. The institute also welcomes young researchers (PhD candidates, grant holders, etc.) of all nationalities, with stay durations varying. Short-term grants for limited projects are also awarded.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 03:50 (CET).