Frantz Grenet

Frantz Grenet is a Professor at the Collège de France, where he holds the Chair of History and Cultures of Pre-Islamic Central Asia. He is also affiliated with the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Sorbonne), where he served as Professor and Chair of Religions of the Ancient Iranian World. His career includes a long tenure as a Research Director at the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) in Paris.

• Born: 1952
• Education: École Normale Supérieure (Paris)
• Former Deputy-Director of DAFA (Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan), 1977–1981

His research focuses on the history and archaeology of Central Asia, particularly in the pre-Islamic period, with deep expertise in Zoroastrianism and the ancient Iranian world. He has led the French-Uzbek Archaeological Mission in Sogdiana (MAFOUZ-Sogdiane) since 1989, conducting excavations in Uzbekistan, including at Samarkand.

Frantz Grenet is recognized for his significant contributions to the field, serving as President of SEECHAC (European Society for the Study of Cultures of the Himalaya and Central Asia) and as a member of the board of the Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum. He is a corresponding member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in Paris.

• Major Publications:
• Les pratiques funéraires dans l’Asie centrale sédentaire de la conquête grecque à l’islamisation (1984)
• A History of Zoroastrianism, Vol. 3 (with Mary Boyce, 1991)
• La geste d’Ardashir fils de Pâbag (2003)
• Vol. 4 of A History of Zoroastrianism (in preparation, with Mary Boyce and Albert de Jong)

He remains academically active, with a series of public lectures scheduled into 2026 on topics such as the origins of medieval Khurasan and interactions between Sassanid Iran and Central Asia.