ABSTRACT
This chapter concentrates on a special aspect of European orientalists's activity scholarly milieu: international congresses which from 1873 to 1912 gave rhythm to their activity. These activities are an essential part of the process of network building that centred on the formal substantive meetings of the Congresses. Having recalled some of the important characteristics of European orientalism before the First World War, The chapter attempt to provide a chronological and geographic panorama of all of these congresses before concentrating on the first of them, that of Paris in 1873, which saw the beginning of a new approach. However in terms of participation, the Congresses of London, St. Petersburg, Berlin, Florence and Leiden saw a notable decline in the number of participants. The representatives of the public powers as members of the different Patronage Committees remained highly visible during the course of these first four decades of the Congresses.
