Gallia Narbonensis
Province of Gallia Narbonensis Provincia Gallia Narbonensis | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Narbo Martius | |||||||
Historical era | Antiquity | ||||||
• Established | 121 BC[1] | ||||||
• Visigothic conquest | 5th century | ||||||
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Today part of | France Italy Monaco |
Gallia Narbonensis (
Names
The province of Gallia Transalpina ("Transalpine Gaul") was later renamed Gallia Narbonensis,
Founding
By the mid-2nd century BC, Rome was trading heavily with the Greek colony of Massalia (modern Marseille) on the southern coast of Gaul. Massalia, founded by colonists from Phocaea, was by this point centuries old and quite prosperous. Rome entered into an alliance with Massalia, by which it agreed to protect the town from local Gauls, nearby Aquitani, sea-borne Carthaginians and other rivals, in exchange for a small strip of land that it wanted in order to build a road to Hispania, to assist in troop transport. The Massalians, for their part, cared more for their economic prosperity than they did for territorial integrity.[citation needed]
During this period, the Mediterranean settlements on the coast were threatened by the powerful Gallic tribes to the north, especially the tribes known as the Arverni and the Allobroges. In the First Transalpine War (125–121 BCE),[5] the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus (later additionally named Allobrogicus) campaigned in the area and defeated the Allobroges and the Arverni under king Bituitus in the Battle of the Isère River. This defeat substantially weakened the Arverni and ensured the further security of Gallia Narbonensis. The area became a Roman province in 121 BCE.[1]
The province had come into Roman control originally under the name Gallia Transalpina (Transalpine Gaul), which distinguished it from Cisalpine Gaul on the near side of the Alps to Rome.[citation needed] In this strip of land, the Romans founded the town of Narbonne in 118 BC. At the same time, they built the Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, connecting Gaul to Hispania, and the Via Aquitania, which led toward the Atlantic through Tolosa (Toulouse) and Burdigala (Bordeaux). Thus, the Romans built a crossroads that made Narbonne an optimal trading center, and Narbonne became a major trading competitor to Massalia. From Narbonne, the Romans established the province of Transalpine Gaul, later called Gallia Narbonensis.[citation needed]
During the Sertorian War (80–72 BCE) against the breakaway state of former Roman senator and general Sertorius, Gallia Narbonensis was an important base for military activities. This was an important event in the Romanization of Narbonese Gaul, as it resulted in the Romans organizing the province.[citation needed]
Later history
Control of the province, which bordered directly on
In 40 BC, during the
Emperor Diocletian's administrative reorganization of the Empire in c. AD 314 merged the provinces Gallia Narbonensis and Gallia Aquitania into a new administrative unit called Dioecesis Viennensis (Diocese of Vienne) with the capital more to the north in Vienne. The new diocese's name was later changed to Dioecesis Septem Provinciarum (Diocese of the Seven Provinces), indicating that Diocletian had demoted the word "province" to mean a smaller subdivision than in traditional usage.
Galla Narbonensis and surrounding areas were incorporated into the Visigothic Kingdom between AD 462 and 477, permanently ending Roman political control. After the Gothic takeover, the Visigothic dominions were to be generally known as Septimania, while to the east of the lower Rhone the term Provence came into use.
List of proconsular governors of Gallia Narbonensis
(This list is based on A.L.F. Rivet, Gallia Narbonensis (London: Batsford, 1988), pp. 79, 86f.)
- Gnaeus Pullius Pollio—between 18 and 16 BC[3]
- Marcus Cincius Saturninus—under Augustus
- Titedius Labeo—under Tiberius
- Manius Vibius Balbinus—15–17 AD
- Torquatus Novellus Atticus—30–34
- Titus Mussidius Pollianus—34–37
- Titus Vinius—under Nero
- L. V[...]dius Bassus—c. 77
- Gaius Iulius Cornutus Tertullus—before 78
- Aulus Larcius Priscus—103–109
- Marcus Acilius Priscus Egrilius Plarianus—118–120
- Lucius Aninius Sextius Florentinus—c. 124
- Lucius Aurelius Gallus—124–127
- Lucius Novius Crispinus Martialis Saturninus—144–145
- Gaius Seius Calpurnius Quadratus Sittianus—before 150
- Lucius Cestius Gallus—between 165 and 183
- Gnaeus Cornelius Aquilius Niger—between 138 and 192
- Lucius Fabius Cilo Septiminus Catinius Acilianus Lepidus Fulcinianus—between 180 and 192
- ...]dius T.f.—2nd century
- Lucius Ranius Optatus Novatus—between 197 and 214
- Ignotus, allegedly killed for supporting Geta—c. 210
- ...]us—between 210 and 230
- Tiberius Claudius Paulinus—216–217
- Gaius Aemilius Berenicianus Maximus—between 222 and 235
- Iulianus—between 222 and 235
- C. Seius Calpurnius Quadratus Sittianus—middle 3rd century[8]
Notes
- ^ The name is also variously expressed as Narbonese or Narbonnese Gaul, Narbonian Gaul, and Narbonensian Gaul.
References
- ^ ISBN 9780191647581.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4381-1027-1.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-521-26430-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-292-71303-1.
- ^ Webster, Jane (1996). "Ethnographic barbarity: colonial discourse and 'Celtic warrior societies'.". In Cooper, Nick (ed.). Roman Imperialism: Post-Colonial Perspectives (PDF). School of Archaeological Studies, University of Leicester. pp. 117–118. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
- ISBN 978-90-04-04384-8.
- ISBN 978-0-19-511876-6
- ^ CIL XIV, 2831
Further reading
- hdl:2027/hvd.ah5cuq.