Gironde
Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.
Beuve
Saint Beuve (or Bove or Bova) and her brother Balderic (or Baudry) lived in the 7th century in France. According to Christian Settipani, their father was probably Sigobert the Lame, King of Cologne, rather than Sigebert I of Austrasia, as indica ...
valley 60 km/37 mi southeast of
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
and 40 km/25 mi southwest of
Marmande
Marmande (; in Occitan language, Occitan, ''Marmanda'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Lot-et-Garonne ''Departments of France, département'' in south-western France.
Geography
Marmande is located 35 km north-west of Agen, on the ...
.
History
As ''Cossio'', it was capital of the ancient tribe of the ''Vasates'', and under the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
one of the twelve cities of
Novempopulania
Novempopulania (Latin for "country of the nine peoples") was one of the provinces created by Diocletian (Roman emperor from 284 to 305) out of Gallia Aquitania, which was also called ''Aquitania Tertia''.
Early Roman period
The area of Novemp ...
, when it was known as ''Civitas Vasatica''
In later times it was capital of the district of Bazadais, and was the seat of the bishop of the
diocese of Bazas
The Diocese of Bazas, centred on Bazas in Aquitaine, covered the Bazadais region, known under the Romans as the ''Vasatensis pagus'' after the ancient occupants, the Vasates. In the 2nd century it was part of the Novempopulania, one of the seve ...
from at least the beginning of the 6th century until 1790. And for 250 years prior to 1057, the Bishop of Bazas bore the title of Bishop of
Aire
Aire may refer to:
Music
*''Aire'', a song on the album Chicago VII by the group Chicago (band), 1974
* ''Aire'' (Yuri album), 1987
* ''Aire'' (Pablo Ruiz album), 1997
*''Aire (Versión Día)'', an album by Jesse & Joy
Places
* Aire-sur-la-Ly ...
,
Dax
The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...
,
Bayonne
Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
Lescar
Lescar (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France.
Lescar is the site of the Roman city known variously as Benearnum, Beneharnum or Civitas Benarnensium, the location prov ...
. According to
Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...
, Bazas had a bishop at the time of the
Vandal
The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vandal ...
invasion in the 5th century.
The dedication of the cathedral to
St. John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
is explained in an account given by the same historian that a lady of Bazas, whom certain hagiographers of the 19th century believe to have been St. Veronica, brought from Palestine a relic of St. John the Baptist at the time of that saint's death.
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...
(1088–99) preached the crusade at Bazas.
Bazas was a
subprefecture
A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province.
Albania
There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...
until 1926, when it was replaced in the role to Langon.
Population
Sights
The town has a Gothic cathedral dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries, part of the UNESCO
World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
UNESCO designated the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France as a World Heritage Site in December 1998. The routes pass through the following regions of France: Aquitaine, Auvergne, Basse-Normandie, Bourgogne, Centre, Champagne-Ardenne, Ile- ...
Ancient Diocese of Bazas
The Diocese of Bazas, centred on Bazas in Aquitaine, covered the Bazadais region, known under the Ancient Rome, Romans as the ''Vasatensis pagus'' after the ancient occupants, the Vasates. In the 2nd century it was part of the Novempopulania, one ...