Bessan (; oc, Beçan) is a commune in the

Occitanie Occitanie may refer to: *Occitania, a region in southern France called ''Occitanie'' in French *Occitania (administrative region) Occitania ( ; french: Occitanie ; oc, Occitània ; ca, Occitània ) is the southernmost administrative region of ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. Its inhabitants are known as 'Bessanais' in French.

Geography

Built among vineyards on the river

Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France. Named after the Hérault River, its prefecture is Montpellier. It had a population of 1,175,623 in 2019.Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

, it contains the Ricard distillery and

Cactus Park Cactus Park (8 hectares) is a commercial park with a botanical garden containing thousands of cactus and succulents, as well as a modest animal collection including yaks, goats, sheep, ducks, etc. It is located in Bessan, Hérault, Languedoc-Rous ...

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

History

Around 600 BC, Greeks settled in Bessan on the

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretch ...

of Monadière to trade. In 218 BC the Carthaginian general

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

crossed the region with his army and war elephants to attack the Romans, passing between Bessan and Montblanc. In 408-409 AD

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a subprefecture of the Hérault department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hosts the famous ''Feria de Béziers'', which is centred on bullfighting. A million visitors are attra ...

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the Hérault department in Southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. Location Agde is located on the Hérault river, from the Mediterranean Sea, and from Paris. The Canal du Midi ...

and the region were ransacked by an army of Germanic ( Burgundians,

Suevi The Suebi (or Suebians, also spelled Suevi, Suavi) were a large group of Germanic peoples originally from the Elbe river region in what is now Germany and the Czech Republic. In the early Roman era they included many peoples with their own names ...

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who first inhabited what is now southern Poland. They established Vandal kingdoms on the Iberian Peninsula, Mediterranean islands, and North Africa in the fifth century. The Vandals migrated to the area be ...

), Slavic (

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

) and other tribes. In 737,

Charles Martel Charles Martel ( – 22 October 741) was a Frankish political and military leader who, as Duke and Prince of the Franks and Mayor of the Palace, was the de facto ruler of Francia from 718 until his death. He was a son of the Frankish state ...

entered the province at the head of the French, temporarily pushing back the

Saracens upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...

, and destroyed Béziers, Agde and the surrounding countryside to prevent the Saracens from returning and fortifying the region. 1050–1100, the fortified village of Bessan starts to be built. In 1209, the Crusader army, led by Simon de Montfort, seized the region under the pretext of hunting the

Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian Dualistic cosmology, dualist or Gnosticism, Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern ...

, and ten years later the castles of Bessan and Touroulle became the property of his son,

Amaury Amaury (from the Old French ''Amalric'') or Amauri may refer to: People Surname *Philippe Amaury (1940–2006), French publishing tycoon Given name * Amaury Duval (1760–1838), French writer *Amaury Duval (1808–1885), French painter *Amaury ...

. In 1278, the Bessanais had obtained the right to elect consuls (mayors) to deal with political affairs from their

seigneur ''Seigneur'' is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. A seigneur refers to the person or collective who owned a ''seigneurie'' (o ...

. In 1348,

the plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

killed a large proportion of the population. It returned several times thereafter. On the 30 October 1587, Antoine Scipio, the new Duke of Joyeuse and leader of the Catholics, took advantage of the governor of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximatel ...

s' absence in the Tarn with his army. Scipio seized and looted Bessan. In 1851, during the coup of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

, a cannon was pointed at the Grand'rue and some thirty republican Bessanais were deported. In 1907, the Bessanais was actively involved in the Midi wine revolt. In November 1942, German troops entered and occupied Bessan. They fled in August 1944, after the Allied landing in Provence.

Geography

History

Population

See also