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Luc-en-Diois (; ;
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: Lucus Augusti or Lucus) is a commune in the
Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.
department in southeastern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is situated on the river
Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.
.


History

The Latin name of Luc-en-Diois, Lucus Augusti or Lucus for short, evokes a crowned wood of the
Gauls The Gauls (; , ''Galátai'') were a group of Celts, Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman Gaul, Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). Th ...
. Perhaps this is the origin of this Roman capital installed in the first century BC at the foot of the mountains of Diois. It shared with Vaison-la-Romaine the title of chief city of Vocontii, an important romanized Gallic people. (
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
, ''Hist.'' i. 66, calls it ''municipium Vocontiorum''; Pliny iii. 4). Lucus was incorporated into the Roman province of
Gallia Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in Occitania and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the first ...
, and is placed by the Antonine Itinerary on a road from Vapincum (modern Gap) to Lugdunum (modern
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
): it is the first stage after Mons Seleucus, and lies between Mons Seleucus and Dea Vocontiorum (modern Die). The vestiges of the ancient city, which one supposes to be monumental, are partially hidden by landslide debris which having stopped the course of the river Drôme, caused the river to spread out and form lakes which further obscured the site. What is visible includes the remains of a large temple, built on the same model as that of Vienne, an arm of a monumental statue (more than 4 m in height) and many inscriptions are visible in Museums of Die and of Diois. For unknown reasons, the capital of Voconces was transferred to Die around the beginning of the 2nd century AD. Little by little, the city withered, eventually becoming a ''mansio'', merely a station on the side of a Roman road, by the beginning of 4th century. A fort was however installed at the same time at the top of the peak of Luc, in order to supervise the road, which acquired a strategic importance since the Roman armies fought on the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
. The road, which ran between the Durance and the Rhône, was the most practicable route in winter to connect
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and
Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
.


Population


See also

*
Communes of the Drôme department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** List of comm ...


References

* Communes of Drôme Populated places in pre-Roman Gaul Former populated places in France Vocontii {{Drôme-geo-stub