() was a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

in what is now the modern country of

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 ...

, part of the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

territory of

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital

Lugdunum Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Colonia (Roman), Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon, France, Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but cont ...

(today's

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 ...

), possibly Roman Europe's major city west of Italy, and a major imperial mint. Outside Lugdunum was the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls, where representatives met to celebrate the cult of Rome and Augustus.

History

In describing his conquest of Gaul (58–50 BC), Julius Caesar distinguished between in the south of Gaul, which already was a Roman province in his time, and the three other parts of Gaul: the territories of the , of the , and of the also known as the . The territory of the Galli extended from the rivers

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

and Marne in the north-east, which formed the boundary with , to the river

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

in the south-west, which formed the border with . Under

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, was created by reducing in size the territory of the Gauls (): the portion between the river

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

and the Garonne was given to , and central-eastern portions were given to the new province of . The map shows the extent after these reductions. The date of the creation of is under discussion, whether between 27 and 25 BC or between 16 and 13 BC, during Augustus' visits to Gaul. It was an imperial province, deemed important enough to be governed by an imperial

legate Legate may refer to: People * Bartholomew Legate (1575–1611), English martyr * Julie Anne Legate (born 1972), Canadian linguistics professor * William LeGate (born 1994), American entrepreneur Political and religious offices *Legatus, a hig ...

. Under the

Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their junior colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. I ...

(AD 296), it was first divided into two, , with its capital at Lyon, and , with its capital at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

. This division is recorded in the

Verona List The ''Laterculus Veronensis'' or Verona List is a list of Roman provinces and barbarian peoples from the time of the emperors Diocletian and Constantine I, most likely from AD 314. The list is transmitted only in a 7th-century manuscript preserve ...

. Both new provinces belonged to the

diocese of Gaul The Diocese of Gaul (Latin: Dioecesis Galliarum, "diocese of the Gaul rovince") was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, under the praetorian prefecture of Gaul. It encompassed northern and eastern Gaul, that is, modern France north and east of ...

, alongside the Helvetic, Belgian and German provinces.

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

() divided the provinces again. , with its capital at

Sens Sens () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France, 120 km southeast from Paris. Sens is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture and the second la ...

, was split off from Prima, while , with its capital at

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, was separated from . According to the , Prima was governed by a , while the other three were governed by a . All the provinces were gradually overrun by invading

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

and

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

during the 5th century. What was left of the provinces effectively ceased to exist in AD 486/487 when the Roman general Syagrius, who controlled and , was defeated by the Franks. The cities and of the four provinces are listed in the late 4th-century by their ethnic titles. The of Mâcon is a later addition to the . They are listed here with their conventional short names (where different from the ethnic name) and their modern names: * *#
(

) *#
(Augustodunum,

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

) *#
(Andematunnum,

Langres Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est. History As the capital ...

) *#
( Chalon-sur-Saone) *#
(

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

) * *#
(

) *#
(Augustodorum,

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

) *#
(Ingena,

Avranches Avranches (; ) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History Middle Ages By the end of the Roman period, th ...

) *#
(Mediolanum,

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

) *#
( Sées) *#
(Noviomagus,

Lisieux Lisieux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. It is the capital of the Pa ...

) *#
( Coutances) * *#
(Caesarodunum,

) *#
(Suindunum,

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

) *#
(Condate,

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

) *#
(Iuliomagus,

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

) *#
(Condivincum,

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

) *#
(Fanum Martis, Corseul) *#
(Darioritum,

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

) *#
(Vorgium, Carhaix) *#
(Noviodunum, Jublains) * *#
(Agedincum,

) *#
(Autricum,

Chartres Chartres () is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 1 ...

) *#
(

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

) *#
(Augustobona,

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

) *#
(Cenabum,

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) *#
(Iatinum,

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

)

Governors

*c. 21: Acilius Aviola *66-69

Junius Blaesus Quintus Junius Blaesus (died AD 31) was a Roman politician who lived during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He was the maternal uncle of Lucius Aelius Sejanus, the Praetorian Prefect of Emperor Tiberius. Career Almost nothing is known of ...

*78–80: Titus Tettienus Serenus *80–83: Gaius Cornelius Gallicanus *83–87: Lucius Minicius Rufus *Between 123 and 130: Tiberius Claudius QuartinusEck, , ''Chiron'' 13 (1983), p. 198 *Between 126 and 137: Titus Vitrasius Pollio *c. 146–149: Titus Flavius Longinus Quintus Marcius Turbo Géza Alföldy, (Bonn: Habelt Verlag, 1977), p. 255 *Between 138 and 161: ..Pacatus *Between 138 and 161: ..atin Pi ..tusAlföldy, , p. 256 *161–162: Gaius Popilius Carus Pedo *Between 161 and 168: Lucius Aemilius Frontinus *Between 160 and 169 ''or'' 177 and 180: ..Egr lius Plarianus Larcius Lepdus lavius ...ref name=Alföldy-256/> *187–188 or 185–189:

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

*c. 195–198: Titius Flavius Secundus PhilippianusPaul M. M. Leunissen, (Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben, 1989), p. 288 *c. 218: Tiberius Claudius Paulinus *220–222: Marcus Aedinius Julianus () *After 223: Badius Comnianus () * Between 240 and 245: Appius Alexander (''praeses provinciae'')Peter Herrmann, and Ûzmir Hasan Malay
"Statue Bases of the Mid Third Century A.D. from Smyrna"
''Epigraphica Anatolica'', 36 (2003), pp. 4–6

References

External links

Britannica

{{Coord, 45.7597, N, 4.8194, E, source:wikidata, display=title Provinces of the Roman Republic Provinces of Roman Gaul States and territories established in the 1st century BC States and territories disestablished in the 5th century History of Rhône-Alpes 20s BC establishments in the Roman Empire 486 disestablishments 480s disestablishments in the Roman Empire

History

Governors

See also

References

External links