Viennensis or Gallia Viennensis was a Late Roman

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 ...

that derived its name from its capital Vienna (modern day

Vienne, Isère Vienne (; ) is a town in southeastern France, located south of Lyon, at the confluence of the Gère and the Rhône. It is the fourth-largest commune in the Isère department, of which it is a subprefecture alongside La Tour-du-Pin. Vienne w ...

), a Roman city, first located in

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 ...

. Vienna was first given the rank of colonia by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, after his Gallic campaigns in 58 BCE and 52 BCE, as a colony of veterans (''Colonia Julia Viennensium'');

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 ...

reinstated the rights after the romanized

Allobroges The Allobroges (Gaulish language, Gaulish: *''Allobrogis'', 'foreigner, exiled'; ) were a Gauls, Gallic people dwelling in a large territory between the Rhône river and the Alps during the Iron Age Europe, Iron Age and the Roman period. The Allob ...

had revolted which led to a temporary loss of the title;

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

eventually named it ''Colonia Julia Augusta Florentia Viennensium'' in 40 CE. During the reorganization of the provinces under the tetrachy of Diocletian in the early 4th century, Vienna then became the capital of the province of Viennensis with the tribes of the Allobrogi, Segovellauni, Helvii, Tricastini,

Vocontii The Vocontii (Gaulish: *''Uocontioi''; Ancient Greek, Greek: Οὐοκόντιοι, Οὐοκοντίων) were a Gauls, Gallic people dwelling on the western foothills of the Alps during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman period. The Vo ...

and Cavari. In the 5th century the province was further divided into Gallia Viennense I, with its capital Vienne, and Gallia Viennense II, with its capital

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

References

See also