Lutetia (sometimes Lutetia Parisiorum or Lucotecia, in French Lutèce) was a town in pre-Roman and Roman Gaul. The Gallo-Roman city was a forerunner of the re-established Merovingian town that is the ancestor of present-day Paris. Lutetia and Paris have little in common save their position where an island, the Île de la Cité created a convenient ford of the Seine. The Roman Era is a period in Western history, when ancient Rome was the center of power of the world around the Mediterranean Sea, where Latin was the lingua franca. ... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (from Latin Gallia, c. ... For other uses of the term Merovingian, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The ÃŽle de la Cité seen from the west, downstream The ÃŽle de la Cité, an island in the Seine river, is the center of Paris, France, and the location where the city was founded. ... This article is about the river in France. ...

Celtic origins

Somewhere in the immediate area was the chief settlement or oppidum of the Parisii, a Celtic people who settled in the area during the 3rd century BC. However, dendrochronological study of wooden pilings beneath the lowest stratum of the Roman north-south axis date the road's construction after 4 CE, more than fifty years after the Roman pacification of the region. To the Romans, an oppidum (pl: oppida) was Latin for the main settlement in any administrative area. ... The Parisii (or Quarisii) were a Celtic Iron Age people that lived on the banks of the river Seine (in Latin, Sequana) in Gaul from the middle of the third century B.C. until the Roman era. ... A Celtic cross. ... // Events The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Gaulish migration to Macedonia, Thrace and Galatia 281 BCE Antiochus I Soter, on the assassination of his father Seleucus becomes emperor of the Seleucid empire. ... Pinus taeda Cross section showing annual rings, Cheraw, South Carolina Pine stump showing growth rings Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree ring patterns. ...

Roman Lutetia was founded above the flood-prone point where the Bièvre stream reaches the river Seine, centered on the slopes of the hill later dedicated to Saint Genevieve, on the left bank of the Seine (modern-day Quartier Latin). There were outlying suburbs on an island across from the confluence, the Île de la Cité, which was the Merovingian and modern centre of Paris. Bièvre is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Namur. ... The Murray River in Australia. ... This article is about the river in France. ... In Roman Catholicism, Saint Genevieve (Nanterre near Paris, ca 419/422 - Paris 512) is the patron of Paris. ... The Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) is an area in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France, around the Sorbonne University. ... The ÃŽle de la Cité seen from the west, downstream The ÃŽle de la Cité, an island in the Seine river, is the center of Paris, France, and the location where the city was founded. ... For other uses of the term Merovingian, see Merovingian (disambiguation). ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

The name of Lutetia was first recorded by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars (notably in book 7, chapters 57-58). The name seems to be related to an Indo-European root meaning "mud", reflecting the marshy surroundings, which the Romans avoided. Bust of Julius Caesar Painting of Gaius Julius Caesar A coin with Julius Caesars head on it Gaius Julius Caesar (Classical Latin: IMP·C·IVLIVS·CAESAR·DIVVS¹) (b. ... De Bello Gallico (literally On the Gallic Wars in Latin) is an account written by Julius Caesar about his nine years of war in Gaul. ... The Indo-European languages include some 443 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects, including most of the major language families of Europe, as well as many languages of Southwest and South Asia, which belong to a single superfamily. ... In computer gaming, a MUD (multi-user dungeon, dimension, or sometimes domain) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash style computer games, and social instant messaging chat rooms. ... Freshwater marsh in Florida In geography, a marsh is a type of wetland, featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water. ...

Urbanization

The regular grid-plan of Roman Lutetia marked it as the city, in the Gallo-Roman sense. The city was the only sector in which, starting in the 2nd century CE, public monuments were constructed. The north-south axis was dictated by the need to cross the marshy riverbanks in the shortest possible distance; several routes converged at the bridgehead. The Roman public works were all on the north-facing slope of the hill of Ste Genevieve. The discovery of ancient paved roads, the established boundaries of the main monuments—the forum at the top of the hill, theatre, baths— even the path of certain medieval roads show that the Roman city was laid out with a module of precisely 300 Roman feet. On the Left Bank, the Rue St-Jacques and on the Right Bank, the Rue St-Martin still follow the Roman main axis (cardo maximus).

An aqueduct 26 km in length, with a flow rate estimated at 2000 cubic meters a day, watered the city with spring water collected from several points. To bridge the Bièvre valley at Arcueil-Cachan, a bridge was required, whose piers and ruined arches, still discernable, gave rise to the toponym Arcueil. In geography and cartography, a toponym is a place name, a geographical name, a proper name of locality, region, or some other part of Earths surface or its natural or artificial feature. ...

The amphitheatre, built into the slope of the hillside outside the city itself, is commonly referred to as Les Arènes de Lutèce. It was one of the largest such structures in Gaul.

Events

The town was captured by the Roman Republic in 52 BC during the conquest of Gaul under Caesar. See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC - 50s BC - 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC Years: 57 BC 56 BC 55 BC 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49... Map of Gaul circa 58 BC Gaul (from Latin Gallia, c. ...

The Lutetians backed the revolt of Vercingetorix against the Romans under Caesar, reportedly contributing 8,000 men to Vercingetorix's army. It was garrisoned by Vercingetorix's lieutenant Camulogenus, whose army camped on the Mons Lutetius (where the Panthéon is now situated). The Romans crushed the rebels at nearby Melun and took control of Lutetia. Vercingetorix (72 BC - 46 BC), (French: Vercingétorix) chieftain of the Arverni, led the great Gallic revolt against the Romans in 53-52 BC. His name in Gaulish means super-warrior-king (wer-kingeto-rÄ«ks). ... The Panthéon The Panthéon is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France. ... Melun is a French city and commune on the river Seine, about 50 km south-southeast of Paris. ...

Under Roman rule, Lutetia was thoroughly Romanised with a population estimated at around 8,000 people. It did not have a great deal of political importance - the capital of its province, Lugdunensis Senona, was Agedincum (modern Sens, Yonne). It was Christianised in the 3rd century, traditionally when St Denis became the city's first bishop. The process was not entirely peaceful - in about 250 St Denis and two companions were arrested and decapitated on the hill of Mons Mercurius, where Roman foundations have been found, thereafter known as Mons Martyrum (Martyrs' Hill, or Montmartre). Inside the cathedral of Sens, Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, c. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once (a political shift as much as a spontaneous mass shift in individual consciences), also includes the practice... // Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ... Saint Denis, also known as Denys, Dionysius, or Dennis is a Christian saint, bishop of Paris, martyr, and a patron saint of France. ... Events Diophantus writes Arithmetica the first systematic treatise on algebra. ... (1897), a painting by Camille Pissarro of the boulevard that led to Montmartre as seen from his hotel room. ...

Lutetia was renamed Paris in 212, taking its name from the Celtic "Parisii" tribe name. The name had already been used for centuries as an adjective ("Parisiacus"). Around the same time, the city quarter on the left Seine bank, which housed the baths, the theatres and the amphitheatre, was gradually abandoned with the population being concentrated on the island, which received new fortifications. The classical theater began to be dismantled during the 4th century. Events Roman Emperor Caracalla decrees that freemen throughout the Roman Empire become Roman Citizens. ... Viewed historically or developmentally, a tribe consists of a social formation existing before the development of, or outside of, states. ... An adjective is a part of speech which modifies a noun, usually making its meaning more specific. ... The term thermae was the word the ancient Romans used for the buildings housing their public baths. ... The name amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is given to a public building of the Classical period (being particularly associated with ancient Rome) which was used for spectator sports, games and displays. ... Nakhal Fort, one of the best-preserved forts in Oman. ...

For the history of the city after its renaming, see the article on Paris. The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

Present-day remains

Very little is now left of the ancient city. In a small park on high ground in the Latin Quarter of the Left Bank, tucked behind apartment blocks, one may still see some remains of the 1st century amphitheatre (Arènes de Lutèce). Furthermore, there are the remains of public baths at the Musée de Cluny (frigidarium with vault intact and caldarium), the Early Christian archeological crypt under the Notre Dame forecourt and the catacombs under Montparnasse. The Quartier Latin (Latin Quarter) is an area in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France, around the Sorbonne University. ... The left bank of a river is the bank on the left when looking in the direction of flow towards the sea. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100. ... The name amphitheatre (alternatively amphitheater) is given to a public building of the Classical period (being particularly associated with ancient Rome) which was used for spectator sports, games and displays. ... The Arènes de Lutèce are some of the only remaining ruins from the Gallo-Roman era in Paris (formerly known as Lutèce in French or Lutetia in Latin), along with the remains of the public baths at Cluny. ... The Musée de Cluny, officially known as Musée National du Moyen Âge, is a museum in Paris, France, at 6 Place Paul Painlevé, south of the Blvd St. ... A frigidarium is a large cold pool to drop into after enjoying a hot Roman bath. ... Caldarium from the Roman Baths at Bath, England. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... Crypt is also a commonly used name of water trumpets, aquatic plants. ... Notre Dame de Paris, Western Facade. ... In architecture a forecourt is an open area in front of a structures entrance. ... The word catacomb comes from Greek kata kumbas (L. ad catacumbas), near the low place and originally it meant a certain burial district in Rome. ... The Montparnasse Tower, which at 209m was the tallest building in Western Europe when it was built. ...

Further reading

• Philippe de Carbonnières, Lutèce: Paris ville romaine (Gallimard 2001², ISBN 2-07-053389-1)

Related facts

There is also an asteroid named 21 Lutetia; and the element lutetium was named after the city, in honour of its discovery in a Paris laboratory. An asteroid is a small, solid object in our Solar System, orbiting the Sun. ... 21 Lutetia (loo TET ee a) is a large Main belt asteroid, about 100 kilometers in diameter. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lutetium, Lu, 71 Chemical series lanthanides Group, Period, Block ?, 6, d Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 174. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Lutetia

• "Paris, a Roman city"
• Arènes de Lutèce - Paris Parks & Gardens