Читать книгу The River Rhone Cycle Route. From the Alps to the Mediterranean онлайн

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Roman France

Before the arrival of the Romans in the first century BC, the part of France through which the Rhone flows was inhabited by Iron Age Celtic tribes such as the Gauls (central France) and Allobroges (Alpine France). The Romans involved local tribal leaders in government and control of the territory and with improvements in the standard of living the conquered tribes soon became thoroughly romanised. Roman colonial cities were established at places such as Lyon (Stage 10), Vienne (Stage 11) and Arles (Stage 19), with many other settlements all along the Rhone. During the fourth century AD, the Romans came under increasing pressure from Germanic tribes from the north and by AD401 had withdrawn their legions from the western Alps and Rhone valley.

Vienne’s temple of Augustus and Livia is one of the best preserved Roman buildings in France (Stage 11)

The Franks and the foundation of France

After the Romans left there followed a period of tribal settlement. The Franks were a tribe that settled in northern France. From AD496, when Clovis I became their king and established a capital in Paris, the Frankish kingdom expanded by absorbing neighbouring states. After Charlemagne (a Frank, AD768–814) temporarily united much of western Europe, only for his Carolingian empire to be split in AD843, the Franks became the dominant regional force. Their kingdom, which became France, grew with expansion in all directions. To the southeast, the Dauphiné (the area between the Rhone and the Alps) was absorbed in 1349, Arles in 1378, Burgundy (north of Lyon) in 1477, Provence (the Mediterranean littoral) in 1481 and Franche-Comté (Jura) in 1678. Strong kings including Louis XIV (1638–1715) ruled as absolute monarchs over a feudal kingdom with a rigid class system, the Ancien Régime. In many towns the church held as much power as the local nobility. Avignon was papal territory, ruled by a legate appointed by the Pope.