The Roman Province of Gallia Narbonensis around 58 BCE.

The Roman Empire ca. 120 AD, with the province of Gallia Narbonensis highlighted.

Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa Languedoc ( in French Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former Province of France, now continued in the modern-day ''régions'' of Languedoc-Roussillon Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

Names

It had previously been known as Gallia Transalpina (Transalpine Gaul). The province of Gallia Transalpina was later renamed Gallia Narbonensis, after its capital the Roman colony of Narbo Martius (Narbonne), which was founded on the coast in 118 BC. Narbonne ( Narbona in Catalan and in Occitan, the Roman Narbo) is a commune in southwestern France in the The Romans called it Provincia Nostra ("our province") or simply Provincia ("the province"), being the first significant permanent conquest outside the Italian peninsula. The name has survived in the modern French name of the region, Provence, now a région of France. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Provence ( Provençal Occitan: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm is a region of southeastern France France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica,

History

Bordering directly on Italy, control of the province gave the Roman state several advantages, such as control of the land route between Italy and the Iberian peninsula; a buffer against attacks on Italy by tribes from Gaul; and control of the lucrative trade routes of the Rhone valley, over which commercial goods flowed between Gaul and the trading center of Massalia, modern Marseille. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western The Rhone, or the Rhône is one of the major Rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ

The area became a Roman province in 121 BC, originally under the name of Gallia Transalpina (Transalpine Gaul). In Ancient Rome, a province (Latin provincia, pl provinciae) was the basic and until the Tetrarchy (circa This name was chosen to distinguish it from Cisalpine Gaul. Cisalpine Gaul ( Latin: Gallia Cisalpina, meaning " Gaul on this side of the Alps " was the Roman name for a geographical area (later Transalpine means "the far side of the Alps", while Cisalpine means "this side of the Alps". Cisalpine Gaul was on the east of the Alps range, in what is now northern Italy and parts of France; while Transalpine Gaul was to the west, in what is now south-east France. Together, the regions made up the region of Gaul, which was called Gallia by the Romans. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western