History of Toulouse

The history of Toulouse, in Midi-Pyrénées, southern France, traces back to ancient times. After Roman rule, the city was ruled by the Visigoths and the Merovingian and Carolingian Franks. Capital of the County of Toulouse during the Middle Ages, today it is the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region.

Archaeological evidence dates human settlement in Toulouse to the 8th century BC. Its location was advantageous; the Garonne River bends westward toward the Atlantic Ocean, and can be crossed easily. People settled on the hills overlooking the river, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) south of present downtown Toulouse. Just north of the hills is a large plain suitable for agriculture, and the site was a center for trade between the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The city's early name was Tolosa; although researchers agree that it was probably Aquitanian (an ancestor of the Basque language), its meaning is unknown. Toulouse's name has remained almost unchanged through the centuries (rare for a French city), despite Celtic, Roman and Germanic invasions.

The first inhabitants were apparently the Aquitani, of whom little is known. Later came Iberians from the south, who (like the Aquitani) were non-Indo-Europeans. During the third century BC the Volcae Tectosages (a Gallic tribe from Belgium or southern Germany) arrived, the first Indo-Europeans in the region. They settled in Tolosa, intermarrying with the local people, and their Gaulish language became predominant. By 200 BC, Tolosa is attested on coins as the capital of the Volcae Tectosages (which Julius Caesar called Tolosates—singular Tolosas—in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico). According to archaeologists, Tolosa was one of the wealthiest and most important cities in Gaul during the pre-Roman era. Gold and silver mines were nearby, and offerings to its shrines and temples accumulated wealth in the city.

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