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80-629: It neighbours Saint-Raphaël , effectively forming one urban agglomeration. The north of the commune forms part of the Massif de l'Esterel . On 2 December 1959, the Malpasset Dam , on the Reyran River above the city of Fréjus, ruptured, killing over 400 people. The origins of Frejus probably lie with the Celto - Ligurian people who settled around the natural harbour of Aegytna. The remains of

160-452: A bust of Julius Caesar might have been thrown away or discreetly disposed of, because Caesar's portraits could have been viewed as politically dangerous possessions after the dictator's assassination. Historians and archaeologists not affiliated with the French administration, among them Paul Zanker, the renowned archaeologist and expert on Caesar and Augustus , were quick to question whether

240-601: A capacity of just over 17,000. A well known photography festival, Rencontres d'Arles , takes place in Arles every year, and the French national school of photography is located there. The major French publishing house Actes Sud is also situated in Arles. In the past years, several cultural organizations have set up a presence in Arles, such as the LUMA Foundation , the Fondation Vincent van Gogh Arles ,

320-589: A defensive wall are still visible on Mont Auriasque and Cap Capelin. The Phocaeans of Marseille later established an outpost on the site. Frejus was strategically situated at an important crossroads formed by the Via Julia Augusta (which ran between Italy and the Rhône) and the Via Domitia . Although there are only few traces of a settlement at that time, it is known that the poet Cornelius Gallus

400-563: A fishing village that was the commune of Saint-Raphaël. The coastal double-track rail link between Saint-Raphaël and Nice passes over a substantial viaduct constructed right on the shoreline at Anthéor. These tracks were of strategic importance to the Axis forces during World War II for supplying material to units in France. There were three separate air raids made on this viaduct from England, between September 1943 and February 1944, involving

480-603: A fraction of what it had been in Roman times, with much of old Arles lying in ruins. The town regained political and economic prominence in the 12th century, with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa traveling there in 1178 for his coronation. In the 12th century, it became a free city governed by an elected podestat (chief magistrate; literally "power"), who appointed the consuls and other magistrates. It retained this status until

560-558: A major port on the Rhône. In the 19th century, the establishment of railways diminished river trade, leading to the city declining in prominence. This made it a destination for the painter Vincent van Gogh, who arrived there on 21 February 1888. He was fascinated by the Provençal landscapes, producing over 300 paintings and drawings during his time in Arles. Many of his most famous paintings were completed there, including The Night Cafe ,

640-674: A private property, the sewers under the present rue Jean Jaures, the baptistry in Frejus Cathedral dates from the 5th century AD and columns there are from Roman buildings. No fewer than five public baths are known in the city, those of the Porte Dorée, the Plate-Forme, les Poiriers, Villeneuve (probably military, and incorporated in modern buildings) and on the Butte Saint-Antoine, three of which are outside

720-456: A total of thirty-one Lancaster bombers operating some seven hundred miles from base. Aircraft of the second raid flew on to Rabat, and from the third raid on to Sardinia. One Lancaster from the first raid was lost, and a flight lieutenant bomb aimer on the third raid was killed by enemy fire, some of which came from ships at sea. All the raids failed in their objective and the rail link was not severed. During World War II , on August 15, 1944, it

800-475: A transmitter aerial) at 492 m (1,614 ft), Pic du Cap Roux at 453 m (1,486 ft), and Pic d'Aurèle at 322 m (1,056 ft). Situated almost entirely on the Esterel Massif, the commune sits on soil of red porphyr, which makes for very picturesque scenes along the coast where the soil and rocks are exposed on cliff faces and rocky shores. Three important and spectacular rocks dominate

880-523: Is twinned with: Saint-Rapha%C3%ABl, Var Saint-Raphaël ( French: [sɛ̃ ʁafaɛl] ; Occitan : Sant Rafèu Occitan pronunciation: [ˈsan raˈfɛw] ) is a commune in the Var department , Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region , Southeastern France . Immediately to the west of Saint-Raphaël lies a larger and older town, Fréjus ; together they form an urban agglomeration known as Var Estérel Méditerranée, which also encompasses

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960-437: Is an annual ' Roc d'Azur ' mountain bike event. The Fréjus railway station offers connections to Saint-Raphaël, Les Arcs and Cannes and a few other regional destinations. Long distance destinations are accessible from the nearby Saint-Raphaël-Valescure station. The A8 autoroute connects Fréjus with Aix-en-Provence and Nice . Fréjus has a hot-summer mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ). Fréjus

1040-565: Is not known, but afterwards Vitellius retreated to Antipolis . The 4th century saw the creation of the Diocese of Fréjus , France's second largest after that of Lyon; the building of the first church is attested in 374 with the election of a bishop. Saint-Léonce became Bishop of Fréjus in 433 and wrote: "From 374, at the Council of Valencia, a bishop was appointed in Frejus, but he never came. I

1120-430: Is served by a number of airports in the region, most notably the major international airport of Marseille Provence approximately an hour's drive away. The A54 autoroute toll motorway, which locally connects Salon-de-Provence with Nîmes and in a wider sense forms part of European route E80 , passes by Arles. The Rhône , which for navigation purposes is classified as a Class V waterway as far upstream as Lyon ,

1200-458: Is the largest French commune in general. The commune's land area is roughly similar to that of Singapore . The city has a long history, and was of considerable importance in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis . The Roman and Romanesque Monuments of Arles were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1981 for their testimony to the history of the region. The city is famous for being

1280-413: Is well served by bus routes, and has a busy bus station in the town centre. Saint-Raphaël is twinned with: Arles Arles ( / ɑːr l ( z )/ ARL(Z) , US also / ˈ ɑːr əl / AR -əl , French: [aʁl] ; Provençal : Arle [ˈaʀle] in both classical and Mistralian norms ; Classical Latin : Arelate ) is a coastal city and commune in

1360-693: The Yellow Room , Starry Night Over the Rhone , and L'Arlésienne . Paul Gauguin visited van Gogh in Arles. However, van Gogh's mental health deteriorated and he became alarmingly eccentric, culminating in the ear-severing incident in December 1888 which resulted in two stays in the Old Hospital of Arles . The concerned Arlesians circulated a petition the following February demanding that van Gogh be confined. In May 1889, he voluntarily left Arles for

1440-1076: The Burgundians to turn over the Arelate to Burgundy, he was exiled for a year to Bordeaux in Aquitaine. Political tensions were evident again in 512, when Arles held out against Theodoric the Great . Caesarius was imprisoned and sent to Ravenna to explain his actions before the Ostrogothic king. The friction between the Arian Christianity of the Visigoths and the Catholicism of the bishops sent out from Rome established deep roots for religious heterodoxy , even heresy , in Occitan culture. At Treves in 385, Priscillian achieved

1520-728: The French Directory in Paris. During the First World War Fréjus became the main centre for hivernage (wintering) for the Senegalese Tirailleurs . The town also contained segregated hospitals with images of African village life painted on the walls. As a backdrop there is the Massif de l'Esterel . In 2014 , David Rachline of the National Front (later renamed National Rally)

1600-650: The French Revolution of 1789. Arles joined the countship of Provence in 1239, but, once more, its prominence was eclipsed by Marseilles. In 1378, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV made the Dauphin of France (later King Charles VI of France ) vicar of the moribund Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles for his lifetime. The kingdom ceased to have any political existence soon afterwards. Arles remained economically important for many years as

1680-572: The Manuel Rivera-Ortiz Foundation or the Lee Ufan Foundation. On top of that, there are countless galleries scattered throughout the city. Bullfights are conducted in the amphitheatre , including Provençal-style bullfights ( courses camarguaises ) in which the bull is not killed, but rather a team of athletic men attempt to remove a tassle from the bull's horn without getting injured. Every Easter and on

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1760-604: The Muslim Arabs after destroying Avignon. In 739. Charles definitely drove Maurontus to exile, and brought Provence to heel. Louis the Pious, in 829, placed Arles under royal protection and assigned it with special privileges. In 855, it was made the capital of a Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy , which included Burgundy and part of Provence, but was frequently terrorised by Saracen and Viking raiders. In 888, Rudolph, Count of Auxerre (now in north-western Burgundy), founded

1840-567: The Rhône near Arles, together with smaller statues of Marsyas in Hellenistic style and of the god Neptune from the third century AD. The larger bust was tentatively dated to 46 BC. Since the bust displayed several characteristics of an ageing person with wrinkles, deep naso-labial creases and hollows in his face, and since the archaeologists believed that Julius Caesar had founded the colony Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelate Sextanorum in 46 BC,

1920-536: The Saint-Paul asylum at nearby Saint-Rémy-de-Provence . Arles had an important and prominent Jewish community between the Roman era and the end of the 15th century. A local legend describes the first Jews in Arles as exiles from Judaea after Jerusalem fell to the Romans. Nevertheless, the first documented evidence of Jews in Arles is not before the fifth century, when a distinguished community already existed in

2000-480: The canton of Saint-Raphaël , also encompassing Fréjus and Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel, which is the economic and cultural centre of Eastern Var, within the arrondissement of Draguignan . Its inhabitants are called Raphaëlois in French generally, or Rafelencs in Provençal Occitan. In 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte and his forces arrived by ship from Egypt , prior to his coup d'état in Paris, and landed at

2080-408: The mistral , a cold wind which can cause sudden and severe frosts. Rainfall (636 mm per year) is fairly evenly distributed from September to May, with the summer drought being less marked than in other Mediterranean areas. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Arles proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Arles ceded part of its territory to

2160-527: The 9th centuries, Muslim invaders repeatedly raided the city. The sea encroached on the land while invasions by the Muslims and pirates left the monuments in ruin. By the 10th century there was very little left of the colony, mostly rubble. Sea-borne silt clogged up the port and led to the formation of a huge swampy plain, which then separated the village from the sea. Napoleon landed at Frejus on 9 October 1799, returning from Egypt in order to ostensibly defend

2240-552: The Jewish taxes to the clergy somewhat of a shield for the community from mob attacks, most frequent during the Crusades . The community lived relatively peacefully until the last decade of the 15th century, when they were expelled out of the city never to return. Several Jews did live in the city in the centuries after, though no community was found ever after. Nowadays, Jewish archaeological findings and texts from Arles can be found in

2320-606: The Roman conquest of Britain, was born in Forum Julii. He was father-in-law of the historian Tacitus, whose biography of Agricola mentions that Forum Julii was an "ancient and illustrious colony". The city was also mentioned several times in the writings of Strabo and Pliny the Elder . In early 69 the Battle of Forum Julii was fought between the armies of the rival emperors Otho and Vitellius . The exact location of this battle

2400-455: The Salic. Though his successors counted themselves kings of Arles, few went to be crowned in the cathedral. Most of the kingdom's territory was progressively incorporated into France. During these troubled times, the amphitheatre was converted into a fortress, with watchtowers built at each of the four quadrants and a minuscule walled town being constructed within. The population was by now only

2480-510: The Sirocco (very strong, southerly, hot) air flows, but these occur rarely. The wind velocity record was established on 30 January 1986, with gusts of 140 km (87 mi) per hour. The town's modern rail station is named Saint-Raphaël-Valescure and offers national, regional, and local train services: International scheduled air passenger services are available at: Private, commercial and freight services are conducted at: Saint-Raphaël

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2560-794: The South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region , in the former province of Provence . A large part of the Camargue , the largest wetlands in France, is located within the territory of the commune, which is the largest in Metropolitan France in terms of geographic territory. In non-metropolitan France, Maripasoula in French Guiana

2640-429: The archdiocese of Caesarius of Arles and Hilary of Arles . Additionally, many artists have lived and worked in this area, including Pablo Picasso , Paul Gauguin and Jacques Réattu . The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles from 1888 to 1889, and produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time there. These are held in internationally known museums and private collections around

2720-454: The area of Paris . In addition to the city proper in the north of the territory, the commune of Arles includes a number of outlying towns and hamlets, including Albaron, Gageron, Mas-Thibert, Moulès, Pont-de-Crau , Raphèle-lès-Arles, Saliers, Salin-de-Giraud and Le Sambuc. The Ligurians were in this area from about 800 BC. Later Celtic influences have also been discovered. The city became an important Phoenician trading port, before it

2800-580: The best collections of Roman sarcophagi to be found anywhere outside Rome itself. Other museums include the Musée Réattu and the Museon Arlaten . The courtyard of the Old Arles hospital, now named "Espace Van Gogh," is a center for Vincent van Gogh's works, several of which are masterpieces. The garden, framed on all four sides by buildings of the complex, is approached through arcades on

2880-501: The bridge. This unusual design was a way of coping with the river's frequent violent floods, which would have made short work of a conventional bridge. Nothing remains of the Roman bridge, which has been replaced by a more modern bridge near the same spot. The city reached a peak of influence during the 4th and 5th centuries, when Roman Emperors frequently used it as their headquarters during military campaigns in Europe. In 395, it became

2960-580: The bust is a portrait of Caesar. Many noted the lack of resemblances to Caesar's likenesses issued on coins during the last years of the dictator's life, and to the Tusculum bust of Caesar, which depicts Julius Caesar in his lifetime, either as a so-called zeitgesicht or as a direct portrait. After a further stylistic assessment, Zanker dated the Arles-bust to the Augustan period. Elkins argued for

3040-489: The channel, tending to confirm its long working life. It is thought that the wheels were overshot water wheels with the outflow from the top driving the next one down and so on, to the base of the hill. Vertical water mills were well known to the Romans, being described by Vitruvius in his De Architectura of 25 BC, and mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History of 77 AD. There are also later references to floating water mills from Byzantium and to sawmills on

3120-638: The city centre, called the Veillat; one at Boulouris; one at Le Dramont, and the fourth at Agay. There are two smaller ones at Anthéor and Le Trayas. Saint-Raphaël is separated from Fréjus by the River Pédégal: fed by the Garonne, the Adrets-of-l'Esterel, Saint-Jean-de-Cannes and Saint-Jean-de-l'Esterel. The River Agay flows from the mountains down through the village of that name, and is fed by

3200-502: The city walls. A probable military or naval camp was excavated at Aiguières, Villeneuve near the ancient shore line and associated with the nearby baths, and also a 4th-century mausoleum at rue de La Tourrache. The remains of a suburban villa are at La Rose des Sables. Roman road bridges still exist at Cantonniers and at Esclapes (with three arches), a fulling mill at Arsenal, and a necropolis in Sainte-Brigitte and fishponds on

3280-424: The city, the civitas forojuliensis, extended from Cabasse in the west to Fayence and Mons in the north. It became an important market town for craft and agricultural production. Agriculture developed with villa rusticas such as at Villepey and Saint-Raphaël . Mining of green sandstone and blue porphyry and fish farming contributed to the thriving economy. In 40 AD Gnaeus Julius Agricola , who later completed

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3360-479: The coast at Saint-Aygulf. The aqueduct is 42 km long and runs for 1.8 km on bridges and 500m on walls. Large parts of the aqueduct are still well preserved. An archaeological campaign in July 2005 revealed a portion of ancient rocky coast which showed it was almost one kilometre further inland than current estimates. In the middle of the 1st century AD at the time of the creation of Forum Iulii, this coastline

3440-631: The commune of Théoule-sur-Mer. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south of the whole Saint-Raphaël commune. St. Raphaël is located on the Côte d'Azur and enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, humid winters. The Mistral wind occurs, although sometimes the town is sheltered from this by the Massif des Maures and the Esterel. It is perhaps more exposed to the Levant (strong, easterly, wet) or

3520-428: The distinction of becoming the first Christian executed for heresy ( Manichaean in his case, see also Cathars , Camisards ). Despite this tension and the city's decline in the face of barbarian invasions, Arles remained a great religious centre. It hosted church councils (see Council of Arles ), the rival of Vienne , for hundreds of years. The Barbegal aqueduct and mill is a Roman watermill complex located on

3600-535: The end of the 1st century until about the end of the 3rd century. The capacity of the mills has been estimated at 4.5 tons of flour per day, sufficient to supply enough bread for 12,000 of the 30,000–40,000 inhabitants of Arelate at that time. A similar mill complex existed also on the Janiculum in Rome . Examination of the mill leat still just visible on one side of the hill shows a substantial accretion of lime in

3680-530: The first floor. A circulation gallery is located on the first and second floors. The LUMA Tower is a 56-meter tall construction, the center of the LUMA Arles arts center. In September–October 2007, divers led by Lucas Longas from the French Department of Subaquatic Archaeological Research, headed by Michel L'Hour, discovered a life-sized marble bust of an apparently important Roman person in

3760-467: The first weekend of September, during the feria , Arles also holds Spanish-style corridas (in which the bulls are killed) with an encierro (bull-running in the streets) preceding each fight. Parts of the films Ronin , At Eternity's Gate and Taxi 3 were filmed in Arles. Arles played a major role in Marseille-Provence 2013 , the year-long series of cultural events held in

3840-458: The harbour's sea entrance. The third, situated on the Île du Lion de Mer, would have been the primary beacon that ships would have navigated toward. As ships approached the harbour, the Triton lighthouse on the northern side of the channel into the harbour and the other lighthouse on the southern side would have marked the entrance and thus provided safe passage into the harbour. Between the 7th and

3920-471: The kingdom of Transjuran Burgundy (literally, beyond the Jura mountains), which included western Switzerland as far as the river Reuss, Valais , Geneva , Chablais and Bugey . In 933, Hugh of Arles ("Hugues de Provence") gave his kingdom up to Rudolph II, who merged the two kingdoms into a new Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles . In 1032, King Rudolph III died, and the kingdom was inherited by Emperor Conrad II

4000-403: The local museum. Arles has a hot summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa ) with a mean annual temperature of 14.6 °C (1948–1999). The summers are warm and moderately dry, with seasonal averages between 22 °C and 24 °C, and cool to mild winters with a mean temperature of about 7 °C. The city is constantly, but especially in the winter months, subject to the influence of

4080-450: The many coves and creeks formed between the natural region of the Esterel Massif ( Massif de l'Esterel ) and the sea. This places it second only to Marseilles, with fifty-seven kilometres (35 miles) of coastline. The commune is 89.59 km in extent. It is almost completely urbanised in the west, but includes over 60 km of protected areas of natural forest and the Esterel mountains. Saint-Raphaël has four large sandy beaches: one near

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4160-479: The marsh'. The river Rhône forks into two branches just upstream of Arles, forming the Camargue delta. Because the Camargue is for a large part administratively part of Arles, the commune as a whole is the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of territory. But its population numbers only slightly more than 50,000. Its area is 758.93 km (293.02 sq mi), which is more than seven times

4240-403: The mill complex, and a sluice which enabled the operators to control the water supply to the complex. The mill consisted of 16 water wheels in two separate rows built into a steep hillside. There are substantial masonry remains of the water channels and foundations of the individual mills, together with a staircase rising up the hill upon which the mills are built. The mills apparently operated from

4320-515: The new commune of Port-Saint-Louis-du-Rhône in 1904, and to the new commune of Saint-Martin-de-Crau in 1925. Arles has important Roman remnants, most of which have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1981 within the Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments group. They include: The town also has a museum of ancient history, the Musée de l'Arles et de la Provence antiques , with one of

4400-481: The old town is home to many other impressive remains, city walls, the two gates (of Rome, of Reyran), the square of Agricola with the gate of the Gauls, an exedra and the platform with a cistern on the Butte Saint-Antoine, the paving of the via Aurelia which passed through the city, the remains of the ancient harbour with the remains of the north quay, the lighthouse and quay of Augustus, a mosaic floor of fighting cocks in

4480-532: The persons involved in the find of having willfully invented their claims for publicity reasons. The French ministry of culture has not yet responded to the criticism and negative reviews. AC Arles-Avignon was a professional French football team. They previously played in Championnat de France Amateur, the fourth division in French football, but were dissolved in 2016. They play at the Parc des Sports , which has

4560-413: The province of Gallia Narbonensis . It covered an area of some 40 hectares (99 acres) and possessed a number of monuments, including an amphitheatre , triumphal arch , Roman circus , theatre , and a full circuit of walls. Ancient Arles was closer to the sea than it is now and served as a major port. The river has carried centuries of silt that has filled in the former harbor. The city had (and still has)

4640-625: The region after it was designated the European Capital of Culture for 2013. The city hosted a segment of the opening ceremony with a pyrotechnical performance by Groupe F on the banks of the Rhône. It also unveiled the new wing of the Musée Départemental Arles Antique as part of Marseille-Provence 2013. Arles's open-air street market is a major market in the region. It takes place on Saturday and Wednesday mornings. The Gare d'Arles railway station offers connections to Avignon , Nîmes , Marseille , Paris , Bordeaux and several regional destinations. Arles does not have its own commercial airport, but

4720-548: The river Moselle by the poet Ausonius . The use of multiple stacked sequences of reverse overshot water wheels was widespread in Roman mines. In 735, after raiding the Lower Rhône, Andalusian Saracens led by Yusuf ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri moved into the stronghold summoned by Count Maurontus , who feared Charles Martel 's expansionist ambitions, though this may have been an excuse to further Muslim expansion beyond Iberia. The next year, Charles campaigned south to Septimania and Provence, attacking and capturing Arles from

4800-468: The scientists came to the preliminary conclusion that the bust depicted a life-portrait of the Roman dictator: France's Minister of Culture Christine Albanel reported on 13 May 2008 that the bust would be the oldest representation of Caesar known today. The story was picked up by all larger media outlets. The realism of the portrait was said to place it in the tradition of late Republican portrait and genre sculptures. The archaeologists further claimed that

4880-424: The seascape: Cap Roux at 360 m (1,180 ft), Saint-Pilon at 295 m (968 ft), and the Rock of Saint-Barthélemy. Immediately to the west and north-west of Saint-Raphaël lies the ancient town of Fréjus. To the north lie the hamlets of Saint-Jean-de-l'Esterel et Saint-Jean-de-Cannes, both within the Fréjus commune. To the extreme north-east, beyond Le Trayas, is the small resort of Miramar, lying within

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4960-408: The seat of the Praetorian Prefecture of the Gauls , governing the western part of the Western Empire: Gaul proper plus Hispania (Spain) and Armorica ( Brittany ). At that time, the city was home to an estimated 75,000–100,000 people. It became a favorite city of Emperor Constantine I , who built baths there, substantial remains of which are still standing. His son, Constantine II ,

5040-403: The smaller communes of Les Adrets-de-l'Estérel , Puget-sur-Argens and Roquebrune-sur-Argens . In the second half of the 19th century, the township came under the influence of Mayor Felix Martin and writer Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr ; owing to their efforts and its beneficial climate the commune developed into a seaside resort popular with artists, sportsmen and politicians. It is the seat of

5120-475: The southernmost bridge on the Rhône. The recently discovered republican House of the Harpist is an exceptional example of ancient architecture and interior decoration. Dating from 70-50 BC, it has yielded elaborate frescoes. The Roman bridge was unique in that it was not fixed but consisted of a pontoon-style bridge of boats , with towers and drawbridges at each end. The boats were secured in place by anchors and were tethered to twin towers built just upstream of

5200-520: The streams Cabre, Perthus and Grenouillet. The Grenouillet is the most important of these streams, having average flows of between 43 cu m/s in July and 1160 cu m/s in January. The River Valescure, which is channelled through the Barrage des Crous (dam), discharges into the River Reyran at Fréjus . From east to west the commune has several mountain summits rising from the massif. Mont Vinaigre in Fréjus stands at 618 metres (2,028 feet), Rastel d'Agay at 287 m (942 ft), Pic de l'Ours (carrying

5280-412: The territory of the commune of Fontvieille , a few kilometres from Arles. The complex has been referred to as "the greatest known concentration of mechanical power in the ancient world ". The remains of the mill streams and buildings which housed the overshot water wheels are still visible at the site, and it is by far the best-preserved of ancient mills. There are two aqueducts which join just north of

5360-462: The third century AD as the terminus post quem for the deposition of the statues, refuting the claim that the bust was thrown away due to feared repercussions from Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. The main argument by the French archaeologists that Caesar had founded the colony in 46 BC proved to be incorrect, as the colony was founded by Caesar's former quaestor Tiberius Claudius Nero on the dictator's orders in his absence. Mary Beard has accused

5440-406: The town. Arles was an important Jewish crossroads, as a port city and close to Spain and the rest of Europe alike. It served a major role in the work of the Hachmei Provence group of famous Jewish scholars, translators and philosophers, who were most important to Judaism throughout the Middle Ages. In the eighth century, jurisdiction over the Jews of Arles was passed to the local Archbishop, making

5520-401: The world. An international photography festival has been held annually in the city since 1970. The settlement is attested as Arelate in the mid-1st century BC ( Caesar ), Areláte (Ἀρελάτε) in the early 1st c. AD ( Strabo ), Arlate civitas in 954, and Arle in the 13th century. The toponym Arelate is a Latinized form of the Gaulish * Arelati , meaning 'by the marsh', or 'in front of

5600-434: Was a narrow band of approximately 100m wide at the south of the Butte Saint-Antoine. Further archaeology has revealed much information on the ancient port. A Triton monument was discovered at the entrance to the harbour. This statue and the remains of a Roman building at the end of the eastern quay nearby, shows this site to be a lighthouse. Two lighthouses were constructed on the quays and a third assisted mariners in locating

5680-426: Was at Forum Julii that Octavius repatriated the galleys taken from Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC. Between 29 and 27 BC, it became a colony for his veterans of the 8th legion , adding the suffix Octavanorum Colonia . Augustus made the city the capital of the new province of Narbonensis in 22 BC, spurring rapid development. It became one of the most important ports in the Mediterranean; its port

5760-538: Was born in Arles. Usurper Constantine III declared himself emperor in the West (407–411) and made Arles his capital in 408. Arles became renowned as a cultural and religious centre during the late Roman Empire. It was the birthplace of Favorinus , known as the sceptical philosopher. It was also a key location for Roman Christianity and an important base for the Christianization of Gaul. The city's bishopric

5840-401: Was born there in 67 BC. Julius Caesar wanted to supplant Massalia and he founded the city as Forum Julii meaning 'market of Julius'. Tacitus also named its port claustra maris (gateway to sea). The exact date of the founding of Forum Julii is uncertain, but it was certainly before 43 BC since it appears in the correspondence between Plancus and Cicero and 49 BC is most likely. It

5920-484: Was elected Mayor of Fréjus. Fréjus is a resort town which hosts three to four times as many people as its regular inhabitants over the summer. It organises several fairs throughout the year; there is the pottery fair and the Bravade amongst its Roman and Gothic architecture with the 'old tile' roof tops and tinted walls. Port Fréjus which has a capacity of 750 moorings, is surrounded by beautiful fine sandy beaches. There

6000-675: Was held by a series of outstanding clerics, beginning with Saint Trophimus around 225 and continuing with Saint Honoratus , then Saint Hilarius in the first half of the 5th century. The political tension between the Catholic bishops of Arles and the Visigothic kings is epitomized in the career of the Frankish St. Caesarius, bishop of Arles 503–542. Suspected by the Arian Visigoth Alaric II of conspiring with

6080-596: Was one of the sites of a beach landing in Operation Dragoon , the Allied invasion of southern France . Saint-Raphaël is located at the extreme eastern end of the Var, along the border with the adjacent département of Alpes-Maritimes, which occupies the far south-eastern corner of France at the frontier with Italy. The commune has a total of thirty-six kilometres (22 miles) of Mediterranean coastline, owing mainly to

6160-460: Was stripped of its possessions, which were transferred to Arelate as a reward. The town was formally established as a colony for veterans of the Roman legion Legio VI Ferrata , which had its base there. Its full title as a colony was Colonia Iulia Paterna Arelatensium Sextanorum , "the ancestral Julian colony of Arles of the soldiers of the Sixth." Arelate was a city of considerable importance in

6240-518: Was taken over by the Romans . The Romans took the town in 123 BC and expanded it into an important city. They built a canal link to the Mediterranean Sea in 104 BC. Arles had to compete with Massalia (Marseille) further along the coast. Arles' leaders sided with Julius Caesar against Pompey , providing military support. Massalia backed Pompey; when Caesar emerged victorious, Massalia

6320-423: Was the first of the bishops of that city. I was able to build the first Cathedral with its Baptistery." The decay of Rome led to that of the cities of its empire. The richest architecture belongs to the Roman city whose many buildings make it the richest concentration of this period in France after Arles . The most notable are the amphitheatre , the aqueduct from Mons, Var , as well as the theatre. In addition

6400-513: Was the only naval base for the Roman fleet of Gaul which remained operative until the reign of Claudius and only the second port after Ostia until at least the time of Nero. Subsequently, under Tiberius , the major monuments and amenities still visible today were constructed: the amphitheatre, the aqueduct, the lighthouse, the baths and the theatre. Forum Julii had impressive walls of 3.7 km length that protected an area of 35 hectares. There were about six thousand inhabitants. The territory of

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