- Lutecia was the Roman name for Paris. It was located on the Isle de la Cite and also on the south bank, which is near the confluence of the Rivers Seine and Marne in northern France.
- It was in the Roman Province of Gallia Lugdunensis. However, Lutecia was not the Roman capital, which was further south at Lyon.
History of Lutecia
- 300 BCE:
- Paris was originally an island city of a Gallic Tribe called the Parisii, built on the Isle de la Cite in the river Seine.
- 58-51 BCE:
- During the Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar defeated the Parisii in 52 BCE and their city was sacked.
- 52 BCE:
- Roman Paris then became known as Lutecia.
- 250 CE:
- St. Denis, the Christian Bishop of Paris was executed on the hill of Montmartre (martyrs hill) and his remains were buried on the site of the Basilica of St. Denis.
- 358 CE:
- The future Roman Emperor Julian (361-363 CE) recorded a flood of the River Seine in his Work ‘Misopogon’.
- 360 CE:
- Lutecia was renamed Parisius, after the Parisii Tribe.
- c.400 CE:
- The Notitia Dignitatum stated that a naval unit, the Classis Anderetianorum, was based in Paris.
- 451 CE:
- St. Genevieve (c.419-c.512 CE) saved Paris from Attila the Hun by convincing the population to stay at home and pray, rather then flee. Attila diverted to Orleans instead. St. Genevieve was then made the Patron Saint of Paris.
- Very little of the Roman city survives today. See Paris.
Lutecia