Lyon is a city in the southeast of France. The area has been inhabited since prehistoric times and was one of the most important cities of the Roman Empire, Lugdunum. After the Battle of Lugdunum (197) the city never fully recovered, and Lyon was built out of its ashes becoming a part of the Kingdom of the Burgundians.
The site of Lyon exhibits many traces of Celtic occupation from before the Roman founding of Lugdunum, including Condate (located northwest of the current Place des Terreaux, along the river) and Vaise.[1] The name of Lugdunum is particularly attached to the Fourvière. Before the founding, the confluence of the Rhone and Saône was different than it is today: the Saône flowed at the foot of the hill—during the first century AD a second arm of the river was formed and progressively that grew until it became well-defined where the current Vieux Lyon neighborhood now is located.
It is possible that the Romans first settled Vienne and that these settlers provided an initial population nucleus for Lugdunum, but there is no proof of this.[2]
See main article: Lugdunum. Lugdunum was an important Roman city in Gaul that was located where Lyon stands today. It was founded in 43 BC under a policy of establishing settlements in newly conquered areas, with the aims of ensuring the stability of those areas and rewarding retired veteran soldiers with land and rights. The settlement initiatives were established by Julius Caesar, and included the cities of Vienne, Noviodunum (Switzerland), and Augusta Raurica. The indigenous people in this area were the Allobroges.
Lucius Munatius Plancus, a former officer under Julius Caesar, and later proconsul of Gaul Chevelue, is credited with founding the city. The true date of the founding is debated by historians.[3]
The colony was small and not heavily fortified, consisting of raised land and wooden palisades.[4]