Editing Toulon (section)

==History==
{{see also|Timeline of Toulon}}

===Prehistory to the Roman era===
[[File:Toulon Cathedral Exterior.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Toulon Cathedral (11th to 18th centuries)]]
Archaeological excavations, such as those at the [[Cosquer Cave]] near [[Marseille]], show that the coast of [[Provence]] was inhabited since at least the [[Paleolithic]] era. [[Greeks|Greek]] colonists came from [[Phocaea]], [[Asia Minor]], in about the 7th century BC and established trading depots along the coast, including one, called Olbia, at Saint-Pierre de l'Almanarre south of [[Hyères]], to the east of Toulon. The [[Ligures|Ligurians]] settled in the area beginning in the 4th century BC.<ref>Aldo Bastié, Historie de la Provence, Éditions Ouest-France, 2001.</ref>

In the 2nd century BC, the residents of Massalia (present-day [[Marseille]]) called upon the [[Ancient Romans|Romans]] to help them pacify the region. The Romans defeated the Ligurians and began to start their own colonies along the coast.{{cn|date=November 2023}} A Roman settlement was founded at the present location of Toulon, with the name Telo Martius – Telo, either for the local god of springs [[Telo (mythology)|Telo]] or from the Latin ''tol'', the base of the hill – and [[Mars (mythology)|Martius]], for the god of war. Telo Martius became one of the two principal Roman [[dye]] manufacturing centres, producing the purple colour used in imperial robes, made from the local sea snail called [[murex]], and from the acorns of the oak trees. Toulon harbour became a shelter for trading ships, and the name of the town gradually changed from Telo to Tholon, Tolon, and Toulon.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

===Arrival of Christianity and the Counts of Provence===
{{expand section|date=July 2019}}
Toulon was Christianized in the 5th century, and the first cathedral built. [[Honoratus]] and Gratianus of Toulon (Gratien), according to the ''[[Gallia Christiana]]'', were the first bishops of [[Bishopric of Toulon|Toulon]], but [[Louis Duchesne]] gives [[Augustalis (bishop)|Augustalis]] as the first historical bishop. He assisted at councils in 441 and 442 and signed in 449 and 450 the letters addressed to [[Pope Leo I]] from the [[province of Arles]].{{cn|date=November 2023}}

A [[Cyprian of Toulon|Saint Cyprian]], disciple and biographer of [[Caesarius of Arles|St. Cæsarius of Arles]], is also mentioned as a Bishop of Toulon. His episcopate, begun in 524, had not come to an end in 541; he converted to Catholicism two [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] chiefs, Mandrier and Flavian, who became [[anchorite]]s and martyrs on the peninsula of Mandrier.<ref>A legend which states that a certain Cleon accompanied St. Lazarus to Gaul and was the founder of the Church of Toulon, is based on a 14th-century forgery that was ascribed to a 6th-century bishop named Didier.</ref> As barbarians invaded the region and Roman power crumbled, the town was frequently attacked by pirates and the [[Saracens]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/barbarians-history-invasions.html |access-date=2024-06-30 |website=study.com}}</ref>{{cn|date=November 2023}}

===Royal port (15th–18th centuries)===

{{Main|Ottoman wintering in Toulon}}
[[File:Tour royale.jpg|thumb|The Tour Royale (16th century)]] [[File:Barbarossa fleet wintering in Toulon 1543.jpg|thumb|[[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Barbarossa]]'s [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] fleet, of the [[Ottoman Algeria|Regency of Algiers]], wintering in the harbour of Toulon in 1543, with the [[Tour Royale, Toulon|Tour Royale]] (bottom right).]]
[[File:Opéra-Toulon.jpg|thumb|The Toulon Opera House (1862)]]
[[File:Université de Toulon batiment R.JPG|thumb|A view of the University campus]]
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
In 1486, Provence became part of France. Soon afterwards, in 1494, [[Charles VIII of France]], with the intention of making France a sea power on the Mediterranean, and to support his military campaign in Italy, began constructing a military port at the harbor of Toulon. His Italian campaign failed, and in 1497, the rulers of [[Genoa]], who controlled commerce on that part of the Mediterranean, blockaded the new port.

In 1524, as part of his longtime battle against Emperor [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and the [[Holy Roman Empire]], King [[Francis I of France|François I]] of [[Kingdom of France|France]] completed a powerful new fort, the [[Tour Royale, Toulon]], at the entrance of the harbour. However, a few months later the commander of the new fort sold it to the commander of an Army of the Holy Roman Empire, and Toulon surrendered.

In 1543, Francis I found a surprising new ally in his battle against the Holy Roman Empire. He invited the fleet of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Admiral [[Hayreddin Barbarossa|Barbarossa]] to Toulon as part of the [[Franco-Ottoman alliance]]. The residents were forced to leave (except for the heads of household), and the Ottoman sailors occupied the town for the winter.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-11-03 |title=Wintering in Toulon |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/wintering-in-toulon-33831 |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Hürriyet Daily News |language=en}}</ref> See [[Ottoman occupation of Toulon]].

In 1646, a fleet was gathered in Toulon for the major [[Battle of Orbetello]], also known as the Battle of Isola del Giglio, commanded by France's first Grand Admiral, the young Grand Admiral Marquis of Brézé, Jean Armand de Maillé-Bréze of 36 galleons, 20 galleys, and a large complement of minor vessels. This fleet carried aboard an army of 8,000 infantry and 800 cavalry and its baggage under Thomas of Savoy, shortly before a general in Spanish service.

King [[Louis XIV]] was determined to make France a major sea power. In 1660, his Minister [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]] ordered [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban]] to build a new arsenal and to fortify the town. In 1707, during the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], Toulon successfully resisted a siege by the Imperial Army led by Duke [[Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia]] of [[Duchy of Savoy|Savoy]] and [[Prince Eugene of Savoy|Prince Eugene]]. However, in 1720, the city was ravaged by the [[black plague]], coming from Marseille. Thirteen thousand people, or half the population, died.

In 1790, following the [[French Revolution]], Toulon became the administrative centre of the département of the [[Var (department)|Var]]. However, in 1793, the [[Jacobin]] administration of the city was swept from power, allowing [[Girondins]] and royalists to take their place; the city then rose up against the central administration of the First Republic and joined the [[Federalist revolts]]. The new Federalist administration surrendered the city and its fleet to the British. French Republican forces then undertook the [[siege of Toulon]], forcing the British to withdraw, taking a number of ships with them and destroying the rest of them. [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] served as an artillery captain during the event. To punish Toulon for its rebellion, the town lost its status as department capital and was briefly renamed '''{{lang|fr-FR|Port-la-Montagne}}''',<ref name="Archives">{{cite book |title=Table alphabetique et analytique des archives parlementaires, LXXXII |publisher=Archives Parlementaires |page=789 |url=https://sul-philologic.stanford.edu/philologic/archparl/navigate/83/4/ |access-date=10 November 2023 |language=fr |quote=Port-la-Montagne (Commune de). La Convention décrète que la commune de Toulon portera désormais le nom de Port-la-Montagne (4 nivôse an II — 24 décembre 1793, t. LXXXII, p. 259).}}</ref> after [[The Mountain]] faction.

===19th century===
[[File:Toulon 1850.jpg|thumb|View in 1850]]
During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], from 1803 until 1805 a British fleet led by Admiral [[Horatio Nelson]] blockaded Toulon.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1803-07-31 |title=Horatio Lord Nelson Signed Document Toulon Court Martial {{!}} Raab |url=https://www.raabcollection.com/foreign-figures-autographs/nelson-toulon-1803 |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=The Raab Collection |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 1820, the statue which became known as the [[Venus de Milo]] was discovered on the Greek island of Milo and seen by a French naval officer, Emile Voutier. He persuaded the French Ambassador to Turkey to buy it, and brought it to Toulon on his ship, the ''Estafette''. From Toulon it was taken to the [[Louvre]].<ref>Cyrille Roumagnac, ''L'Arsenal de Toulon et la Royale''. p. 43</ref>

In 1849, Louis-Napoleon named 
[[Georges Eugène Haussmann]] as the new Prefect of the [[Var (department)|Var]] department. He served there  only one year, but he laid out the current street plan for the city center, as he would later do for the city of Paris.

In the 1890s , there were the [[Kronstadt–Toulon naval visits|Kronstadt- Toulon naval visits]].

===20th century===
[[File:Hôtel Ville Toulon 1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Hôtel de Ville, Toulon|Hôtel de Ville]]]]
In August 1935, a year before the reign of the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]], violent uprisings of the workers of the Toulon shipyards opposed the [[Austerity|policy of austerity]]. This resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries; a [[state of emergency]] was imposed.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/09/archives/5-slain-at-toulon-disorders-spread-in-french-strikes-200-wounded-in.html ''Toulon disorders''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191204145034/https://www.nytimes.com/1935/08/09/archives/5-slain-at-toulon-disorders-spread-in-french-strikes-200-wounded-in.html |date=4 December 2019 }} [[The New York Times|New York Times]] 9 August 1935 (archive). Retrieved 24 November 2019.</ref>

During World War II, after the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] landings in North Africa ([[Operation Torch]]) the German Army occupied southern France ([[Case Anton]]), leading French naval officers to [[Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon|scuttle the French Fleet based at Toulon]] on 27 November 1942.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Porch |first=Douglas |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9781107239098/type/book |title=Defeat and Division: France at War, 1939–1942 |date=2022-07-31 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-23909-8 |edition=1 |pages=491–555 |chapter=10 - Torch |doi=10.1017/9781107239098.011}}</ref> The city was bombed by the Allies in November of the following year, with much of the port destroyed and five hundred residents killed.{{cn|date=November 2023}}

The [[Hôtel de Ville, Toulon|Hôtel de Ville]], centre of the administration of the city, was completed in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.varmatin.com/histoire/avec-lhotel-de-ville-de-toulon-de-mailly-prend-de-la-hauteur-458035|title=Avec l'hôtel de ville de Toulon, De Mailly prend de la hauteur|date=8 February 2020|newspaper=Var-martin|access-date=19 October 2024}}</ref>

In 1979, the [[University of the South, Toulon-Var|University of Toulon]] opened. Toulon was one of four French cities where the extreme-right [[Front National (France)|Front National]] won the local elections in 1995. The Front National was voted out of power in 2001.