Editing Nîmes (section)

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

===4000–2000 BCE===
The Neolithic site of Serre Paradis reveals the presence of semi-nomadic cultivators in the period 4000 to 3500 BCE on the site of Nîmes.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The [[menhir]] of Courbessac (or La Poudrière) stands in a field, near the aerodrome. This limestone monolith of over two metres in height dates to about 2500 BCE, and is considered the oldest monument of Nîmes.

===1800–600 BCE===
The Bronze Age has left traces of villages that were made out of huts and branches.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} The population of the site increased during the Bronze Age.

===600–121 BCE===

The hill of Mt. Cavalier was the site of the early [[oppidum]] which gave birth to the city. During the third and 2nd centuries BCE a surrounding wall was built with a dry-stone tower at the summit which was later incorporated into the [[Tour Magne]]. 

[[Strabo]], the Greek geographer, mentioned that this town functioned as the regional capital for the [[Volcae Arecomici]], a [[Celts|Celtic]] people. The city adopted the name of a local water deity, [[Nemausus]]. The town had a healing spring.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Charles |title=Ancient cities: the archaeology of urban life in the ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-203-83057-4 |edition=2nd |location=London |pages=408}}</ref>

The Warrior of Grezan is considered to be the most ancient indigenous sculpture in southern Gaul.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Armit |first=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yibDmGZOeR4C&dq=The+Warrior+of+Grezan&pg=PA79 |title=Headhunting and the Body in Iron Age Europe |date=2012-03-19 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-87756-5 |language=en |access-date=28 July 2022 |archive-date=16 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916120525/https://books.google.com/books?id=yibDmGZOeR4C&dq=The+Warrior+of+Grezan&pg=PA79 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 123 BCE the Roman general [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Allobrogicus|Quintus Fabius Maximus]] campaigned against Gallic tribes in the area and defeated the [[Allobroges]] and the [[Arverni]], while the Volcae offered no resistance. The Roman province [[Gallia Transalpina]] was established in 121 BCE<ref>Maddison, Angus (2007), Contours of the World Economy 1–2030 AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 41, {{ISBN|9780191647581}}</ref> and from 118 BCE the [[Via Domitia]] was built through the later site of the city.

===Roman period===
{{See also|Maison Carrée|Nimes Aqueduct|Arena of Nîmes|Temple of Diana (Nîmes)}}<gallery mode="nolines" heights="60" style="text-align: center">
File:Arena de Nimes.jpg|Amphitheatre used today for concerts and bullfights
File:2015-Arena-of-Nîmes-Interior.JPG|Amphiteatre Interior
File:Nîmes-Temple de Diane-2.jpg|Temple of Diana
File:Maison Carree in Nimes (16).jpg|Roman temple, the "Maison Carrée"
File:Nimes, Roman wall foundations.jpg|Roman wall foundations
File:Nîmes La porte Auguste.png|The Augustan Gate
</gallery>The city arose on the important [[Via Domitia]] which connected Italy with [[Hispania]].

Nîmes became a Roman colony as ''Colonia Nemausus'' sometime before 28 BCE, as witnessed by the earliest coins, which bear the abbreviation <small>NEM. COL</small>, "Colony of Nemausus".<ref>Colin M. Kraay, "The Chronology of the coinage of Colonia Nemausus", ''Numismatic Chronicle'' '''15''' (1955), pp. 75–87.</ref> Veterans of Julius Caesar's legions in his Nile campaigns were given plots of land to cultivate on the plain of Nîmes.<ref>Alain Veyrac, "Le symbolisme de l'as de Nîmes au crocodile" ''Archéologie et histoire romaine'' vol. 1 (1998) ([http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/dha_0755-7256_2000_num_26_2_2560 on-line text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100405014021/http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/dha_0755-7256_2000_num_26_2_2560 |date=5 April 2010 }}).</ref>

[[Augustus]] started a major building program in the city, as elsewhere in the empire. He also gave the town a ring of ramparts 6&nbsp;km ({{convert|6|km|abbr=off|disp=output only}}) long, reinforced by 14 towers; two gates remain today: the Porte d'Auguste and the Porte de France. Internally, the city was organized around the [[cardo]] and [[decumanus]], intersecting at the forum. The [[Maison carrée|Maison Carrée]], an exceptionally well-preserved temple dating from the late 1st century BCE, stands as one of the finest surviving examples of [[Roman temple|Roman temple architecture]]. Dedicated to [[Roma (personification)|Roma]] and Augustus, it bears striking resemblance to Rome's [[Temple of Portunus]], blending [[Etruscan architecture|Etruscan]] and [[Ancient Greek architecture|Greek]] design influences.<ref name=":0" />

The great [[Nimes Aqueduct]], many of whose remains can be seen today outside of the city, was built to bring water from the hills to the north. Where it crossed the river [[Gardon|Gard]] between [[Uzès]] and [[Remoulins]], the spectacular [[Pont du Gard]] was built. This is {{cvt|20|km|0}} north east of the city.

The museum contains many fine objects including mosaic floors, frescoes and sculpture from rich houses and buildings found in excavations in and near the city. It is known that the town had a civil basilica, a curia, a gymnasium and perhaps a circus. The [[Arena of Nîmes|amphitheatre]] is very well preserved, dates from the end of the 2nd century and was one of the largest amphitheatres in the Empire. The so-called [[Temple of Diana (Nîmes)|Temple of Diana]] dating from Augustus and rebuilt in the 2nd century was not a temple but was centred on a [[nymphaeum]] located within the [[Sanctuaire de la Fontaine|Fontaine Sanctuary]] dedicated to Augustus and may have been a library.

The city was the birthplace of the family of emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] (138-161).

Emperor [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]] (306-337) endowed the city with baths.

It became the seat of the Diocesan Vicar,{{citation needed|date=May 2020}} the chief administrative officer of southern Gaul.

The town was prosperous until the end of the 3rd century when successive barbarian invasions slowed its development. During the 4th and 5th centuries, the nearby town of [[Arles]] enjoyed more prosperity. In the early 5th century the Praetorian Prefecture was moved from [[Trier]] in northeast Gaul to Arles.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The [[Visigoths]] captured the city in 472.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="105" caption="Finds from Roman Nimes in the Musée de la Romanité">
File:Mosaic Nimes 1.jpg|Mosaic of Europa and Zeus
File:Mosaic Nimes 2.jpg|Mosaic of still life
File:Mosaic Pentheus Nimes.jpg|Pentheus mosaic
File:Fresco Nimes 2.jpg|Fresco of war galleys
</gallery>

====4th–13th centuries====

{{multiple image
 | image1 = Augustus colonia nemausus dupondius type 4 obverse.jpg
 | image2 = Augustus colonia nemausus dupondius type 4 reverse.jpg
 | footer = Nîmes, [[dupondius]] of [[Augustus]], 10 – 14 a. D., Commemorating the conquest of [[Egypt]] in 30 BC.
Obverse: Back to back head of Agrippa left wearing rostral crown, and laureate head of Augustus right; on either side, inscription. Above and below, inscription. Border of dots. Lettering: "IMP P P DIVI F" ("IMPerator DIVI Filius Pater Patriæ", Emperor, Son of the Divine Father of the Nation).
Reverse: [[Crocodile]] to right, chained by neck to a [[palm-tree]] with tip bending left, two short palms on either side of trunk; on right, inscription; on left, inscription surmounted by a crown with two long tails to right. Border of dots. Lettering: "COL NEM" ("Colonia Nemausus", Colony of Nemausus)
}}

When the Visigoths were accepted into the Roman Empire, Nîmes was included in their territory in 472, even after the Frankish victory at the [[Battle of Vouillé]] (507). The urban landscape went through transformation with the Goths, but much of the heritage of the Roman era remained largely intact.{{Citation needed|date=October 2022}}

By 725, the Muslim [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyads]] had conquered the whole Visigothic territory of [[Septimania]] including Nîmes. In 736–737, [[Charles Martel]] and his brother led an expedition to Septimania and Provence, and largely destroyed the city (in the hands of Umayyads allied with the local Gallo-Roman and Gothic nobility), including the amphitheatre, thereafter heading back north. The Muslim government came to an end in 752, when [[Pepin the Short]] captured the city. In 754, an uprising took place against the Carolingian king, but was put down, and count Radulf, a Frank, appointed as master of the city. After the events connected with the war, Nîmes was now only a shadow of the opulent [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] city it had once been. The local authorities installed themselves in the remains of [[Arena of Nîmes|the amphitheatre]]. 
Islamic burials have been found in Nîmes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Netburn |first1=Deborah |title=Earliest Known Medieval Muslim Graves are Discovered in France |url=http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-muslim-graves-france-20160222-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=24 February 2016 |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=25 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225153655/http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-muslim-graves-france-20160222-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Newitz |first1=Annalee |title=Medieval Muslim Graves in France Reveal a Previously Unseen History |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/02/medieval-muslim-graves-in-france-reveal-a-previously-unseen-history/ |website=Ars Technica |date=24 February 2016 |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=1 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201112701/https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/02/medieval-muslim-graves-in-france-reveal-a-previously-unseen-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=France's Earliest 'Muslim Burials' Found |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35660488 |work=BBC News |date=25 February 2016 |access-date=3 December 2020 |archive-date=7 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170707025628/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35660488 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Gleize, Yves |author2=Mendisco, Fanny |author3=Pemonge, Marie-Hélène |author4=Hubert, Christophe |author5=Groppi, Alexis |author6=Houix, Bertrand |author7=Deguilloux, Marie-France |author8=Breuil, Jean-Yves |title=Early Medieval Muslim Graves in France: First Archaeological, Anthropological and Palaeogenomic Evidence |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=e0148583 |date=24 February 2016 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0148583 |pmid=26910855 |pmc=4765927 |bibcode=2016PLoSO..1148583G |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[Charlemegne|Carolingian]] rule brought relative peace, but feudal times in the 12th century brought local troubles, which lasted until the days of [[Louis IX of France|St. Louis]]. During that period Nîmes was jointly administered by a bishop, as well as by a civil authority headquartered in the old amphitheater, where lived the Magistrate/ Viguier, as well as the Viguier's retainers, the Knights of the Arena. Meanwhile the city was represented by four Consuls, whose offices were located in the old Maison Carrée.

Despite incessant feudal squabbling, Nîmes saw some progress both in commerce and industry as well as in stock-breeding and associated activities.  After the last effort by [[Raymond VII of Toulouse]], St. Louis managed to establish royal power in the region which became [[Languedoc]]. Nîmes thus finally came into the hands of the King of France.

===Period of invasions===

During the 14th and 15th centuries the Rhone Valley underwent an uninterrupted series of invasions which ruined the economy and caused famine.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} Customs were forgotten, religious troubles developed (''see [[French Wars of Religion]]'') and epidemics, all of which affected the city. Nîmes, which was one of the Protestant strongholds, felt the full force of repression and fratricidal confrontations (including the ''[[Michelade]]'' massacre) which continued until the middle of the 17th century, adding to the misery of periodic outbreaks of plague.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

===17th century to the French Revolution===
[[File:Les Quais de la Fontaine.jpg|thumb|left|Les Quais de la Fontaine, the embankments of the spring that provided water for the city, the first civic gardens of France, were laid out in 1738–1755.]]

In the middle of the 17th century Nîmes experienced a period of prosperity. Population growth caused the town to expand, and slum housing to be replaced. To this period also belong the reconstruction of Notre-Dame-Saint-Castor, the Bishop's palace and numerous mansions (hôtels). This renaissance strengthened the manufacturing and industrial potential of the city, the population rising from 21,000 to 50,000 inhabitants.

In this same period the Fountain gardens, the ''Quais de la Fontaine'', were laid out, the areas surrounding the Maison Carrée and [[Arena of Nîmes|the Amphitheatre]] were cleared of encroachments, whilst the entire population benefited from the atmosphere of prosperity.

===From the French Revolution to the present===
Following a European economic crisis that hit Nîmes with full force, the [[French Revolution|Revolutionary period]] awoke the slumbering demons of political and religious antagonism. The [[Second White Terror|White Terror]] added to natural calamities and economic recession, produced murder, pillage and arson until 1815. Order was however restored in the course of the century, and Nîmes became the metropolis of Bas-Languedoc, diversifying its industry into new kinds of activity. At the same time the surrounding countryside adapted to market needs and shared in the general increase of wealth.

During the Second World War, the Maquis resistance fighters Jean Robert and Vinicio Faïta were executed at Nîmes on 22 April 1943.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.midi-france.info/1016_ww2.htm|title=The History of the Languedoc: The Second World War (World War II)|website=www.midi-france.info}}</ref> The Nîmes marshalling yards were bombed by American bombers in 1944.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zplace2b.com/464th/sortie.htm|title=The 464th BG Mission List|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090324043355/http://www.zplace2b.com/464th/sortie.htm|archive-date=24 March 2009}}</ref>

The [[2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (France)|2e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie (2ºREI)]], the main motorised infantry regiment of the Foreign Legion, has been garrisoned in Nîmes since November 1983.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://2rei.legion-etrangere.com/mdl/info_seul.php?id=143&idA=28&block=15&idA_SM=0&titre=historique-du-2e-rei |title=Official Website of the 2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment, Historique du 2 REI, La Creation (Creation) |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-date=30 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630212436/http://2rei.legion-etrangere.com/mdl/info_seul.php?id=143&idA=28&block=15&idA_SM=0&titre=historique-du-2e-rei |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Archaeology ===
In April 2024, a collection of glassware dating back to the [[Roman Empire|Roman period]] was discovered in Nîmes. The collection includes [[Strigil|strigils]], ornate [[Roman glass|glass vases]], ceramics, a glass paste cup, lamps, and fragments of funerary monuments and [[Amphora|amphorae]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Milligan |first=Mark |date=2024-04-11 |title=Archaeologists uncover exquisite Roman glassware in Nîmes |url=https://www.heritagedaily.com/2024/04/archaeologists-uncover-exquisite-roman-glassware-in-nimes/151466 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=HeritageDaily - Archaeology News |language=en-US}}</ref>