Tolosa
Tolosa, known today as Toulouse, is a historic city located in southwestern Gaul, situated on the north bank of the Garonne River. Originally the capital of the Volcae Tectosages, Tolosa played a significant role in the region's history, particularly during Roman times when it became a pivotal trade center for wine. Despite facing destruction by the Roman consul Quintus Servilius Caepio in 106 BC, the city was rebuilt and prospered, gaining prominence for its schools of rhetoric and rich literary culture, earning it the moniker Palladia in tribute to the goddess Athena. Tolosa was also notable for its early Christian heritage, with its first bishop martyred in the third century and later resisting German invaders in 408 under the leadership of Bishop Exuperius. Over the years, it changed hands multiple times, becoming the capital of a federated state under the Visigoths and later falling to Clovis the Frank in 508. The city's urban layout reflects its Roman origins, featuring a grid-like street plan, with archaeological findings revealing ancient structures such as a theater and public baths. Tolosa's historical significance is underscored by its role in the political developments of ancient Gaul, making it a site of considerable interest for those exploring Roman and early medieval history.
Subject Terms
Tolosa
(Toulouse)
A city in southwestern Gaul, on the right (north) bank of the river Garumna (Garonne). In pre-Roman times it was the capital of the Volcae Tectosages: this township was at Vieille-Toulouse, four miles south of the present town, linked to Narbo (Narbonne) by an ancient road, and controlling the route to Burdigala (Bordeaux). Subsequently the Volcae became allies of Rome after the establishment of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis (c 121).
In 106, however, after a rebellion, the Roman consul Quintus Servilius Caepio sacked this Tolosa, and captured its sacred treasure (aurum Tolosanum), which was believed to have been taken by the Gauls at Delphi, and lay under a curse (it subsequently disappeared, however, and he was defeated in the following year by the Germans). Nevertheless, Tolosa, reconstructed on a new site beneath the modern town, recovered and flourished, owing to its export of wine to Italy; and under the Principate it gained Latin rights (conferring Roman citizenship on its elected officials). The most famous native of Roman Tolosa was Marcus Antonius Primus, whose invasion of Italy in AD 69 gained the throne for Vespasian. But the city became chiefly famous for its schools of rhetoric and an advanced literary culture, which earned it the name Palladia, after the goddess Athena. The first Christian bishop of the place suffered martyrdom in the third century.
In 408 Tolosa was one of the few Gallic towns that successfully resisted the German invaders, thanks, it was said, to the energy of its bishop Exuperius. In 413, however, Rutilius Namatianus reports, it was captured by the Visigothic king Ataulf. Soon afterwards the Visigoths were compelled to leave for Spain, but when Constantius (III), the general of Honorius, recalled Wallia in 418 to establish a federated state in southern Gaul he established his capital at Tolosa. It was there, too, in 455, that Avitus was proclaimed western Roman emperor by the Visigoths, on the prompting of their monarch Theoderic. Tolosa was taken in 508 by Clovis the Frank.
The Roman city had been laid down according to a symmetrical grid lay-out, which can still be detected in the surviving street plan. The ancient buildings are buried to a depth of twelve feet, but the theater has been located, and portions of walls, perhaps of second- and fifth-century date, can be seen. Across the Garumna, three miles downstream at Saint-Michel-du-Touch, the ruins of an amphitheater and two large public bathing establishments have been recently excavated, near a sanctuary where the river is joined by its tributary the Touch. The route between Tolosa and Aquae Tarbellicae (Dax) was flanked by the huge villa of Chiragan, the second largest town in Gaul (the largest, at Montmaurin, was only thirteen miles away).