War runs through the whole history of Provence and dominates the corpus gathered here: 86 dates out of 258, more than any other theme. From the Salyan revolts against Rome to the liberation of Marseille in August 1944, Marseille, Aix, Arles and Toulon return again and again as the stage for conflict. Yet this mass falls away sharply from one period to the next: 31 dates in Antiquity, 31 in the Middle Ages, 15 in the early modern period, 9 in the contemporary era. War weighs less as the country becomes bound into larger, steadier arrangements.
This map follows that decline date by date, from the Punic wars and Saracen raids to the two August days of 1944 that returned Marseille and Toulon to France. Annibal, Charles I of Anjou, Guise and Hubert de Vins each appear in their own period, against the same places recurring as fixed points under changing threats.
What the corpus attaches to this theme
Places most present : Marseille, Provence, Aix, Italie, Arles, Toulon, Rome, Avignon
Figures most present : Gaspard de Pontevès, comte de Carcès, Charles Ier d'Anjou, Guise, Annibal, Pompée, Raimond VII de Toulouse, Louis IX, Hubert de Vins
Antiquity
4th century BC
Celtic populations move south, at the time of the taking of Rome by the Gauls
217 BC
Marseille takes part in the naval victory of the Ebro, during the Second Punic War
181 and 154 BC
First Roman interventions against the Oxybii and the Deceates
125 BC
The Salluvii attack the Massaliotes on their territory, with the support of the Vocontii; Marseille appeals to Rome for help and the Senate sends the consul M. Fulvius Flaccus
125-121 BC
War of the Romans against the coalition of the Ligurians, Salluvii, Vocontii, Allobroges and Arverni
124 and 123 BC
The consul Caius Sextius Calvinus joins his predecessor's army rather than relieving it, a sign of Rome's intent to settle, and resumes operations against the Salluvii
109 BC then 105 BC
The Cimbri reach the Sequani (109), then destroy two Roman armies near Orange on 6 October 105
102 BC
Victory of Marius over the Teutons, near Aix
90 BC
Revolt of the Salluvii, punished by the army of C. Cecilius
83 BC
New revolt, spreading to the Celtic tribes of the Transalpine region and to the north of Spain, put down by Valerius Flaccus
Spring 49 BC
Caesar lays siege to Marseille, which capitulates after two naval battles
15 March 44 BC
Assassination of Caesar in the Senate, followed by thirteen years of wars down to Actium
31 BC
In the aftermath of Actium, Octavian stations part of his fleet at Fréjus
6 BC
End of the pacification of the Alpine borderlands, marked by Augustus's trophy at La Turbie
3rd century
Invasions ravage Gaul but entirely spare Narbonensis
309-310
Constantine lays siege to Marseille, where Maximian had taken refuge
408-411
Arles falls for a time into the hands of a usurper, another Constantine
410
Founding of the Lérins islands by Honoratus; sack of Rome by the Visigoths of Alaric
413
The Visigoths of Alaric cross south-eastern Gaul on their way to Spain
426, 452, 458
Unsuccessful Visigothic incursions on the eastern bank of the Rhône
Since 443
The Burgundians, transferred to Savoy, progressively reach Valence, Die and Embrun
451
Battle of the Catalaunian Plains
470
The Burgundians reach the Durance
476
Euric takes Arles then Marseille and becomes master of lower Provence; Busquet places the end of ancient Provence here
481
The Franks enter the scene and begin their advance, before conquering Gaul as far as between the Somme and the Loire
484
Death of Euric at Arles; the Burgundians immediately cross the Durance and become masters of the whole of Provence
500
Clovis attacks the Burgundians, prevails at first then fails before Avignon; Alaric II intervenes as mediator
507
Battle of Vouillé, death of Alaric II, Visigothic king, at the hands of Clovis, converted to orthodox Christianity
508
The Ostrogothic king Theoderic lifts the siege of Arles, enters Marseille and takes Avignon
510
Theoderic restores the praetorian prefecture of the Gauls at Arles; the Ostrogoths also retake Nîmes, Narbonne, Orange and Valence
523
Ostrogothic advance as far as the Isère; Theoderic buys Burgundian neutrality with what they still held in Provence, all of Provence passes to the Ostrogoths
534
The sons of Clovis subdue Burgundy and divide it between them; Theudebert lays siege to Arles, repulsed by the patrician Liberius
535
Execution of Amalasuntha, providing the pretext for the Gothic war
536 (536-537 according to Wikipedia)
The Franks seize the country, integration of Provence into the Frankish kingdom
Middle Ages
536
End of Ostrogothic rule, Provence passes to the Franks
725
First Arab raid touching Provence: after conquering Septimania, the Arabs cross the Rhône and advance to plunder Lyon, Autun and Luxeuil
732
Victory of Charles Martel forcing the Arabs to retreat into Narbonensis
734
Maurontus calls in Andalusian forces, hostility met by Charles Martel
736
Revolt of Maurontus and first repression by Charles Martel, who seizes Arles and Marseille
737
Destruction of the Andalusian fleet at Avignon
737 to 739
Second campaign of Charles Martel, aided by the Lombards: renewed capture of Avignon, capture of Arles, siege and sack of Marseille
813
First manifestation of Saracen piracy on the coasts, Nice ravaged
after 814
Saracen incursions grow bolder
838
Saracen raid on Marseille, sack of the city and destruction of Saint-Victor
842
The Saracens sail up the Rhône and plunder Arles
848
Raid by Greeks on Marseille, in the time of Emperor Michael III the Drunkard, great booty carried off
850
A Saracen attack on Arles fails thanks to the defence organised by the count of Vienne
859
The Normans appear in the Camargue and ravage it in the following years
869
The Normans abduct Archbishop Rotland, who had come to lead the defence of the coast at Notre-Dame de la Mer
883
Saracen settlement in the Massif du Freinet, above the Gulf of Saint-Tropez
902 then 905
Capture of Louis the Blind by Berengar of Friuli during the retaking of Pavia (summer 902), then return to Italy despite his oath, and blinding (905)
972
Capture of Maïeul, abbot of Cluny, by the Saracens of the Freinet
974
Final expulsion of the Saracens from the Freinet
end of July 1131
Death of Raimond Bérenger I (III in Catalonia); his counties divided between his two sons, opening the Baussenque wars
13 September 1213
Death of Peter II of Aragon at Muret
1229
Submission of Nice to the count of Provence
1266
Victory of Benevento against the last Hohenstaufen
1268
Victory of Tagliacozzo
30 March 1282
Uprising of the Sicilian Vespers
1291
Fall of Acre, weakening of relations with the Levant
night of 18 to 19 September 1345
Assassination of Andrew of Hungary at Aversa
1357 to 1358
Campaign of Arnaud de Cervole, known as the Archpriest, in Provence
1368 to 1369
Irruption of Du Guesclin's troops into Provence, capture of Tarascon
November 1380
Charles of Duras enters Italy at the head of a Hungarian army
1 June 1381
Charles of Duras receives from the pope the investiture of the kingdom of Naples, which he seizes on 16 July
27 July 1382
Death of Queen Jeanne, put to death in prison, passage of the county to Louis I of Anjou
1436
René sets out to conquer his kingdom of Naples
Early modern period
1524
Capture of Toulon and Aix, siege of Marseille by imperial troops led by the constable of Bourbon alone, who had defected to the enemy, execution of Honoré de Puget on the order of François I
1525
Defeat and capture of François I at Pavia
1536
Second imperial invasion, led by Charles V in person, halted before Marseille and Arles, Charles V having himself proclaimed king of Arles at Aix during the invasion
April 1545
Massacre of the Vaudois of the Lubéron, including that of Mérindol, on the order of the first president Maynier d'Oppède
1561 to 1598
Wars of Religion in Provence, several periods of fighting
1590 to 1592
The Duke of Savoy Charles-Emmanuel leads campaigns in Provence (victory at Riez, defeats at Esparon, Vinon and Pontcharra) before withdrawing
8 April 1593
Attack by the duke of Epernon on Marseille, 4,000 arquebusiers and 1,200 horsemen, repelled by the people of Marseille
25 June 1593
On the feast of Corpus Christi, Epernon undertakes the formal siege of Aix
17 February 1596
Assassination of Casaulx by Libertat at the Porte Réale of Marseille, ending the Marseille dictatorship
27 May 1596
Epernon obeys the royal summons to leave the province, end of the civil war
2 March 1660
Louis XIV enters Marseille in person through a breach in the ramparts
1691 to 1706
The county of Nice is conquered by France, returned, then reconquered
June to August 1707
The Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugène lay siege to Toulon, then are repelled beyond the Var
November 1746
An Austro-Savoyard invasion coming from the Alps is repelled by Marshal de Belle-Isle
1756 to 1763
Seven Years' War: Marseille and Toulon serve as naval operations bases
Read the period: Early modern period
Contemporary period
10 August 1792
The people of Marseille are at the forefront of the assault on the Tuileries
18 December 1793
Capture of Toulon from the English, national impact, start of Bonaparte's career
1 March 1815
Napoleon, having landed, bivouacs at Cannes and then at Grasse, on his way to Paris
1 August 1914
General mobilisation, 140,000 men registered in the barracks in Provence, Marseille becomes a port of war
24 August 1914
An article in the newspaper Le Matin triggers the "affaire du 15e corps"
11 November 1942
Invasion of the previously unoccupied zone by German and Italian forces, scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon
15 August 1944
Allied landing in Provence (Operation Dragoon)
23 August 1944
Liberation of Marseille through the entry of the French army and the local uprising
28 August 1944
Surrender of the German garrison entrenched at Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, in Toulon