Massalia

This article is about the ancient city. For other uses, see Massalia (disambiguation).
"Massilia" redirects here. For other uses, see Massilia (disambiguation).
Massalia
Μασσαλία (Ancient Greek)
c. 600 BC–49 BC
A silver drachma, dated 375–200 BC, bearing the head of the Greek goddess Artemis on the obverse and a lion on the reverse
Greek settlement in the Mediterranean; Massalia shown in southern Gaul.
CapitalMassalia
Common languagesIonic Greek
Religion
Greek Polytheism
GovernmentOligarchic republic
History 
• Founded by Greeks from Phocaea
c. 600 BC
• Alliance with the Roman Republic
2nd century BC
49 BC
CurrencyDrachma
 Succeeded by
Roman Republic

Massalia (Greek: Μασσαλία, romanized: Massalía; Latin: Massilia) was an ancient Greek colony (apoikia) on the Mediterranean coast, east of the Rhône. Settled by Ionians from Phocaea ca. 600 BC, this apoikia grew up rapidly, and became the center of Greek trade in western Mediterranean, branching out and creating many outposts on the coasts of what is now Spain, the south of France (including Corsica island), and northwestern Italy (modern Liguria). Massalia persisted as an independent colony until the Roman campaign in Gaul in the 1st century BC. The ruins of Massalia still exist in the contemporary city of Marseille, which is considered the oldest city of France and one of Europe's oldest continuously inhabited settlements.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.