Lugdunum
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Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum (modern: Lyon) was an important Roman city in Gaul. The city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus and served as the capital of the Roman Province Gallia Lugdunensis. For 300 years after its foundation Lugdunum was the most important city in north-western Europe.
The city was situated west of the confluence of the Rhone and Saone, on the Fourviere heights.
History
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After its foundation the city soon became the centre of Roman Gaul and Germany. The imperial mint established a branch and its large and cosmopolitan population made it the commercial and financial heart of the provinces. In 10 BC the Emperor Claudius was born there. In 177 its Christian community suffered one of the earliest persecutions. From 198 to 211 Legio I Minervia was camped in Lugdunum.
After 250 and the upheavals shaking the Empire, Roman attention shifted to the Rhine frontier and Lugdunum lost its prominence to Trier. However, the demise of the Roman Empire meant that the city became the centre of the Burgundian kingdom.
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