subject: The Oldest City In Francemarseille [print this page] Marseille is a city which has not gained as much fame as Paris, but played a significant role in the history of France. In fact, Marseille is the oldest city in France and it can always distinguish itself from the rest of France.
Located on the south east coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, Marseille becomes the most important trade port of France no matter in the past or at present. The old port or Vieux-Port is situated at the end of the Canebire. It has been the natural harbour and marina of the city since antiquity. This important commercial port is guarded by Fort St Nicolas and Fort Saint Jean and nowadays it has become one of the most popular places to enjoy the food. Its role of being a trade port was replaced by the Port de la Joliette. Today, the economy of Marseille is dominated by the New Port, north of the Old Port, which serves as a commercial container port and a transport port for the Mediterranean Sea. It is the largest port in France and the third all over Europe as each year there are roughly 100 million tons of freight passing through the port.
It is estimated that the history of human inhabitants in Marseille is 30,000 years long. The city of Marseille was founded in 600 BC by Greeks and developed into one of the first Greek ports in Western Europe with a population of above 1000. In order to protect this colony, Greek allied itself with the Roman Empire, and thus Marseille joined into the complicated Roman market and saw the exports of Roman goods and wines and imports of slaves and new products. Before the advent of the time of Julius Caesar, Marseille enjoyed the peace. However, during the following civil war, as a part of the losing side, Marseille lost its independence in 49 BC. After the occupation of Rome, Marseille was called Massilia and the settlements with Greek style were replaced by the Roman traditions. It was also during the Roman time that Christianity first appeared in Marseille.
The Visigoths took over the city when Roman Empire declined. Until the mid 6th century, Frankish kings took Marseille back eventually and the city was granted civic power to continue to act as a trading port. In 10th century, the city revived and regained its power and position. Nonetheless, the later battles made the city suffer a lot. As a consequence of domestic and foreign siege, two forts we mentioned above were established to protect Marseille. The defense was improved and Marseille was named the port of empire during the first half of 20th century.
In spire of the oil crisis and economic downturn, the city today is famous for its oil refining ands high technology manufacturing.
When you come to explore the oldest city in France, do not forget to hire a car from the following car rental companies: easyCar, Europcar, Hertz, National, Thrifty, Avis, Sixt, Opodo, Enterprises, Holiday Autos, Carhiremarket, Carhire 3000, AutoEurope, ebookers, MyCarHire, and Expedia.
