Augustoritum

About

Augustoritum is the Latin name of the capital of the Gaulish people of Lemovices, from which the modern name of Limoges derives.

History: Augustoritum was founded at the time of the High Empire around 10 B.C.E. Emperor Augustus decided to establish a new capital of the Lemovies as part of the reorganization of the Gallic cities and provinces of the Roman Empire. The name Augustotoritum is derived from the elements Augusto- (in homage to the emperor Augustus, his founder) and -rito, forged in the Gaulish language. This city seems to have been among the most important agglomerations of Roman Gaul. The site chosen for the construction of the new city is a vast hillside on a smooth and regular slope overlooking the Vienna, oriented to the southeast and therefore little exposed to the winter frost, at the crossroads between the route between the Mediterranean and Armorica and the Agrippa road, linking Lugdunum (Lyon) to Mediolanum Santonum (Saintes). At this point the river presents a ford that facilitates its crossing. The city is on Puisinger's table. The barbaric invasions led to the decline of the Gallo-Roman city. A neighborhood is fortified around the PaleoChristian Cathedral...