Provence

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Provence, historical and cultural region encompassing the southeastern French départements of Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and Var. It is roughly coextensive with the former province of Provence and with the present-day region of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur (q.v.).

With the establishment of Greek colonies (among them Massilia [modern Marseille]) in the area by the beginning of the 6th century bc, Provence was first oriented toward the civilization of the Mediterranean. In 125 bc the Massiliots appealed to the Romans for help against a coalition of neighbouring Celts and Ligurians. The Romans defeated the coalition but remained in occupation of the region. Thus, by the end of the 2nd century bc, Provence formed part of Gallia Transalpina, the first Roman provincia beyond the Alps, from which the area took its name. By the 4th century ad, Arles, an important meeting place for merchants, was the seat of the prefecture of all Gaul, and Marseille was the main centre of Greek studies in the west.

With the breakdown of the Roman Empire in the late 5th century, Provence was successively invaded by the Visigoths, Burgundians, and Ostrogoths. The region came under the rule of the Franks in about 536 and was subsequently ruled by their Merovingian dynasty, though it was not integrated with the rest of France.

The great Carolingian rulers made Frankish rule effective in Provence, but, after the collapse of Carolingian rule, Provence formed part of a series of kingdoms set up between France and Germany: the first kingdom of Provence from 855 to 863; the second kingdom of Provence from 879 to about 934; and Burgundy-Provence, the kingdom of Arles, which was nominally attached to the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. By the end of the 10th century, a local dynasty (which had led the region’s defense against invasions by the Muslims) dominated the area and had acquired the title of count of Provence. With the end of this dynasty in 1113, the house of Barcelona gained the title, and Provence was ruled by the Spanish from Catalonia for more than a century.

In the 12th century, Provençal cities flourished from trade with the Levant and set up autonomous governments called consulates. At the same time, the civilization of the province—in which a language close to Latin was spoken and of which troubadour poetry and examples of early Romanesque architecture were among the outstanding cultural achievements—was at its height.

The Albigensian Crusade of the early 13th century, in which the Roman Catholic church suppressed the Cathari sect of southern France, introduced into Provence the influence of the papacy and northern France (although Provence, not being a stronghold of the Cathari, escaped devastation). The popes acquired Comtat Venaissin (in northern Provence, along the Rhône River) in the early 13th century and took up residence in Avignon from 1309 to 1377. Northern French influence in Provence dates from 1246, when Provence passed to the Angevin ruler Charles of Anjou, brother of King Louis IX. The province was at first subordinated to the Italian interests of these Angevin counts of Provence, who were also kings of Naples, but their reign witnessed the development of many of the region’s characteristic political institutions, notably its Estates (assembly), which had the power to approve taxes and to help govern the province in times of disorder in the late 14th century.

In 1481 Provence was willed to the king of France, and its union to the crown was effected on the condition that Provence keep its administrative autonomy. From the 16th to the 18th century, however, control by the king grew. In 1673 the généralité of Aix was established as the seat of an intendant (royal governor), while the Estates of Provence were not convened between 1639 and 1787, until just prior to the French Revolution.

With the Revolution, the province completely lost its own political institutions and in 1790 was divided into the départements of Bouches-du-Rhône, Var, and Basses-Alpes (now Alpes-de-Haute-Provence). (The département of Vaucluse was added after the annexation of Comtat Venaissin in 1791 and that of Alpes-Maritimes with the annexation of the countship of Nice in 1860.)

The region comprises the Mediterranean coastline of southeastern France and its immediate (predominantly hilly or mountainous) hinterland. Provence is mostly Roman Catholic, though there are sizable Protestant enclaves around Marseille and in Vaucluse around Lourmarin and Merindol. Repatriated émigrés from North Africa have greatly increased the number of Jews in Provence. Occitan continues to be spoken in the Comtat Venaissin.