Ancient history There are traces of human settlement by prehistoric peoples, especially in the
Périgord, but the earliest attested inhabitants in the south-west were the
Aquitani, who were not considered
Celtic people, but more akin to the
Iberians (see
Gallia Aquitania). Although a number of different languages and dialects were in use in the area during ancient times, it is most likely that the prevailing language of Aquitaine during the late pre-historic to Roman period was an early form of the
Basque language. This has been demonstrated by various Aquitanian names and words that were recorded by the Romans, and which are currently easily readable as Basque. Whether this
Aquitanian language (
Proto-Basque) was a remnant of a Vasconic language group that once extended much farther, or it was generally limited to the Aquitaine/Basque region, is not known. One reason the language of Aquitaine is important is that Basque is the last surviving non-Indo-European language in western Europe and it has had some effect on the languages around it, including Spanish and, to a lesser extent, French. The original Aquitania (named after the inhabitants) at the time of Caesar's conquest of Gaul included the area bounded by the river
Garonne, the
Pyrenees and the Atlantic Ocean. The name may stem from Latin 'aqua', maybe derived from the town "Aquae Augustae", "Aquae Tarbellicae" or just "Aquis" (Dax, Akize in
modern Basque) or as a more general geographical feature. Under
Augustus'
Roman rule, from 27 BCE the province of Aquitania was further stretched to the north to the river
Loire, thus including proper
Gaul tribes along with old Aquitani south of the Garonne (cf.
Novempopulania and
Gascony) within the same region. In 392, the Roman imperial provinces were restructured as
Aquitania Prima (north-east),
Aquitania Secunda (centre) and
Aquitania Tertia, better known as
Novempopulania in the south-west.
Early Middle Ages Accounts of Aquitania during the Early Middle Ages are imprecise, but there was much unrest. The Visigoths were called into Gaul as
foederati, legalizing their status within the Empire. Eventually they established themselves as the
de facto rulers in south-west Gaul as central Roman rule collapsed.
Visigoths established their capital in
Toulouse, but their tenure on Aquitaine was feeble. In 507, they were expelled south to Hispania after their defeat in the
Battle of Vouillé by the Franks, who became the new rulers in the area to the south of the
Loire. The Roman Aquitania Tertia remained in place as
Novempopulania, where a duke was appointed to hold a grip over the Basques (
Vascones/Wascones, rendered
Gascons in English). These dukes were quite detached from central Frankish overlordship, sometimes governing as independent rulers with strong ties to their kinsmen south of the Pyrenees. As of 660, the foundations for an independent Aquitaine/Vasconia polity were established by the duke
Felix of Aquitaine, a magnate (
potente(m)) from Toulouse, probably of Gallo-Roman stock. Despite its nominal submission to the Merovingians, the ethnic make-up of the new Aquitanian realm was not Frankish, but Gallo-Roman north of the Garonne and in main towns and Basque, especially south of the Garonne. A united Basque-Aquitanian realm reached its heyday under
Odo the Great's rule. In 721, the Aquitanian duke fended
Umayyad troops (
Sarracens) off
at Toulouse, but in 732 (or 733, according to
Roger Collins), an Umayyad expedition commanded by
Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi defeated Odo next to Bordeaux, and went on to loot its way
up to Poitiers. Odo was required to pledge allegiance to the Frankish
Charles Martel in exchange for help against the advancing Arab forces. Basque-Aquitanian self-rule temporarily came to a halt, definitely in 768 after the assassination of
Waifer. In 781,
Charlemagne decided to proclaim his son
Louis King of Aquitaine within the
Carolingian Empire, ruling over a realm comprising the
Duchy of Aquitaine and the
Duchy of Vasconia. He suppressed various Basque (
Gascon) uprisings, even venturing into the lands of
Pamplona past the Pyrenees after ravaging
Gascony, with a view to imposing his authority also in the Vasconia to south of Pyrenees. According to his biography, he achieved everything he wanted and after staying overnight in Pamplona, on his way back his army was attacked
in Roncevaux in 812, but narrowly escaped an engagement at the Pyrenean passes.
Seguin (Sihiminus), count of Bordeaux and
Duke of Vasconia, seemed to have attempted a detachment from the Frankish central authority on Charlemagne's death. The new emperor Louis the Pious reacted by removing him from his capacity, which stirred the Basques into rebellion. The king in turn sent his troops to the territory, obtaining their submission in two campaigns and killing the duke, while his family crossed the Pyrenees and continued to foment risings against Frankish power. In 824, the
2nd Battle of Roncevaux took place, in which counts
Aeblus and
Aznar, Frankish vassals from the Duchy of Vasconia sent by the new King of Aquitaine, Pepin, were captured by the joint forces of
Iñigo Arista and the
Banu Qasi. Before Pepin's death, emperor Louis had appointed a new king in 832, his son
Charles the Bald, while the Aquitanian lords elected
Pepin II as king. This struggle for control of the kingdom led to a constant period of war between Charles, loyal to his father and the Carolingian power, and Pepin II, who relied more on the support of Basque and Aquitanian lords.
Ethnic make-up in the Early Middle Ages Despite the early conquest of southern Gaul by the Franks after the Battle of Vouillé in 507, the Frankish element was feeble south of the Loire, where Gothic and Gallo-Roman Law prevailed and a small Frankish settlement took place. However scarce, some Frankish population and nobles settled down in regions like Albigeois, Carcassonne (on the fringes of Septimania), Toulouse, and Provence and Lower Rhone (the last two not in Aquitaine). After the death of the king
Dagobert I, the Merovingian tenure south of the Loire became largely nominal, with the actual power being in the hands of autonomous regional leaders and counts. The Franks may have become largely assimilated to the preponderant Gallo-Roman culture by the 8th century, but their names were well in use by the ruling class, like Odo. Still, in the
Battle of Toulouse, the Aquitanian duke
Odo the Great was said to be leading an army of Aquitanians and Franks. On the other hand, the Franks did not mix with the Basques, keeping separate paths. In the periods before and after the Muslim thrust, the Basques are often cited in several accounts stirring against Frankish attempts to subdue Aquitaine (stretching up to Toulouse) and Vasconia, pointing to a not preponderant but clearly significant Basque presence in the former too. Recorded evidence points to their deployment across Aquitaine in a military capacity as a mainstay of the Duke's forces. 'Romans' are cited as living in the cities of Aquitaine, as opposed to the Franks (mid 8th century).
Aquitaine after the Treaty of Verdun After the 843
Treaty of Verdun, the defeat of
Pepin II of Aquitaine and the death of
Charles the Bald, the
Kingdom of Aquitaine (subsumed in
West Francia) ceased to have any relevance and the title of King of Aquitaine took on a nominal value. In 1058, the Duchy of Vasconia (Gascony) and Aquitaine merged under the rule of
William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine. The title "Duke of Aquitaine" was held by the counts of
Poitiers from the 10th to the 12th century.
English Aquitaine Aquitaine passed to France in 1137 when the duchess
Eleanor of Aquitaine married
Louis VII of France, but their marriage was annulled in 1152. When Eleanor's new husband became
King Henry II of England in 1154, the area became an English possession, and a cornerstone of the
Angevin Empire. Aquitaine remained English until the end of the
Hundred Years' War in 1453, when it was annexed by France. During the three hundred years that the region was ruled by the
Kings of England, links between Aquitaine and England strengthened, with large quantities of wine produced in southwestern France being exported to London,
Southampton, and other English ports. In fact, so much wine and other produce was being exported to London and sold that by the start of the Hundred Years' War the profits from Aquitaine were the principal source of the English King's income per annum.
After the Hundred Years' War The region served as a stronghold for the Protestant
Huguenots during the 16th and 17th centuries, who suffered persecution at the hands of the French Catholics. The Huguenots called upon the English crown for assistance against forces led by
Cardinal Richelieu. From the 13th century until the
French Revolution, Aquitaine was usually known as
Guyenne. ==Demographics==