. Massalia was established ca. 600 BC by
Ionian Greek settlers from
Phocaea, in Western
Anatolia. After the capture of Phocaea by the Persians in 545 BC, a new wave of settlers fled towards the colony. A creation myth telling the meeting between the Greeks and the local population is given by
Aristotle and
Pompeius Trogus (see
founding myth of Marseille). After the middle of the 6th century BC, Massalia became an important trading post of the western Mediterranean area. It grew into creating colonies of its own on the sea coast of
Gallia Narbonensis during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, including
Agathe (late 5th–early 4th c. BC), (ca. 325),
Tauroentium (early 3rd c.),
Antipolis and
Nikaia (ca. mid-3rd c.). Massalia was known in ancient times for its explorers:
Euthymenes travelled to the west African coast in the late 6th century BC, and
Pytheas explored northwestern Europe in the late 4th century BC. The colony remained a faithful ally of Rome during all of the
Punic Wars (264–146 BC), while still maintaining a strong navy. The retreat of
Carthage from the
Iberian coast after its defeat in the
Second Punic War (218–201) gave Massalia the dominancy over the
Gulf of Lion, and the fall of Carthage in 146 BC probably led to the intensification of trade between the Greek colony and the
Celtiberians. Archaeological evidence, in the form of amphora fragments, indicates that the Greeks were producing wine in the region (Provence) soon after they settled. By the time the Romans reached the area in 125 BC, the wine produced there had a reputation across the Mediterranean for high quality. Massalia initially chose neutrality during the
Civil War between
Caesar and the Senate, but sided with Caesar's opponents after the arrival of
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. The city was
besieged in 49 BC and eventually had to surrender to Caesar's army. Massalia lost most of its inland territory in the aftermath of this defeat. During the
Roman and
Late Antique periods, the city, then known as
Massilia in Latin, remained a major center of maritime trade. It became a
civitas within the Roman Empire at the latest ca. 300 AD. == Political system ==