4000–2000 BCE The Neolithic site of Serre Paradis reveals the presence of semi-nomadic cultivators in the period 4000 to 3500 BCE on the site of Nîmes. The
menhir of Courbessac (or
La Poudrière) stands in a field, near the aerodrome. This limestone monolith of over in height dates to approximately 2500 BCE, and is considered the oldest monument in Nîmes.
1800–600 BCE The Bronze Age has left traces of villages that were made out of huts and branches. The population of the site increased during the Bronze Age.
600–121 BCE The hill of Mt. Cavalier was the site of the early
oppidum, which gave birth to the city. During the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, a surrounding wall was built with a
dry-stone tower at the summit, which was later incorporated into the
Tour Magne. The Greek geographer,
Strabo, mentioned that this town functioned as the regional capital for the
Volcae Arecomici, a
Celtic people. The city adopted the name of a local water deity,
Nemausus. The town had a healing spring. The
Warrior of Grezan is considered to be the most ancient indigenous sculpture in southern Gaul. In 123 BCE, the Roman general
Quintus Fabius Maximus launched a campaign against Gallic tribes in the area, eventually defeating the
Allobroges and the
Arverni, while the Volcae offered no resistance. The Roman province
Gallia Transalpina ("Gaul across the
Alps") was established in 121 BCE, and from 118 BCE, the
Via Domitia was constructed through the later site of the city.
Roman period File:Arena de Nimes.jpg|Amphitheater, used today for concerts and
bullfights File:2015-Arena-of-Nîmes-Interior.JPG|Amphiteatre Interior File:Nîmes-Temple de Diane-2.jpg|Temple of Diana File:Maison Carree in Nimes (16).jpg|Roman temple, the
Maison Carrée File:Nimes, Roman wall foundations.jpg|Roman wall foundations File:Nîmes La porte Auguste.png|The Augustan Gate The city arose on the important
Via Domitia which connected Italy with
Hispania. Nîmes became a Roman colony as
Colonia Nemausus sometime before 28 BCE, as witnessed by the earliest coins, which bear the abbreviation NEM. COL. Veterans of Julius Caesar's legions in his Nile campaigns were given plots of land to cultivate on the plain of Nîmes.
Augustus launched a major construction program in the city, as elsewhere throughout the Roman empire. Additionally, he ordered the construction of a long ring of ramparts in the city, reinforced by 14 towers; two gates remain today: the ''Porte d'Auguste
, and the Porte de France
. Internally, the city was organized around the cardo and decumanus, intersecting at the forum
. The Maison Carrée'' ("Square House"), an exceptionally well-preserved temple dating from the late 1st century BCE, stands as one of the finest surviving examples of
Roman temple architecture. Dedicated to
Roma and Augustus, it bears a striking resemblance to Rome's
Temple of Portunus, blending
Etruscan and
Greek design influences.
Carolingian rule brought relative peace, but
feudal times in the 12th century brought local troubles, which lasted until the days of
St. Louis. During that period Nîmes was jointly administered by a bishop, as well as by a civil authority headquartered in the old amphitheater, where lived the
Viguier ("Magistrate"), as well as the ''Viguier's
retainers, the Knights of the Arena. Meanwhile the city was represented by four Consuls, whose offices were located in the old Maison Carrée''. Despite incessant squabbling between competing feudal lords, Nîmes saw some progress both in commerce and industry as well as in stock-breeding and associated activities. After the last effort by
Raymond VII of Toulouse, St. Louis managed to establish royal power in the region which became
Languedoc. Nîmes thus finally came into the hands of the King of France.
Period of invasions During the 14th and 15th centuries the Rhône Valley underwent an uninterrupted series of invasions which ruined the economy and caused famine. Customs were forgotten, religious troubles developed (
see French Wars of Religion) and epidemics affected the city. Nîmes, which was one of the Protestant strongholds, felt the full force of repression and fratricidal confrontations (including the
Michelade massacre) which continued until the middle of the 17th century, adding to the misery of periodic outbreaks of plague.
17th century to the French Revolution In the middle of the 17th century Nîmes experienced a period of prosperity. Population growth caused the town to expand, and slum housing to be replaced. To this period also belong the reconstruction of Notre-Dame-Saint-Castor, the Bishop's palace and numerous mansions (
hôtels). This renaissance strengthened the manufacturing and industrial potential of the city, the population rising from 21,000 to 50,000 inhabitants. In this same period the Fountain gardens, the
Quais de la Fontaine, were laid out, the areas surrounding the
Maison Carrée and
the Amphitheatre were cleared of encroachments, whilst the entire population benefited from the atmosphere of prosperity.
From the French Revolution to the present Following a European economic crisis that hit Nîmes with full force, the
Revolutionary period awoke the slumbering demons of political and religious antagonism. The
White Terror added to natural calamities and economic recession, produced murder, pillage and arson until 1815. Order was however restored in the course of the century, and Nîmes became the metropolis of
Bas-Languedoc, diversifying its industry into new kinds of activity. At the same time the surrounding countryside adapted to market needs and shared in the general increase of wealth. During the Second World War,
Wehrmacht troops
occupied Vichy France in November 1942. On 22 April 1943,
Wehrmacht soldiers executed the
Maquis resistance fighters Jean Robert and Vinicio Faïta at Nîmes. On 27 May 1944, bombers of the
USAAF bombed the Nîmes marshalling yards. It was one of the preparations for
Operation Dragoon (landing operation in the Rhône delta) that started on 15 August 1944. The
2e Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie (2ºREI), the main motorised infantry regiment of the
French Foreign Legion, has been garrisoned in Nîmes since November 1983.
Archaeology In April 2024, a collection of glassware dating back to the
Roman period was discovered in Nîmes. The collection
includes strigils, ornate
glass vases, ceramics, a glass paste cup, lamps, fragments of funerary monuments, and
amphorae. == Geography ==