In the middle of the 3rd century BC, a Celtic tribe, known as the Parisii, established themselves on the Île-de-la-Cité in the Seine River.  They fortified the island and named their settlement ‘Lutetia’, meaning “midwater-dwelling”.  Long before the Roman invasion, the Parisii were wealthy enough to have their own gold coins.  When the Roman legions came, in 52 BC, the Parisii burned and abandoned the town.   

The Roman conquerors extended the town to the adjacent southern, or Left Bank, of the Seine and built a forum, baths and laid out relatively straight streets.  They also renamed the town as Civitas Parisiorum and made it their regional capital. 

The Seine divided the town by entering from the southeast and snaking away to the north.  Over the successive years the city’s boundaries expanded outward in the manner of a circle.  With each expansion, the old ramparts were replaced by wide streets and boulevards and a newer system of defensive walls were erected around its perimeter. 

The later part of the 2nd century marked the commencement of a number of so-called barbarian invasions by Germanic tribes.  By the middle part of the 3rd century, the Left Bank town [the river’s south shore] had been destroyed by the barbarians, forcing its inhabitants to move to the Cité and to fortify the island. 

During the middle of the 3rd century, Saint-Denis is said to have introduced Christianity.  He became the town’s first bishop.  It wasn’t until the early part of the 4th century that the place became known as Paris.  Sometime between 360 and 436 AD, a wooden church was built on the Cité under Saint Marcel, the 9th bishop of Paris.  In 451, Sainte-Geneviève, Paris’ patron saint, is said to have inspired the city’s defenders to beat back the invasion of the Huns from the city’s walls.

                                                                 Medieval Paris ►