Lugdunum

Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, Latin: [ɫʊɡ(ʊ)ˈduːnʊ̃ː]; modern Lyon, France) was an important Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but continued an existing Gallic settlement with a likely population of several thousands. It served as the capital of the Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis and was an important city in the western half of the Roman Empire for centuries. Two emperors, Claudius and Caracalla, were born in Lugdunum. In the period AD 69–192 , the city's population may have numbered 50,000 to 100,000, and possibly up to 200,000 inhabitants. The original Roman city was situated west of the confluence of the Rhône and Saône, on the Fourvière heights. By the late centuries of the empire much of the population was located in the Saône River valley at the foot of Fourvière.