Le théâtre antique d'Arles a été construit à la fin du Ier siècle av. J.-C., sous le règne de l'empereur Auguste, juste après la fondation de la colonie romaine. Commencé vers 40/30 av. J.-C., il fut achevé vers l’an 12 av. J.-C. devenant ainsi l'un des premiers théâtres en pierre du monde romain.
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The Roman Theatre of Arles is a 1st-century Roman theatre, built during the reign of Caesar Augustus. It is located next to the Arles Amphitheatre in the city of Arles, Provence, France. Along with the other Roman and medieval buildings in Arles, the theatre was listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments site for their testimony to the ancient history of the city.
In Roman times, the theatre had 33 rows of steps and could seat 8000 people. It is as large as the Roman Theatre of Orange, although much less well-preserved.
During the Middle Ages, the theatre was used as a quarry, with the stone pillaged to build the city wall and other buildings. Today, only the stage area, orchestra section, seating rows, and two columns survive.
The Venus of Arles, a famous Roman statue made of marble, was found in pieces at the Roman theatre in 1651.
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The Church of St. Trophime is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral located in the city of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department of southern France. It was built between the 12th century and the 15th century, and is in the Romanesque architectural tradition. The sculptures over the church's portal, particularly the Last Judgement, and the columns in the adjacent cloister, are considered some of the finest examples of Romanesque sculpture.
The church was built upon the site of the 5th-century basilica of Arles, named for St. Stephen. In the 15th century a Gothic choir was added to the Romanesque nave.
Along with other medieval and Roman buildings in Arles, in 1981 the church was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments group.
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The Battle of Arles was fought between the Visigoths and the Western Roman Empire in 471. Prior to the battle, the Visigoths had advanced past the Bretons at the Battle of Déols in 469, and were expanding into Aquitaine. Alarmed with this development, Emperor Anthemius sent an expedition under Anthemiolus across the Alps against the Visigothic king Euric, who was besieging Arles. Euric crushed the Roman army and killed Anthemiolus and three Roman counts. Euric subsequently captured Arles and much of southern Gaul. The defeat in Gaul was a direct cause of the subsequent overthrow of Anthemius as emperor by Ricimer.
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The Battle of Arles was fought in 458 near Arelate between Western Roman Emperor Majorian and Visigothic king Theodoric II. After the assassination of Flavius Aetius in 454, the Visigoths began to expand their kingdom at the expense of the crumbling Roman administration in Gaul and Hispania. When Majorian became emperor in 457, the Visigoths under king Theodoric II had just recently defeated the Suebic Kingdom in north-west Hispania and were consolidating their hold on the rest of the Iberian Peninsula.
Majorian, a young, capable general in his late thirties, inherited a collapsing empire consisting of only Italy, Dalmatia, and some fractured territories in northern Gaul. He decided the first step towards consolidating the empire would be to confront the Visigoths in Septimania. Traveling with his generals Aegidius and Nepotianus, Majorian encountered the Visigothic king and his army at Arelate, at the mouth of the Rhodanus River. The ensuing battle was an overwhelming Gothic defeat. Theodoric II was forced to flee Arelate, abandon Septimania, and conclude a hasty peace treaty. The treaty returned all Visigothic territory in Hispania to the Romans, and the Visigoths were reduced to federate status.
The battle allowed Majorian to campaign deeper in Gaul against the Burgundian Kingdom, and later in Hispania against the Suebic Kingdom.
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The Battle of Arles was fought between the Visigoths and the Western Roman Empire in 435. The Visigoths and the Romans had previously been in peace after having fought each other at Arles in 425, but in 435 the Visigothic king Theodoric I again broke the peace treaty and invaded Gaul, laying siege to Arles once more. He was however defeated and driven away by the Romans under the leadership of Flavius Aetius and his largely Hunnic army. Two years later, Theodoric was defeated at a decisive battle at Narbonne.
Le théâtre s'inscrit sur le decumanus du quadrillage romain. Le théâtre antique d'Arles fait l’objet d’un classement au titre des monuments historiques par la liste de 1840.
