# Nîmes and Arles flourish under the High Empire (117)

URL: https://history-france.com/timeline/117-nimes-and-arles-flourish-under-the-high-empire
Location: Southern Gaul

Southern cities prospered through Mediterranean commerce and Roman civic institutions. Within the broader Roman Gaul period, Roman conquest transformed Gaul through provincial government, roads, cities, citizenship and cultural exchange. The later empire brought Christianity, civil wars, frontier pressure and the rise of successor kingdoms. At this point in the timeline, the relevant governing authority is Roman Empire (Roman imperial rule in Gaul). Nîmes and Arles flourish under the High Empire mattered because it changed material life, state capacity, economic networks or France’s ability to project power. The event is positioned here so visitors can read it alongside changes in government, warfare, society, religion, culture and France’s wider international setting.

## Why it matters
Nîmes and Arles flourish under the High Empire mattered because it changed material life, state capacity, economic networks or France’s ability to project power.

Ruler at the time: [Roman Empire](https://history-france.com/rulers/roman-empire)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia topic lookup — Nîmes and Arles flourish under the High Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Search?search=N%C3%AEmes+and+Arles+flourish+under+the+High+Empire&go=Go)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Nîmes and Arles flourish under the High Empire](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=N%C3%AEmes+and+Arles+flourish+under+the+High+Empire)
- [Wikipedia — History of France overview](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_France)