The settlement is attested as Arausio and Arausion in the first and second centuries AD, then as civitas Arausione in the fourth century, civitas Arausicae in 517 (via a Germanized form *Arausinga), Aurengia civitatis in 1136, and as Orenga in 1205.[3][4]
The name Arausio can be explained as the Gaulishar-aus(i)o- ('temple, cheek'), itself derived from an earlier Proto-Celtic *far-aws(y)o-, which literally means 'in front of the ear' (cf. Old Irish ara, arae; Ancient Greek pareiaí, parauai < *par-ausiā).[4][5] It is cognate with the name of other ancient settlements, including Arausa, Arausia, Arausona (Dalmatia) and the nearby Oraison (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence).[4]
Roman Orange was founded in 35 BC by veterans of the second legion[6] as Arausio (after the local Celtic water god), or Colonia Julia Firma Secundanorum Arausio in full, "the Julian colony of Arausio established by the soldiers of the second legion." The name was originally unrelated to that of the orange fruit, but was later conflated with it.
A previous Celtic settlement with that name existed in the same place; a major battle, which is generally known as the Battle of Arausio, had been fought in 105 BC between two Roman armies and the Cimbri and Teutones tribes.
Arausio covered an area of some 70 ha (170 acres) and was well-endowed with civic monuments; in addition to the theatre and arch, it had a monumental temple complex and a forum.
It was the capital of a wide area of northern Provence, which was parcelled up into lots for the Roman colonists. "Orange of two thousand years ago was a miniature Rome, complete with many of the public buildings that would have been familiar to a citizen of the Roman Empire, except that the scale of the buildings had been reduced – a smaller theater to accommodate a smaller population, for example."[7] It is found in both the Tabula Peutingeriana and Le cadastre d'Orange maps.
The sovereign Carolingiancounts of Orange had their origin in the eighth century; they passed into the family of the lords of Baux. From the 12th century, Orange was raised to a minor principality, the Principality of Orange, as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. During this period, the town and the principality of Orange belonged to the administration and province of Dauphiné.
Artist's impression of 17th century city and its citadel, by G. Trouillet.
When William the Silent, count of Nassau, with estates in the Netherlands, inherited the title Prince of Orange in 1544, the principality was incorporated into the holdings of what became the House of Orange-Nassau. This pitched it into the Protestant side in the Wars of Religion, during which the town was badly damaged. In 1568, the Eighty Years' War began with William as stadtholder leading the bid for independence from Spain. William the Silent was assassinated in Delft in 1584. His son, Maurice of Nassau (Prince of Orange after his elder brother died in 1618), with the help of Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, solidified the independence of the Dutch republic. The United Provinces survived to become the Netherlands, which is still ruled by the House of Orange-Nassau. William, Prince of Orange, ruled England as William III. Orange gave its name to other Dutch-influenced parts of the world, such as the Oranges (West Orange, South Orange, East Orange, Orange) in New Jersey and the Orange Free State in South Africa.
The city remained part of scattered Nassau holdings until it was repeatedly captured by the forces of Louis XIV during his wars of the late 17th century. The city was occupied by France in 1673, 1679, 1690, 1697 and 1702–1713 before it was finally ceded to France in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht.[9] Following the French Revolution in 1789, Orange was absorbed into the French department of Drôme, then Bouches-du-Rhône, then finally Vaucluse. However, the title remained with the Dutch princes of Orange.
Orange attracted international attention in 1995, when it elected a member of the National Front (FN), Jacques Bompard, as its mayor. Bompard left the FN in 2005 and became a member of the conservative Movement for France (MPF) until 2010, when he founded the League of the South (LS).
The town is renowned for its Roman architecture, and its Roman theatre of Orange, is described as the most impressive still existing in Europe. The Triumphal Arch is of uncertain age, but current research accepts the inscription as evidence of a date during the reign of emperor Augustus. The arch also contains an inscription dedicated to emperor Tiberius in AD 27, when it was reconstructed to celebrate the victories of Germanicus over the German tribes in Rhineland. The arch, theatre, and surroundings were listed in 1981 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.[15]
The Musée (Museum) displays the biggest (7.56 x 5.90 m) cadastral Roman maps ever recovered, etched on marble. They cover the area between Orange, Nîmes, and Montélimar.
Culture
In 1869, the Roman theatre was restored and has been the site of a music festival. The festival, given the name Chorégies d'Orange in 1902, has been held annually ever since, and is now famous as an international opera festival.
Orange forms the Union of Orange Cities together with Breda, Diest and Dillenburg.[17]
Climate
Orange features a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with just too much rainfall in summer to have a 'Mediterranean' (Csa) classification. Summers are hot and relatively dry. Most rainfall occurs in spring and autumn, though with gentle temperatures. Winters are mild, but harsh frost and snow are not unheard of.[18] On 28 June 2019 the temperature reached 41.0 °C.[19][20]
Climate data for Orange, France (altitude 53m, 1981–2010 averages, extremes 1952–present)
^ abcDelamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. p. 51. ISBN9782877723695.
^Office de Tourisme d'Orange (2017-10-02). "History of Orange". City of Orange Tourist Office site. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
^Ina Caro, "The Road from the Past: Traveling through History in France".
^Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN978-88-209-9070-1), p. 845
^Cru, Jacques (2001). Histoire des Gorges du Verdon jusqu'à la Révolution (in French). Edisud. p. 220. ISBN2-7449-0139-3. coédition Édisud et Parc naturel régional du Verdon.
^"Orange (84)"(PDF). Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1981–2010 et records (in French). Meteo France. Archived from the original(PDF) on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
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