Toulon

Sister cities

• La Spezia
• Mannheim
• Kronstadt
• Herzliya

History

Archaeological excavations, such as those at the Cosquer Cave near Marseille, show that the coast of Provence was inhabited since at least the Paleolithic era. Greek colonists came from Phocaea, Asia Minor, in about the 7th century BC and established trading depots along the coast, including one, called Olbia, at Saint-Pierre de l'Almanarre south of Hyères, to the east of Toulon. The Ligurians settled in the area beginning in the 4th century BC. In the 2nd century BC, the residents of Massalia (present-day Marseille) called upon the Romans to help them pacify the region. The Romans defeated the Ligurians and began to start their own colonies along the coast. A Roman settlement was founded at the present location of Toulon, with the name Telo Martius – Telo, either for the local god of springs Telo or from the Latin tol, the base of the hill – and Martius, for the god of war. Telo Martius became one of the two principal Roman dye manufacturing centres, producing the purple colour used in imperial robes, made from the local sea snail called murex, and from the acorns of the oak trees. Toulon harbour became a shelter for trading ships, and the name of the town gradually changed from Telo to Tholon, Tolon, and Toulon. Toulon was Christianized in the 5th century, and the first cathedral built. Honoratus and Gratianus of Toulon (Gratien), according to the Gallia Christiana, were the first bishops of Toulon, but Louis Duchesne gives Augustalis as the first historical bishop. He assisted at councils in 441 and 442 and signed in 449 and 450 the letters addressed to Pope Leo I from the province of Arles. A Saint Cyprian, disciple and biographer of St. Cæsarius of Arles, is also mentioned as a Bishop of Toulon. His episcopate, begun in 524, had not come to an end in 541; he…

Most-observed species

• Mastic Tree

  Pistacia lentiscus L. · Magnoliopsida
  2,044
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  2,011
• Japanese Cheesewood

  Pittosporum tobira (Murray) Aiton fil. · Magnoliopsida
  1,927
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,687
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,684
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,554
• Sardinian Warbler

  Curruca melanocephala (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  1,428
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,415

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2008-12-23
  4 km ENE of Éguilles, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-10-02
  75 km SSW of Six-Fours-les-Plages, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-07-23
  8 km N of Fayence, France
• M 2.5 — 2008-07-19
  77 km SSW of Six-Fours-les-Plages, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-05-21
  6 km SSW of Carqueiranne, France
• M 2.7 — 2008-03-04
  28 km S of Le Lavandou, France