| Région Aquitaine | |
|---|---|
Details | |
| Information | |
| Capital: | Bordeaux |
| Population
- Totale - Densité |
2 908 359 (1999) 70 /km² |
| Area | 41 308 km² |
| Arrondissements | 18 |
| Cantons | 235 |
| Communes | 2 296 |
| President of the regional council | XX |
| Départements | |
|
Gironde (33) Landes (40) Lot-et-Garonne (47) Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64) | |
| Location | |
Aquitaine (or "Guyenne" or "Guienne") now forms a region in south-western France along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 See also 5 External link |
In Roman times, the province of Aquitania originally comprised the region of Gaul between the Pyrenees Mountains and the Garonne River, but Augustus Caesar added to it the land between the Garonne and the Loire River. At this stage the province extended inland as far as the Cevennes and covered an area about one third of the size of modern France.
The 4th century AD saw the Roman province of Aquitaine divided into three separate provinces:
History
In the Middle Ages Aquitaine became a duchy, and as the title "Duke of Aquitaine" passed to various counts, their domains became part of Aquitaine (or so the later dukes claimed): Poitiers, Auvergne, and Toulouse. Eleanor of Aquitaine became one of the most famous members of the Aquitainian nobility.
In 1052 the duchy of Gascony (French: Gascogne) became part of "Aquitainia".
Area: 41,400 km2 (7.6 % of France's total area)
Major cities in Aquitaine include Bordeaux, Mont-de-Marsan, Pau, and Perigueux.
Population: 2,908,300 (4.97% of the total French population) (1999)Geography
Demographics