{"id":2578,"date":"2024-08-17T16:24:56","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T16:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jevisitelyon.com\/?p=2578"},"modified":"2026-05-12T10:08:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T10:08:28","slug":"historical-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jevisitelyon.com\/en\/historical-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"Historical Chronology"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This timeline highlights some of the major events in Lyon, but it is important to note that this list is brief and there are many other important historical events in the history of this city.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Antiquity<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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43<\/div>
B.C<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Construction of Lugdunum<\/div>
\"Construction<\/div>

Lugdunum, today Lyon, is a Gallic site where a Roman colony was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, governor of Gaul, under the name of Colonia Copia Felix Munatia Lugudunum. Created after the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, this colony enjoyed great prosperity, dependent on the fate of the Roman Empire throughout Antiquity.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

19-16<\/div>
B.C<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Stay of the Emperor Augustus in Lyon<\/div>
\"Stay<\/div>

At the end of the 1st century BC, several political decisions by Augustus, the first Roman emperor, favored the rapid growth of Lugdunum. He divided Celtic Gaul into three provinces: Lyonnaise, Belgium, and Aquitaine. Lugdunum became the capital of the province of Lyonnaise, grouping together administrative services for several provinces and hosting a major mint that struck coins for the entire empire.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Year 0<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>
39<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Emperor Caligula (eccentric) settles in Lyon<\/div>
\"Emperor<\/div>

Caligula, often considered by historians to be a mad, cruel and tyrannical emperor, passed through Lugdunum between late 39 and early 40. His nickname, "Caligula", means "little boots", in reference to the boots he wore as a child. The third Roman emperor, he was born on August 31, 12 in Italy and died in Rome in 41, at the age of 28.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

48<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Speech of Emperor Claudius <\/div>
\"Speech<\/div>

The Claudian tables: the Senate accepts Gallo-Roman notables into its ranks.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

64<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Fire of Lyon under Nero<\/div>
\"Fire<\/div>

The first documented fire in Lyon dates back to the autumn of 64 (or 65). Lugdunum was badly damaged, and sources compare this disaster to the fire in Rome in July 64, under Nero. The emperor also sent aid of four million sesterces for the reconstruction of the city.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

68-69<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Lyon-Vienna conflict<\/div>
\"Lyon-Vienna<\/div>

In 68 AD, the legate of Lyonnaise Gaul, Vindex, led a revolt against Nero, but was defeated by the army of Germania Superior. Galba, governor of Spain, also rebelled. The conflicts between Lugdunum and Vienna worsened: Lugdunum remained loyal to Nero, while Vienna supported Galba.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

160<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
First commemoration of a Taurobolus<\/div>
\"First<\/div>

Taurobolus was a propitiatory ritual dating from the 1st century, involving the sacrifice of a bull by piercing its heart with a sword, specifically by a thrust through the chest.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

June-August 177<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Martyrdom of the first Christians of Gaul<\/div>
\"Martyrdom<\/div>

The martyrs of Lyon are a group of Christians who suffered martyrdom at Lugdunum (Lyon) in 177. They represent the first known Christian group in Gaul and are commemorated on June 2.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

197<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Battle of Lugdunum<\/div>
\"Battle<\/div>

The Battle of Lugdunum in 197 was fought between the forces of Emperor Septimius Severus and the Roman usurper Clodius Albinus. The conflict took place north of Lugdunum (Lyon) and ended in victory for Septimius Severus. The information comes mainly from the account of Cassius Dio, later revised by John Xiphilinus in the Middle Ages.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

274<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Terrible repression by the Emperor Aurelian<\/div>
\"Terrible<\/div>

Aurelian, having reestablished imperial rule in the East, turned his attention to the Gallic Empire in 274. The campaign was won largely through diplomacy, with Tetricus I, the Gallic Emperor, ready to capitulate. To avoid open submission, Aurelian and Tetricus appear to have conspired, and at the Battle of Ch\u00e2lons, Tetricus deserted to the Roman camp, allowing Aurelian to easily triumph over the Gallic army.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

293<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Diocletian establishes the "tetrarchy"<\/div>
\"Diocletian<\/div>

This administrative reform made Lyon the capital of a small province and lost the preeminence of Gaul.<\/p>

Under this "tetrarchy," or "rule of four," each emperor ruled over a quarter division of the empire. Diocletian further secured the empire's borders and purged it of all threats to its power.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

313<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Edit of Milan<\/div>
\"Edit<\/div>

With the Edict of Milan promulgated in 313, authorizing Christianity in the Roman Empire, Christians could truly build places of worship.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

353<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
End of the usurpation of Emperor Magnentius<\/div>
\"End<\/div>

The Battle of Mursa, now known as Osijek in Croatia, took place on September 28, 351. It pitted the Roman army, led by Emperor Constantius II, against the usurper Magnentius, who commanded Roman units as well as large barbarian contingents.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

383<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Death of the Emperor Gratian defeated by the usurper Maximus<\/div>
\"Death<\/div>

Gratian (Latin: Flavius Gratianus Augustus), born in 359, was a Roman emperor who ruled the western part of the Empire from 367 to 383. In 383, to suppress the rebellion of the usurper Magnus Maximus, "comes" of Britain, Gratian confronted him near Lutetia. However, abandoned by his army, the emperor took refuge in Lugdunum, where he was assassinated by a lieutenant of Magnus Maximus.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

392<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Roman co-emperor Eugene unrecognized by Theodosius ruling the eastern part of the empire <\/div>
\"Roman<\/div>

Eugene (Flavius Eugenius Augustus), died on September 6, 394 near Aquileia, rhetorician and grammarian, was proclaimed co-emperor of the Roman Empire in 392 following the death of Valentinian II. This moderate Christian, encouraged by the Frankish general Arbogast, was not recognized by Theodosius I, who, then reigning over the eastern part of the empire, proclaimed his son Flavius Honorius co-emperor and considered Eugene a usurper from then on.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>

461<\/div>
A.D<\/div><\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div>
Lyon under the domination of the Burgundians<\/div>
\"Lyon<\/div>

In the years following the weakening of Roman authority, the Burgundian domain expanded peacefully, with cities such as Besan\u00e7on, Autun, Ch\u00e2lon-sur-Sa\u00f4ne, Grenoble and Lyon welcoming them in 457. The brothers Gondioc and Chilp\u00e9ric shared power, but after Gondioc's death around 463, Chilp\u00e9ric became the sole king and established his residence in Lyon in 470. In 475, he concluded an agreement with the Visigoths, allowing him to expand his territory as far as the Durance.<\/p>

Lyon became a strategic center for the Burgundians when Chilp\u00e9ric settled there, marking a turning point in the history of the city, which went from an important Roman city to the capital of a rapidly expanding Burgundian kingdom.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

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