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From Barbarians to Rome
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According to legend, Strasbourg, originally known as Argentorate, traces its ancestory back to the mythical Trébéta who was the son of Sémiramis and the supposed father of the Trévires and Triboques (the Celts of Trève and lower Alsace). Archeologists and historians have given justice to this myth by taking us through their excavation of the earliest traces of Strasbourg's history which recount the civilization of Rhénanie 700,000 years ago.
Before the creation of Argentoratum by the Romans in 12 B.C., the origins of Strasbourg may be traced back to the existence of Argentorate. Argentorate was a large celtic village with at least one permanent activity. This site had been previously occupied by a varied group of people who completed sporadic and successive activities.
Contrary to a persistant legend, the Romans did not arrive to find a virgin forest occupied by a few uncultivated barbarians who passed their time trying to painstakingly maintain the little light they had thusfar shed on humanity. In reality, people had been present in this sector for already 700,000 years: Alsace had five thousand years of agricultural development and two thousand years of metalurgy. Different groups of people had come to Alsace from Central Europe and the occidental borders of Europe as far as the Atlantic and the English Channel, in addition to the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea. Their presence is attested to by the fabulous collection of objects they left behind, including jewels and arms, which may be found in the Archeological Museum of Strasbourg. Geography directs history: this site, from the outset, due to its geographical complexity and diversity paved the way for fascinating events.
Concerning the original location of Strasbourg, one is obliged to highlight the following two perfectly obvious and contradictory aspects:
-the location was advantageous as it represented a potentially powerful circulation hub with its dense system of water canals and land paths;
-the location was unexceptional, almost adverse, as it was an essentially inundated zone which meant that the site would not be conducive to protecting the health of its residents. In particular, malaria would not be eradicated before the 19th century!
Favorably disposed, it is by its situation at the center of an important long narrow excavation dug into the earth from the Rhine which was the result of the successive collapsing of the earth's crust in the Tertiary Period. In this "trench" which stretches from the Mediterranian to the Lake Mjösa in Sweden, the Rhine is but a late host. The Rhine's contribution to the location is substantial: the Alpine alluvial deposits and its sand and gravel sediments set the stage for an imposing layer of underground water which would aliment the springs.
Water is everywhere, whether it be underground (two to eight meters below the earth) or fluvial. Water plays a dual role in the history of the city: assisting communication via canal transport routes as well as providing a natural defense.
In addition, the hills of limestone at the foot of the Vosges mountains provided fertile earth for vineyards which would produce excellent wines, playing an important role in the later economy of Strasbourg.
The climate, on the other hand, did not appear advantageous. The semi-continental climate favors the extremes; it is either very cold or very hot. Nonetheless, despite all the negative factors, this location would be accepted, built and developped by succesive generations of varied people.
Ideally located at the center of the Rhine "trench", this location offered a relatively easy south-north access. The two banks of the Rhine were endowed with land paths. As the preferred main route of the Roman penetration towards the north, the Rhine was the cultural and economic backbone from Northern Italie to Holland from the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance, from the 12th to the 13th centuries. To this day, this region continues to be the most industrial as well as the most populated of Europe.
Overall, this location was well-balanced between the fertile land due to alluvion and the Rhine. The forests were cleared, the trees cut down and small villages would be established on this agricultural land. Fishermen, hunters, daring travelers and runaways would venture upon this place which was not the most hospitable. However, Argentorate, the celtic establishment, would give birth to Argentoratum, the Roman camp. Strasbourg's history had only just begun.
In fact, Strasbourg should have been named Drusenheim, as it was founded by the Roman General Drusus, the brother of Tibère. General Drusus constructed more than fifty forts along the Rhine river. These forts, built from Switzerland to Holland, constituted a sort of Maginot line before its time. This development took place between 12-16 B.C. One may suppose that under Emperor Augustsus, Argentorate was composed of five or six thousand inhabitants, who for the most part were foreigners who had not set out to settle there. Thus, this small town had already taken on a very cosmopolitan character which was also a bit unstable.
Different legions succeeded one another in what had become a legionary camp. An important period of growth and relative prosperity took over the military and civil agglomeration. This agglomeration would, little by little, take on the same proportions of an insular island. The Germanic tribe, which included the Suèves, submitted to a Roman peace. Henceforth, the Roman Empire's border would find itself projected towards the east, beyond the Black Forest. Argentoratum remained the most important logistical homefront base for the Romans until 260 A.D.
In the new civilization that developped on the border of the Roman Empire's decadence, Strasbourg was an ardent melting pot in which the adverse elements of this new world dissolved. In 352, the Alamanni and the Franks totally destroyed about forty of the fortified towns along the Rhine, including Strasbourg. But Rome decided to reconquer Argentoratum and drive the Alamanni out. Caesar Julian , known as the "Apostate" who opposed Christianity, would defeat the Alamanii troups in 357 A.D. Thanks to this battle, the Roman Empire had a short respite. The city of Argentoratum was partially restored.
In 406 A.D. an ethnic downpour covered the city of Mayence or Mainz, on the German side of the Rhine. Under the Huns' pressure the Burgondes, Vandales and the Suèves pounced on Gaul, the region which is now known as France. It was Attila who definitively destroyed the city in 451 A.D. After the devastating passage of the Huns, the Alamanni established themselves as the rulers of the region. During the next several decades, history would lose all trace of Argentoratum.
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