Nevers ( nə-VAIR, French: [nəvɛʁ] ; Latin: Noviodunum, later Nevirnum and Nebirnum) is a city and the prefecture of the Nièvre department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in central France. It was the principal city of the former province of Nivernais. It is 260 km (160 mi) south-southeast of Paris.
Contents
History
Nevers first enters written history as Noviodunum, a town held by the Aedui at Roman contact. The quantities of medals and other Roman antiquities found on the site indicate its importance. In 52 BCE, Julius Caesar made Noviodunum, which he describes as a convenient position on the banks of the Loire, a depot (B. G. vii. 55). There, he had his hostages, corn and military chest, with the money in it allowed him from home for the war, his own and his army's baggage and a great number of horses which had been bought for him in Spain and Italy.