One of the oldest cities of France, its first mention was by the Greek
geographer Strabo, who called it Nemessos,
a Gaulish word for a sacred forest. The settlement witnessed the famous Battle
of Gergovia, in which the Gauls led by Vercingetorix triumphed temporarily over
the Romans led ultimately by Julius Caesar. After the Roman conquest, the city
was renamed Augustonemetum, a
name which combined its original Gallic name with that of the Emperor Augustus.
Its population was estimated at 15,000–30,000 inhabitants in the
