Samarobriva was the name of Amiens

Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...

 during the Gallo-Roman era.

Origin of the name

Its Gallo-Roman name was Samarobriva, meaning in the prior local language « Bridge(briva) on the Somme

Somme

Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....

 (Samara) ».
Like in many other places in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

, the name of the local people, the Ambiani

Ambiani

The Ambiani were a Belgic people of Celtic language, who were said to be able to muster 10,000 armed men, in 57 BC, the year of Julius Caesar's Belgic campaign. They submitted to Caesar. Their country lay in the valley of the Samara ; and their chief town Samarobriva, afterwards called Ambiani and...

s, has replaced the name of their capital city, Samarobriva (The final –s in « Amiens

Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...

 » like in other French cities is derived from the plural accusative form "Ambienos", or from the plural ablative-locative "Ambianis").

History

The region was already inhabited during the prehistoric era.
When the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 came, Gallic people (the Ambiani

Ambiani

The Ambiani were a Belgic people of Celtic language, who were said to be able to muster 10,000 armed men, in 57 BC, the year of Julius Caesar's Belgic campaign. They submitted to Caesar. Their country lay in the valley of the Samara ; and their chief town Samarobriva, afterwards called Ambiani and...

s) inhabited the area. Very few things remain of the Gallic city due to the lack of archeological research and availability of antique texts.
When the Romans arrived in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

, they noticed the strategic situation of the city. In his work, De Bello Gallico (The War of the Gauls), Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 notes that he installed his winter-camp in Samarobriva from the autumn 54 BC

54 BC

Year 54 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Appius and Ahenobarbus...

 to the Spring 53 BC

53 BC

Year 53 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Calvinus...

 when he first attempted to conquer Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. He appointed twice the Concilium Galliae.

The city underwent important development during the 1st century, when the Roman emperor Claudius I decided to conquer Britain. New roads were built in Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

, strengthening the city’s influence. Samarobriva became a main crossroads on the way between Lugdunum

Lugdunum

Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum was an important Roman city in Gaul. The city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus. It served as the capital of the Roman province Gallia Lugdunensis. To 300 years after its foundation Lugdunum was the most important city to the west part of Roman...

(Lyon

Lyon

Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....

) and Bononia

Bononia

Bononia is the Roman name of several cities, including:* Bologna, Italy* Boulogne-sur-Mer, France* Vidin, Bulgaria* Banoštor, Serbia...

(Boulogne-sur-Mer

Boulogne-sur-Mer

-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....

) as well as in Northern Gaul.

During this period the forum

Forum (Roman)

A forum was a public square in a Roman municipium, or any civitas, reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, along with the buildings used for shops and the stoas used for open stalls...

, the baths

Bathing

Bathing is the washing or cleansing of the body in a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution. It may be practised for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes or as a recreational activity....

 and the amphitheatre

Amphitheatre

An amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...

 were constructed.
The city’s streets were organised according to an orthogonal plan, the streets crossing each other in right angles forming insulae

Insulae

In Roman architecture, an insula was a kind of apartment building that housed most of the urban citizen population of ancient Rome, including ordinary people of lower- or middle-class status and all but the wealthiest from the upper-middle class...

.

In 287

287

Year 287 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valerius and Valerius...

, Saint Firmin became the first bishop of Amiens and preached Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 in the city.
During the 4th century the amphitheatre was transformed into a fortress : The Castillon. The surface of the surrounding walls was at the time about 20 acres (80,937.2 m²), which made the fortress of Amiens

Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...

 the largest in Northern Gaul

Gaul

Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...

.