It is probably that Paris' territory was first occupied by a Celtic tribe 250 BC who established a fishing village called Parisii. In 52 BC Paris' �le de la Cit� and Left Bank Sainte Genevi�ve Hill became the centre of a new Roman settlement called Lutetia. Lutetia was renamed Paris in 212, and in 357 AC the nephew of Emperor Constantine became governor and in 365 was emperor but died two years later. There is a leyend that says when Paris was invaded by Attila the Hun in 451 the people began to pray to Saint Genevi�ve and after that the invasor turned away, since then Ste Genevi�ve remains Paris' patron saint to this day.

In 751 after the Merovingian kings died were replaced by the Carolingians. On March 28, 845 Paris was sacked by Viking raiders, and in 885 the city was victim of a Viking invasion force. Hugh Capet was elected King of France in 987 and made Paris his capital and founded a long-lasting dynasty, the Capetians. The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris was built in 1163, in 1180 under the reign of Philippe Auguste were constructed some major buildings in Paris such as city wall and the Louvre Palace, his grandson Saint Louis ordered the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle on the �le de la Cit�.

The Civil War began after the assassination of Louis of Valois, Duke of Orl�ans and in 1420 the English captured Paris. Joan of Arc assisted Charles VII of France to retake the city in 1429, but they failed and she died, after many attempts Charles finally managed to retake Paris. After this the city began to grow and were constructed beautiful cathedrals and churches.

In 1534 Paris was a predominantly Catholic city, but the problems began to appear when in 1572 the Catholic mobs killed 3,000 protestants aprox. King Henry III tried to find a better solution avoiding this kind of massacres but obtained the rejection of the citizens and was killed in May 1588. Louis XIII died in 1643, he became king at the age of eight but power was exercised by Cardinal Richelieu, after Louis' death the throne was of his very young heir Louis XIV, unfortunately he and his family had to flee because of a Rebelion known as the Fronde, and came back 1653 with a very big welcome. At the end of the 18th century Paris became into a cultural and intellectual center, and under Louis XVI Paris became also the center of the arts, philosophy and sciences. But the finances in France were not good and a new wall was built around Paris between 1784 and 1791.

The French Revolution began in Paris on 13 July 1789, and the next day the Bastille was stormed, many revolutions happened after that and Paris became a revolutionary city, the royal family was took as prisoners byt the crowd and put on jail at the Tuileries, they tried to scape on 20 June 1791 but were caught and taken as captives. On 10 August 1792 they were rescued by the mob that attacked the Tuilleries and seized the royal family. Power now passed to the radical Commune de Paris, led by Georges Danton, Marat and Robespierre. On 22 September 1792, "Day I of Year I of the French Republic" the Monarchy was abolished. But the bloodiest part of the Revolution was the construction of a guillotine where now is the Place de la Concorde and was first used to execute Louis XVI and after him Marie Antoinette in October 1793.

« Paris History - Part II