| Diocese of the Seven Provinces Dioecesis Septem Provinciarum | |
|---|---|
| Diocese of theRoman Empire | |
| 314–477 | |
 Roman Gaul - AD 400 | |
| Capital | Burdigala |
| Historical era | Late Antiquity |
• Established | 314 |
• Fall of Provence to the Visigoths | 477 |
TheDiocese of the Seven Provinces (Latin:Dioecesis Septem Provinciarum), originally called theDiocese of Vienne (Latin:Dioecesis Viennensis) after the city ofVienna (modernVienne), was adiocese of the laterRoman Empire, under thepraetorian prefecture of Gaul. It encompassed southern and westernGaul (Aquitania andGallia Narbonensis), that is, modernFrance south and west of theLoire, includingProvence.
The diocese comprised the following provinces:Aquitanica I,Aquitanica II,Novempopulana (Aquitanica III),Narbonensis I,Narbonensis II,Viennensis andAlpes Maritimae.
The diocese was established during the reforms ofDiocletian who reigned from 284 to 305. It is attested early in the reign ofConstantine I in the Verona List which has been dated to around 314. In 402 an annual provincial assembly, theConcilium septem provinciarum, was established inArles.
In 407, theVandals and their allies invaded Gaul, devastating the region until they departed for the Iberian peninsula in 409. TheVisigoths were brought in asfoederati to aid the Romans against them, and in 418 emperorHonorius allowed them to settle inAquitania aroundToulouse. Although nominally Roman subjects, the Goths were practically independent, a fact which was formally recognized by the Western Empire in 475, just one year before its end.
In 462Ricimer ceded them also the province of Narbonensis Prima, while the Goths proceeded to occupy the remaining provinces east of theRhone in 477. Henceforth, the lands that had comprised the diocese of the Seven Provinces became part of theVisigothic Kingdom. Aquitania was soon lost to theFranks, with only the southern coastal strip (Septimania) retained by the Goths.
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