Gaul -- EncartaÂ® Concise Encyclopedia Article

Gaul (Latin Gallia), ancient Roman designation of that portion of western Europe which is substantially identical with France, although extending beyond the boundaries of the modern country. It was bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea, on the north by the English Channel, and on the east by the Alps and the Rhine River. The inhabitants, called the Gauls (Latin Galli), were among the most prominent of Celtic peoples and played an important role in the ethnic distribution of the early peoples of Europe. The first historic mention of Gaul occurs about 600 BC, when Phocaean Greeks founded the colony of Massalia (Marseille) on the southern coast. Greeks of a later period called the country Galatia, which in Roman times became Gallia.