Aquitania

Aquitania is a historic region in southwestern Gaul, a name derived from the Aquitani, a group of tribes described by Julius Caesar. In Roman times the term was used to denote a large area along the Atlantic coast of what is now France, and the name later came to refer to the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania.

During the Roman era, Gallia Aquitania was a formal province of the empire. Its territory stretched from the Atlantic coast inland toward the Pyrenees, and it included important settlements such as Burdigala (modern Bordeaux) and Tolosa (modern Toulouse). The province's boundaries and administrative status shifted through late antiquity as Roman power waned, and it was progressively subdivided as the empire reorganized its provinces.

In the medieval and early modern periods, Aquitaine gained political prominence as a duchy and later as a broader territorial designation within the French kingdom. The region roughly corresponds to, and is often associated with, the historical Duchy of Aquitaine and, in modern administration, with the French region of Aquitaine. Since 2016, the area forms part of the larger administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, which preserves the historic name in a contemporary context.

In other uses, Aquitania is the name of a Cunard Line ocean liner, RMS Aquitania, built in the early 20th century. The ship is noted for its role during the interwar period and its place in the history of ocean travel.