Anthon, Isère

Anthon is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.

Geography

Anton stands on the left bank of the River Rhône opposite its confluence with the River Ain, about 30 kilometres upstream from the centre of Lyon. Its inhabitants are Anthonois.

History

The place was originally established as a town by one Antonius Nepos. The only one we have named in Roman history was the fellow consul of Cicero in 62 BCE. He was Caius Antonius Nepos, uncle of the triumvir Marcus Antonius and second son of Marcus Antonius Orator.

Caius Antonius Nepos was condemned for misappropriation of public funds and exiled in 59 BCE. He found refuge in Cephellenia according to some and in Gaul according to others. We might assume therefore that Anthon was the place.

A poem of about 450 CE, by Sidonius Apollinaris celebrates the wines of Anthon.

The Lords of Anthon have been from time immemorial, the tenants of this land. Nowhere in the period of Charlemagne's empire, nor in those around that period is there an indication of their having obtained it. We are therefore left to conclude that they have held the land since Antiquity.

Isère

Isère (French pronunciation: ​[izɛːʁ]; Arpitan: Isera, Occitan: Isèra) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in the east of France named after the river Isère.

History

Isère is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Dauphiné. Its area has been reduced twice, in 1852 and again in 1967, on both occasions losing territory to the department of Rhône.

In 1852 in response to rapid urban development round the edge of Lyon, the (hitherto Isère) communes of Bron, Vaulx-en-Velin, Vénissieux and Villeurbanne were transferred to Rhône. In 1967 the redrawing of local government borders led to the creation of the Urban Community of Lyon (more recently known simply as Greater Lyon / Grand Lyon). At that time intercommunal groupings of this nature were not permitted to straddle departmental frontiers, and accordingly 23 more Isère communes (along with 6 communes from Ain) found themselves transferred to Rhône. The affected Isère communes were Chaponnay, Chassieu, Communay, Corbas, Décines-Charpieu, Feyzin, Genas, Jonage, Jons, Marennes, Meyzieu, Mions, Pusignan, Saint-Bonnet-de-Mure, Saint-Laurent-de-Mure, Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu, Saint-Priest, Saint-Symphorien-d'Ozon, Sérézin-du-Rhône, Simandres, Solaize, Ternay and Toussieu.

Isère (river)

The Isère (pronounced: [i.zɛʁ]) is a river in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. Its source, a glacier known as the Sources de l'Isère, lies in the Vanoise National Park in the Graian Alps of Savoie, near the ski resort Val d'Isère on the border with Italy. An important left-bank tributary of the Rhône, the Isère merges with it a few kilometers north of Valence.

Many riverside communes have incorporated the Isère's name into their own, for example, Sainte-Hélène-sur-Isère and Romans-sur-Isère. The department of Isère is likewise named after the river.

Etymology

The name Isère was first recorded under the form Isara, which means "the impetuous one, the swift one." Not originally a Celtic word, it was very likely assimilated by the Celts in ancient times. This word is related to the Indo-European *isərós, meaning "impetuous, quick, vigorous," which is similar to the Sanskrit isiráh with the same definition. It was probably based on the reconstructed Indo-European root *eis(ə) (and not *is), which incidentally has not been found in the Celtic languages of the British Isles.