Gallia Narbonensis
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now southern France.The province roughly equated to the region now known as Provence.
Bordering directly on Italy, control of the province gave the Roman state several advantages, such as control of the land route between Italy and the Iberian peninsula; a buffer against attacks on Italy by tribes from Gaul; and control of the lucrative trade routes of the Rhone valley, over which commercial goods flowed between Gaul and the trading center of Massalia.