1840 Marseille. Ancient Massilia

By: W.B. Clarke / S.D.U.K Date: 1840 (Published) London Dimensions: 13 x 15.5 inches (33 cm x 39.4 cm) This elegant map of Marseille, France (the ancient Massilia) was published in 1840 by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. This society was founded by British statesman (Lord Chancellor) Henry Broughman for the purpose of making educational materials available to those of the rapidly expanding reading public who had limited financial means and for those who preferred self-education. In this map Marseille is depicted as it appeared in the third decade of the 19th century. The ancient Massilia dates back to at least 600 BCE when it was founded as a trading post by mariners from the Greek colony of Phocaea on the Aegean Coast of Asia Minor. The city flourished till the middle of the first century BCE when the city backed Pompey the Great rather than Julius Caesar, whose forces captured the city in 49 BCE, and who subsequently directed Roman trade elsewhere. Despite this, Ma