High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Narbonne (Catalan and Occitan: Narbona, Latin: Narbo) is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon région. It lies 849 km (528 mi) from Paris in the Aude département, of which it is a sous-préfecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about 15 km (9.3 mi) from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is marginally the largest commune in the Aude département, although the préfecture (capital) resides in the slightly smaller commune of Carcassonne. Narbonne was established in Gaul in 118 BC, as Colonia Narbo Martius. It was located on the Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, built at the time of the foundation of the colony, and connecting Italy to Spain. Geographically, Narbonne was therefore located at a very important crossroads because it was situated where the Via Domitia connected to the Via Aquitania, which led toward the Atlantic across Toulouse and Bordeaux.