Rouergue is a former province of France

Provinces of France

The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...

, bounded on the north by Auvergne

Auvergne (province)

Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....

, on the south and southwest by Languedoc

Languedoc

Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...

, on the east by Gévaudan

Gévaudan

Gévaudan is a historical area of France, nowadays situated in Lozère département. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni.- History :...

 and on the west by Quercy

Quercy

Quercy is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auvergne....

. Its historical capital is Rodez

Rodez

Rodez is a town and commune in southern France, in the Aveyron department, of which it is the capital. Its inhabitants are called Ruthénois.-History:Existing from at least the 5th century BC, Rodez was founded by the Celts...

.

Rouergue included the county of Rodez

County of Rodez

The County of Rodez was a fief of the County of Toulouse formed out of part of the old County of Rouergue in what is today Aveyron, France. Its capital was Rodez. At its height, it was a centre of troubadour culture....

, and was divided between the diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

s of Rodez

Roman Catholic Diocese of Rodez

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rodez is an diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The Episcopal seat rests in Rodez. The diocese corresponds exactly to the Department of Aveyron ....

 and Vabres

Ancient Diocese of Vabres

The former French Catholic diocese of Vabres existed from 1317 to the French Revolution. After the Concordat of 1801 its territory was divided between the diocese of Cahors and the diocese of Montpellier....

.

During the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 Rouergue changed hands a number of times, its rulers including England (due to the Treaty of Brétigny

Treaty of Brétigny

The Treaty of Brétigny was a treaty signed on May 9, 1360, between King Edward III of England and King John II of France. In retrospect it is seen as having marked the end of the first phase of the Hundred Years' War —as well as the height of English hegemony on the Continent.It was signed...

 in 1360), Armagnac

Armagnac (party)

The Armagnac party was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed at the orders of the Duke of Burgundy in 1407...

, and Languedoc.

Rouergue became a department in 1790 and was renamed Aveyron

Aveyron

Aveyron is a département in southern France named after the Aveyron River.- History :Aveyron is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790....

, after the principal river flowing through it. Upon creation of the department of Tarn-et-Garonne

Tarn-et-Garonne

Tarn-et-Garonne is a French department in the southwest of France. It is traversed by the Rivers Tarn and Garonne, from which it takes its name.-History:...

 in 1808, the canton of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val

Canton of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val

The canton of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val is a canton in the department of Tarn-et-Garonne in south-central France.- Communes :The canton de Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val comprises the following nine communes:* Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val* Castanet* Cazals* Féneyrols...

 was detached from the western extremity of Aveyron and transferred to the new department.

The province of Rouergue has a land area of 9,007 km²

1 E9 m²

To help compare orders of magnitude of different geographical regions, we list here areas between 1,000 km2 and 10,000 km2. See also areas of other orders of magnitude.* areas less than 1000 km2* 1,000 km2 is equal to:...

 (3,478 sq. miles). At the 1999 census there were 269,774 inhabitants on the territory of the province of Rouergue, which means a density of only 30 inh. per km² (78 inh. per sq. mile). The largest urban areas are Rodez, with 38,458 inhabitants in 1999, Millau

Millau

Millau is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France. It is located at the confluence of the Tarn and Dourbie rivers.-History:...

, with 22,840 inhabitants in 1999, Decazeville

Decazeville

Decazeville is a commune in the Aveyron department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France.The commune was created in the 19th century because of the Industrial Revolution and was named after the Duke of Decazes , the founder of the factory that created the town.-History:The town is built...

, with 17,044 inhabitants in 1999, and Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Villefranche-de-Rouergue

Villefranche-de-Rouergue is a commune in the Aveyron department in southern France.-History:At the end of the Albigensian Crusade from the northern "barons" against the southern Occitania on a religious pretext , the Count of Toulouse was defeated and concluded the treaty of Paris in 1229...

, with 12,561 inhabitants in 1999.