Oppidum (Civ6)/Civilopedia

Oppidum simple means “settlement” in Latin, but in practice it referred to a walled urban settlement of a small town in Rome’s provinces – especially Gaul, and as such marks the first real cities in Europe north of the Alps. A classic oppidum was a combination of city and fort. Previously, citizens lived outside of protective walls, whereas armed soldiers or nobles had a hill fort: a high, fortified position. With an oppidum, economic and productive activity could occur in relative safety even with enemies nearly. The walls, too, made a separation between city-dwellers and rural residents, and allowed the former to feel a little sense of superiority over the latter, even if these “cities” were quite small by our – or even Roman – standards.