Beziers

Beziers (classic Baetona Septimanorum), a city in the department of Herault, France, on the left bank of the river Orbe, 38 miles from Montpellier. The town is surrounded by a towered wall, and has a fine Gothic cathedral, St. Nazaire, parts of which date from the twelfth century. The episcopal palace is used for government offices. There are remains of a Roman amphitheatre and of a causeway over the marsh of Cap-estang. In 1209 Simon de Montfort destroyed the place whilst marching against the Albigenses, and 60,000 people perished. It suffered in the subsequent religious wars, and was dismantled in 1632. It enjoys a large trade, and manufactures gloves, silk hosiery, brandy, starch, leather, glass, etc.