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Orange (Anciently Arausio a city)

anciently Arausio, a city and commune of France, 18 miles N. of Avignon, on left bank of the Aigue, tributary of the Rhone. There are two great monuments of the Roman period, a triumphal arch (72 feet high), the finest in France, and the ruins of a theater, 340 feet long; the only modern building of interest is the cathedral. For five centuries (till 1531) Orange was an independent principality ruled by its own sovereigns, the estates and title passing to the Count of Nassau, and thus to William III., afterward King of Great Britain. In 1713 Orange was for certain equivalents conceded to France by the King of Prussia, though the title of prince has descended by the younger Nassau line to the kings and stadtholders of Holland. The district is very productive; manufactures silks, woolens, and fruits.