Switzerland in the Roman era after which the area began to be occupied by Germanic peoples. The Swiss plateau, within the natural borders of the Alps to the South and East, Lake Geneva and the Rhône to the west and the Rhine to the north, was recognized as a contiguous territory by Julius Caesar. This area had been dominated by the La Tène culture since the 5th century BC, settled by a mostly Celtic population (Gauls), of which the Helvetii were the most numerous, but which also included the Rauraci in north-west Switzerland centered on Basel, and the Allobroges around Geneva. South of the Swiss
`Abdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West left Egypt towards Europe. He boarded the "SS Corsican", an Allan Line Royal Mail Steamer towards the port of Marseilles, France accompanied by secretary Mírzá Mahmúd, and personal assistant Khusraw. Memoirs that cover the periods in Egypt include `Abdu'l-Bahá's first European trip spanned from August to December 1911, at which time he returned to Egypt. During his first European trip he visited Lake Geneva on the border of France and Switzerland, Great Britain and Paris, France. The purpose of these trips was to support the Bahá'í communities in the West and to further spread his father's teachings, after sending representatives