Existing from at least the 5th century BC, Rodez was founded by the Celts. After the Roman occupation, the "oppidum" (fortified place) was renamed "Segodunum", while in late Imperial times it was known as "Civitas Rutenorum", whence the modern name. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it was captured by the Visigoths and then by the Franks, being also ravaged by the Arabs in 725. Later it was occupied by the armies of the Dukes of Aquitaine and of the Counts of Toulouse. English troops occupied Rodez during the Hundred Years War.