Elne (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It lies in the former province of Roussillon, of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by Perpignan. Its inhabitants are still called Illibériens in reference to the city's Iberian name, Illiberis, one that it shared with the Illiberis that became Granada, Spain. Geography Elne is located in the canton of La Plaine d'Illibéris and in the arrondissement of Perpignan. It is situated from the Mediterranean near the Tech River, in Pyrénées-Orientales, from Perpignan and from Argelès. History Elne, from the heights of its fortified site, dominates the narrow plain of Roussillon between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean. Numerous archeological researches have shown that the surrounding countryside has been occupied since Neolithic times. Elne was an Iberian oppidum or fortified town. Elne is the oldest town in Roussillon and since it is situated on the way towards the Iberian Peninsula, successive civilisations have left their traces. The first mention of the settlement, under the name of Illiberis, occurs in the history of Livy (xxi.24). It was the Iberian city at which Hannibal pitched camp having crossed the Pyrenees in 218 BCE, where he negotiated with the assembled Gaulish chiefs his safe passage through their territories on the way to Italy. In the first century CE, however, it was no more than "a modest vestige of a hitherto great city" (Pliny). In the fourth century, Illiberis was renamed "Castrum Helenae" after Helena, the mother of Constantine, whence its modern name was derived by degrees. In 350 A.D., this was the location of the assassination of Constans, a son of Constantine. With the division of southern Gaul in 462, Elne became one of the "seven cities" of Septimania. Its Catholic bishopric was established in the 6th century. The first known bishop of Elne, Dominus, was mentioned in 571 in the Chronicle of John of Biclarum. The bishop of Elne attended the Council of Toledo in 599. Numerous synods were held by the bishops of Elne: That of 1027 in Toulouges upheld the Peace and Truce of God, that no one should attack his enemy from Saturday at nine o'clock to Monday at one. Further synods were held in 1058, 1114, 1335, 1337, 1338, 1339, 1340, and 1380. When the Arabs crossed the Pyrenees in 719 Elne was one of the first towns to be attacked, and when