The source of the town's original name of Narbo is lost in antiquity, and it may have referred to a hillfort from the Iron Age close to the location of the current settlement or its occupants.

[7] The earliest known record of the area comes from the Greek Hecataeus of Miletus in the fifth century BC, who identified it as a Celtic harbor and marketplace at that time, and called its inhabitants the Ναρβαῖοι.

[8] It was located on the Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, built at the time of the foundation of the colony, and connecting Italy to Spain.

Geographically, Narbonne was therefore located at a very important crossroads because it was situated where the Via Domitia connected to the Via Aquitania, which led toward the Atlantic through Tolosa and Burdigala.

It was subsequently the capital of the Visigothic province of Septimania, the only territory from Gaul to fend off the Frankish thrust after the Battle of Vouille (507).

However, after Childebert's continued invasion to Catalonia failed, Amalaric's successor Theudis was able to reclaim the rich province of Septimania, including Narbonne.

[11] Following the loss of Toledo and Barcelona in 711/712, the last two kings of the Visigoths, Agila II and Ardo retreated to Narbonne, where they were able to resist Muslim attacks until 716.

He invited[citation needed] prominent Jews from the Caliphate of Baghdad to settle in Narbonne and establish a major Jewish learning center for Western Europe.

The historian Arthur J. Zuckerman wrote in 1973 the book A Jewish Princedom in Feudal France, presenting the thesis that from the 8th to 10 centuries AD there was a Jewish vassal princedom based in Narbonne, given to the Jews by the Carolingian king Pepin as a gift of gratitude for their cooperation in the Frankish conquest of Narbonne from Al-Andalus in the year 759.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, Narbonne was home to an important Jewish exegetical school, which played a pivotal role in the growth and development of the Zarphatic (Judæo-French) and Shuadit (Judæo-Provençal) languages.

In the 19th century, the canal system in the south of France had to compete with an expanding rail network, which could ship goods more quickly.

The Gare de Narbonne railway station offers direct connections to Paris, Barcelona, Toulouse, Marseille and many regional destinations.

An extensive local system of buses and routes operated by Citibus.fr allow for easy public transport within Narbonne and surrounding communities.