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Map of the Comtat Venaissin

Coat of Arms of Comtat Venaissin.

Flag of Comtat Venaissin

The Comtat Venaissin, often called the Comtat for short (Occitan: lo Comtat Venaicin, la Comtat), is the former name of the region around the city of Avignon in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. It comprised roughly the area between the Rhône, the Durance and Mont Ventoux, with a small exclave located to the north around the town of Valréas. The entire region was an enclave within the Kingdom of France. Avignon itself was, however, never part of the Comtat but constituted a separate comtat (county) in its own right, in effect forming an enclave within an enclave.

During the 13th century, the Comtat belonged to Alphonse, Count of Poitiers. He bequeathed it to the Holy See on his death in 1271 and it became a Papal territory in 1274. The region was named after its former capital, Venasque, which was replaced as capital by Carpentras in 1320.

Avignon was sold to the Papacy by Countess Jeanne of Provence in 1348, whereupon the two comtats were joined together to form a unified Papal enclave (though retaining their separate political identities).

The enclave's inhabitants did not pay taxes and were not subject to military service, making life in the Comtat considerably more attractive than under the French Crown. It became a haven for French Jews, who received better treatment under papal rule than in the rest of France. The oldest synagogue in France, built in the 14th century, is in Carpentras.

Successive French rulers sought to annex the region to France. It was invaded by French troops in 1663, 1668 and 1768–1774 during disputes between the Crown and the Church. It was also subjected to trade and customs restrictions during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV.

Papal control persisted until 1791, when an unauthorized plebiscite was held and the inhabitants voted for annexation by France. It was subsequently incorporated into the Vaucluse département. The papacy did not, however, recognise this formally until 1814.

The region is still known informally as the Comtat Venaissin, although this obviously no longer has any political meaning.

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