Southampton is the largest city on the south coast of England. It is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. The city lies roughly in the centre of the coast, at the northern-most point of Southampton Water where it is joined by the River Test and River Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south of the urban area. The city is situated approximately halfway between Bournemouth and Portsmouth. The local authority is Southampton City Council, which is a unitary authority. The city is part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire. Significant employers in Southampton include the University of Southampton, a Ford Transit factory and one of the largest commercial ports in Europe. The city represents the core of the Greater Southampton region, with a population of 228,600. The city's name is sometimes abbreviated in writing to "So'ton" or "Soton", and a resident of Southampton is called a Sotonian. Southampton is noted for being the home of the RMS Titanic, the Spitfire and more recently a number of the largest cruise liners in the world. Although Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements are known to have existed in the area, the first permanent settlement was established by the Romans shortly after their invasion of Britain in AD43. Known as Clausentum, it was an important trading port for the large Roman towns of Winchester and Salisbury. The Romans abandoned the settlement circa AD410, and the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons eventually saw the formation of a new settlement circa AD700 across the Itchen centred around what is now the St Mary's area. The settlement was known as Hamwic, which evolved into Hamtun and then Hampton. The Viking King Canute the Great is supposed to have defeated the Anglo-Saxon King Ethelred the Unready here in 1014 and been crowned here, and his fabled attempt to "command" the tide to halt may have taken place in Southampton. Excavations have uncovered one of the best collections of Saxon artifacts in Europe. More on Southampton 

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