Editing Arras (section)

==History==

===Prehistory===
Archaeologists found evidence of prehistoric [[human settlement]]s in the Scarpe basin. The [[archaeological site]]s of Mont-Saint-Vaast in Arras and [[Biache-Saint-Vaast]] were [[Stone Age]] settlements of the [[Mousterian]] culture. They were evidenced by the finds of [[stone tool]]s. These tools show signs of the [[Levallois technique]], a name given by archaeologists to a distinctive type of stone [[knapping]], developed by forerunners to modern humans during the [[Paleolithic]] period 170,000&nbsp;years ago.

Very little was found to document the [[Bronze Age]] and [[Early Iron Age]] in the Arras area.<ref>"Arras", pp. 9-10. Editions des Beffrois, 1988. {{ISBN|2-903077-76-2}}</ref>

===Antiquity/Foundation===
Arras was founded on the hill of Baudimont by the Belgic tribe of the [[Atrebates]], who named it ''Nemetocenna'' in reference to a ''[[nemeton]]'' that probably existed there.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In the Scarpe valley, archaeologists' excavations and data recovery revealed Late [[Iron Age]] settlements. These buildings, believed to be farms, were found near the municipalities of Arras, [[Hamblain-les-Prés]] and [[Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise|Saint-Pol]].<ref>"Arras", pp. 10. Editions des Beffrois, 1988. {{ISBN|2-903077-76-2}}</ref>

The town was later renamed ''Nemetacum''/''Atrebatum'' by the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], under whom it became an important garrison town.<ref name="Michelin">"Arras". ''Northern France and the Paris Region'', pp. 120–122. Michelin Travel Publications, 2006. {{ISBN|2-06-711928-1}}</ref><ref>"Arras." ''Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names''. John Everett-Heath. Oxford University Press 2005.</ref> No traces of any amenities such as a [[Forum (Roman)|forum]], [[Roman theatre (structure)|theatre]], or [[basilica]] have been identified.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pietri |first1=C. |title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites |date=1976 |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0006%3Aentry%3Dnemetacum |access-date=October 26, 2023 |chapter=Nemetacum later Atrebatum (Arras) Pas de Calais, France.}}</ref> One discovery has been "one of the rare sanctuaries devoted to the oriental god [[Attis]] in France".<ref>{{cite web |title=Nemetacum Arras, France |url=https://www.spottinghistory.com/view/3960/nemetacum/ |website=spottinghistry.com |access-date=October 26, 2023}}</ref>

===Medieval and early modern period===

====Before the Middle Ages====
[[File:Saintvedast.jpg|thumb|The ordination of Saint Vaast]]
In the 4th&nbsp;century, ''Nemetacum'' was renowned for its arts and crafts as well as textiles trade throughout the whole empire. Between 406 and 407, the city was taken and destroyed by Germanic invaders. In 428, the [[Salian Franks]] led by [[Clodion le Chevelu]] took control of the region including the current [[Somme (department)|Somme]] department. Roman General [[Flavius Aetius|Aetius]] then chose to negotiate for peace and concluded a treaty (''fœdus'') with Clodion that gave the [[Franks]] the status of «[[foederati]]» fighting for Rome.

The town's people were converted to Christianity in the late 4th&nbsp;century by Saint Innocent, who was killed in 410 during a barbarian attack on the town. In 499, after the conversion of [[Clovis I]] to [[Catholicism]], a [[diocese]] (''évêché'' in French) was created in Arras, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras]], and given to [[Vedast|Saint Vaast]] (also known as ''Saint Vedast'' in [[English language|English]]), who remains the diocesan [[patron saint]]. [[Vedast|Saint Vaast]] then established an episcopal see and a monastic community. It was suppressed in 580 to found the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cambrai]], from which it would reemerge 5&nbsp;centuries later.

====Early Middle Ages====
In 667 Saint Aubert, bishop of [[Bishopric of Cambrai|Cambrai]], decided to found the [[St. Vaast's Abbey|Abbey of Saint Vaast]], which developed during the [[Carolingian]] period into an immensely wealthy [[Benedictine]] abbey. The modern town of Arras initially spread around the abbey as a grain market. During the 9th&nbsp;century, both town and abbey suffered from the attacks of the [[Vikings]], who later settled to the west in [[Normandy]]. The abbey revived its strength in the 11th&nbsp;century and played an important role in the development of medieval painting, successfully synthesizing the artistic styles of Carolingian, [[Ottonian]] and English art.<ref name="Vauchez">"Arras." ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages''. Ed. André Vauchez.</ref>

====High Middle Ages====
[[File:Jehan Bodel - Li congié.jpg|thumb|"Li congié" by Jean Bodel, a [[trouvère]] that lived in Arras in the 12th&nbsp;century]]
[[File:Arras 002.JPG|thumb|Arras: [[tapestry]] representing ''God's conversation with Noah'']]

In 1025, a Catholic council was held at Arras against certain [[Manichaean]] (dualistic) heretics who rejected the sacraments of the Church. In 1093, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Arras|bishopric of Arras]] was refounded on territory split from the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Cambrai|Diocese of Cambrai]]. In 1097 two councils, presided over by [[Lambert of Arras]], dealt with questions concerning monasteries and persons consecrated to God. In this time, Arras became an important cultural centre, especially for the group of poets who came to be known as [[trouvère]]s. One particular society of such poets was later called the ''[[Puy d'Arras]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sarah B. Sherrill |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=CARPETS v. Flat-woven carpets: Techniques and structures |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/carpets-v |access-date=2022-11-06 |pages=850–858 |language=en-US}}</ref>

====The wool industry and trade====
The town was granted a commercial charter by the French crown in 1180 and became an internationally important location for banking and trade. The [[wool]] industry of Arras, established in the 4th&nbsp;century, became of great importance during the Middle Ages. Already in the 3rd&nbsp;century Romans had lauded the quality of wool from Tournai and Arras. By the 11th&nbsp;century Arras was the leading city and trading hub of the wool industry. This prominence would eventually shift towards areas north of Arras, and cities such as [[Lille]], [[Douai]] and [[Saint-Omer]], followed by [[Ypres]] and eventually [[Bruges]] would become the centres of the wool industry and trade. However, by the 14th&nbsp;century Arras still was renowned and drew considerable wealth from the cloth and wool industry, and was particularly well known for its production of fine [[tapestry|tapestries]]—so much so that in English and [[Italian language|Italian]] the word ''Arras'' (''Arazzi'' in Italian) was adopted to refer to tapestries in general.<ref name="Vauchez"/> The patronage of wealthy cloth merchants ensured that the town became an important cultural centre, with major figures such as the poet [[Jean Bodel]] and the [[trouvère]] [[Adam de la Halle]] making their homes in Arras.

====Late Middle Ages====
The ownership of the town was repeatedly disputed along with the rest of Artois. During the Middle Ages, possession of Arras passed to a variety of feudal rulers and fiefs, including the [[County of Flanders]], the [[Duke of Burgundy|Duchy of Burgundy]], the Spanish branch of the [[House of Habsburg]] and the French crown. In 1430, [[Joan of Arc]] (''Jeanne d'Arc'' in French), was imprisoned in the region of Arras. The town was the site of the [[Congress of Arras]] in 1435, an unsuccessful attempt to end the [[Hundred Years' War]] that resulted in the Burgundians breaking their alliance with the English. After the death of Duke [[Charles the Bold]] of Burgundy in 1477, King [[Louis XI of France]] took control of Arras but the town's inhabitants, still loyal to the Burgundians, expelled the French. This prompted Louis XI to besiege Arras in person and, after taking it by assault, he had the town's walls razed and its inhabitants expelled, to be replaced by more loyal subjects from other parts of France. In a bid to erase the town's identity completely, Louis renamed it temporarily to ''Franchise''. In 1482, the [[Treaty of Arras (1482)|Peace of Arras]] was signed in the town to end a war between Louis XI and [[Maximilian I of Austria]]; ten years later, the town was ceded to Maximilian. It was eventually bequeathed to the Spanish Habsburgs as part of the [[Spanish Netherlands]].<ref>"Arras." ''Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary''. (2007).</ref><ref>"Arras." ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]''. 2008.</ref>

====Renaissance====
{{Main|French Renaissance}}
[[File:Braun Arras UBHD.jpg|thumb|Arras in 1572]]
[[File:The entry of King Louis XIV and Queen Maria-Theresa in Arras on 30 July 1667 (by Adam Frans van der Meulen).jpg|thumb|The entry of King [[Louis XIV]] and Queen Maria Theresa in Arras on 30 July 1667]]
Arras remained under Habsburg rule from 1493 until 1640 when it was captured by the French. The Spanish ceded it by the peace treaty in 1659 and it has since remained French. The [[Union of Arras]] was signed here in January 1579 by the Catholic principalities of the [[Low Countries]] that remained loyal to King [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] of [[Habsburg]]; it provoked the declaration of the [[Union of Utrecht]] later the same month.

===Modern period===

During the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], in 1712, Arras was [[Bombardment of Arras|bombarded]] by an Anglo-Dutch Army under [[Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle|Arnold van Keppel, the Earl of Albemarle]].

====French Revolution====
{{Main|French Revolution}}[[Maximilien de Robespierre]], a French lawyer and politician from Arras and one of the best-known and most influential figures of the [[French Revolution]], was elected fifth deputy of the [[estates of the realm|third estate]] of [[Artois]] to the Estates-General in 1789. Robespierre also helped draft the [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]].<ref name="eupedia.com" />{{Unreliable source?|date=April 2017}}[[File:Robespierre.jpg|thumb|Arras-born lawyer and politician [[Maximilien de Robespierre]]]]

During the French Revolution, the city of Arras was first presided over by French reformer Dubois de Fosseux, erudite squire, secretary of the Arras district (''[[arrondissement]]'' in French) and future president of the Pas-de-Calais department. Around the same time, competing against Aire-sur-la-Lys, Calais, and Saint-Omer, Arras won the [[prefecture]] of Pas-de-Calais. From September 1793 to July 1794, during the [[Reign of Terror]], the city was under the supervision of Joseph Lebon who implemented food restrictions, ordered 400 executions and destroyed several religious monuments including the [[Arras Cathedral]] and the [[Abbey of St. Vaast]]. Arras' demography and economic activity remained the same throughout the French Revolution while Lille's grew exponentially. In 1898, under the influence of Mayor Émile Legrelle, some of Arras' ramparts were demolished to build vast boulevards, establish a new sewage system and replace the old railway station from 1846.

====World Wars====

===== World War I =====
[[File:Ruins of the Hôtel de Ville, Arras on 26 May 1917.jpg|thumb|Hôtel de Ville, Arras on 26&nbsp;May 1917]]
[[File:ArrasFrance.February1919.ws.jpg|thumb|Grand'Place of Arras in February 1919]]
During most of the [[First World War]], Arras was about {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=off}} away from the front line, and a series of battles took place around the city and nearby, including the [[Battle of Arras (1914)]], the [[Battle of Arras (1917)]], and the [[Second Battle of the Somme (1918)|Second Battle of the Somme]] component of 1918's [[Hundred Days Offensive]].

On 31&nbsp;August 1914, German light cavalry ([[Uhlan]]s) arrived in [[Tilloy-lès-Mofflaines]], and an army patrol made a foray into Arras. On 6&nbsp;September 1914, 3,000 soldiers led by General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim barracked within the city and in the citadel. Shortly after, Louis Ernest de Maud'huy's soldiers partly repelled the German army troops, and trenches were dug in the ''Faubourgs d'Arras''. On 7&nbsp;October 1914 the city hall burned. On 21&nbsp;October 1914 the [[belfry (architecture)|belfry]] was destroyed, and so was Arras Cathedral on 6&nbsp;July 1915.<ref>{{cite news |title= Arras an Unburied City |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1915/12/12/104018306.pdf |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |date= 12 December 1915 |access-date= 2015-08-16 }}</ref>

In 1917, a series of medieval tunnels beneath the city, linked and greatly expanded by the [[New Zealand Tunnelling Company]], became a decisive factor in the British forces holding the city - particularly during that year's Battle of Arras.<ref name="Stuff.co.nz_4906621">{{cite web|url= http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/international/4906621/Legacy-of-the-Kiwi-tunnellers |title= Legacy of the Kiwi tunnellers |author= Johnson, Matt |date= 20 April 2011 |work= [[Stuff.co.nz]] |access-date= 16 September 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Vimy Memorial (September 2010) cropped.jpg|thumb|The nearby Canadian National Vimy Memorial]]
By the end of World War I (1918), the city was so heavily damaged that three-quarters had to be rebuilt. The reconstruction was extremely costly, yet it proved to be a success and allowed the city to expand.

The town is located approximately {{convert|11|km|abbr= on}} south of the [[Canadian National Vimy Memorial]] built in 1936 on Hill&nbsp;145, the highest point of the Vimy Ridge [[escarpment]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/memorials/overseas/first-world-war/france/vimy/fast-facts|title=Fast Facts - Canadian National Vimy Memorial - Veterans Affairs Canada|date=20 February 2019}}</ref><ref name=RidgeRuns>{{cite web |url= http://www.greatwar.co.uk/french-flanders-artois/memorial-canadian-national-vimy-memorial.htm |title= Canadian National Vimy Memorial, France |author= <!--Not stated--> |date= 2015 |website= The Great War UK |access-date= 31 March 2017 |quote= The ridge runs in a direction from Givenchy-en-Gohelle in the north-west to Farbus in the south-east.}}</ref> It is dedicated to the [[Battle of Vimy Ridge]] assault (part of the 1917 Battle of Arras) and the missing [[First World War]] Canadian soldiers with no known grave; it is also the site of two WWI Canadian cemeteries.<ref name=RidgeRuns/>

On 9&nbsp;April 2017, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, Arras Mayor [[Frédéric Leturque]] thanked Canadians, as well as Australians and British, New Zealanders and South Africans, for their role in the First World War battles in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/canada/1458104-slideshow-justin-trudeau-in-france-to-mark-the-100th-anniversary-of-vimy-ridge|title = Saltwire &#124; Halifax}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2017/04/09/justin-trudeau-in-france-to-mark-the-100th-anniversary-of-vimy-ridge-2/#.WOpNcfnyvX5 |title=Canadian and French leaders pay homage to fallen soldiers at Vimy Ridge  |author=The Canadian Press<!--Not stated--> |date=9 April 2017 |website=National Newswatch |publisher=National Newswatch Inc. |access-date=7 April 2017}}
</ref>

===== World War II =====
In the early stages of the [[World War II|second World War]], during the [[Battle of France|invasion of France]] in May 1940, the city was the focus of a [[Battle of Arras (1940)|major British counterattack]]. Arras saw an Allied counterattack against the flank of the German army. The German forces were pushing north towards the channel coast, in order to entrap the Allied Forces that were advancing east into Belgium. The counterattack at Arras was an Allied attempt to cut through the German spearhead and frustrate the German advance. Although the Allies initially made gains, they were repulsed by German forces and forced to withdraw to avoid encirclement. Arras was then occupied by the Germans and over the years 1941-44 218 [[French Resistance]] members were executed in ditches around the Arras citadel. On 3&nbsp;September 1944, the city was entered and liberated by the British [[Guards Armoured Division]].

===Contemporary period===

====Recent cooperative agreement====
In September 1993, [[Ipswich]], England and Arras became [[Sister cities|twin towns]], and a square in the new Ipswich Buttermarket development was named Arras Square to mark the relationship.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ipswich.gov.uk/Partnerships/Ipswich+-+Arras.htm |title=Ipswich – Arras |publisher=Ipswich Borough Council |access-date=6 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530043025/http://www.ipswich.gov.uk/Partnerships/Ipswich%2B-%2BArras.htm |archive-date=30 May 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>