Editing Issoudun (section)

==History==
===Origins===
Issoudun, in Latin ''Exoldunum'' or ''Uxellodunum'', existed in and before [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times. In 1195 it was successfully defended by the partisans of [[Richard I of England|Richard Cœur de Lion]] against [[Philip II of France]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Issoudun|volume=14|page=886}}</ref>

===Middle Ages===
During the 12th and 13th century, the history of the entire province of [[Berry, France|Berry]], including the Lordship of Issoudun, was marked by the [[Capetian–Plantagenet rivalry]]. In 1195, [[Richard I of England]] defended the city from the advances of [[Philip II of France]]. The two kings met in December 1195 between Issoudun and [[Chârost]], and reached an agreement, known as the ''Treaty of Issoudun''. Around this time the beak-shaped [[keep]] of the castle was built. By the [[Treaty of Le Goulet]] (1200), Lords of Issoudun ({{langx|fr|Seigneurs d'Issoudun}}) returned to the suzerainty of the French Crown. The most prominent Lords of Issoudun from that period were Odo III and his son Raoul III, who was married to [[Margaret Courtenay, Marchioness of Namur|Margaret of Courtenay]]. Since Raoul III of Issoudun died (c. 1213) without direct male heirs, the Lordship was passed to several secondary heirs, through the female line of succession. First of them was William I of Chauvigny ({{langx|fr|Guillaume I de Chauvigny}}) in 1217, but final settlement was reached in 1221, after the intervention of the French Crown.{{sfn|Devailly|1973|p=424-425, 434-435}}{{sfn|Abbott|1981|p=177-178}}

In 1499, [[Cesare Borgia]], son of [[Pope Alexander VI]], married [[Charlotte of Albret|Charlotte d'Albret]], and as a dowry, was given, amongst other titles, the Lordship of Issoudun.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Cesare Borgia|last = Bradford|first = Sarah|publisher = Penguin UK|year = 2011|isbn = 978-0297771241|location = United Kingdom|pages = 356|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=N8vzBJ_RGlkC|edition = 2011 Edition, Original 1976.}}</ref>

Issoudun has in the past often suffered from fires. A very destructive one in 1651 was the result of an attack on the town in the war of [[The Fronde]]; [[Louis XIV]] rewarded its fidelity to him during that struggle by the grant of several privileges.<ref name="EB1911"/>

===World War I===
In 1917, the [[United States Army Air Service|U.S. Air Service]] established its largest European training centre, the [[Issoudun Aerodrome|3rd Aviation Instruction Center]], about {{cvt|14|km|0}} northwest of the town. At the time of the Armistice, 11 November 1918, thirteen fields were in operation and well over 10,000 ground personnel, student pilots and instructors were located there. It was at that time the largest air base in the world. A single monument on Department Route 960 remains to mark Issoudun's part in the [[World War I|Great War]].

The United States Air Service formally left Issoudun on 28 June 1919, almost eight months after the war ended.  The sites of the former airfields have returned to their previous status as agricultural fields.

On 28 June 2009, the people of Issoudun had a commemoration ceremony in honour of the American aviators who had trained, and in many cases, died while training there.

===Recent Events===

On 14 July 2009, [[Bastille Day]], Issoudun hosted the arrival of the [[2009 Tour de France, Stage 1 to Stage 11#Stage 10|10th stage of the Tour De France]].