Editing Ain (section)

== History ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=April 2019}}
The first inhabitants settled in the territory of today's Ain about 15000 BC. The [[menhir]] of {{Interlanguage link|Menhir of Pierrefiche|fr|Menhir de Pierrefiche|vertical-align=sup|lt=Pierrefiche}} in [[Simandre-sur-Suran]] dates from the mid-[[Neolithic]] era, in the fourth or third millennium BC.<ref>{{cite web|title=MENHIR DE PIERRE-FICHE À SIMANDRE-SUR-SURAN |author=Department de l'Ain | lang=fr |url=https://patrimoines.ain.fr/n/menhir-de-pierre-fiche-a-simandre-sur-suran/n:320 |access-date=27 January 2022}}</ref> The late-second century BC [[Coligny Calendar|Calendar of Coligny]] bears the oldest surviving [[Gaulish language|Gaulish inscription]].

In 58 BC, [[Julius Caesar]]'s military action against the [[Helvetians]], advancing through Gaul over the territory of today's Ain, marked the beginning of the [[Gallic Wars]].

Under the [[Merovingians]], the four historic regions of the modern department belonged to the [[Kingdom of Burgundy]]. At the start of the 6th century AD, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Belley-Ars|diocese of Belley (''Bellicum'')]] was created as the first bishopric in the region. Abbeys of the [[order of Saint Benedict]] were established in the valleys.

In 843, the [[Treaty of Verdun]] assigned the territories that comprised Ain to the kingdom of [[Lothar I]] ([[Lotharingia]]). The first big [[fiefdom]]s ("seigneuries") emerged between 895 and 900 in [[Bâgé-le-Châtel]], which formed the nucleus of the ''pays'' of [[Bresse]], and in [[Coligny, Ain|Coligny]]. Numerous castles were erected in a low rolling terrain that was not otherwise easily defended. In the 12th century, [[Romanesque architecture]] flourished.

In the 11th century, the Counts of [[Savoy]] and [[Valromey]] settled in the region of Belley. In 1272, when [[Sybille of Bâgé|Sibylle de Bâgé]], sole heir, married [[Amadeus V, Count of Savoy]], they added [[Bresse]] to their domains, and – by the [[Treaty of Paris (1355)|Treaties of Paris]] in 1355 – the territories of [[Dauphiné]] and [[Gex, Ain|Gex]] on the right bank of the [[Rhône]].

At the start of the 15th century, almost the whole region of Ain was united under the [[house of Savoy]]. New monasteries were founded in the cities and churches were constructed or reshaped in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] style of architecture.

[[File:200605 - Artemare 2.JPG|thumb|left|[[Artemare]], village in the department]]
At the start of the 16th century, the [[Duchy of Savoy]] was at the peak of its power and Ain was inherited by [[Margaret of Habsburg]], the widow of [[Philibert II, Duke of Savoy]]. In [[Royal Monastery of Brou|Brou]], she erected a church and a monastery in late-Gothic style. [[Bourg-en-Bresse]] became a bishop's see. After Margaret's death, [[Francis I of France]], a nephew of the Dukes of Savoy, claimed the Duchy for himself and conquered it in 1536. Following a treaty concluded in 1559 at Savoy, the territory of Ain was restored to the Duke of Savoy, who immediately started fortifying it. During the [[Franco-Savoyard War (1600–1601)|Franco-Savoyard War of 1600–1601]], [[Henri IV of France]] reconquered the region, although the citadel of Bourg remained impregnable. The [[Treaty of Lyon (1601)|Treaty of Lyon]] of 17 January 1601 finally ended the conflict. Ain now belonged to Burgundy.

In the 17th century, sculpture, painting, and literature prospered. During the 18th century, streets and small industries emerged. On 28 March 1762, the [[Counts of Eu|Count of Eu]], son of the Duke of Maine, ceded the region of [[Dombes]] to [[Louis XV]].

In 1790, during the [[French Revolution]], the departments of Ain and [[Léman (department)|Léman]] were created. Ain was subdivided into nine districts, 49 cantons (now 23 cantons) and 501 communes. The Revolution did not claim many victims in the department, but it destroyed numerous valuable historical monuments. During the first [[French Consulate]] (1802), the districts were abolished. The [[Congress of Vienna]] dissolved the department of Léman and assigned the arrondissement of Gex to the department of Ain.  However, 7 communes of Gex was given to [[Geneva]] for linking [[Canton of Geneva]] with rest of [[Switzerland]] after signing second Treaty of Paris signed on November 20, 1815: Bellevue, Collex-Bossy, Meyrin, Pregny, Grand-Saconnex, Vernier and finally Versoix.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2001-04-09 |title=Gex, une histoire genevoise - Le Temps |url=https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/gex-une-histoire-genevoise |access-date=2024-08-17 |language=fr |issn=1423-3967}}</ref> 

During the French Revolution and the [[First French Empire|First Empire]], a large number of churches were destroyed, but in 1823 the diocese of Belley was refounded. The [[Curé of Ars]] became famous. During the [[Second French Empire]], numerous churches were rebuilt, agriculture changed profoundly, and the railways expanded.

Due to its distance from the front line, the department was spared the destruction of [[World War I]] (1914–1918). However, the majority of the vineyards could no longer be cultivated, and disappeared. Industrialization of the department began in [[Oyonnax]] and [[Bellegarde-sur-Valserine|Bellegarde]]. Construction of the [[Barrage de Génissiat]] started in 1937.

[[World War II]] (1939–1945) vehemently struck the department of Ain and took its toll as 600 people were deported, half whom did not return. Commemorating this tragic era are: the monument of the [[Maquis (World War II)|Maquis]] in [[Cerdon, Ain|Cerdon]], the memorial of the children of [[Izieu]], and the museum of the [[French resistance|resistance]] and deportation in [[Nantua]].

In the second half of the 20th century, industrialisation of the department proceeded, favoured by an expansive road and railway network.