Editing Soissons (section)

==History==
Soissons enters [[recorded history|written history]] under its [[Celtic languages|Celtic]] name, later borrowed into [[Latin]], '''[[Noviodunum]]''', meaning "new hillfort", which was the capital of the [[Suessiones]]. At [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] contact, it was a town of the [[Suessiones]], mentioned by [[Julius Caesar]] (''B. G.'' ii. 12). Caesar (''B.C.'' 57), after leaving the Axona (modern [[Aisne]]), entered the territory of the Suessiones, and making one day's long march, reached Noviodunum, which was surrounded by a high wall and a broad ditch. The place surrendered to Caesar.

From 457 to 486, under [[Aegidius]] and his son [[Syagrius]], Noviodunum was the capital of the [[Kingdom of Soissons]],<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Soissons |volume=25 |page=352}}</ref> until it fell to the [[Franks|Frankish]] king [[Clovis I]] in 486 after the [[Battle of Soissons (486)|Battle of Soissons]].

Part of the Frankish territory of [[Neustria]], the Soissons region, and the [[Abbey of Saint-Médard de Soissons|Abbey of Saint-Médard]], founded in the sixth century, played an important political part during the rule of the [[Merovingian dynasty]] (447–751). After the death of [[Clovis I]] in 511, Soissons was made the capital of one of the four kingdoms into which his states were divided. Eventually, the kingdom of Soissons disappeared in 613 when the Frankish lands were amalgamated under [[Chlothar II]].

The 744 [[Council of Soissons]] met at the instigation of [[Pepin the Short]] and [[Saint Boniface]], the Pope's missionary to pagan Germany, secured the condemnation of the Frankish bishop [[Adalbert (mystic)|Adalbert]] and the missionary [[Clement of Ireland]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dierkens|first=Alain|editor=Hervé Hasquin|title=Magie, sorcellerie, parapsychologie|year=1984|publisher=Éditions de l'Université de Bruxelles|location=Brussels|pages=9–26|chapter=Superstitions, christianisme et paganisma à la fin de l'epoque mérovingienne: A propos de l{{'}}''Indiculus superstitionem et paganiarum''}}</ref>

During the [[Hundred Years' War]], French forces committed a notorious massacre of English archers stationed at the town's garrison, in which many of the French townsfolk were themselves raped and killed.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://www.classicreader.com/book/1913/20/ |title=At Agincourt |chapter=Chapter XIX. Agincourt |author=G. A. Henty |via=Classic Reader  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101100419/http://www.classicreader.com/book/1913/20/ |access-date=2010-06-07 |archive-date=1 January 2019 | year=1897}}</ref> The massacre of French citizens by French soldiers shocked Europe; Henry V of England, noting that the town of Soissons was dedicated to the saints [[Crispin and Crispinian]], claimed to avenge the honour of the saints when he met the French forces at the [[Battle of Agincourt]] on [[Saint Crispin's Day]] 1415. The town was liberated by French troops under the command of [[Joan of Arc]] on 23 July 1429.

Between June 1728 and July 1729 it hosted the [[Congress of Soissons]] an attempt to resolve a long-standing series of disputes between the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]] and [[Spain]] which had spilled over into the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1727–1729)|Anglo-Spanish War of 1727–1729]]. The Congress was largely successful and led to the signing of the [[Treaty of Seville]] between them.

During [[World War I]], the city came under heavy bombardment. There was mutiny after the disastrous ''[[Chemin des Dames]]'' offensive at the [[Second Battle of the Aisne]]. A statue erected with images of French soldiers killed in action in 1917 is behind the St Peter's Church, next to the Soissons Courthouse.
[[File:Soissons, France, 1919 panorama.jpg|centre|thumb|453x453px|Panorama of Soissons in ruins in 1919]]