Editing Grenoble (section)

===Antiquity===
[[File:Vestiges enceinte Cularo.JPG|thumb|left|Remnants of the Roman walls]]
The first references to what is now Grenoble date back to 43&nbsp;BC. [[Cularo]] was at that time a [[Gallia|Gallic]] village of the [[Allobroges]] tribe, near a bridge across the Isère. Three centuries later and with insecurity rising in the late [[Roman empire]], a strong [[Defensive wall|wall]] was built around the small town in 286&nbsp;AD.<ref>''Petite histoire du Dauphiné'', Félix Vernay, 1933, p18</ref>

The [[Western Roman Empire|Emperor]] [[Gratian]] visited Cularo and, touched by the people's welcome, made the village a Roman city.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Louis|first1=Jaucourt de chevalier|date=1757|page=942|title=Grenoble|journal=Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert - Collaborative Translation Project |hdl=2027/spo.did2222.0000.365}}</ref> In honour of this, Cularo was renamed '''Gratianopolis''' ("city of Gratian") in 381 (leading to Graignovol<ref>{{cite web |url=http://metrodoc.la-metro.org/Riches_heures/msdphns/index.htm |title=Musée Dauphinois |publisher=Metrodoc.la-metro.org |access-date=12 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012010144/http://metrodoc.la-metro.org/Riches_heures/msdphns/index.htm |archive-date=12 October 2007}}</ref> during the [[Middle Ages]], and then Grenoble).

Christianity spread to the region during the 4th century, and the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Grenoble-Vienne|diocese]] of Grenoble was founded in 377&nbsp;AD. From that time on, the bishops exercised significant political power over the city. Until the [[French Revolution]], they styled themselves the "bishops and princes of Grenoble".<ref>''Petite histoire du Dauphiné'', Félix Vernay, 1933, p. 40.</ref>