After being owned by the Counts of
Flanders, Lillers, which had been fortified against the
Normans was given as a
dowry in 1179 to King
Philip II Augustus of France. In 1327,
Artois was created a county by
Louis IX. His brother Robert became the first Count. In 1303, the city of Lillers was looted by the
Flemings. In 1340, King
Edward III of
England claimed the throne of
France and started the
Hundred Years War, marked by two famous battles, that of
Crécy 1346 and that of
Battle of Agincourt, 1415, where Robert Wavrin, Lord of Lillers, met his death. In 1542, during the war against
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, French troops burned Lillers. The population were still living in tents or huts three years later. After a period of peace, the
Thirty Years' War caused devastation in the region. In 1637, the town was taken by Marshall de la Ferté for
Spain. In 1639, it was won back by
Marshall de la Meilleraye to become French again. The Spanish retook it, only to be beaten off by the French in 1657. In 1659, the
Treaty of the Pyrenees was concluded, which ceded most of the
Artois to France, except
Saint-Omer and
Aire-sur-la-Lys. In 1710, the region was the scene of the
War of Spanish Succession. In 1710, Lillers was taken by Spanish troops. The allied British, German and Dutch forces under the command of the
Duke of Marlborough established their headquarters at Lillers until forced out by the Marquis de Goesbriand, the head of the French troops. The
Treaty of Utrecht ended the war in 1713, when Lillers found itself a part of France. The still thriving shoe industries of Lillers started in the 19th century. ==Population==