Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: Fraintche-Comtè; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône and the Territoire de Belfort. In 2016, its population was 1,180,397. From 1956 to 2015, the Franche-Comté was a French administrative region. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The region is named after the (Free County of Burgundy), definitively separated from the region of Burgundy proper in the fifteenth century. In 2016, these two-halves of the historic Kingdom of Burgundy were reunited, as the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is also the 6th biggest region in France. The name "Franche-Comté" is feminine because the word "comté" in the past was generally feminine, although today it is masculine. The principal cities are the capital Besançon, Belfort and Montbéliard. Other important cities are Dole (the capital before the region was conquered by Louis XIV in the late seventeenth century), Vesoul (capital of Haute-Saône), Arbois (the "wine capital" of the Jura), and Lons-le-Saunier (the capital of Jura). History The region has been inhabited since the Paleolithic age and was occupied by the Gauls. It was then heavily settled by Germanic peoples during the Germanic migrations, most notably the Burgundians, who settled in the region after the Gauls had vacated the area. Later, it was part of the territory of the Alemanni in the fifth century, then the Kingdom of Burgundy from 457 to 534. The Burgundians adopted Orthodox Christianity, Christianizing the region. In 534, it became part of the Frankish kingdom. In 561 it was included in the Merovingian Kingdom of Burgundy under Guntram, the third son of Clotaire I. In 613, Clotaire II reunited the Frankish Kingdom under his rule, and the region remained a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy under the later Merovingians and Carolingians. County of Burgundy The name or Freigrafschaft Burgund in German (Free County of Burgundy) did not appear officially until 1366. It had been a territory of the County of Burgundy from 888, the province becoming subject to the Holy Roman Empire in 1034. It was definitively separated from the neighboring Duchy of Burgundy upon the latter's incorporation into the Kingdom of France in 1477. That year at the Battle of Nancy during the Burgundian Wars, the last duke, Charles the Bold, was killed in battle. Although the