Region (pop., 1999: 1,308,878), south-central France.
It was once inhabited by the Arverni, a Gallic people led by Vercingetorix and defeated by Julius Caesar . It was yielded to the Visigoth s in AD 475 and conquered by the Frank s under Clovis I in 507. It became part of Aquitaine , and in the 8th century it was made a countship. It passed to the Bourbon s in 1416 and to France 0441; 1530.