<sod>Lombardy has been inhabited since ancient times and stone age and bronze age [[Petroglyph|rock drawing]]s and artefacts have been found there. From the fifth century BC, [[Gauls|Gallic tribes]] invaded and settled in the region, building several cities (including [[Milan]]) and ruling the land as far as the Adriatic Sea. From the third century BC the Romans expanded their sphere of influence into the area, and in 194 BC, the whole of what is now Lombardy, became a Roman province called [[Gallia Cisalpina]]. The Romans overwhelmed the previous civilisations and Lombardy became one of the richest and best-developed areas in Italy. It was here in 313 AD that the Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] issued the famous [[Edict of Milan]] that gave freedom of religion to all people in the Roman Empire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/edict-milan.asp |title=Galerius and Constantine: Edicts of Toleration 311/313  |author=Halsall, Paul |date=1 January 1996 |work=Internet Medieval Source Book |publisher=Fordham University |accessdate=3 October 2015}}</ref><eod>
<sod>Lombardy has been inhabited since ancient times and stone age and Bronze Age [[Petroglyph|rock drawing]]s and artefacts have been found there. From the fifth century BC, [[Gauls|Gallic tribes]] invaded and settled in the region, building several cities (including [[Milan]]) and ruling the land as far as the Adriatic Sea. From the third century BC the Romans expanded their sphere of influence into the area, and in 194 BC, the whole of what is now Lombardy, became a Roman province called [[Gallia Cisalpina]]. The Romans overwhelmed the previous civilisations and Lombardy became one of the richest and best-developed areas in Italy. It was here in 313 AD that the Roman Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] issued the famous [[Edict of Milan]] that gave freedom of religion to all people in the Roman Empire.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/source/edict-milan.asp |title=Galerius and Constantine: Edicts of Toleration 311/313  |author=Halsall, Paul |date=1 January 1996 |work=Internet Medieval Source Book |publisher=Fordham University |accessdate=3 October 2015}}</ref><eod>