High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The County of Artois was an historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659. Present Artois lies in northern France, on the border with Belgium. Its territory has an area of around 4000 km² and a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Atrecht), Calais (Kales), Boulogne-sur-Mer (Bonen), Saint-Omer (Sint-Omaars), Lens and Béthune. It forms the interior of the French département Pas-de-Calais.