A city of north-central France on the Loire River south-southwest of Paris. Founded by Celts and conquered by Julius Caesar in 52 B.C., the city was taken by Clovis I in A.D. 498 and became the center of the Frankish kingdom of Orléans in 511. It became a principal residence of the Capetian kings in the tenth century. The siege of Orléans by the English (1428-1429) was lifted by troops led by Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans. Population: 114,000.