In this article we will talk a little about the Celts, who from about the middle of the VIII century. BC NS. and until the turn of the old and new eras were the real masters of Europe.
At the peak of their expansion, the Celtic tribes occupied the territory of France, Belgium, Switzerland, the British Isles, northern regions of Italy, significant parts of Germany, Spain, and the Balkan Peninsula. On this map, we see the European regions inhabited by the Celts. The area where, according to many historians, the very first Celtic tribes settled is highlighted in yellow:
It is believed that it was the Celts who were the first in Europe to learn how to make iron tools. In addition, it is believed that they were the first Europeans to wear pants.
We can judge about the appearance of the Celts by the message of the Roman historian Polybius, who wrote:
"These people are tall and hardy, beautiful and blue-eyed."
Diodorus of Siculus reports that a distinctive feature of the appearance of the Celtic warriors was bright motley clothes (often striped or checkered), long mustaches and hair that stood erect, like a horse's mane (for this the Celts moistened them in lime).
The main occupation of the Celts was agriculture and cattle breeding.
The Celts reached the peak of their power in the IV-III centuries. BC NS. In 390 (according to another version - in 387), they even sacked Rome. In the battle at the Allia River, the leader of the Celtic (Gallic) Senone tribe, Brennus, decided to attack not the main forces of the Romans, but their reserve units, located on one of the hills. The proud quirits, deciding that the Gauls had surrounded them, fled from the battlefield.
Titus Livy reports:
"No one was killed in the battle, all those killed were stabbed in the back when the crush began, and the crowd made it difficult to escape."
The panic was such that most of the inhabitants of Rome fled from the city, the remaining 7 months were hiding in the fortress of the Capitol. It was then that "the geese saved Rome." And then Brenn, throwing his sword on the scales, uttered his famous phrase: "Woe to the vanquished."
However, the Celts never created a strong centralized state.
The first information about the Celts
The first surviving mentions of the Celts are contained in the works of Herodotus, a historian who lived in the middle of the 5th century. BC NS. It was he who called the tribes living in the north and west of Hellas, Celtic. Later authors already give the names of individual tribes. The Celts who attacked Macedonia, Greece and Asia Minor were known as the Galatians.
The Celts in the British Isles were called Britons, Britons and Scots. And the Celts who occupied the territories of modern France and Northern Italy were called Aquitanians, Aedui and Helvetians. The Romans called the Celts "roosters" - that is, Gauls. They received this nickname for their warlike, pugnacious nature and love for bright, conspicuous clothing.
But the Greeks and Romans were especially surprised by the custom of the Celts to lend with the condition of paying off the debt after death - in the afterlife. For example, the Roman historian Valery Maxim wrote about this.
Settling in new territories, the Celts gradually mixed with other tribes: Iberians, Ligurs, Illyrians, Thracians. On this map, we see how the expansion of the Celtic tribes took place.
Only a few of the Celtic tribes retained their identity for a long time. These were, for example, lingons and boi. Their paucity was the price to pay for this. So, Gaius Julius Caesar argued that in 58 BC. NS.there were only 32 thousand pure-blooded Celts of the Boyi tribe, while the Helvetians - 263 thousand people (among other numerous tribes, the Belgi and Arverni are called). In the end, the Boi were driven out by the Romans from Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy) and settled on the territory of modern Bohemia (central and northwestern parts of it), giving these lands the name Bohemia (Boiohaemum). Here they met with the Slavs and were assimilated by them.
Other Celtic tribes in northern Italy and southern France, even before the complete conquest of these areas by Rome, underwent significant Romanization.
Celtic warriors
But what did these natives of ancient Europe look like?
Most of our contemporaries imagine them like this.
In the worst and worst case, the Celts appear in this guise.
Meanwhile, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum has an image of a Celtic warrior from the 2nd century BC. NS.
And here are other images of Celtic warriors.
