Celtic warfare
Encyclopedia
The history of Celtic warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the first few centuries AD and it concerns the distinct styles of warfare of the peoples known as Celts. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Celtic tribes and their kingdoms. Apart from conflicts between Celts and neighboring nations and tribes, numerous inter-tribal conflicts
were recorded among Celtic tribes also.This includes the Celtic peoples of Ireland
, Britain
, Gaul
, Iberia
, and Anatolia
.
The scope of this article does not extend to the Britons and Gaels
of the Sub-Roman
to Medieval period (for which see Welsh warfare, Gaelic warfare
).
dates from roughly the same era. The Táin Bó Cúailnge, chiefly the story of the Ulster
hero Cú Chulainn
describes individual combats centred on the use of the spear (gae) and javelin (gá-ín) with no mention of helmets or metal armour, in keeping with archaeological evidence. Chariots also play an important role, but there have so far been no finds of chariots resembling those of the Britons, leading to speculation that this may be an element added later under the influence of Homer
ic literature and/or that the chariots of the Irish were of the four wheeled variety, more accurately described as waggons, used purely for transportation. No remains of these vehicles from the period have yet been discovered.
Celtic tribes fought amongst each other and sometimes they allied themselves with the Romans
, the Greeks and other peoples against other Celtic tribes. Tribal warfare
appears to have been a regular feature of Celtic societies. While epic literature depicts this as more of a sport focused on raids and hunting rather than organised territorial conquest, the historical record is more of tribes using warfare to exert political control and harass rivals, for economic advantage, and in some instances to conquer territory.
Archaeology provides much information regarding the material culture of the Celts, but the significance of these finds in determining how the ancient Celts actually fought is the subject of much speculation. It was long thought, for instance, that the Celts were headhunters but recent research from France
has indicated that it may have been the heads of slain allies that were collected to be placed in porticos, while the defeated were dumped in mass graves, their weapons ritually broken.
is the earliest to be identified as associated with Celtic culture, spreading from north of the Alps West into France, Southern Britain and the Iberian Peninsula
. The earlier phases of the Hallstatt era fall into the Bronze Age. Swords seem to have been the primary weapon from this period, perhaps indicating that warfare was a relatively small scale affair, possibly between groups of élite warriors. In the latter phases of the Hallstatt era, iron began to replace bronze in the manufacture of weapons and the classic "Celtic longsword" with its leaf-bladed design made its appearance. Chariot burials are also characteristic of the period; it is possible that they also served some function in the warfare of this age, but the chariots are four-wheeled vehicles and they do not occur at all in Britain. At the very end of the Hallstatt era, the longsword seemed to fall out of favour, ousted by short, thrusting daggers which are found in greater numbers among grave goods in high status burials.
saw changing patterns of warfare. At the beginning of the La Tène period warfare was likely conducted on a small scale between élite warriors, perhaps in chariots, wielding a new type of Celtic longsword. During the succeeding centuries the design of the sword changed, characteristically becoming shorter, single-edged and lacking a thrusting point, designed purely to make a cut (although the Hallstatt era sword had also been primarily a slashing weapon) and greater regional variation in swords appeared: in Britain
and Ireland
even the longer sword designs were shorter and thinner than their Continental counterparts. It is possible that in the later La Tène era, an increasing population would have led to larger armies organised in ranks of spearmen, leading to a decline in the importance of the champion with his sword and hence a decline in sword functionality.
The La Tène era also saw the development of armour in the form of mail (chainmail), the familiar form in which a garment is constructed of linked metal rings. The earliest precursor to mail is so-called ringmail, in which the rings, instead of being linked together, are sewn directly onto a fabric backing. Finds of mail are rare, suggesting that it was a luxury restricted to high status warriors. A wide variety of crested helmets also belong to this period and occur in greater numbers than is the case with mail, but overall the picture is of Celtic armies being made up largely of lighty armoured or unarmoured fighters.
Chariot burials continue well into the La Tène period, suggesting their continued importance in warfare. The La Tène chariot was a light, two-wheeled vehicle, unlike the heavier chariot of earlier times. The arrangement of the chariot poles in a reconstruction of the Wetwang Chariot suggests they were drawn by small ponies only 11 or 12 hands high and thus seem unlikely to be used in a frontal charge. Because chariot burials were never practised in Ireland, the nature or existence of chariot warfare in that country remains unclear.
infantry soldier.
s waged by the Roman
proconsul Julius Caesar
against several Gallic tribes
, lasting from 58 BC
to 51 BC
. The Romans would also raid Britannia
and Germania
, but these expeditions never developed into full-scale invasions. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia
in 52 BC
, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the Roman Republic
over the whole of Gaul. The wars paved the way for Caesar to become the sole ruler of the Roman Republic.
The best known Roman source for descriptions of Celtic warfare is Julius Caesar
in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars
(Commentarii de Bello Gallico
) in which he describes the methods of warfare of both the Gauls and the Britons.
In describing battles against various tribes of Gauls, in contrast to the popular picture of the wild Celtic berserker
, Caesar talks of the Helvetii
fighting in close order, forming a phalanx
as a defence against cavalry and advancing in a close formation. He also speaks of arrows being used against his troops crossing rivers and against the besiegers of Gergovia, capital of the Arverni
- one of the few engagements in which Vercingetorix
outmanoeuvred Caesar. He mentions the use of javelins by the Belgic Nervii
, but despite Roman writers frequently referring to the use of swords by the Celts in battle, Caesar never mentions Gaulish troops fighting en masse with swords. By the mid-1st century BCE, Celtic tribes in Gaul may have had a core of properly trained and equipped professional soldiers, drawn from the traditional warrior caste, in addition and in contrast to the general tribal levy of lightly armed and armoured freemen.
It is perhaps the descriptions of the Britons which have most influenced the popular image of the wild Celtic warrior. Caesar emphasises the "barbarian" aspect of the Britons, possibly for political reasons since his expedition there was of necessity brief, describing how they wore animal skins, had wives in common, did not grow crops and dyed their skin blue: although this description does not mention the plant, subsequent commentators have supposed that woad
was the source of this blue dye and though later experimentation suggests that woad is not very well suited as a skin dye nor as tattoo ink, this image, conflated with the descriptions of the Gaesatae
, has nevertheless helped paint the picture of the woad-daubed ancient Briton charging into battle naked and blue.
Outside Britain, small pots of orange paste have been found in the vicinity of Cerro del Castillo, which has led to the proposition that if the Celtiberians
used it in a similar manner to Caesar's description, they would have painted themselves orange rather than blue.
The other popular image of pre-Roman Britain, the scythed chariot
, is not mentioned by Caesar either but alluded to by later commentators, such as Pomponius Mela
, during and after the Roman conquest.
The earliest encounter with the Romans in 387 BC
resulted in all of Rome apart from the Capitoline Hill
falling to a confederacy of Gaulish tribes led by Brennus
of the Senones
. Little or no detail is given of the methods of warfare of these Gauls except that according to Plutarch some were armed with swords and some were mounted. In 280 BC
another Brennus
led a formidable Celtic army South to attack Greece and Thrace. According to Pausanias
this force included large numbers of cavalry, organised in a system called Trimarchisia (*tri- *marko- "three horse") dividing them into teams of three, only two of which would be mounted at one time. Brennus' expedition would have originated in Pannonia
and Noricum
, a region which later became famous for producing high quality steel
for weaponry.
wrote that the strength of the Celts lies in their infantry but some had a strong cavalry arm and others continued to use chariots.
In earlier times, the Celts would employ the chariot. Despite the fact that from the end of the 3rd century BC chariots had fallen out of use in continental Europe, Caesar found that they still were a major component in the patterns warfare among the Britons. If his descriptions are to be believed, he encountered in Britain an army in transition, possessing cavalry but still with an elite fighting from chariots. He describes how these warriors would throw javelins from their vehicles before abandoning them to fight on foot and returning to them in order to retreat or redeploy. Cavalry proper is described as used for skirmishing. Gauls are said to have commented that they themselves had formerly used chariots but had abandoned them by this time.
The carnyx
was a wind instrument
of the Iron Age
Celts, attested for ca. 300 BC to 200 AD. It is a kind of bronze
trumpet
, held vertically, the mouth styled in the shape of a boar
's head. It was used in warfare, probably to incite troops to battle and intimidate opponents. The instrument's upright carriage allowed its notes to carry over the heads of the participants in battles and ceremonies.
during the Second Punic war
and who contributed to his victories in Lake Trasimene and in Cannae
. Celtic mercenaries fought on the sides of Ancient Greeks and Romans
as well. When a branch of Brennus' invasion force turned East and crossed the Hellespont, they founded a Celtic-ruled state in Asia Minor
known as Galatia
. Galatia became well-known as a source of mercenaries throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region. Illustrations showing troops armed with long, straight swords and oval shields have generally been taken to depict Galatians.
The Greek historian Polybius
gives an account of the Battle of Telamon
225 BC in which the Romans defeated an invasion by the Boii
, Insubres
, Taurisci
and Gaesatae
. The Gaesatae were said to be a group of warriors who fought for hire and it is they who are described in the most detail. Whereas the Boii and Insubres wore trousers and cloaks which were thick enough to afford some protection from the Roman javelins, the Gaesatae removed their clothes to fight naked, standing in front of their allies and seeking to intimidate the Romans with shouting and gesturing. However, this lack of protection caused their defeat since they apparently carried relatively small shields which did not adequately protect them against the missile fire of the Roman skirmishers. Suffering heavy casualties, the Gaesatae either fled the battlefield or desperately charged headlong into the Roman lines where, outmatched for both numbers and equipment, they were defeated. What position the Gaesatae occupied in Celtic society has been much debated. Early writers assumed that they were a tribe, but later authors have inclined to the view that they may have been groups of unattached young warriors who lived by raiding and mercenary activities like the early Roman iuventes or the semi-legendary Irish fiana.
There are accounts of Celtic soldiers in the bodyguards of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Herod of Judea. Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews mentions Gallic or Galatian soldiers present at the funeral of King Herod the Great.
, a tribe occupying the South of Brittany
fiercely resisted Caesar's Romans both on land and at sea. They were said to have constructed ships of oak with tough leather sails, well adapted for plying the rough Atlantic seas. Their capital, Darioritum, was extremely difficult to attack from land. At first the Roman galleys, fighting in unfamiliar conditions, were at a great disadvantage until new tactics were developed by the Roman admiral Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
which resulted in a decisive victory for Caesar's men. The Veneti were subject to savage reprisals for their defiance.
which indicates that slings must also have played some role in the conflicts between Celtic tribes there, probably in sieges. The La Tène period also saw the development of multivallate fortresses, protected by formidable earthworks as well as the Murus Gallicus
and Pfostenschlitzmauer
constructions. The larger settlements in Gaul
were described by Julius Caesar
as oppida
and the term is now used to designate the large pre-Roman towns that existed all across Western and Central Europe, many of which grew from hill fort
s. There are over 2000 of these forts known in Britain alone.
The Celtic circular wall of Otzenhausen
is one of the biggest fortifications the Celts ever constructed.
It was built by Celts of the Treveri
tribe, who lived in the region north of the fort. The fort is located on top of the Dollberg, a hill near Otzenhausen
in Germany
, about 695 m above sea level. The only visible remains are two circular earth ramparts, covered with stones.
, for example, did adopt Celtic equipment. Another weapon, the sica
, was called Thracian sword (Ancient Greek
,Θρακικον ξίφος) though it did not originate there, despite its popular usage. Considered Thrace's national weapon, the sword's ultimate origin was the Hallstatt culture
and the Thracians may have or adopted or inherited it.
were an important part of the Dacian army. Celtic-type weapons were in use, such long swords and round shields. The Celts played a very active role in Dacia and the Celtic Scordisci
were among the tribes allied to the Dacians.
and the Pannonians.
A type of wooden oblong shield with an iron boss was introduced to Illyria from the Celts. Hallstatt culture
influences abounded as the Illyrians were also its descendants.
. The best known of their weapons is the falcata
, a short curved sword with the edge innermost and closed hilt. The Roman legionary's gladius
was originally called the gladius Hispaniensis and was based on another Celtiberian sword type. The name, too, may derive from the Celtic root *kledo-, meaning "sword". The Latin word lancea
used for the javelins of auxiliary troops, is also supposedly derived from an Iberian or Celtiberian word, but one whose original form is not recorded. The Romans described the spear of the Gauls with the word gaesum, a Latinisation of the Gaulish *gaisos.
It is likely that two Latin words for chariot, carrus and covinnus, were adopted from the Gaulish language, although the Romans at no point seem to have employed chariots in warfare.
and early Roman
civilization faced major threats from Celtic invaders. Later, the situation was reversed as the expanding Roman Empire
gradually conquered most of the Celts. Greek and Roman writers tend to focus much on the savage ferocity of the Celtic warrior, creating an image which has persisted ever since.
To the Ancient Greeks and Romans the Celtic warrior was the archetypal barbarian, stereotypically presented as massive, powerful, and malicious. In the 5th century BC a Greek writer Ephoros described the Celts as one of the four great barbarian peoples, along with the Persians, the Scythians and the Libyans. They were called Keltoi or Galatae by the Greeks and Celtae or Galli by the Romans. Aristotle
comments that their courage had an element of passion like that of all barbarians. Diodorus Siculus
writes that they were extremely addicted to wine and that one could exchange a mere jar of wine for a slave.
The Celts were described by classical writers such as Strabo
, Livy
, Pausanias
, and Florus
as fighting like "wild beasts", and as hordes. Dionysius
said that their "manner of fighting, being in large measure that of wild beasts and frenzied, was an erratic procedure, quite lacking in military science
. Thus, at one moment they would raise their swords aloft and smite after the manner of wild boars
, throwing the whole weight of their bodies into the blow like hewers of wood or men digging with mattocks, and again they would deliver crosswise blows aimed at no target, as if they intended to cut to pieces the entire bodies of their adversaries, protective armour and all". Such descriptions have been challenged by contemporary historians.
This is a list of battles or conflicts that Celts had a leading or crucial role in, sometimes as mercenaries.
Prehistoric warfare
Prehistoric warfare is war conducted in the era before writing, and before the establishments of large social entities like states. Historical warfare sets in with the standing armies of Bronze Age Sumer, but prehistoric warfare may be studied in some societies at much earlier dates.When humans...
were recorded among Celtic tribes also.This includes the Celtic peoples of Ireland
Gaelic Ireland
Gaelic Ireland is the name given to the period when a Gaelic political order existed in Ireland. The order continued to exist after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans until about 1607 AD...
, Britain
Prehistoric Britain
For the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...
, Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, Iberia
Prehistoric Iberia
The prehistory of the Iberian peninsula begins with the arrival of the first hominins 1.2 million years ago and ends with the Punic Wars, when the territory enters the domains of written history...
, and Anatolia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
.
The scope of this article does not extend to the Britons and Gaels
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
of the Sub-Roman
Sub-Roman Britain
Sub-Roman Britain is a term derived from an archaeological label for the material culture of Britain in Late Antiquity: the term "Sub-Roman" was invented to describe the potsherds in sites of the 5th century and the 6th century, initially with an implication of decay of locally-made wares from a...
to Medieval period (for which see Welsh warfare, Gaelic warfare
Gaelic warfare
-Weaponry:Gaels employed a variety of weapons in combat including javelins , harpoons , darts , slings, spears and swords. Javelins and harpoons were used by the wealthiest among them, while less wealthy fighters used slings and darts, although ranged combat was generally disdained in Celtic...
).
Mythological
The Irish heroic cycles were committed to writing in the Mediaeval period, some time after the pre-Christian era they are supposed to depict. The Welsh MabinogionMabinogion
The Mabinogion is the title given to a collection of eleven prose stories collated from medieval Welsh manuscripts. The tales draw on pre-Christian Celtic mythology, international folktale motifs, and early medieval historical traditions...
dates from roughly the same era. The Táin Bó Cúailnge, chiefly the story of the Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
hero Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn
Cú Chulainn or Cúchulainn , and sometimes known in English as Cuhullin , is an Irish mythological hero who appears in the stories of the Ulster Cycle, as well as in Scottish and Manx folklore...
describes individual combats centred on the use of the spear (gae) and javelin (gá-ín) with no mention of helmets or metal armour, in keeping with archaeological evidence. Chariots also play an important role, but there have so far been no finds of chariots resembling those of the Britons, leading to speculation that this may be an element added later under the influence of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
ic literature and/or that the chariots of the Irish were of the four wheeled variety, more accurately described as waggons, used purely for transportation. No remains of these vehicles from the period have yet been discovered.
Tribal warfare
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, the Greeks and other peoples against other Celtic tribes. Tribal warfare
Endemic warfare
Endemic warfare is the state of continual, low-threshold warfare in a tribal warrior society. Endemic warfare is often highly ritualized and plays an important function in assisting the formation of a social structure among the tribes' men by proving themselves in battle.Ritual fighting permits...
appears to have been a regular feature of Celtic societies. While epic literature depicts this as more of a sport focused on raids and hunting rather than organised territorial conquest, the historical record is more of tribes using warfare to exert political control and harass rivals, for economic advantage, and in some instances to conquer territory.
Archaeology provides much information regarding the material culture of the Celts, but the significance of these finds in determining how the ancient Celts actually fought is the subject of much speculation. It was long thought, for instance, that the Celts were headhunters but recent research from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
has indicated that it may have been the heads of slain allies that were collected to be placed in porticos, while the defeated were dumped in mass graves, their weapons ritually broken.
Hallstatt period 12th–6th centuries BCE
The Hallstatt CultureHallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
is the earliest to be identified as associated with Celtic culture, spreading from north of the Alps West into France, Southern Britain and the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. The earlier phases of the Hallstatt era fall into the Bronze Age. Swords seem to have been the primary weapon from this period, perhaps indicating that warfare was a relatively small scale affair, possibly between groups of élite warriors. In the latter phases of the Hallstatt era, iron began to replace bronze in the manufacture of weapons and the classic "Celtic longsword" with its leaf-bladed design made its appearance. Chariot burials are also characteristic of the period; it is possible that they also served some function in the warfare of this age, but the chariots are four-wheeled vehicles and they do not occur at all in Britain. At the very end of the Hallstatt era, the longsword seemed to fall out of favour, ousted by short, thrusting daggers which are found in greater numbers among grave goods in high status burials.
La Tène period 6th–1st centuries BCE
The La Tène PeriodLa Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
saw changing patterns of warfare. At the beginning of the La Tène period warfare was likely conducted on a small scale between élite warriors, perhaps in chariots, wielding a new type of Celtic longsword. During the succeeding centuries the design of the sword changed, characteristically becoming shorter, single-edged and lacking a thrusting point, designed purely to make a cut (although the Hallstatt era sword had also been primarily a slashing weapon) and greater regional variation in swords appeared: in Britain
Prehistoric Britain
For the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...
and Ireland
Prehistoric Ireland
The prehistory of Ireland has been pieced together from archaeological and genetic evidence; it begins with the first evidence of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers settling in Ireland around 7000 BC and finishes with the start of the historical record, around AD 400. The prehistoric period covers the...
even the longer sword designs were shorter and thinner than their Continental counterparts. It is possible that in the later La Tène era, an increasing population would have led to larger armies organised in ranks of spearmen, leading to a decline in the importance of the champion with his sword and hence a decline in sword functionality.
The La Tène era also saw the development of armour in the form of mail (chainmail), the familiar form in which a garment is constructed of linked metal rings. The earliest precursor to mail is so-called ringmail, in which the rings, instead of being linked together, are sewn directly onto a fabric backing. Finds of mail are rare, suggesting that it was a luxury restricted to high status warriors. A wide variety of crested helmets also belong to this period and occur in greater numbers than is the case with mail, but overall the picture is of Celtic armies being made up largely of lighty armoured or unarmoured fighters.
Chariot burials continue well into the La Tène period, suggesting their continued importance in warfare. The La Tène chariot was a light, two-wheeled vehicle, unlike the heavier chariot of earlier times. The arrangement of the chariot poles in a reconstruction of the Wetwang Chariot suggests they were drawn by small ponies only 11 or 12 hands high and thus seem unlikely to be used in a frontal charge. Because chariot burials were never practised in Ireland, the nature or existence of chariot warfare in that country remains unclear.
Continuation in Ireland
Roman Conquest eventually extinguished the independence of all the Celtic peoples except in Ireland and the far North of Britain. After the Roman era, only in the British Isles, therefore, could there be said to still exist a distinctly Celtic style of warfare. Ireland was the last region to adopt the La Tène mode of Celtic technology and with a smaller and less dense population than that of the British or Continental Celts, may have sustained the era of small scale elite combat for longer. Traditional patterns of warfare seem to have continued all the way to the Viking and Norman invasions, conducted by foot soldiers, lacking any metal armour including helmets, fighting with spears and javelins, occasionally axes and in the case of higher status warriors, swords, protected by a round shield. The Viking invasions saw the adoption of the bow in addition, but never in great numbers. The Norman invasion in the 12th century and the ineffectiveness of traditional tactics in resisting it led to the Irish moving towards a more typically mediaeval style of warfare exemplified by the GallowglassGallowglass
The gallowglass or galloglass – from , gallóglach – were an elite class of mercenary warrior who came from Norse-Gaelic clans in the Hebrides and Highlands of Scotland between the mid 13th century and late 16th century...
infantry soldier.
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaignMilitary campaign
In the military sciences, the term military campaign applies to large scale, long duration, significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of inter-related military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war...
s waged by the Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
proconsul Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
against several Gallic tribes
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, lasting from 58 BC
58 BC
Year 58 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Gabinius...
to 51 BC
51 BC
Year 51 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Sulpicius...
. The Romans would also raid Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
and Germania
Germania
Germania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
, but these expeditions never developed into full-scale invasions. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia
Battle of Alesia
The Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September, 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the Mandubii tribe...
in 52 BC
52 BC
Year 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio...
, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
over the whole of Gaul. The wars paved the way for Caesar to become the sole ruler of the Roman Republic.
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
in his Commentaries on the Gallic Wars
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. They lasted from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the...
(Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
) in which he describes the methods of warfare of both the Gauls and the Britons.
In describing battles against various tribes of Gauls, in contrast to the popular picture of the wild Celtic berserker
Berserker
Berserkers were Norse warriors who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested in numerous Old Norse sources...
, Caesar talks of the Helvetii
Helvetii
The Helvetii were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC...
fighting in close order, forming a phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
as a defence against cavalry and advancing in a close formation. He also speaks of arrows being used against his troops crossing rivers and against the besiegers of Gergovia, capital of the Arverni
Arverni
The Arverni were a Gallic tribe living in what is now the Auvergne region of France during the last centuries BC. One of the most powerful tribes in ancient Gaul, they opposed the Romans on several occasions...
- one of the few engagements in which Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix
Vercingetorix was the chieftain of the Arverni tribe, who united the Gauls in an ultimately unsuccessful revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars....
outmanoeuvred Caesar. He mentions the use of javelins by the Belgic Nervii
Nervii
The Nervii were an ancient Germanic tribe, and one of the most powerful Belgic tribes; living in the northeastern hinterlands of Gaul, they were known to trek long distances to engage in various wars and functions...
, but despite Roman writers frequently referring to the use of swords by the Celts in battle, Caesar never mentions Gaulish troops fighting en masse with swords. By the mid-1st century BCE, Celtic tribes in Gaul may have had a core of properly trained and equipped professional soldiers, drawn from the traditional warrior caste, in addition and in contrast to the general tribal levy of lightly armed and armoured freemen.
It is perhaps the descriptions of the Britons which have most influenced the popular image of the wild Celtic warrior. Caesar emphasises the "barbarian" aspect of the Britons, possibly for political reasons since his expedition there was of necessity brief, describing how they wore animal skins, had wives in common, did not grow crops and dyed their skin blue: although this description does not mention the plant, subsequent commentators have supposed that woad
Woad
Isatis tinctoria, with Woad as the common name, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is commonly called dyer's woad, and sometimes incorrectly listed as Isatis indigotica . It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem...
was the source of this blue dye and though later experimentation suggests that woad is not very well suited as a skin dye nor as tattoo ink, this image, conflated with the descriptions of the Gaesatae
Gaesatae
The Gaesatae were a group of Gaulish warriors who lived in the Alps near the river Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic in the Battle of Telamon of 225 BC...
, has nevertheless helped paint the picture of the woad-daubed ancient Briton charging into battle naked and blue.
Outside Britain, small pots of orange paste have been found in the vicinity of Cerro del Castillo, which has led to the proposition that if the Celtiberians
Celtiberians
The Celtiberians were Celtic-speaking people of the Iberian Peninsula in the final centuries BC. The group used the Celtic Celtiberian language.Archaeologically, the Celtiberians participated in the Hallstatt culture in what is now north-central Spain...
used it in a similar manner to Caesar's description, they would have painted themselves orange rather than blue.
The other popular image of pre-Roman Britain, the scythed chariot
Scythed chariot
The scythed chariot was a war chariot with scythe-like blades mounted on each side, employed in ancient times.-History:The scythed chariot was a modified war chariot. The blades extended horizontally for about to each side of the wheels...
, is not mentioned by Caesar either but alluded to by later commentators, such as Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera and died c. AD 45.His short work occupies less than one hundred pages of ordinary print. It is laconic in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing...
, during and after the Roman conquest.
Celtic troop types and organization
No Celtic group employed a regular military as we would understand it. Organisation was according to clan grouping and social class. The Celtiberian term Uiros Uiramos may denote a war leader, while their immediate companions were known in Gaulish as *ambaxtoi ("those who accompany") a term which passed into Latin and from which our own word ambassador ultimately derives.The earliest encounter with the Romans in 387 BC
387 BC
Year 387 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Papirius, Fidenas, Mamercinus, Lanatus and Poplicola...
resulted in all of Rome apart from the Capitoline Hill
Capitoline Hill
The Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
falling to a confederacy of Gaulish tribes led by Brennus
Brennus (4th century BC)
Brennus was a chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine-et-Marne, Loiret, and Yonne, but which had expanded to occupy northern Italy....
of the Senones
Senones
The Senones were an ancient Gaulish tribe.In about 400 BC they crossed the Alps and, having driven out the Umbrians settled on the east coast of Italy from Forlì to Ancona, in the so-called ager Gallicus, and founded the town of Sena Gallica , which became their capital. In 391 BC they invaded...
. Little or no detail is given of the methods of warfare of these Gauls except that according to Plutarch some were armed with swords and some were mounted. In 280 BC
280 BC
Year 280 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Laevinus and Coruncanius...
another Brennus
Brennus (3rd century BC)
Brennus was one of the leaders of the army of Gallic invasion of the Balkans, defeated the assembled Greeks at Thermopylae, and is popularly reputed to have sacked and looted Delphi, although the ancient sources do not support this.In 280 BC a great army, comprising about 85,000 warriors, coming...
led a formidable Celtic army South to attack Greece and Thrace. According to Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
this force included large numbers of cavalry, organised in a system called Trimarchisia (*tri- *marko- "three horse") dividing them into teams of three, only two of which would be mounted at one time. Brennus' expedition would have originated in Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
and Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
, a region which later became famous for producing high quality steel
Noric steel
Noric steel was a famously high quality steel from Noricum during the time of the Roman Empire.The proverbial hardness of Noric steel is expressed by Ovid: "...durior [...] ferro quod noricus excoquit ignis..." and it was largely used for the weapons of the Roman military.The iron ore was...
for weaponry.
Infantry and cavalry
TacitusTacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
wrote that the strength of the Celts lies in their infantry but some had a strong cavalry arm and others continued to use chariots.
"Their mode of fighting with their chariots is this: firstly, they drive about in all directions and throw their weapons and generally break the ranks of the enemy with the very dread of their horses and the noise of their wheels; and when they have worked themselves in between the troops of horse, leap from their chariots and engage on foot. The charioteers in the mean time withdraw some little distance from the battle, and so place themselves with the chariots that, if their masters are overpowered by the number of the enemy, they may have a ready retreat to their own troops. Thus they display in battle the speed of horse, [together with] the firmness of infantry."
The carnyx
Carnyx
The carnyx was a wind instrument of the Iron Age Celts, used between c. 300 BC to 200 AD. It was a type of bronze trumpet, held vertically, the mouth styled in the shape of a boar's, or other animal's, head. It was used in warfare, probably to incite troops to battle and intimidate opponents...
was a wind instrument
Wind instrument
A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator , in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into a mouthpiece set at the end of the resonator. The pitch of the vibration is determined by the length of the tube and by manual modifications of...
of the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
Celts, attested for ca. 300 BC to 200 AD. It is a kind of bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, held vertically, the mouth styled in the shape of a boar
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
's head. It was used in warfare, probably to incite troops to battle and intimidate opponents. The instrument's upright carriage allowed its notes to carry over the heads of the participants in battles and ceremonies.
Mercenaries
Celtic warriors served as mercenaries in many armies of the classical period. The best known were those who joined Hannibal in his invasion of ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the Second Punic war
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
and who contributed to his victories in Lake Trasimene and in Cannae
Cannae
Cannae is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a frazione of the comune of Barletta.-Geography:It is situated near the river Aufidus , on a hill on the right Cannae (mod. Canne della Battaglia) is an ancient village of the Apulia region of south east Italy. It is a...
. Celtic mercenaries fought on the sides of Ancient Greeks and Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
as well. When a branch of Brennus' invasion force turned East and crossed the Hellespont, they founded a Celtic-ruled state in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
known as Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
. Galatia became well-known as a source of mercenaries throughout the Eastern Mediterranean region. Illustrations showing troops armed with long, straight swords and oval shields have generally been taken to depict Galatians.
The Greek historian Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
gives an account of the Battle of Telamon
Battle of Telamon
The Battle of Telamon was fought between the Roman Republic and an alliance of Gauls in 225 BC. The Romans, led by the consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, defeated the Gauls, thus extending their influence over northern Italy....
225 BC in which the Romans defeated an invasion by the Boii
Boii
The Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
, Insubres
Insubres
The Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...
, Taurisci
Taurisci
The Taurisci were a federation of Celtic tribes who dwelt in today's northern Slovenia before the coming of the Romans According to Pliny the Elder, they are the same people known as the Norici...
and Gaesatae
Gaesatae
The Gaesatae were a group of Gaulish warriors who lived in the Alps near the river Rhône and fought against the Roman Republic in the Battle of Telamon of 225 BC...
. The Gaesatae were said to be a group of warriors who fought for hire and it is they who are described in the most detail. Whereas the Boii and Insubres wore trousers and cloaks which were thick enough to afford some protection from the Roman javelins, the Gaesatae removed their clothes to fight naked, standing in front of their allies and seeking to intimidate the Romans with shouting and gesturing. However, this lack of protection caused their defeat since they apparently carried relatively small shields which did not adequately protect them against the missile fire of the Roman skirmishers. Suffering heavy casualties, the Gaesatae either fled the battlefield or desperately charged headlong into the Roman lines where, outmatched for both numbers and equipment, they were defeated. What position the Gaesatae occupied in Celtic society has been much debated. Early writers assumed that they were a tribe, but later authors have inclined to the view that they may have been groups of unattached young warriors who lived by raiding and mercenary activities like the early Roman iuventes or the semi-legendary Irish fiana.
There are accounts of Celtic soldiers in the bodyguards of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Herod of Judea. Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews mentions Gallic or Galatian soldiers present at the funeral of King Herod the Great.
Navy
While relatively little has been written about Celtic warfare at sea, the Gaulish VenetiVeneti (Gaul)
The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
, a tribe occupying the South of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
fiercely resisted Caesar's Romans both on land and at sea. They were said to have constructed ships of oak with tough leather sails, well adapted for plying the rough Atlantic seas. Their capital, Darioritum, was extremely difficult to attack from land. At first the Roman galleys, fighting in unfamiliar conditions, were at a great disadvantage until new tactics were developed by the Roman admiral Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus
Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus was a Roman politician and general of the 1st century BC and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination...
which resulted in a decisive victory for Caesar's men. The Veneti were subject to savage reprisals for their defiance.
Fortifications
Large stores of slingstones aerodynamically shaped by adding clay have been found in the Southern British hillfort of Maiden CastleMaiden Castle, Dorset
Maiden Castle is an Iron Age hill fort south west of Dorchester, in the English county of Dorset. Hill forts were fortified hill-top settlements constructed across Britain during the Iron Age...
which indicates that slings must also have played some role in the conflicts between Celtic tribes there, probably in sieges. The La Tène period also saw the development of multivallate fortresses, protected by formidable earthworks as well as the Murus Gallicus
Murus Gallicus
Murus Gallicus or Gallic Wall is a method of construction of defensive walls used to protect Iron Age hillforts and oppida of the La Tene period in Western Europe.The distinctive features are:* earth or rubble fill...
and Pfostenschlitzmauer
Pfostenschlitzmauer
Pfostenschlitzmauer is a method of constructing defensive walls protecting Iron Age hillforts and oppida in Central Europe, including Bavaria and the Czech Republic. It is characterized by vertical wooden posts set into the front stone facing. The rampart is constructed from a timber lattice...
constructions. The larger settlements in Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
were described by Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
as oppida
Oppidum
Oppidum is a Latin word meaning the main settlement in any administrative area of ancient Rome. The word is derived from the earlier Latin ob-pedum, "enclosed space," possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *pedóm-, "occupied space" or "footprint."Julius Caesar described the larger Celtic Iron Age...
and the term is now used to designate the large pre-Roman towns that existed all across Western and Central Europe, many of which grew from hill fort
Hill fort
A hill fort is a type of earthworks used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze and Iron Ages. Some were used in the post-Roman period...
s. There are over 2000 of these forts known in Britain alone.
The Celtic circular wall of Otzenhausen
Celtic circular wall of Otzenhausen
The Celtic circular fort at Otzenhausen is one of the biggest fortifications the Celts ever constructed.It was built by Celts of the Treveri tribe, who lived in the region north of the fort. The fort is located on top of the Dollberg, a hill near Otzenhausen in Germany, about 695 m above sea level...
is one of the biggest fortifications the Celts ever constructed.
It was built by Celts of the Treveri
Treveri
The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, at the latest, until their eventual absorption into the Franks...
tribe, who lived in the region north of the fort. The fort is located on top of the Dollberg, a hill near Otzenhausen
Nonnweiler
Nonnweiler is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany.-Overview:It is situated approx. 20 km northwest of Sankt Wendel, and 30 km southeast of Trier....
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, about 695 m above sea level. The only visible remains are two circular earth ramparts, covered with stones.
External influence
Celts were influenced by other peoples but influenced themselves the warfare of their enemies.Thracians
Thracian warfare was affected by Celts in a variety of ways, such as the adoption of certain long swords, though this was not universal among them: the TriballiTriballi
The Triballi were an ancient tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined....
, for example, did adopt Celtic equipment. Another weapon, the sica
Sica
The sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as...
, was called Thracian sword (Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
,Θρακικον ξίφος) though it did not originate there, despite its popular usage. Considered Thrace's national weapon, the sword's ultimate origin was the Hallstatt culture
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
and the Thracians may have or adopted or inherited it.
Dacians
The Celtic-Germanic BastarnaeBastarnae
The Bastarnae or Basternae were an ancient Germanic tribe,, who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited the region between the eastern Carpathian mountains and the Dnieper river...
were an important part of the Dacian army. Celtic-type weapons were in use, such long swords and round shields. The Celts played a very active role in Dacia and the Celtic Scordisci
Scordisci
The Scordisci were an Iron Age tribe centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus , Dravus and Danube rivers. They were historically notable from the beginning of the third century BC until the turn of the common era...
were among the tribes allied to the Dacians.
Illyrians
Celts affected the Illyrians in many cultural and material aspects and some of them were Celticized, especially the tribes in DalmatiaDalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
and the Pannonians.
A type of wooden oblong shield with an iron boss was introduced to Illyria from the Celts. Hallstatt culture
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
influences abounded as the Illyrians were also its descendants.
Romans
The Iberian peninsula, comprising modern Spain and Portugal, was a place of diverse cultures in classical times with various tribes who cannot always be placed firmly as Celts, Celtic influenced (such as the Lusitani) or non-Celts. Some of the Iberian Celts fought for Hannibal against the Romans in the Second Punic WarSecond Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
. The best known of their weapons is the falcata
Falcata
The falcata is a type of sword typical of the pre-Roman Iberian Peninsula , similar to Greek kopis or Nepalese kukri.-Name:...
, a short curved sword with the edge innermost and closed hilt. The Roman legionary's gladius
Gladius
Gladius was the Latin word for sword, and is used to represent the primary sword of Ancient Roman soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those used by the Greeks. From the 3rd century BC, the Romans adopted swords similar to those used by the Celtiberians and others during the early...
was originally called the gladius Hispaniensis and was based on another Celtiberian sword type. The name, too, may derive from the Celtic root *kledo-, meaning "sword". The Latin word lancea
Lancea
The lancea was the Roman auxiliaries' short javelin. According to the OED, the word originally came from the Iberian Language , also cf longche, the Greek term for lance. On Spike TV's show Deadliest Warrior, the lancea was the Celt's mid-range weapon....
used for the javelins of auxiliary troops, is also supposedly derived from an Iberian or Celtiberian word, but one whose original form is not recorded. The Romans described the spear of the Gauls with the word gaesum, a Latinisation of the Gaulish *gaisos.
It is likely that two Latin words for chariot, carrus and covinnus, were adopted from the Gaulish language, although the Romans at no point seem to have employed chariots in warfare.
Celts as barbarians
Later GreekAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
and early Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
civilization faced major threats from Celtic invaders. Later, the situation was reversed as the expanding Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
gradually conquered most of the Celts. Greek and Roman writers tend to focus much on the savage ferocity of the Celtic warrior, creating an image which has persisted ever since.
To the Ancient Greeks and Romans the Celtic warrior was the archetypal barbarian, stereotypically presented as massive, powerful, and malicious. In the 5th century BC a Greek writer Ephoros described the Celts as one of the four great barbarian peoples, along with the Persians, the Scythians and the Libyans. They were called Keltoi or Galatae by the Greeks and Celtae or Galli by the Romans. Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
comments that their courage had an element of passion like that of all barbarians. Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
writes that they were extremely addicted to wine and that one could exchange a mere jar of wine for a slave.
The Celts were described by classical writers such as Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
, and Florus
Florus
Florus, Roman historian, lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian.He compiled, chiefly from Livy, a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus . The work, which is called Epitome de T...
as fighting like "wild beasts", and as hordes. Dionysius
Dionysius of Halicarnassus
Dionysius of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Caesar Augustus. His literary style was Attistic — imitating Classical Attic Greek in its prime.-Life:...
said that their "manner of fighting, being in large measure that of wild beasts and frenzied, was an erratic procedure, quite lacking in military science
Military science
Military science is the process of translating national defence policy to produce military capability by employing military scientists, including theorists, researchers, experimental scientists, applied scientists, designers, engineers, test technicians, and military personnel responsible for...
. Thus, at one moment they would raise their swords aloft and smite after the manner of wild boars
Boar
Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...
, throwing the whole weight of their bodies into the blow like hewers of wood or men digging with mattocks, and again they would deliver crosswise blows aimed at no target, as if they intended to cut to pieces the entire bodies of their adversaries, protective armour and all". Such descriptions have been challenged by contemporary historians.
List of Celtic battles
- 284 BC284 BCYear 284 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tucca and Denter/Dentatus...
, Battle of ArretiumBattle of ArretiumThe Battle of Arretium was fought in 284 BC between the Roman Republic and some Celtic tribes, mainly the Senones and the Boii. Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter was the commander of the Roman army as a Consul...
, - 283 BC283 BCYear 283 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Dolabella and Maximus...
, Battle of Lake VadimoBattle of Lake Vadimo (283 BC)The Battle of Lake Vadimo was fought in 283 BC between Rome and the combined forces of the Etruscans and the Gallic tribe the Boii. The Roman army was led by consul Publius Cornelius Dolabella...
, - 225 BC225 BCYear 225 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Papus and Regulus...
, Battle of TelamonBattle of TelamonThe Battle of Telamon was fought between the Roman Republic and an alliance of Gauls in 225 BC. The Romans, led by the consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, defeated the Gauls, thus extending their influence over northern Italy....
, - 225 BC225 BCYear 225 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Papus and Regulus...
, Battle of FaesulaeBattle of FaesulaeThe Battle of Faesulae was fought in 225 BC between the Roman Republic and a group of Gauls living in Italy. The Gauls defeated the Romans, but later the same year, a decisive battle at Telamon had the opposite outcome....
, - 222 BC222 BCYear 222 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Calvus...
, Battle of ClastidiumBattle of ClastidiumThe Battle of Clastidium was fought in 222 BC between a Roman Republican army led by the Roman consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus and the Insubres led by Viridomarus. The Romans won the battle, and in the process, Marcellus earned the Spolia opima, one of the highest honors in ancient Rome, by...
, - 200 BC200 BCYear 200 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Maximus and Cotta...
, Battle of CremonaBattle of CremonaThe Battle of Cremona was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession that took place on February 1, 1702 between France and Austria.Five months after repulsing the French at the Battle of Chieri in Lombardy, Prince Eugene of Savoy retook the offensive, moving westward with the Austrian army of...
, - 194 BC194 BCYear 194 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Africanus and Longus...
, Battle of MutinaBattle of MutinaThe Battle of Mutina was fought on April 21, 43 BC between the forces of Mark Antony and the forces of Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Aulus Hirtius, who were providing aid to Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus.-Prelude:...
, - 105 BC105 BCYear 105 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufus and Maximus...
, Battle of ArausioBattle of ArausioThe Battle of Arausio took place on October 6, 105 BC, at a site between the town of Arausio and the Rhône River. Ranged against the migratory tribes of the Cimbri under Boiorix and the Teutoni were two Roman armies, commanded by the proconsul Quintus Servilius Caepio and consul Gnaeus Mallius... - 102 BC102 BCYear 102 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Catulus...
, Battle of Aquae SextiaeBattle of Aquae SextiaeThe Battle of Aquae Sextiae took place in 102 BC. After a string of Roman defeats , the Romans under Gaius Marius finally defeated the Teutones and Ambrones.-The battle:... - 101 BC101 BCYear 101 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Aquillius...
, Battle of VercellaeBattle of VercellaeThe Battle of Vercellae, or Battle of the Raudine Plain, in 101 BC was the Roman victory of Consul Gaius Marius over the invading Germanic Cimbri tribe near the settlement of Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul.... - 58 BC58 BCYear 58 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Gabinius...
, Battle of the Arar - 58 BC58 BCYear 58 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Gabinius...
, Battle of VosgesBattle of Vosges (58 BC)The Battle of Vosges was fought between the Germanic tribe of the Suebi under the leadership of Ariovistus against six Roman legions under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar in 58 BC. This encounter is the third major battle of the Gallic Wars. Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine, seeking a home in... - 58 BC58 BCYear 58 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Gabinius...
, Battle of BibracteBattle of BibracteThe Battle of Bibracte was fought between the Helvetii and six Roman legions, under the command of Gaius Julius Caesar. It was the second major battle of the Gallic Wars.... - 57 BC57 BCYear 57 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Metellus...
, Battle of the AxonaBattle of the AxonaThe Battle of the Axona was fought in 57 BC, between the Roman army of Gaius Julius Caesar and the Belgae. The Belgae, led by King Galba of Suessiones, attacked, only to be repelled by Caesar. Fearing an ambush, the Romans delayed their pursuit... - 57 BC57 BCYear 57 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus and Metellus...
, Battle of the SabisBattle of the SabisThe Battle of the Sabis, also known as the Battle of the Sambre or the Battle against the Nervians , was fought in 57 BC in the area known today as Wallonia, between the legions of the Roman Republic and an association of Belgic tribes, principally the Nervii... - 52 BC52 BCYear 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio...
, Battle of AlesiaBattle of AlesiaThe Battle of Alesia or Siege of Alesia took place in September, 52 BC around the Gallic oppidum of Alesia, a major town centre and hill fort of the Mandubii tribe... - 52 BC52 BCYear 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio...
, Battle of GergoviaBattle of GergoviaThe Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief town of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republic army, led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix... - 52 BC52 BCYear 52 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pompeius and Scipio...
, Battle of LutetiaBattle of LutetiaThe Battle of Lutetia was a battle between Roman forces under Titus Labienus and an anti-Roman Gallic coalition in 52 BC during the Gallic Wars. It was a Roman victory.-Course:...
See also
- Gaelic warfareGaelic warfare-Weaponry:Gaels employed a variety of weapons in combat including javelins , harpoons , darts , slings, spears and swords. Javelins and harpoons were used by the wealthiest among them, while less wealthy fighters used slings and darts, although ranged combat was generally disdained in Celtic...
- Ancient warfareAncient warfareAncient warfare is war as conducted from the beginnings of recorded history to the end of the ancient period. In Europe and the Near East, the end of antiquity is often equated with the fall of Rome in 476, and the wars of the Eastern Roman Empire Byzantium in its South Western Asian and North...
- Thracian warfareThracian warfareThe history of Thracian warfare spans from ca. 10th century BC up to the 1st century AD in the region defined by Ancient Greek and Latin historians as Thrace. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Thracian tribes and their kingdoms in the Balkans...
- Illyrian warfareIllyrian warfareThe history of Illyrian warfare spans from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC up to the 1st century AD in the region of Illyria and in southern Italy where the Iapygian civilization flourished....
- Dacian warfareDacian warfareThe history of Dacian warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the 2nd century AD in the region defined by Ancient Greek and Latin historians as Dacia. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Dacian tribes and their kingdoms in the Balkans...