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The people of Gaul spoke a P-Celtic language that was similar to the Celtic languages of Britain. The Celtic tribes of Gaul included the Ligures, Saluvii, Volcae Arecomice, Volcae Tectosages, Tarbelli Ausci, Boii, Cadurci, Allobroges, and Helvii in the south, the Petrocorii, Santones, Pictones, Lemovices, Averni, Velavii, Segusiavii, Sequani, Mandubii, Bituriges Cubi, Carnutes, and Lingones in the middle, and the Veliocasses, Caletes, Ambiani, Atrebates, Morini, and Menapii in the north. (5,6)
The Celtic tribes of Armorica (Brittany) included the Osismi, Namnetes, Redones, and Curiosolitae, and the Veneti. The sea-faring Veneti had a monopoly on trade between the Breton peninsula and England. The Veneti were originally a Belgic tribe. Their name comes from the Gallic word vindu, which means "white" or "blond". Groups in southern Armorica had maintained contact with the western and southwestern coasts of Britain and Ireland since Megalithic times. (6)
Caesar set his sights on conquering Gaul in 58 B.C. In 57 B.C., the Belgae formed a confederation to fight the threat of Rome. Members of their confederation included the Bellovaci, Suessiones, Nervii, Atrebates, Ambiani, Morini, Menapii, Calati, Veliocasses, Viromandui, the Teutonic Atuatuci, and the half-Celtic, half-Germanic Eburones. Despite fierce fighting, the Romans defeated the Celts throughout Gaul as far as Armorica later that year. (6)
In 56 B.C., the Veneti led a rebellion against Rome. Their maritime confederation included the Namnetes, Osisimi, the Curiosolitae, Diablintes, Lexovii, Menapii, and Morini as well as some groups from Britain. Caesar was unable to take the towns of the Veneti, so he fought them at sea. Veneti ships could not be rammed by Roman ships becuase of their higher prows but Roman ships were more maneauverable because they were powered by oars rather than sails. Accounts of the battle are confused but the Veneti lost because of the limited manueaverability of their ships. Many of the Veneti immigrated to England after they were defeated by Caesar around 56 B.C. Many of the others were killed or sold off by the Romans. Other tribes in the confederation, especially the northern Menapii and Morini, continued to fight as guerrillas. (6)
Later rebellions were led by the Belgic Celts and other groups. Caesar attacked Britain to show the people of Gaul that they could not depend on reinforcements from Britain. When the Gauls allied themselves with the Germans, Caesar sent expeditions into German territory. (6)
Vercingetorix of the Arverni led a great rebellion against the Romans. His confederation included the Senones, Parisii, Pictones, Cadurci, Turoni, Aulerci, Cenomai, Diablintes, Lemovices, Andes, the Armoricans, and others. Eventually even the Aedui wanted to join with Vercingetorix. Only the Remi, Lingones, and Treveri did not join the Gaulish rebellion. Vercingetorix was ultimately defeated at Alesia. Vercingetorix was strangled in Rome six months later on the orders of Caesar in 51 B.C. The last of the resistance leaders was Commios, the Atrebatian. He was defeated by the Roman Volusenus and Commios left for Britain. Gaul was now pacified. Major Roman settlements spread throughout Gaul. These included Massalia (Marseilles), Narbo (Narbonne), Tolosa (Toulouse), Avaricum (Bourges), Vesontio (Besoncon), Alesia, Cenabum (Orleans), Lutetia (Paris), Durocortorum (Reims), and Samarobriva (Amiens). (3, 6)
Gaulish was spoken in Spain, France, and northern Italy until it was replaced by Latin. By the 5th century A.D., Gaulish was just a quaint curiosity. (5, 6)
Many believe that Goidelic-speaking Celts brought bronze-working to Iberia at the beginning of the Bronze Age. They came to a land that was dominated by the Iberians. The Iberians spoke a non-Indo-European language. The Iberians recorded their language in Ionic Greek letters in the 6th century BC. Several scripts in the area may be even older. The widespread presence of place-names ending in -briga, such as Lacobriga (Lagos), suggest the influence of the Goidelic Celts. The Celts were also influenced by the speech of the Iberians. (1,10)
The Goidelic Celts were replaced by Brythonic or Gaulish speakers during the middle of the first millennium AD. Lucan and Appian say that the Gaulish speakers arrived in Iberia to escape famine. Many Greek writers, such as Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) and Pytheas of Massalia (4th century BC), also speak of the Celts in Iberia. Despite the presence of P-Celtic or Brythonic influence, it is thought that Iberian Celtic was predominantly of the Goidelic or Q-Celtic type. Place names ending in -dunum, such as Caladunum (Calahorra in Catalonia), are not as widespread as the Goidelic -briga place-names and are clustered in Catalonia near Gaul and the Pyrenees. However, a few -dunum place-names are also found in Goidelic Ireland and a few -briga names are found in Brythonic Gaul. (1, 10)
Writers debate the extent to which the Celts mingled with the earlier Iberian inhabitants. Some use the term Celtiberian to describe the time of the Celts in Spain. Others, such as Poseidonius, speak of a specific group called the Celtiberians who arose as a mixture of the Iberians and the Celts. The Iberians lived in the south and east while the Celts and the Celtiberians lived in the interior and the west. Saguntum, the initial focal point of the Second Punic War, is said to have been the boundary between the Celtiberians and the Iberians. Others feel that a few Celtic families were absorbed into Iberian culture and kept their Celtic names. Certainly by the time the Carthaginians and Romans began to conquer Iberia, the Celts were the politically dominant group in Iberia. The Iberian Celts were pastoral herdsmen who traded gold, silver, and copper with the Greek world. They were dominated by the Carthaginians and then the Romans. Celtiberian resistance against Rome largely ended with the fall of the Numantia, a large Celtiberian hill-fort around 153 BC. The Celtic language survived in Iberia until the 2nd century AD. (1, 10)
Ambon - An Iberian who fought the Romans (10)
Arganthonios - Ruler of the Tartessus (Guadalquivir) Valley. His name comes from "arganto", the Celtic word for "silver". (10)
Auaros, Avaros - Chieftain of Numantia, a Celtiberian hill-fort (10)
Caraunios - An Iberian who fought the Romans (10)
Caros - An Iberian who fought the Romans (10)
Leukon - An Iberian who fought the Romans (10)
Megaravicos - An Iberian who fought the Romans (10)
Rhetogenes - An Iberian who fought the Romans (10)
Viriathos (Lusitani) - An Iberian who fought the Romans (10)
Galatia is the name given to the area in central Asia Minor that was invaded by Celts (Gauls) around 278 B.C. The mercenaries, with their wives and children, were invited into the area by Nicomedes of Bithynia. They were led by Leonorius and Lutarius. Around 230 B.C., the Celts were confined to an area of barren uplands between the Sangarius River (Sakarya) and the Halys (Kizil Irmak). The land was already inhabited by Phrygians, who became only partly assimilated to Celtic culture. The Galatians were a military aristocracy of about 20,000 and were divided into three tribes. The Tolistobogii (or Tolistoagii) were centered on Blucium and lived near Pessinus (Ballihisar). The Tectosages lived around Ancyra (Ankara). Ancyra was founded by the Phrygians who had left Macedonia and who moved into Asia Minor around the end of the second millennium B.C. It sat at the intersection of several trade routes and became a prominent Phrygian city. The Persians and Seleucids controlled the area before the arrival of the Gauls. The third Galatian tribe was the Trocmi, who lived near Tavium (Buyuk Nefez Koy). The three tribes sent delegates to a Galatian council at Drunemeton or Drynemetum. After the Galatians sided with the Seleucid Antiochus III, the Romans invaded their territory in 189 B.C.. Galatia became a protectorate after Rome's first war with Mithridates VI of Pontus in 85 B.C. Galatia was made a Roman province in 25 B.C., originally under the name of Galatica. It was formed from parts of Phrygia, Lycaonia, and Pisidia, including Pisidian Antioch. Paul wrote to the Galatian church around 52 to 55 A.D. He was not addressing the more Celticized inhabitants of the north but to other inhabitants of Galatia. The Celtic people of north Galatia took to Roman ways more readily than to Greek ways. Around 269 A.D., Ancyra briefly became part of Zenobia's Palmyrene empire but it was retaken by the Romans three years later. During the time of Diocletian (who became sole emperor around 285 A.D.), the province was divided into Galatia Prima and Galatia Salutaris. Ancyra was the capital of Galatia Prima. The Galatians were still speaking a Celtic language in the time of St. Jerome (347 - 420 A.D.). Saint Jerome wrote that the Galatians of Ancyra and the Treveri of Treves spoke the same language. (1, 7, 8, 9)
Chiomara (1)
Kamma - A priestess of Artemis mentioned by Plutarch. She killed the man who murdered her husband and who then wanted to marry her. (1)
Aiorix - Brother of the high priest of the Mother Goddess at Pessinus (1)
Amyntas - Galatian ruler during the time of Octavian. The name is Greek. (1, 8)
Brogitarius - Ruler of the Trocmi (1)
Cavarus - The last ruler of another Celtic founded kingdom, Tylis. The name comes from "caur" or "giant". (1)
Deiotarus - Galatian ruler of the Tolistobogii around the time of Caesar. He introduced many Roman practices into the area. (1, 8)
Dumnorix - Father of Deiotarus (1)
Gaesatodiastes - Father of Amyntas (1)
Kastor - Son of the ruler of the Tectosages (1)
Leonorius - A leader who brought the Galatians into Galatia (1)
Lutarius - A leader who brought the Galatians into Galatia (1)
Ortiagon - A chief of the Tolistobogii (1)
Sinatus - A tetrarch and husband of Kamma (1)
Sinorix - A man who killed Sinatus and then tried to marry his widow, Kamma. Kamma killed him and then herself at their wedding. (1)
Sources:
(1) Celts and the Classical World, David Rankin, New York: Routledge, 1996.
(2) The Celts, T.G.E. Powell, New York: Thames and Hudson, Ltd., 1983, 1997.
(3) Kingdoms of the Celts: A History and Guide, John Robert King, London: Blandford, 1998.
(4) Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More Than 400 Languages, Andrew Dalby, 1998.
(5) Celtic Britain, Charles Thomas, New York: Thames & Hudson, 1986, 1997.
(6) The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture, Jean Markale, Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, 1976, 1993.
(7) Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adins, New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
(10) The Celtic Empire: The First Millennium of Celtic History 1000 BC - AD 51, Peter Berresford Ellis, New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1990, 2001.
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Updated November 2001