Seeking friendship and allegiance spoke with him. While Dionysius I of Syracuse (ruled, 405-367 BCE), also known asĭionysius the Tyrant, was warring against the Greeks of Magna Graecia (“ Great Greece”, southern Italy) an embassy of Gauls from northern Italy The first time the Greeks had encountered the Celts. Gallic mercenaries under Dionysius I of Syracuse Migrants were flooded with Greek armaments and coins which came from Macedoniaĭuring Philip II’s reign so it’s believed that these Gauls may have been hiredĪs mercenaries to aid Philip II in defeating the Illyrians. (Thraco-Illyrians) and some Illyrian tribes.
Perdiccas III (both were sons of Amyntas III) lost his life during theirĬonflict with Bardylis of Dardania (Thraco-Illyrians), when Philip II (Alexander the Great’s father)īCE) he was successful in defeating and dismantling the Dardanians “ When this had been done some of them were taken by the Celts and put to death, the others threw themselves into the river, being unable to endure the pains in their stomachs.” – The History of Philip by Theopompus. The Gauls held a great feast at their campĪnd then abandoned it in order to lure the Ardiaei into pillaging their camp,Ĭertain herbs which had the power to cause severe pains and diarrhea.”
Known to love getting drunk, eating insatiably and celebrating daily so the Wars against Rome and their infamous queen Teuta. In later history for their piratical activities in the Adriatic coast, their Mentioned to fall to these migrating Gauls were the Illyrian Ardiaei, a tribe that would be renowned The Danube River namely the western borders of Thrace and Dacia with theirĬore territory being just north and within the realm of the Illyrians. These Gallic migrants now dwelled in regions south of This was but one step on this eastern Gallic migration, soon we find both RomanĪnd Greek writers mentioning Celtic peoples in southeastern Europe, north of The Hercynian forest, a dense woodland on the German side of the Rhine River. Where they would become a great menace in the eyes of the Romans. The Aeduans, the Ambarrians, the Carnutians, and the Aulercians” into Italy Named Bellovesus and he would lead “ Biturigians, the Arvernians, the Senonians, Great a number of men as they pleased, so that no nation might be able to As Ambigatus grew older heīecame more concerned about the overpopulationīurdening Gaul so he had two of his sister’s sons lead vast multitudes of Gauls elsewhere, settling wherever “ the gods should grant them by augury that they should take out with them as Gaul into a golden age of prosperity and growth. The king at the head of the Bituriges (“ kings of the world”) was named Ambigatus, a man renowned for leading In time these Celts can be seen inhabiting or working as mercenaries from eastern Europe to Egypt in the south and Persia in the east.īituriges of central Gaul (modern France) held supremacy there and made up As their fractured Hellenic neighbors struggled to hold their own, these eastern Celts seized the moment to invade and enter this Hellenistic game of thrones. With the deaths of Alexander his Diadochi (“ successors”) squabbled over the remnants of his empire and in their endless bickering, Macedon, Greece and Thrace were greatly weakened.
Suggested by: rarely spoken of eastern Gauls lived on the edge of the Hellenistic world, raiders seeking riches and migrants in search of new lands. I will also cover their weaponry, armors and some archaeological finds. In this post I will be covering the rarely spoken of Gauls of southeastern Europe, their invasion of Greece, employment as mercenaries under Ptolemaic Egypt, their rebellious and warlike society as well as their little known kingdom of Tylis in Thrace.