Celtic south walks

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The Celtic south migration was one in the 4th century BC. Large-scale migration of Celtic tribes that began during the La Tène period in a south - easterly direction to the Balkan Peninsula . Although Celtic settlements were concentrated in the western half of the Pannonian Plain , there were notable incursions and settlements in the Balkans themselves.

From their new settlements in Illyria and Pannonia , the migration reached in the early 3rd century BC. It culminated with the invasion of Macedonia , Thrace and Greece . The invasion of Greece in 279 BC A series of campaigns preceded it. They were directed against the southern Balkans and the Macedonian kingdom and were favored by the struggle for the succession of Alexander the great . Some of the tribes also crossed over to Asia Minor and eventually settled in the area that was named after them as Galatia .

Settlement of Southeast Europe

From the 4th century BC The Celts pushed into the Carpathian region and the Danube basin , and at the same time into Italy. The Boier and Volcae , two great Celtic peoples, supported each other on their campaigns. There were two routes to the south: one followed the Danube , the other east of the Adriatic . According to legend, 300,000 Celts moved to Italy and Illyria . In the 3rd century the inhabitants of Pannonia were almost entirely under the influence of the Celtic culture. Finds from the La Tène culture are common in Pannonia, but they are rare west of the Tisza and south of the Save . These finds are seen as the products of a local, "Noro-Pannonian" variant of the Celtic culture. However, characteristics were found on this that indicate continued contact with distant regions such as the Iberian Peninsula . The fertile landscapes along the Pannonian rivers provided the Celtic tribes with good living conditions. They developed their agriculture, pottery and exploited the productive mines of today's Slovenia . As a result, the Celts in the area between Vienna and the Tisza have created a new home in south-eastern Europe.

Early expeditions

The political situation in the northern Balkans was in constant flux. One tribe constantly dominated its neighbors. As long as its own territory was limited, a tribe could control and organize other inferior tribes over a wide area. Military expeditions were carried out by the belligerent part of the tribe, an "enterprising and mobile warrior class who from time to time were able to conquer large areas and exploit their populations." The political situation in the Balkans in the 4th century was beneficial for the Celtic tribes. The Illyrians had waged a war against the Macedonians and, as a result, weakened their own western frontier. When Alexander the Great still ruled Macedonia, the Celts did not dare to advance south towards Macedonia. Hence the early Celtic campaigns were directed against the Illyrian tribes.

Little is known about what happened in the Illyrian hinterland, but it is certain that the first tribe to be defeated by the Celts were the Autariats , who had previously ruled over a large part of the central Balkans, with a focus on the Morava Valley . The importance of cunning Celtic tactics is revealed by the attacks on the Ardian tribe .

335 BC Celtic tribes sent representatives to Alexander the Great to honor him while Macedonia was at war with the Thracian tribes on its northern border. Possibly this "diplomatic" act was only intended to test the military strength of Macedonia, since the only goal of the Celts was the wealth of Greece. After the death of Alexander the Great, Celtic tribes began to conquer the southern regions, threatening Macedonia and Greece. 319 BC The Celtic military leader Molistomos penetrated deep into Illyrian territory and subjugated the Dardans , Penonians and tribals . The new Macedonian king Cassander felt obliged to protect his old Illyrian enemies. In 298 BC They were inflicted a heavy defeat by Cassander near the Balkan Mountains when they tried to penetrate deep into Thrace and Macedonia . However, another Celtic army marched against Thrace under General Cambaules and was able to gain a lot of land.

The invasion of Greece

The "great expedition" in 279 BC Chr.

The routes of the Celtic tribes

From the year 281 BC The military pressure of the Celtic tribes is concentrated on Greece. The collapse of Lysimachus' successor kingdom in Thrace cleared the way for further migrations. Pausanias cites greed for prey as the reason for the migration, Justinus cites overpopulation, and Memnon cites famine. According to Pausanias, an initial surprise attack was called off again when the numerical superiority of the opponent was recognized.

In 280 BC An army of about 85,000 warriors marched in three divisions from Pannonia south to Macedonia and central Greece. It was the great expedition . The term is a loan translation of the French term Grande expédition , which was used in French to describe the increasing pressure of the campaigns against Greece from 279 BC onwards. Chr. Designated. 20,000 warriors went from Cerethius out against the Thracians and Triballi ago. The second division, under the leadership of Brennus and Akichorius, moved against the peonies , while the third under Bolgios was directed against the Macedonians and Illyrians.

The dying Gaul : Roman copy of a Greek statue commemorating the victory over the Galatians

Bolgios inflicted heavy losses on the Macedonians and succeeded in capturing the young Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos and in 279 BC. To behead. Nevertheless, Bolgios' contingent was repulsed by the Macedonian strategist Sosthenes . Satisfied with the booty, the Celts withdrew. Sosthenes, however, was attacked and defeated by Brennus' troops, who then devastated the country unhindered.

After these expeditions returned home, Brennus pushed for a third expedition to central Greece. The traditional number of 152,000 infantrymen and 24,000 cavalrymen is, however, unrealistically high. The actual strength of the cavalry should have been about half that. Pausanias describes a tactic called Trimarcisia , where each rider was assisted by two mounted servants. They should have a replacement horse ready for him and, in the event of his death, take his place in battle.

The battle of the Thermopylae Pass in 279 BC Chr.

A Greek alliance of Aetolians , Boeotians , Athenians , Phocia and other Greeks north of Corinth set up camp on the narrow Thermopylae pass . During the first attack, Brennus' troops suffered heavy losses. So he sent a large force to Aetolia under the command of Akichorius. As Brennus had hoped, the Aetolian contingent withdrew from Thermopylae to defend their homeland against Akichorius. The Aetolians also used old people and women to fight. When they realized that the Gauls were only dangerous in close combat, they resorted to skirmishing tactics . According to Pausanias, only half of the Celtic warriors returned from Aetolia.

Ultimately, Brennus managed to bypass Thermopylae and the surviving Greeks fled across the sea.

The attack on Delphi

Delphi

Brennus now oppressed Delphi , where he was beaten and forced to retreat, on which he killed himself. His army withdrew as far as Spercheios , where their way was cut off by the Thessalians and Malians .

The historians Pausanias and Justinus agree that the Celts were defeated at Delphi and put to flight. They were caught in a violent thunderstorm that made it impossible to maneuver or hear orders. The following night was frosty and in the morning the Greeks attacked from two sides. Brennus was wounded and the Celts were repulsed. They killed their injured comrades who could no longer withdraw. That night, panic broke out in the camp as Celtic tribes fought one another. Akichorius joined them with the rest of the army, but the Greek forces forced them to withdraw completely. Brennus took his own life. According to Pausanias he drank pure wine for it, after Justin he stabbed himself. Driven by the Aetolians, the Celtic army fell back as far as Spercheios , where they were destroyed by the Thessalians and Malians waiting there .

After the campaigns in Greece

Ethnogenesis and migration of the Volcae

Some scholars take the position that the Greek campaign was a disaster for the Celts. However, a permanent occupation was not their goal, they wanted much more to plunder the riches of Greece. Furthermore, despite their expulsion from Greece, the Celtic tribes by no means lost power in south-eastern Europe.

Some veterans of the Greek campaign settled in Thrace and founded the city of Tylis there . The Galatians , who had separated from Brennus' army in 281, were brought to Asia Minor by Nicomedes I to support him as a mercenary in the fight against his brother and to secure the throne of Bithynia for him. The mercenaries settled in the region that was later named after them as Galatia . Antiochus I defeated the Galatians, so that they were driven into the barren highlands of central Anatolia.

The Celtic tribes remained the main political actors in the northern Balkans from the 4th to the 1st century BC. The Boier controlled in the second century BC. BC most of northern Pannonia and are said to have also conquered the area of ​​today's Slovakia . It is known from other tribes in Pannonia that they belonged to the so-called Boyian Confederation. These included the Tauriskians in the upper Savetal west of Sisak and the Arnati, Osii and Cotini in the Pannonian Plain . In the lower Savetal, the Skordiskers were able to exercise power over their neighbors for over a century.

Tribes in Pannonia and West Dakia around 50 BC Chr.

In the last half of the 1st century BC The balance of power among the barbaric tribes in Pannonia changed. The defeat of the Boyish Confederation by Burebista curtailed Celtic influence in the Pannonian Plain, and the cultural change by the Celts was partially reversed. Even more Celtic tribes appear in the sources. The Hercuniater and Latobici migrated from the area of ​​Germany. One encounters new tribes with Latin names such as the Arabians, which may have emerged from the decline of the Boyish Confederation. In order to further weaken the Celtic hegemony in Pannonia, the Romans encouraged the settlement of the Pannonian-Illyrian Azali in northern Pannonia. The previous supremacy of the Celts was replaced by new barbaric confederations such as the Marcomanni and Jazygen . Their ethnic independence was gradually lost because they were absorbed into the surrounding Dacian, Illyrian and Germanic peoples. However, the Celtic names lasted until the 3rd century AD.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Daithi O. Hogain: The Celts. A history. Boydell Press. ISBN 0-85115-923-0 .
  2. ^ A b c András Mócsy , S. Frere: Pannonia and Upper Moesia. A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire.
  3. ↑ Andreás Móczy: Pannonia and upper Moesia. A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire. P. 25 ( books.google.com.au ).
  4. ↑ a b c Aleksandar Stipčević: The Illyrians. P. 44.
  5. ^ A b Peter Green: Alexander to Actium. P. 133.
  6. ↑ a b c d Guide for Greece , accessed on September 21, 2008.
  7. ^ Justinus, Book XXIV , accessed September 21, 2008.
  8. ↑ attalus.org Memnon: History of Herakleia
  9. ↑ Venceslas Kruta: Les Celtes, histoire et dictionnaire , S. 493rd
  10. ↑ Barry Cunlife: The Ancient Celts , pp. 80-81.
  11. ↑ WW Tarn: Antigonas Gonatas , p. 148
  12. ↑ Description of Greece . In: Pausanias . perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  13. ↑ Epitome of Pompey Trogus Stories . In: Junianus Justinus . attalus.org. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  14. ↑ Guide of Greece . In: Pausanias . Livius.org. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  15. ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece . perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  16. ↑ Junianus Justinus, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories . attalus.org. Retrieved September 21, 2008., July 24-8 .
  17. ^ Celtic Settlement in North-Western Thrace during the Late Fourth and Third Centuries BC (PDF) In: Nikola Theodossiev . caorc.org. Retrieved September 21, 2008.
  18. ^ Barry Cunliffe: The Ancient Celts , p. 83.
  19. ^ HD Rankin: Celts and the Classical World. P. 17.