By the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. Celtic tribes inhabited the basins of the Rhine, Seine, Loire and the upper Danube. The Romans would later call this territory Gaul. During the 6th-3rd centuries the Celts occupied the lands of modern Spain, Britain, Northern Italy, Southern Germany, the Czech Republic, partly Hungary and Transylvania.
Separate Celtic settlements were to the south and east of these territories in the Illyrian and Thracian regions. In the III century BC. e. the Celts undertook an unsuccessful campaign in Macedonia and Greece, as well as in Asia Minor, where part of the Celts settled and eventually began to be called Galatians.
In some countries, the Celts mixed with the local population and created a new, mixed culture, such as the Celtiberian culture in Spain. In other areas, the local population was rapidly Celtic, like the Ligurs in southern France, and minor traces of its language and culture have survived only in a few place names and remnants of religious beliefs.
Written mentions of the Celts
Written sources about the early period of the Celtic history almost did not reach our time. They were first mentioned by Hecateus of Miletus, then by Herodotus, who reported on the Celtic settlements in Spain and on the Danube. Titus Livy testifies to the campaign of the Celts in Italy during the reign of the Roman king Tarquinius Priscus in the 6th century BC. e.
390 - One of the Celtic tribes raided Rome. At the beginning of the 4th century, the Celts offered the tyrant of Sicily Dionysius I an alliance against Locrus and Croton, with whom he then fought. They later appeared in his army as mercenaries. 335 year - Celtic tribes living along the shores of the Adriatic Sea sent their representatives to Alexander the Great.
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Archaeological finds
This scanty written evidence is complemented by archaeological finds. The spread of the so-called La Tene culture created by them is associated with the Celts. The name comes from the Bay of La Ten on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where fortifications and a large number of Celtic weapons characteristic of this culture were found.
Monuments of La Tene culture make it possible to trace the gradual development of the Celtic tribes and the history of their penetration into different regions of Europe.
During the first stage of its development, in the middle of the 6th - the end of the 5th century, the La Tene culture was spread from France to the Czech Republic. The large number of swords, daggers, helmets, bronze and gold jewelry may indicate that Celtic craft had already reached a high level then.
Art was also on a high level, which is proved, for example, by artistically decorated dishes. At the same time, Greek things began to appear in the burials, which penetrated to the Celts through Massalia along the Rhone and Sona rivers. Greek art significantly influenced the Celtic, although local craftsmen did not blindly follow the Greek patterns, but reworked them, adapting them to their tastes and traditions.
Culture
In the 5th-3rd centuries, due to the settling of the Celts, the La Tene culture spread over time to other European regions. The products of the Celtic artisans are being improved more and more. Less and less Greek influence. In the west, the typical Celtic enamel things appear. Ceramics made on a potter's wheel became widespread.
Agriculture
Celtic agriculture is reaching a high level. It was the Celts who invented the heavy plow with a cutter. This plow was capable of plowing the land to a considerable deeper depth than the light plow used by the Italians and Greeks at that time. In agriculture, the Celts used a three-field system that ensures good yields. In Italy, flour from the Celtic regions was readily bought.
Moving into new areas, the Celts distributed lands to the pagam - tribes or clans. In Britain, little connected with the outside world, ancestral tribal ownership of land persisted for a long time.
On the continent, where the Celts entered into trade relations with Greek and Italian merchants, over time, private ownership of land appeared. The clan community was replaced by a rural one, while the nobility, who managed to seize more land, stood out from among the community members.
From this nobility, the Celtic cavalry was formed, which constituted the main force of the army. The cavalry drove out the chariots that were common among the Celts, which survived only in Britain.
Building
The high skill of the Celts in fortification can be evidenced by the remains of their fortifications - huge walls made of stone blocks, fastened with oak beams. These so-called Gallic walls were later borrowed by other peoples.
Trade
By the end of the 3rd - the beginning of the 2nd century, trade among the continental Celts reached such a level that they began to mint their own gold and silver coins, similar to the coins of Massalia, Rhodes and Rome, as well as the Macedonian ones. Initially, the coin appears among the tribes that were closely associated with the policies of the Greek and Roman world, but by the 1st century it began to be minted by more distant tribes, including the tribes of Britain.
The development of trade led to the disintegration of primitive communal relations, which proceeded especially quickly among the tribes that were in direct contact with the ancient world.
Termination of the expansion of the Celts
In the II century, the expansion of the Celts ceases. One of the reasons is a meeting with such a strong enemy as the Germans, who were advancing towards the Rhine, and the Romans, who in 121 captured southern, so-called Narbonne, Gaul and increasingly asserted their influence and dominance in the Danube regions.
The last major movement of the Celtic tribes was the arrival of the Belga tribe from the trans-Rhine regions, which established themselves in the north of Gaul and in some of the Rhine regions of Germany. By the end of the 2nd century BC. e. the Celts have already reached the last stage of the decay of the primitive communal system. The tribal nobility owned vast lands and slaves who were used as servants.
The end of the primitive communal system
Many clan members of the community found themselves dependent on the nobility and were forced to cultivate its land, paying a certain fee, as well as join the squads and fight for their leaders. By this time, individual pags had already united into more or less large tribal communities. The most significant of these were the Aedui and Ervern communities.
Communities subjugated less powerful tribes, which fell into dependence on them. Cities began to appear, which were centers of crafts and trade, and in some cases, political centers. The cities were generally well fortified.
Most of the Celtic tribes developed a semblance of an aristocratic republic, somewhat similar to the early Roman republic. The former tribal leaders, whom ancient authors called kings, were expelled. They were replaced by the council of the aristocracy and magistrates chosen from among them - the so-called vergobrets. The main task of the vergobrets was the introduction of the court.
Often, individual representatives of the nobility made attempts to seize sole power. They were supported by the squad and the people, who hoped that they would limit the power of the landowners who oppressed him. But such attempts were usually quickly suppressed.
Druids
Along with the nobility, which the Romans called horsemen, the priesthood, the druids, also played an important role. They were organized into a corporation headed by the arch druid, they were exempt from military service and payment of taxes and were revered as keepers of divine wisdom and some, however, rather meager knowledge. Among the druids, representatives of the aristocracy were accepted, who mastered their teachings.
The druids met every year and judged. The decisions of this court were strictly binding on all Gauls. The recalcitrant Druids were forbidden to participate in religious ceremonies, which separated them from society.
The teachings of the Druids were secret and taught orally. It took up to 20 years to master it. Little is known about its content. As you can see, the basis of the teachings of the Druids was the idea of the immortality of the soul or the transmigration of souls and the idea of the end of the world, which will be destroyed by fire and water. It is difficult to determine to what extent this teaching could have influenced the religion of the Celts, about which very little is known. Along with the cult of the spirits of the forest, mountains, rivers, streams, etc., the cult of the gods of the sun, the thunder of war, life and death, crafts, eloquence, etc. was formed. Human sacrifices were made to some of these gods.
Development stages
Not all Celtic tribes were at the same stage of development. The northern tribes more distant from Italy, in particular the Belgae, still lived in a primitive communal system, just like the British Celts. Attempts of Roman penetration were met with sharp resistance here. On the contrary, the tribes of southern Gaul, especially the Aedui, were already on the verge of transition to a class society and state. The local nobility, in the struggle with their fellow tribesmen and other tribes, sought the help of Rome, which subsequently facilitated the conquest of Gaul and its transformation into a Roman province.
A. Badak