Armies of Celtic Europe 700 BC to AD 106 by Gabriele Esposito

Author:Gabriele Esposito
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Europe / General
Publisher: Pen and Sword/Pen and Sword Military
Published: 2019-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Common Celtic swordsman. (The Mediomatrici)

Celtic infantryman with spear and shield. (The Atrebates)

The mercenaries serving Syracuse usually served in distinct units formed according to their nationality, being commanded by their own officers and equipped in their native style. At the time of the tyrant Agathokles (317-290 BC), the Syracusan Army included 1,000 Gallic mercenaries.

Chapter 6

The Fall of Cisalpine Gaul and the Invasion of the Cimbri and Teutones

After the sack of Rome, the Celts of northern Italy remained a formidable menace for the Republic for at least another century, the Gauls continuing to launch frequent and destructive raids against the territories of central and southern Italy. The Senones were the most active Celtic group taking part in this process, since they were settled on the territory of present-day Marche (an Italian region located in the middle of the peninsula and on the Adriatic coast). This area was still inhabited by the Picentes, who had been there for a long time until the arrival of the Celts. The Picentes had to submit because of the Senones’ military superiority, but were always on the verge of open revolt. By this time the Celtic territories in northern Italy were already known as Cisalpine Gaul, the Romans using this expression to distinguish those lands from the Celtic territories in Gaul (which were collectively known as Transalpine Gaul). Rome, by now the dominant military power of central Italy, could not accept the Celtic presence in Marche or tolerate the frequent incursions launched by the Senones against the territories that were under its protection. As a result, as early as 360 BC, the Gauls and Romans went to war against each other once more. In that year, the Battle of the River Anio was fought between a Celtic raiding force and a Roman army. The Romans were able to prevail and completely annihilated the Gauls, also taking possession of all the goods that the Gauls had looted during their previous raiding expedition. This victory proved to the Romans that it was possible to defeat the Celts, and they realized that the Gallic menace had to be eliminated. After suffering other military defeats, the Celts of Cisalpine Gaul agreed to seek a peace treaty with the Roman Republic in 332 BC, according to which the Gauls were to retain all their territories in northern Italy, but would have to stop their raids against other Italian territories. The peace treaty was respected by both sides until 295 BC.

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