The Celts in Ancient Egypt
One of history’s lesser known facts is the presence of Celtic warriors in ancient Egypt. In the centuries before Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul and its subsequent pacification and Romanization, the Celtic peoples had dominated most of Europe north of the Po and Danube river valleys. They had a fearsome reputation that terrified many. The Romans in particular saw the barbarian Celts – whom they referred to as Gauls – as their greatest national threat.
For centuries, Roman mothers quieted down their fussy tots by warning them that the Gauls might hear them. The Romans had good reason for alarm. Throughout much of Rome’s early history, Celtic/ Gaulish tribes dominated Italy north of the Po River and along the much of Italy’s Adriatic coast. That was not that far as the crow flies or as the barbarian marches.
That was driven home in 387 BC, when Celtic tribesmen, led by a chieftain named Brennus, defeated a Roman army, then marching on to capture and sack Rome. It was a feat no foreigners would repeat for another eight centuries. The era’s Celtic warriors were famous for the quality of their weapons. They were also known for their courage and ferocity in battle, their frightful battle cries, and their terrifying, butt naked, headlong charges.
That reputation made them highly sought after as mercenaries. From the fourth century BC onwards – and especially after the fragmentation of Alexander the Great’s empire into rival Hellenistic states – Celtic mercenaries became all the rage from Sicily to Asia Minor. As seen below, some of them ended up in the pay of Egyptian pharaohs.
