The Celts are the peoples and tribes
who spoke the Celtic language over a millennium before the beginning of our era
and the following centuries.
Their ancestors spread from the core
area in Central Europe both to the west and east. Around the beginning of our
era, Celtic tribes inhabited the British Isles, Gaul, the Iberian Peninsula and
parts of Central Europe and the Balkans.
Celtic languages belong to the
Indo-European language family.
Due to the large area and the very
long time that the Celts lived they have been able to build a very rich past.
Misunderstandings
It is sometimes assumed that the
Celts are the founders of tumuli, large Obelisks, megaliths, dolmens, menhirs and
Mounds but this is not true. These monuments date back to ancient times, some are
4000 years old. The Celtic civilization begun only 400 years before Christ. The
reason why these monuments are linked to the Celts is by the conquests of the
Roman empire. Their opinion was that these monuments were used by the Celts as
this population lived in these areas that were littered with these monuments. It is
true that the Celts used these monuments for several reasons but they din't built them.
Celtic civilization trough the ages
Around 400 BC the Celts where really
blossoming. Since then this civilization already knew dominoes and dice.
In 387 BC, the Celtic Gauls destroyed
Rome with under leading of Brennus and then retreated to the Po-Valley.
Expansion
Around the year 287 BC was their
expansion so big that their people and their civilization permeated large areas
of the Balkans and went to settle there as Gala Then in Small-Asia.
Roman conquests
Gaul, where the Celts belonged, was
declared as a Roman province of the Roman Empire around the year 51 BC by commander
Caious under Julius Caesar. The Rhine is hereby established as a national
border. And from then on the area and the people was Gallo-Roman. From then on the whole area was influenced by the
Roman superiority. For example, the Romans built their cities, and aqueducts.
One of the largest aqueducts that they built is located in Nîmes (Southern
France). The Celtic civilization, along with their culture and religion, faded
away under the influence and glory of the Roman Empire.
The Celts, once a great and powerful
civilization in Central Europe.