Γαλάται

Nomenclature

Greek Name: Γαλάται

Latin Name: Galatae

Anglicized Name: Galatians

Contents

• Location
  • Galatia, Asia Minor
• Language
• Origins
• Sociopolitical Organization
• Customs and Beliefs
• Major Events
• Relationships
• Physical Descriptions and Fighting Styles
• Material Culture
• References

Location

Galatia, Asia Minor

Galatia was a treeless, arid region in central Anatolia, surrounding modern-day Ankara and extending from the upper Sangarius to the middle Halys. It was also a part of northern Phrygia. Galatia was sometimes referred to as Gallo-Graecia. This region was suitable for raising cattle.

The Trocmi tribe to the east possessed the most powerful lands near Cappadocia and Pontus. These included Galatian Tavium, where a colossal bronze statue of Zeus and associated sanctuary were located, Mithridatium, which was given by Pompey, and Danala, the location where Pompey and Leucullus had a conference. Tavium is the only Trocmian site identified by archaeology. Excavations here have indicated that it was not founded by the Galatians.

The Tectosages tribe resided in the central lands near Greater Phrygia, where their fortress, Ancyra was located.

The Tolistobogii, the most prominent tribe during the Hellenistic period, bordered the Bithynians and Phrygia “Epictetus” to the west and had the fortresses of Blucium and Peïum, as well as the former temple-state, Pessinus. Blucium was Galatian king Deiotarus’ palace at Karalar and is the only Tolistobogion site to have been excavated. 

Individual Galatians traveled throughout Asia Minor and the eastern Mediterranean, with records of Galatian names appearing throughout this region. Working as mercenaries was the most common reason for this travel. Near Alexandria, the Ptolemies created a virtual colony of Galatians for this very purpose.

When Galatia became a Roman province in 25 BC, the province included Galatia, eastern Phrygia, Lycaonia, Isauria, Pisidia, and Pamphylia. Between 6 BC and 64 AD, addition territories from Paphlagonia and Pontus were added. Under Vespasian, Galatia was combined with Cappadocia, and the province covered all of central and eastern Anatolia up to the Euphrates river. Under Antoninus Pius, the territories of Lycaonia and Isauria were no longer part of the Galatian province.

Language

Celtic was widely spoken in Galatia until Late Antiquity. In ancient sources, Celtic names of people and places are prevalent in Anatolia. However, there is no evidence that Galatian Celtic was ever written down, as the Galatian culture had strong traditions of oral modes of communication.

Origins

Galatia was settled by Celtic tribes who crossed the Hellespont into Asia Minor in 278 BC. After several years of plundering western Anatolia, they settled in central Anatolia, forming Galatia.

According to Strabo, the Galatians settled in Galatia after overrunning the Attalic and Bithynian lands, causing the land of Galatia to be ceded by the local kings. The Galatians settled in this area after losing to Antiochus I Soter in the Battle of the Elephants in Sardis and subsequently being driven away from the rich and populous areas of western Anatolian and toward the eastern hinterlands. They likely found their homeland in this region by the end of the 260s BC.

Throughout the imperial period, the Galatians maintained their Celtic culture. The Celtic language was still spoken in rural districts as late as the 6th century AD.

Sociopolitical Organization

When the Galatians first arrived in Asia Minor, the men and warriors were accompanied by their families and long baggage trains. Their leaders at this time were 17 aristocratic chieftains united in a loose federation, with authority divided among a large number of individuals. Some of their names were Kambaules, Kerethrios, Akichorios, Bolgios, Kiderios, Kommontorios, Leonnorios, and Luturios. They immediately made a living by hiring themselves out as mercenaries, demanding money from Anatolian rulers and cities in exchange for not ravaging their land, attacking wealthy settlements and sanctuaries, and plundering the countryside at will.

According to Strabo, the Galatians were divided into three tribes: the Trocmi, the Tolistobogii and Tectosages. Strabo notes that these tribes were culturally and politically very similar. Each tribe was divided into 4 tetrarchies and was ruled by a tetrarch along with judges and military commanders. The power of the tetrarchs was checked by an assembly of 300, who also decided murder trials. They convened at a Drynemetos (“sacred oak-grove”). By Strabo’s time, the control of the Galatians as a whole had fallen to just one leader, and the nation was under Roman rule.

However, no mention of Galatian tetrarchs is made in the 2nd century BC. Instead, sources refer to there being 4 Galatian chieftains: 2 from the Tolistobogii and one from each of the other two tribes. The social and political structure described by Strabo probably developed during the 2nd century BC as the Galatians were influenced by Pergamum and other kingdoms of Asia Minor. At this time and prevailing in the 1st century BC, dominant dynastic families emerged to replace the warrior chieftains that had ruled since the Galatians first arrived in Asia Minor.

In 86 BC, Mithridates of Pontus summoned the sixty leading men of Galatia to Pergamum and had all but three put to death. Rule of the Galatians was at this time reduced from 12 tetrarchs to the three survivors of this event.

As a Roman province, Galatia’s capital was Ancyra. The province was governed by consular legates and contained important military command areas. After 112 AD, control of Galatia reverted to praetorian governors.

In the Late Roman period, Galatia was divided into Galatia Prima and Galatia Secunda by emperor Arcadius. The capitals were Ancyra and Pessinus, respectively.

Customs and Beliefs

Galatians practiced Celtic divination, which included augury, drawing lots, interpreting dreams and natural phenomena, and studying entrails. Cicero recorded that the Galatian king Deiotarus had an affinity for augury. The term Drynemetos, the sacred oak grove where Galatian tribes would convene, was also Celtic in origin.

The Galatians were said to have practiced sacrificial slaughter of their captives. In 166 BC, the Galatian chieftain who led his forces to victory over Eumenes II gathered the prisoners and picked out the most handsome of them. These were garlanded and sacrificed, while the rest were killed unceremoniously.

By the mid-2nd century BC, the Galatians had adopted the indigenous cult of Cybele and her consort, Attis. This is evidenced by records indicating Galatians were involved in the temple organization by this time. Although Plutarch called Artemis “the goddess whom the Galatians revere most,” this is almost certainly a Hellenized version of an Anatolian goddess. Cybele, the Great Mother, was the major goddess cult in Anatolia that the Galatians were involved with.  In the 1st century BC/AD, the son of a Galatian tetrarch was made high priests of the indigenous Anatolian goddess, Ma, at Comana Pontica by Augustus, where he ruled the temple state.

At Pessinus, a major trade center and former temple-state, there was a temple to the Mother of the Gods, called Agdistis. Pessinus came under Galatian control in 133 or 129 BC and was first managed by the Tectosages, then the Trocmoi a generation later, and finally the Tolistobogii after the Mithradatic Wars. It developed into an urban center under Augustus.

Telesphorus, a minor god of healing, is believed to have originated with the Galatians and was brought into the Greek and Roman pantheon of gods as a child or associate of Asclepius.

At least during the period of Roman control over Galatia, there was a high priest of Galatia who facilitated worship of the gods.

Major Events

278 BC: The Celtic tribes from which the Galatians originated crossed from Europe into Asia Minor. One group, led by Luturios, crossed the Hellespont in 5 small boats taken from the Macedonian garrison. A larger group under Leonnorios made a deal with Nicomedes I of Bithynia, who ferried them across the Bosporus at Byzantium in exchange for military aid from the Galatians.

277 BC: After helping Nicomedes I in a military campaign, the Galatians began raiding Anatolia. The Trocmi went to the Hellespontine coast, the Tolistobogii to Aeolis and Ionia, and the Tectosages to the hinterlands of Asia Minor.

269/268 BC: The Galatians were defeated by Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter in the Battle of the Elephants.

~230 BC: The Galatians were defeated in two battles by Attalus I of Pergamum.

189 BC: The Galatians allied with the Seleucid Antiochus III at the Battle of Magnesia in Lydia against the Romans, who won the battle. Later this same year, the Galatians were defeated by a Roman army commanded by Gaius Manlius Vulso.

166 BC: Galatia was declared autonomous by Rome.

86 BC: The Galatians fought Mithradates, with Tolistobogian Deiotaros as leader of the resistance.

73-63 BC: During the 3rd Mithradatic War, Deiotaros prevented Mithradates from occupying Galatia and Phrygia.

64 BC: Pompey rewarded the Galatians for their help during the Mithradatic Wars by extending their territories and conferring the title of king onto the chiefs of the three tribes. Pompey raised Deiotaros specifically to rex amicus populi Romani and let him rule over major parts of the dissolved Pontic kingdom.

25 BC: Galatia became a Roman province after the death of the last Galatian king, Amyntas. Galatia was annexed by Augustus.

Relationships

The Galatians had a reputation as raiders and plunderers in Asia Minor. They may have also levied tribute or extorted kingdoms of Asia Minor, including the Seleucids. Due to their reputation as warriors, the Galatians were often hired as mercenaries during Hellenistic wars. Hired Galatian assassins were likely responsible for the murder of several Hellenistic kings. There was not an important Hellenistic ruler in Asia Minor who did not at some point have the Galatians fight for them.

The treaty between the Galatians and Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 278/277 BC formed an alliance between the Galatians and the Bithynian cities of Byzantium, Tium, Heracleia, Chalcedon, and Cius. As part of this alliance, the Galatians helped Nicomedes in a campaign against his brother, which was completed in 277 BC. At this time, the Galatians were free to raid the rest of Anatolia at will.

Hellenistic kings used the Galatians as archetypes of savage and cruel enemies of Greek civilization. These kings used their victories over these “barbarians” to lend authority and legitimacy to their rule. A relief in Cyzicus that was dedicated to Heracles by the generals and phylarchs of the city depicts the hero clubbing a Galatian warrior.

King Mithridates I may have assisted the Galatians in settling in their own land, but any friendly relationship had expired by the time Mithridates II ascended to the throne as the Galatians plundered his kingdom.

The Attalid kingdom of Pergamum paid tribute to the Galatians to avoid being pillaged. However, Attalus I provoked a war by refusing to pay the tribute. After defeating the Galatians in the 230s BC, Attalus I commemorated his victory by erecting statues and buildings in Pergamum. The most famous of these is the Dying Galatian, which depicts the Galatians as noble, almost heroic enemies of Pergamum. This statue was erected on a plinth in the temple of Athena on the Pergamene acropolis.

In the Battle of Magnesia, the Galatians were allies of Antiochus III and were defeated by the Romans commanded by Manlius Vulso. After this, the Roman forces marched to Galatian territory at Abbassium, where Vulso negotiated with the leader of the Tolistobogii, Eposognatus. The Tolistobogii, led by Ortiagon, along with men from the Trocmi, gathered their forces, women, and children on Mount Olympus. Here, they attempted to fight off the Romans, defending the mountain with ditches and ramparts. Vulso’s forces divided into three groups and overwhelmed the Galatians and took 40,000 captives. The Tectosages and remaining Trocmi set up a similar defensive system at Mount Magaba, joined by Phalagonian chieftain Morzius of Gangra and Ararathes of Cappadocia. After a failed attempt to lure Vulso into an ambush, these forces were also defeated. After this, the Romans gave Pergamum the responsibility for containing the Galatians.

In the 1st century BC, the Galatian became strong allies of Rome and acted as a barrier against Mithradates VI Eupator.

There were important trade routes between Galatia and the Pontic region.

Physical Descriptions and Fighting Styles

The Galatians were formidable opponents in battle, in part due to their tall stature, long hair, and their yelling, chanting and trumpeting as they approached. Their appearance contributed to their reputation of courage and brutality, as did their unfamiliar weapons and fighting styles. Galatians sometimes wore body armor and helmets into battle, but typically fought naked.

Unlike Hellenistic Anatolian armies, the Galatians excelled at sudden, unpredictable attacked that  were adapted to rapid skirmishes and swift evasive actions in rough country. Their fighting force was both mounted and unmounted, with nobles typically on horseback or chariots, accompanied by attendants. They were known for their large oval shield called a thureus and carried long, broad-bladed swords, daggers, and spears. A relief in Cyzicus from 278/277 BC depicts a Galatian warrior wearing breeches and a sheath and armed with a short sword and a thureus.

Diodorus Siculus recorded a detailed description of the Gauls/Galatians: “The Gauls are tall of body, with rippling muscles…their hair is naturally fair, but they accentuate the natural blond color by artificial means. They continually wash their hair in lime-water and pull it back from the forehead to the top of the head and back to the nape of the neck, so that they resemble Satyrs or pans; the hair is thickened by the treatment and is just like a horse’s mane…The nobles shave their cheeks but let the mustache grow until it covers the mouth….Around their wrists and arms they wear bracelets and around their necks heavy gold necklaces…For armor they use long shields as high as a man…Their trumpets (carnyx) are of a peculiar nature and give forth a hoarse sound, appropriate to the tumult of war. Some of them have iron cuirasses, but others are satisfied with the armor which nature has given them and go into battle naked.” (The Library of History, Book V, v. 27-30)

Material Culture

Reliefs at Pergamum commemorating Attalus I’s victories over the Galatians depict the wheels of carts or chariots that were taken as trophies. These may have been from Galatian nobles who rode into battle on chariots.

Excavations at Blucium, the location of Deiotarus’ palace, have revealed a rock-cut shaft that leads down to a water source within the walls of the fortress, which were built of substantial dressed masonry. On the hillside overlooking the fortress, three chamber tombs have been discovered. One with a corbelled roof, another with a square barrel-vaulted chamber and a dromos, and one, thought to belong to Deiotarus’ son, with a peaked roof. The architectural styles are strictly northwest Anatolian, not Celtic. However, the elaborate grave goods could be evidence of a lavish Celtic-style funeral. A gold torc with precious stones, a golden necklace with stones, a gold floral diadem, a bronze fibula were found in the first two tombs. The tomb of Deiotarus’ son included a porphyry offering table, a glass vase with gold ornaments, pieces of purple cloth, and a sculptured lion and trophy outside.

In a tumulus south of Bolu, Galatian grave goods included two gold torcs, gold bracelets with animal-head terminals, a bronze horse bit, and a gold belt buckled depicting the bearded and mustached face of a Celt/Galatian. This is evidence of Galatian influence northwards into Bithynia.

While little excavation has occurred on Roman period sites in Galatia, archaeologists have identified parallels between Galatian and Pontic ceramics of the 1st and early 2nd centuries AD. This suggests that despite Galatia’s relative isolation from Rome, it was experiencing integration and acculturation during the 1st century AD along with other provinces in the eastern Mediterranean.

A defensive wall in Ancyra was built in the late 3rd or 4th century AD. It was 2.6-3.7 meters thick and at least 11 meters high. Its outer face was made of spolia, perhaps from seats of the theatre, and it had a core of rubble and mortar. An inscription states that its construction was financed by a civic benefactor during a food shortage and barbarian attacks, although a lack of evidence of these attacks may suggest that this was motivated by a fear of potential attacks rather than ongoing attacks.

References

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