For centuries, the central plateau of that neck of land between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, was relatively calm and peaceful. The area was occupied, at various times, by Hittites, Phrygians, Lydians and others too numerous to mention. The land, itself, was not particularly inviting. However, it just happened to be the on the main East-West trade route. A thriving village in the middle of the plateau, grew into a bustling city. It was home to craftsmen, tradesmen and, most of all, Innkeepers. To the north and east of the city, most of the countryside was suitable only for grazing the long-haired goats. Some farming was done in the valleys to the south but, even there, the soil was poor and rocky. The area in question is today known as Turkey and the city is Ankara.

This peaceful existence came to an end in the early part of the third century, BC. In the south-central part of Gaul, a large group of Celts decided to pack up and move on to "greener pastures". Some claim this was due to population pressures while others blame political disagreements (which were not all that uncommon). I prefer to think it was their natural curiosity to see what was on the other side of the mountains. Whatever the reason, they battled, plundered and pillaged their way eastward across southern Europe, led by a Chief named Brennus Prausus (Brennus the Terrible).

The year was 283 BC and the Celts were camped in southern Macedonia. Brennus, always on the lookout for new adventure (and plunder) took a group of warriors southward to sack the temple at Delphi. Though they were successful, their great leader took a terrible wound in the raid. They carried off what they could and retreated upcountry, pursued by the Greeks. At one point, they were engaged in a strange battle. According to the tales, they were set upon by a host which included two Gods (or giants), who hurled levin-bolts and great stones into their midst. Brennus, thinking this was divine retribution for their desecration of the temple, took his own life as a sacrifice to his own Gods. The survivors hastily rejoined the rest of the migrating clans and moved on into Thrace.

In 280 BC, the Celts received an envoy from King Nicomedes of Bithynia. It seems the good king was involved in a dynastic struggle with his brother, and needed a little help to secure his position. Some 20,000 Celts crossed the Hellespont and successfully crushed the opposition. In return, Nicomedes granted them the central part of the Anatolian Plateau, as their new homeland.

Before too many more years had passed, the Celts had sorted themselves into three main tribes, each with their own area and capitol. The largest group were the Tectosages, who settled in the heartland, in the area surround the main trade route. Their capitol was the existing city, which they renamed Ancyra (Celtic for anchor). The Trocmii, a smaller group, move northeast and established the city of Tavium (or Tavia). The third group, the Tolistobogii, moved southward and settled in the river valleys. Their capitol became Pessinus.

According to Strabo, each of the tribes established a huge ringfort in the area of their capitol city. As usual with the Celts, there was no central government. Once a year, each of the tribes sent 100 senators and 4 tetrarchs to a meeting at the sacred Oak Grove, or Drynemeton, which was reportedly located near Ancyra. Intertribal disputes were judged by the lawgivers and trade agreements were set out at these gatherings. Such disputes were probably rare, as they seem to have spent most of their time and energy in harassing neighboring kingdoms.

Following some fifty years of plundering, Bithynia and Pontus joined forces and, with the help of the Romans, "pacified" the region. After that, the Celts confined themselves to hiring out as mercenaries. Unfortunately, they had a bad habit of choosing the losing side. In 180 BC, they fought for Syria at the battle of Magnesia… and lost! The following year, the Romans invaded Galatia and made it a client state of the Empire. In keeping with their tradition, they supported Pompey in his struggle against Julius Caesar and then backed Mark Anthony against Octavian (Augustus Caesar) in the civil war which followed Caesar's assassination. On the eve of the final battle (Actium - 38 BC) the Celts, under Amyntas, switched sides. Octavian proclaimed Amyntas as King of the Celts. However, some six years later, Amyntas was killed in a mysterious ambush. Octavian (now Emperor Augustus) rescinded the kingship and Galatia became a Roman province.

Little was heard of Galatia for the next 75 years. Christianity had been brought to the land, and the Galatian Celts embraced the new religion. However, there were also Judaists in the land, who were preaching their own ideas. St. Paul paid them a visit and gently reprimanded them, as is written in the Bible.


A further report on Galatia comes from St. Jerome, who visited Ancyra around 400 AD. He noted in his writings that the people still spoke a language much like that of Gaul, and that they still adhered to some of the old Celtic customs. Which ones, he did not specify. St. Jerome's visit seems to be the last historically recorded contact with the Galatians. By the twelfth century when the Turks swept in and established the Ottoman Empire, the Celts had apparently been absorbed into the native population.

There is, however, one interesting remnant of the Celtic heritage. The Kangal (Dog of the Galatians) is considered a native Turkish dog. However, the Kangal bears a remarkable resemblance to some of the dogs found in southwest Gaul. Coincidence? I think not.