Who are the Gauls in Ancient Rome?

To understand who these galls are, it is enough to turn to the ancient history of Europe. These tribes lived on the territory of modern France in the V-I centuries. BC. E. By origin, they were Celts, which had a relationship with the then masters of Britain and Ireland. The Gauls were conquered by the Romans, or rather by Julius Caesar. After that they gradually became romanized and lost their roots.

Origin

Celts - that's who such galls are in the broad sense of their ethnicity. Being a part of the common pagan culture of Europe north of Rome, they possessed all the characteristic features of this group. Gauls as a people were formed in the 7th century BC. E. In the region between the Rhine and the Upper Danube. Gradually they moved to the west and settled in modern France.

In the IV century BC. E. The Gauls undertook several aggressive campaigns against their neighbors. In 397 BC. E. They attacked the Etruscans who lived on the banks of the Po River, and in 390 BC. E. Even attacked Rome, however, their attempt to capture the city ended in failure. The organizer and inspirer of this campaign in Italy was the leader Brenn.

Flowering and Decay

In the east, the area of residence of these pagans reached Bohemia and the Danube. In the III century BC. E. They fought with Macedonia, weakened after a series of civil wars. Who are the Gauls? They were also valuable mercenaries. Their services were used by the Carthaginian commander Hannibal, who fought for many years with the Roman Republic. The Gauls played an important role in the success of the Punic army in the Battle of Cannes in 216 BC. E.

The heyday of this group of tribes came in the III century BC. E. At the invitation of the governor of Bithynia Nycomed, I part of the Gauls even moved to Asia Minor. There they became known as biscuits, which founded a new state, called Galatia. In the II century BC. E. Celts began to suffer defeat from their neighbors. At the end of this century, the Gauls suffered a double blow. On the one hand, the Romans finally conquered modern southern France. There was created a new republican province of Narbonne Gaul. On the other hand, the Germanic tribes (Teutons and Cimbri) attacked the Celts, from the north and the east. They ravaged the formerly calm Gaul. Gradually, the Celts were driven out of Central Europe and Germany.

Romanization

Fatal for the Gauls was the defeat in the war against the Romans in the 59-51 gg. BC. E. The army of the republic was commanded by Julius Caesar. The commander conquered all of Gaul and made it part of a single state. True, Caesar knew that there was no need to hurry up with final conquest. First, Gaul did not immediately become a Roman province. Secondly, about a third of the tribes received the status of allies of the republic or simply free people. That's who the Gauls are in ancient Rome.

The process of their romanization was gradual. In addition, the central government introduced relatively low taxes and military duties for the Gauls. This was done in order to appease the Celts and prevent an armed uprising. But those who were dissatisfied with the Roman rule were still there. In the first century, several uprisings broke out in Gaul. True, they were arranged either by small groups of marginalized people, or by disgraced military men and did not have a universal national character. The Gallic language finally died around the sixth century. It was replaced by conversational Latin, which became the forerunner of modern French.

Slavery in the Gauls

Trying to answer the question, who are the Gauls, it is necessary to look at the structure of their society. Like most ancient peoples, they were divided into free people and slaves. Their position was similar to that of the slaves of the Mediterranean. Today, most of the authentic materials about the galls are contained in the notes of their conqueror Julius Caesar. It is significant that he almost did not describe the relationship of free residents and slaves, since these orders were similar to Roman ones.

When the nobleman was dying , his slaves were burned on a fresh grave. Slaves of this people were relatively few, since they sacrificed most of their prisoners of war to the pagan gods, namely they were the main group from which new slaves were taken.

Know and the poor

The free population of Gaul was divided into three groups: the Druids (priests), nobles and commoners. At the same time in the secular part of society there was no middle ground. The society was extremely layered in its welfare. The only advantage of the simple poor people was its abundance. Otherwise their situation left much to be desired.

Who are the Gauls by nationality? They were Celts, their national orders were such that commoners had very little influence on public affairs, unlike the same Romans, where there were democratic institutions of power. Not able to protect their interests commoners went for protection to a nobleman and actually fell into bondage.

At this step the gull could push debts, the severity of taxes, as well as harassment from other noble tribesmen. Free commoners could become slaves. On the other hand, a social lift has always been opened before them in the form of a military career. Valor and heroism often allowed not only to regain freedom, but also to become part of the nobility. The people were ruled by a leader, as well as by a council consisting of representatives of the most distinguished and influential clans.

The army of the Gauls

The basis of the Gallic army was the cavalry. The Celts refused to use chariots. Service in the cavalry was a prestigious affair, only privileged members of society got there. Trying to explain who are the Gauls and Thracians, as well as other peoples of antiquity, historians often turn to the analysis of the army. It is a molded society. Favorite tactic of cavalry was a swift attack rallied in close ranks of riders. Enemies often could not stand such a friendly pressure and fled.

It is interesting that the infantry of the Gauls sometimes fought even hand-to-hand. In close combat, there was a shield in his hands that was kept above the head with a tight construction during the repulsion of attacks and archery. Who are the Gauls and where did they live? Their settlements were scattered throughout modern France and Belgium. When the people's militia gathered for large-scale wars (for example, in case of an attack by the Romans), not only the representatives of different geographical regions and social classes appeared in the army, but also people who had different martial arts. As a rule, the more the army was and the more it was necessary to use reserves, the less professional was its infantry.

Appearance

The lack of reliable information has led to the fact that modern culture has formed a generally accepted image of a gull, which does not always coincide with the historical truth. For example, these pagans (from the Middle Ages) were depicted as tall, white-haired people. These signs are typical for all European northerners. With these features, the Germans and the Scandinavians are also associated.

But who are the Gauls and what did they look like? Bone remains, found by archaeologists on the site of parking, show that their body build was very different. The Gauls were not necessarily tall and fair-haired. At the same time, ancient writers noted their common habit of carefully monitoring their own purity.

Basically, the Gauls wore long hair (including men), which they washed with lime water (which, by the way, led to a gradual lightening of the head of hear). They also loved all sorts of beards and mustaches. Accessories were accessories like bracelets and beads. The shoes of the Gauls were on wooden soles. The costumes were practical and durable, as these pagans skillfully owned the mastery of fabric production.

Religion

Understanding the place of the supernatural in the life of the Gentiles helps to understand who the Gauls are. Life and religion of this people were closely intertwined. A key part of the faith of the Gauls was the cult of nature. Trees, forests, magical plants were worshiped. Celts worshiped water - springs, rivers, lakes, streams and seas. The Gauls believed in the existence of healing springs and considered these places, hidden in deep forest thickets, sacred.

Who are the Gauls in Ancient Rome and where they lived, modern historians know only from fragmentary information. The same goes for religion. Knowledge of beliefs was transmitted among the Gauls by oral recount. Therefore, after the death of civilization, there were no written sources about the religion of these pagans.

Druids

The estate of the priests of the Gauls differed in seclusion, as in most of the ancient peoples. However, the priests also had their own characteristics. Firstly, their title was not inherited, it needed to earn a deep knowledge of their faith. Secondly, the Druids were not only priests. They performed the functions of judges, healers and astronomers.

In their ritual ceremonies the priests used mistletoe. It was believed that this shrub has magical properties. The mistletoe was used in medicine, as well as drawing lots and predicting the future. Druids practiced sacrifice. For such ceremonies, a "wicker man" was made - a cell in the form of a human body in which people were placed, they were killed for ritual purposes. This design was made from willow rods. Interestingly, the Druids were also cannibals.