Celts

An important group of Celtic-speaking proto-historic peoples of central and western Europe and the British Isles. They probably originated in the Urnfield and Hallstatt cultures of the Bronze Age. From the 5nd century BC they were associated with La Tene style, which became widespread in central-western Europe and in Britain. The Celts were organized into aristocratic chiefdoms. They were known as fierce fighters and fine horsemen. They invaded the Classical world, settled in Cisalpine Gaul, sacked Rome in 390 BC, raided Greece, crossed the Hellespont in 278 BC and settled in Galatia in central Anatolia. The Celts worshipped gods they associated with specific localities, such as springs and groves, and had a priestly class known as the druids. From 225 BC Rome gradually extended control over Celtic territories in northern Italy, Spain and Provence (by the later 2nd century BC). At the same time the Celts in central Europe were being conquered by the Germans. In 58-52 BC Julius Caesar subdued the Celtic groups in Gaul; Britain followed from AD 43. By the 2nd century AD only the Celts in Ireland and the Scottish highlands remained free.