According to the text, Scota's father was Achencres, what is a Greek version of the name Akhenaten. The Egyptian names used in Bower's manuscript come from Mentho's work. They settled in Scotland until they were forced to leave and landed in Ireland. In the Scotichronicon, a 15th-century chronicle or legendary account, by the Scottish historian Walter Bower, Evans discovered the story of Scota, the Egyptian princess and daughter of a Pharaoh who fled from Egypt with her husband Gaythelos. Evans argues that these boats originated from Egypt. The boat was at first thought to be a Viking longship, but according to radiocarbon dating, it was created around 1400 to 1350 BC. She believes that the remains of an ancient boat discovered in 1937 in North Ferriby, Yorkshire, belonged to ancient Egyptians. The children of Celtic-Egyptian marriages were known by the slang term e pigovoi.Ĭeltic soldiers (bottom left) in Egypt ( ) The oldest footsteps between the two civilizationsĪccording to Lorraine Evans, who reveals in her compelling book Kingdom of the Ark, the relationship between Egypt and the Celts is much older than the 3 rd century BC. According to the Greek historian Polybios, the intermarriage between Celtic warriors, and native Egyptian and Greek girls were very common. Many Celtic warriors found a new home in Egypt, married local women and stayed in the land of the Pharaohs for the remainder of their lives. It is also known that the last ruler of the dynasty – Cleopatra – used the Celtic mercenaries. Ptolemy V Epiphanes hired an army of Thracian Celts to put down a revolt of the native Egyptian population in Upper Egypt. Until the fall of Ptolemaic dynasty, they remained a very important part of the army. During the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopater (222-205 BC), Celtic soldiers had become a part of the culture of Ptolemaic Egypt. This time they marched through Syria and Judea in a victorious campaign against Seleukos Kallinikos, a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, in the invasion of the Seleucid Empire, ravaging Mesopotamia and western Persia. He and his son Ptolemy III Euergetes, who became Pharaoh in 247 BC, also employed Celtic mercenaries. ![]() In 250 BC, Ptolemy II hired more Celtic warriors to assist the native Egyptian army in road construction and to put down rebellions. However, this episode did not mean the end of the association between the Celts and the Ptolemies. To punish this Celtic rebellion, Ptolemy expelled these exotic warriors to a small island in the Nile to die of starvation. Their goal was to set themselves up as the rulers of Egypt. He also claims that the war-leaders of the Celtic bands wanted to overthrow both Ptolemy and Magas of Cyrene, a Greek Macedonian nobleman who was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. During the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphios, a band of four thousand Celtic warriors were recruited from the Balkans, with the aid of Antigonos Gonatas of Makedon.Īccording to the Greek historian Pausanias, the 4,000 Celtic warriors helped Ptolemy to win a crushing victory over his half-brother usurper, Ptolemy Keraunos. From the early 3 rd century, Celtic warriors from the Eastern European tribes were included in the Egyptian battle-order. Many Celts in the armies of foreign countries came from Galatia, an area once situated in the highlands of central Anatolia in what is now Turkey. It is rarely reported that during the 3 rd century BC, the Celts also acted as a support for the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt.Ĭeltic warriors. They supported Hannibal and traveled with him through the Alps. There they formed an important part of the Carthaginian army and fought in both Punic Wars. They wore long hair and favored decorated shields and long swords.ĭuring the 4 th and the beginning of the 3 rd centuries BC they were employed in the region from Sparta to Syracuse. Some of them went on foot, but the nobles rode to battle on horses. Celtic warriors were famous for the quality of their weapons, their impressive courage and their wild battle-cries. ![]() In 390 BC they sacked a small city along the Tiber River in Etruria. It was during the 4 th century BC that Celtic warriors first appeared in Greece, Italy and the Mediterranean islands. ![]() Groups of Celtic mercenaries and adventurers made their presence felt as far afield as Thrace, Greece, Judea, and Africa. However, Celtic-speaking tribes once controlled much of Europe before the rise of the Roman Empire. Nowadays, the Celtic languages and cultures are restricted to Ireland, parts of Scotland, Wales, Galicia in Spain and Brittany in France. However, it is a little known fact that apart from their role in the Byzantium, these powerful warriors also had a strong connection with ancient Egypt. Celtic warriors were one of the most important supports of Mediterranean armies.
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