A History of the Celtic Peoples: The Crushing of the Celtic Spirit

By John Heinmiller

In the History of the Celtic Peoples, author John D. Heinmiller examines history from a unique perspective. In focusing on the Celtic peoples, the peoples from the Britannic Isles to the Iberian Peninsula and the northern part of the modern nation of Italy, Heinmiller argues that it is the Celts who were and are the real dynamic force of Europe from the 15th Century onward. Though the position is controversial, Heinmiller presents the evidence in this history as clearly as he can.

In the first volume, the Crushing of the Celtic Spirit, Heinmiller discusses the history of the Celts in their dealings with Rome, with Rome’s conquest of them, and the depths of the dark ages.

In this history, the author tries to use the actual names of places, not their anglicized names. Thus, Rome becomes Roma, Italy becomes Italia, Normandy becomes Normandie, etc. Even the names of people and kings are adjusted, the English Henry is the French Henri and the Spanish Henrique. The French Philip becomes Philippe while if he is Spanish he is known as Filipe. This, however, is not taken all the way; for example most readers would not realize that Bourgogne is the true name of Burgundy after all. Still, the author wants the reader to be aware of the actual names.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Heinmiller
• Release date: Feb 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005245443

John Heinmiller

John D. Heinmiller is a student of truth, in all of its various ways. He has long been interested in such questions as why and how we know what we know. Of course, he started looking into itThen, true to form, he started to write about it. Of course, he did not limit himself to just that field of interest.A lifelong Californian who was born in Los Angeles, Mr. Heinmiller currently lives by himself in San Francisco where he tries to continue his research and his writing.

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PREFACE

It has been many years since I first thought about writing this book. The inspiration was years ago when a friend of mine gave me a four-volume set that he valued most dearly. It was A History of the English Speaking Peoples by Winston Churchill. I will confess that I devoured this book from cover to cover. Yes, I learned a lot from it. But at the same time, it must be pointed out that Churchill wrote from a particularly English viewpoint. I remember asking myself, What about the French viewpoint? What about the Spanish? Do not their viewpoints have anything to do with what happened? Do not their viewpoints say anything? And what about other nationalities—the Irish, the Scottish, the Portuguese? Even the Italians seemed to have something to say.

It was several years after I got the set that I started to think about writing this book. What triggered it was the realization that I was looking at a specific group of people, a people most historians claimed had disappeared, except for a few locations. But I did not think they had disappeared. Yes, they had been conquered; yes, they had been forced to bend their knees to foreign warlords. But as far as I could tell, they were still around, still thriving. And through their blood had mingled with their conquerors, they still existed.

They were the Celtic peoples and from what I could tell, they played, are playing, a dominant role in a critical period of time.

Who were the Celtic peoples? I confess that my research was not as deep as I would have liked it to be, especially the research into the origins of the people. But when I delved into what was known about this ancient and hardy people, I found they were a people more egalitarian than all others; more egalitarian than even the Greeks, the founders of our notions of democracy – and that says a lot.

I started to look at history through Celtic eyes, so to speak. Of course, at the same time, I did not lose track of the other peoples, but it seemed to me that even when conquered, the Celtic peoples had something to say, something different, unique. Their influence, crushed, seemed to have arisen once again, their principles, long disappeared, were reappearing.

I also noted the incredible influence these people had on world history, an influence that was, like Roma in its day, outsized and powerfully influential. But the influence of England, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands were not confined to Europe or part of Africa. Their influence, for good and ill, was worldwide. The only comparable influence was that of the Mongols, but even the Mongols did not influence events in the Americas or Australia. The Celts, through their far-flung empires, influenced events throughout the four corners of the world.

I must point out that I am not trying to write a professional history. I freely admit such an effort is beyond me. Instead, what I am trying to do is to show my own viewpoints on the history of the western world. I am trying to show my own thinking, my own thought processes. In short, I am saying it as I understand it.

What I do write about is the Celtic people, a people with a spirit of egalitarianism and equality seldom seen outside of the Celtic world, a spirit that is even now starting to spread throughout the world. I also write about some of the negative aspects of Celtic life and thought, at least as I understand them. Yes, I try to shine a light on certain aspects the Celts have held onto for far too long. What emerges is a history of a brave and complex people, a people both smart and stupid, resourceful and inept, a people who had been, for the most part, conquered but whose spirit before their conquest ultimately shone forth with a light that even today cannot be quenched. And perhaps this is the best I can do.

I have used the term Celtic People because there is no other term I can find that focuses so much on the modern nations that have made such important long-lasting contributions to the world—the English, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese, and even the Italians, well at least the northern Italians. Before the reader objects, I will point out that yes, I do understand those people were also subsumed by the Germanic peoples so the argument could be made that I could have written a book about the history of the Germanic peoples. Or even a history of the White Peoples, which in my opinion would be a very racist sounding tome.

But I chose to limit myself to the Celtic peoples because, as I have learned, the mores and customs of the Celts were in many ways exceedingly advanced for their times. It is almost as if the descendants of those ancient Celts have been unconsciously struggling to regain the mores, virtues, and freedoms the ancient Celts enjoyed, applying them this time in a worldwide way. Besides, when talking about European influence, it was the Celtic nations that were the really influential powers.

It is to this end that I have, in essence, put pen to paper and commenced the writing of this, the first of my four-volume set: A History of the Celtic People.

A Note on Place Names

In my history, I have made a conscious and deliberate decision to use local names instead of Anglicized names whenever the local name is close enough to the anglicized name to not cause confusion. As such, Rome becomes Roma, Genoa becomes Genova, the Franks become the Fraenks, the Lombards the Longobardi, etc. I did not change the adjectives or possessives, just the nouns. Many names did not need to be changed; Paris is Paris in both the English and the French and Madrid is spelled the same in multiple languages. But some places I kept to the Anglicized name, Bourgogne was too different from the Anglicized Burgundy for the reader to readily comprehend that they were the same place. And I doubt many of the English-speaking world would recognize that Firenze is the actual name of Florence. In some cases, it was a judgment call. I decided to keep Brittany as Brittany instead of calling it the French Bretagne in part because of the ties of the people of Brittany to the isle of Britannia and in part because it seemed to me to be just a bit too difficult. Doubtless, there are some locales where I missed it; if so, please forgive me. Should this work ever be translated, I hope the translator follows the same principle I have established here.

THE TIME OF ROMA

1

ROMA AND CARTHAGE

Our tale begins with a war. Not just any war mind you, but the struggle between the two great powers of the Mediterranean, the great Inland Sea. Nowadays we call this struggle The Punic Wars. It may seem odd that our tale begins with a war where the Celts were not one of the two major sides involved. Trust me, the Celts were involved, on both sides as it were. In fact, in their own way, they helped to create the people who would conquer them.

The Celts were involved through that most time-honored method of earning coin—being mercenaries! Fighting for coin was a ready means of survival, if not enjoyment, and the Celts were highly practiced in the tradition of combat. They were probably the biggest suppliers of mercenaries for the Carthaginians. For the most part the Romans did not have mercenaries. The Romans, however, had auxiliaries, the Celts of the Cisalpine region filled that role quite nicely.

In the beginning, most of the money for mercenaries came from the Carthaginians. Carthage, a society dedicated to the merchant life, was for the most part free with its money, ready to hire the best armies it could. Carthage believed strongly in buying and selling; their approach to armies was if you need an army, simply buy it! As a result, Carthage had numerous Celts stationed in Sicily. Carthage was a mighty naval power, the strongest in the Mediterranean Sea, with other naval powers like Egypt and Athens casting a wary eye at Carthage. An old Phoenician colony that had become powerful, the city had taken over many of the other Phoenician colonies as well as various territories, ruling over all with an iron fist.

Carthage had fixed its attention on Messana (now Messina), one of the few Phoenician colonies still outside of their grasp and a key to gaining control of the entire isle of Sicily. They had forced Syracuse to become an ally of them. They had established themselves in Iberia and had already had contact with the Celts of that peninsula. They were building an imperium and intended to let nothing stop them. Carthaginian naval forces were second to none in strength and skill. The other naval powers had reason to be very wary of Carthage. Still, the Carthaginians did not expect too much trouble. After all, Rome lacked a sufficient navy to challenge Carthage’s dominion over the sea. Additionally, Rome believed strongly in a home-grown army and thus did not hire many mercenaries.

Rome was the only serious obstacle Carthage had. The mighty city of Rome had already cast its control over much of the Italian boot and dominated the peninsula from the Etruscan lands to Rhegium at the toe. Not yet an imperium, the Roman Republic was a state governed by a collective that so far had little interest in worldwide conquest. Sense still governed the city of Rome. But they had their legions, the strongest infantry in the world, an infantry so deadly their practices were nothing short of war itself. To defend themselves from attack, they had already gained absolute control over some of the city-states in Italy and had made the rest of them allies. They had fought the Greek colonies in southern Italy and emerged victorious. And they had already fought off the Celts when they tried to tackle the Etruscans. Now they looked upon the actions of Carthage with a wary eye.

Between them, the two had managed to divide up much of the Western Mediterranean; Carthage controlled much of North Africa as well as the great islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica while Rome controlled the Italian Peninsula. For a while, they had moved forward in conjunction with each other, partially planned, partially inadvertently. Now their attention turned to each other. Carthage knew it could move against the allies of Rome with impunity, so long as it did not attack the Italian boot. Carthage was moving against Messana, a friend of Rome and Syracuse, a friend of Carthage, was assisting. Both Messana and Syracuse were unreachable on the isle of Sicily. To Carthage, it looked like a safe conquest.

Into this fray, the warriors of the Celts plied their trade. In fact, as mercenaries, the Celts were highly sought after. One of the chief sports of Celtic society was war, which was hardly unique at this time. Warfare was the main trade among the top classes of the Celtic peoples, but it was not warfare as we understand it. Skill in battle was highly valued among the Celts and conflict between differing clans was common. However, it rarely led to much bloodshed as the Celts often practiced battle by insult with actual fighting being performed by champions.

However, if the loot potential was great enough, they certainly could and would organize to attack. A Celt who managed to win many battles was able to take home a great deal of loot, a testimony of the individual’s combat prowess and skill in arms. If someone paid them to fight, so much the better. They could gain great glory as well as much wealth from combat. The conflict between Rome and Carthage was like a money-making opportunity from the gods themselves to Celtic warriors; they would be paid to fight and could take home loot as well. The skill of the Celts was such that Carthage at least was quite ready to pay good coin for them.

Who were the Celtic people? Why were they the way they were?

Nobody knows how long the Celtic peoples had been in the lands they controlled. Some say they originated and were in existence as far back as 2000 BC, the Beaker culture, which covered roughly the same area as the Celts. Others assert that the Celts originated much later in the area around modern-day Vienna and Munich, the famous Hallstatt culture. What is known is that by the time our story opened, the Celtic peoples had been established in their region for at least several centuries, maybe longer.

The Celts were not bound by race or ethnicity; there was no national unity among the Celtic peoples. Instead, they were a loose collection of diverse peoples with different localized customs and traditions. But there was a unity of law and culture among the various Celtic peoples. They shared roughly the same religion, the same language, the same legal system, the same technology, and the same core beliefs. If there were differences in the language, it was not so great as to prevent Celts from opposite ends of the Celtic regions from understanding one another. It was rather like the differences between people who speak English; someone who speaks the Royal English will speak it differently than someone who speaks either American English or Australian English but they should be able to understand what was said, allowing for confusing idiomatic expressions, of course. Besides, it is known that a Celt from the Iberian Peninsula or Cisalpine region could and would go to Britain for extensive training in various aspects of Celtic life. When he returned, he would be an important person in Celtic society.

Still, the true wealth of Celtic society was not in the prowess of the warrior, neither was it in the skill of the artisan. Rather the true wealth of the Celts was found in the produce of the land. It was found in the cattle and sheep, the pigs and the chickens that the Celtic family raised. It was found in the crops that were planted and grown with great care. It was found in the mines that dug deep into the ground from which were extracted salt, gold, silver, tin, copper, iron, and other common metals. The majority of Celts were of the common laboring/farming variety with unskilled laborers being numerous. In other words, it was like so many societies of the time.

By the time our story starts, the number of Celts in the land had grown to the point where the land could not support them all. Oh, the land could have supported more if there were greater specialization and development of agricultural methods, but greater specialization was centuries in the future and agricultural development had always proceeded at a pace insufficient to maintain the population. There were too many farmers and not enough farmland. The excess population migrated to the cities, only there were not enough jobs for the unemployed sons and daughters of farmers and tradesmen. So, when there are too many people and not enough jobs, how does one deal with the excess numbers without slaughtering them? Mercenaries! And in the struggle between Carthage and Roma, mercenaries helped to fill the ranks. Celtic mercenaries came from all over the Celtic region, with the majority coming from Gaul and Iberia.

The initial advantage of the struggle between Carthage and Roma lay with Carthage. They had the navy and their assault was occurring on Sicily. Roma’s initial problem was how to get Roman power across the Strait of Messina when they had no navy to speak of and only so many soldiers. They were not worried about what would happen once they got the troops across, the legions were the finest in the world and could defeat almost everything. The problem was the navy of Carthage, which in its turn was the finest in the world.

Roma solved the problem with pure boldness. Demonstrating an initiative and daring that took Carthage by surprise, they simply marched several legions south, sailed their entire navy along with them, got to the narrowest point between Italia and Sicily and simply ferried the legions across to just north of Messana. As a result, the finest soldiers were on the very isle they needed to be. Messana was quickly relieved (and very thankful to Roma). Second, Syracuse was besieged. After a brief struggle, the city of Syracuse submitted and became an ally of Roma. With this bold act, the first of the Punic Wars began.

Carthage’s resistance quickly stiffened. Carthage had wealth to spare and she spent it. Numerous mercenaries from all over were rushed in large quantities to Sicily to protect Carthaginian cities and interests. The navy was sent in, cutting off Roman access to the isle of Sicily. The legions that were on Sicily were on their own, no reinforcement was possible with Carthage’s navy blocking the transit routes. With the improved forces and the naval blockade, Carthage tried to destroy the legions on Sicily. But things did not work out the way Carthage wanted them too. Battle was offered and accepted at Agrigentum. There, in a furious battle, the Romans slaughter the massive mercenary force of Carthage. It was not long before the Carthaginian city of Agrigentum fell to Roman control. Carthage’s first attempt to counter the Romans had failed.

But all the victories in the world would mean nothing if the Romans could not throw reinforcements to Sicily. Carthage controlled the straights and they controlled the seas; in effect, they controlled everything. They could send force after force across to Syracuse. Roma might win many battles but the deadly soldiers were still mortal, they could and were being killed. Sooner or later, Carthage would win.

Roma had no choice but to confront the powerful fleet of Carthage. But there were massive issues. Roma had no experience with naval battles; all of their power was in their deadly infantry. It is true that they could build ships at a rapid rate, but without the sailors and the skill needed to take on the Carthaginian fleet properly, they could build fifty times the ships Carthage had and it would make no difference; Carthage would win each naval battle and sooner or later, Roma would be exhausted. The fleet of Carthage was the best in the world, much as the infantry of Roma was the best in the world. Any Roman fleet, fighting in the classic style, would be slaughtered by the naval forces of Carthage. So, how to deal with the mighty fleet of Carthage when they had no experience in naval battle?

Roma could think of only one thing: turn the naval battles into land battles. They decided not to try to learn how to fight the way Carthage fought but to try to make it so Carthage and their sailors would have to fight the way Romans fought—with sword and shield. With that decided, the issue was how to make it so that Roman troops could board the ships of Carthage. The solution was the Corvus, a grappling plank that allowed the Romans to board enemy ships and simply slaughter the sailors using their deadly legions.

Not much more needs to be said about the First Punic War. Suffice it to say that after twenty-three years of warfare, with both sides physically and financially exhausted, with naval victories on both sides and with Carthage obtaining some key land victories towards the end of the war, Roma finally emerged victorious. Sicily became a Roman possession. Syracuse was made a permanent ally of Roma. And most importantly, Carthage was made to pay a huge war indemnity.

But it was not so much that Roma won the war but that Carthage lost it. All of the advantages, except for the infantry, were Carthage’s and they blew it. The biggest weakness Carthage had was built into the city’s financial structure. Several families controlled the wealth and power of the city yet none of them provided a single shekel in taxes to the city. All the taxes were paid by the commoners and the poor; the wealthy considered taxes to be robbery and refused to part with anything but were quite willing for the poor to pay all the taxes. But the rich controlled everything; they dictated what battles would occur and where the focus of Carthage’s might would be focused on. Naturally they always directed the battles with a view of improving their own wealth. If Carthage had been able to make the nobles pay their fair share to support the fleet, it is unlikely Roma could have won the war like they did. Lack of money, the money the nobility and the wealthy had, was what defeated Carthage in the first war.

This refusal of the rich to part with even a shekel also meant that Carthage could not pay the very mercenaries they had hired. Of course, the mercenaries objected, quite strenuously. The result was the Mercenary War.

With Carthage dealing with the very people they hired, then refused to pay, chaos erupted in the isles of Sardinia and Corsica. Of course, Roma used the war as a pretext to annex the islands, something that infuriated most Carthaginians. But stuck in the fury of a war they had caused, Carthage was forced to allow it. Of course, the rich continued to refuse to part with a shekel, forcing the poor and the commoners to support the whole war effort. Yet here is the thing: if they had opened up their wealth to being taxed, the mercenaries could have been quickly paid and a fleet rebuilt and the isles would never have been taken over by Roma. Of course, if they had opened up their wealth to being taxed, Carthage would have won the struggle with Roma. The loss of the war, coupled with the loss of Corsica and Sardinia, was a warning that Carthage did not heed.

Carthage finally won the Mercenary War but the problem of silver remained. Since the nobility refused to part with a single shekel, where could the needed silver be obtained?

This problem was pondered by Carthage’s most important leader. Hamilcar was the only Carthaginian leader who had not lost a battle to Roma. Though he had come late into the war, he had managed to defend the Sicilian city of Drepanum from Roman attack and had even raided the Italian mainland with astonishing success. Later, he led the Carthaginian forces in the Mercenary War and after a long struggle emerged victorious. He resented Roma, hating that they had taken over Sicily when he thought he could continue the war; he also resented that Roma had taken over Sardinia and Corsica in violation of the very treaty they had imposed on Carthage. Mostly, he hated the indemnity that Roma had imposed on Carthage, he wanted to take that indemnity and shove it up the noses of the Romans. But he knew Carthage had to pay it. Wise, wily, and ambitious, with tremendous internal and financial resources, he pondered the situation for a long while. Silver, where to get silver?

Hamilcar dared not go into areas controlled by Roma; they would simply use it as a pretext to expand their influence against Carthage. It had to be in an area well outside of Roman control. But thanks to the war, Carthage now had no navy to speak of so the silver could not be transported across the vastness of the Mediterranean. Hamilcar needed a silver source that was reachable overland or at least across a narrow strait so the Roman navy would not bother attacking it.

Hamilcar’s considerations led him to the silver mines of Iberia. Even then, there were stories of traders going with merchandise to the Iberian Peninsula and returning with boatloads of silver. The land was vast. The Strait of Gibraltar was a minor obstacle, easily meeting Hamilcar’s requirements. In addition, the peninsula, properly exploited, could easily meet the needs of a base which he could use to build a large land force, invade Latium, and punish the upstart Romans for daring to oppose Carthage.

The location of some of the major mines of Iberia were known to Hamilcar, others were easily ascertained. The greatest were the mines of the Sierra Morena, the major mining operations in the Iberian Peninsula. It was a vast silver resource that was inefficiently developed. This source of silver would be quite sufficient to pay off the huge indemnity that was owed to Roma. In fact, properly developed it could support the other strategy, the attack on Roma itself which he nursed in his heart. So, he had to obtain those silver mines. This dictated his strategy. It also dictated which Celtic clans in Iberia he would try to attack and conquer. In effect, the result was, thank you for serving us but because our richest were too stingy to pay, we lost. So we are not only refusing to pay you, we are conquering you as well!

Negotiations with most of the tribes were quite successful. Some knew they were too weak and simply folded while others conceded certain territories, but the powerful Turdetani of southern Iberia proved to be a major obstacle. War was the only answer. In this effort, he had the assistance of the Celtici, a major Celtic clan that bordered the Turdetani region. It is hard to know how large a role the Celtici played, though it almost certainly was significant. Sources only tell about Hamilcar, who first defeated the Turdetani, incorporating a number of their solders into his own army, then meeting and defeating a threat from a major Turdetani leader named Indortes, who fled, along with his troops. Turdetani resistance collapsed and Hamilcar was able to obtain the silver mines he and Carthage so desperately needed.

Taking over the mines, he introduced Carthaginian technologies to extract the silver and even the gold that was there. The flow of silver and of gold increased for the Carthaginians were skilled in the most advanced mining techniques of the day. Of course, almost all of the gold and silver went to Carthage where it was used to not only pay off the indemnity but also to defeat a Nubian attack. But Hamilcar was content because he was also able to extract enough to start funding his plans.

But to fulfill his plans he needed more than just money. He also needed people, many more people, to join his armies. The portion of Iberia Hamilcar now controlled was insufficient to serve as a base to support his ambitions or the needs of Carthage. He needed more people, which meant he needed land where the people were. Where to get the land? Why by expanding his Iberian conquests! Hamilcar started to expand eastward, securing and expanding his area of influence. Allied tribes like the Bastetani suddenly got wary and opposed Hamilcar. But through negotiation and outright conquest, Hamilcar was able to expand Carthage’s influence in Iberia.

He also needed a major port; the small ports he had would simply not do. Hamilcar settled on a bay in southern Iberia where he took the town of Mastia and rebuilt it, naming it Carthage. Well protected and a perfect place for ships to anchor, the developing city of New Carthage became the base Hamilcar needed to not only gain control over Iberia but to also take over more mines and extract all the silver he could. In addition, it made the perfect base from which to launch his attacks.

With his primary base secure and the silver flowing both to Carthage and to his own coffers, Hamilcar started to turn northward. He established the city of Akra Leuke (now Alicante) as a more northern base and, in doing so, got the eye of Massalia (now Marseilles), a Phoenician colony port that Carthage had never conquered. Massalia was very concerned about the expanding influence of Carthage in what they considered to be their sphere of influence and alerted Roma to the expansion. Roma was not exactly friendly to Carthage or Hamilcar and some Romans suspected Carthage of influencing revolts in their new provinces of Sardinia and Corsica. A Roman deputation was sent to look over what Hamilcar was doing. Hamilcar simply stated that he was very busy obtaining plunder by which he could pay off the indemnity to Roma. It is not known if the Roman delegation believed Hamilcar, but it is known that the delegation withdrew, leaving Hamilcar in peace. It was in Roma’s interest to allow Carthage to pay off the indemnity so it is very likely that Roma marked Iberia but let Hamilcar develop it, planning to conquer it in the future after Carthage had paid off more of the indemnity. Either way, they left Hamilcar to develop his plans.

Now Hamilcar turned his attention to the northwest, towards the Celtic lands of central Iberia. No records of this campaign exist and the location of the town of Helike, where Hamilcar met his demise, is not known. Many identify it with Elche but that is likely too close to Akra Leuke to be where Hamilcar died. Regardless, it was the Oretani, a tribe that was half Celtic, which turned on Hamilcar and took his life. At least the Celts did not fold over and give up.

Hamilcar’s son in law, Hasdrubal, took over. A skilled diplomat with a natural penchant for diplomacy, Hasdrubal did very little outright conquering, preferring to negotiate his way into power. It proved to be frightfully easy for Hasdrubal as he expanded Carthaginian influence and power throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

Roma and Massalia were very concerned about the advance of Carthaginian power. Other cities, like Ampurias (Empúries) and Sagunto, were wary of the developing power of Carthage. They naturally looked towards Roma. But Roma was reluctant to deal with the situation militarily because it was still exhausted from the long struggle and had some issues in their new provinces of Sardinia and Corsica as well. And there was the indemnity to receive from Carthage. As a result, they were ready to deal.

Hasdrubal did not tread lightly with Roma; he was wary of Roman ambitions and lusts. Roma had taken the first step towards becoming an imperium and had found the fruit delicious. For the first time, Roma had a province—not a colony, not a subjugate city, not even an allied city, an actual province. Roma found that possessing an actual province was very profitable. They did not realize the danger that they were placing their society into, they did not realize that they were starting down the long path towards conquest and inevitable destruction. They saw the profit. It awakened a latent greed in their hearts, a greed that would not be extinguished for centuries.

The conquest of Sicily had been like heady wine to the Roman Republic, inflaming their desire for more. The taking of Corsica and Sardinia could have been because of nothing else. The original treaty with Carthage had given only Sicily to Roma, it was turmoil within Carthage that had allowed Roma to gain Sardinia and Corsica. And now, they wanted more.

Hasdrubal knew this, he had to have known it. But he, like Roma, was in a position of certain weakness. He dared not risk a resumption of hostilities between Carthage and Roma. He dared not launch a war when his nation was still fundamentally weak. He needed that lack of hostilities if he was to develop the Celtic lands that he coveted. And he too suffered from the same greed, all Carthage did, so it was something he understood very well. Therefore, he swallowed his pride and dealt with the enemy.

The treaty that Hasdrubal signed with Roma fixed the division of the influence between the two powers on the Iberus (Ebro) river. North of the Iberus was to be Roman for perpetuity, this included the Celtic lands of Gaul and Britannia. South of the Iberus was to be Carthaginian for all eternity, this included the lands of the Iberian Celts, particularly the regions of Gallaecia and Asturias. In effect, Roma gave these regions and peoples to Carthage. And Hasdrubal took advantage of it, expanding his influence and control as rapidly as negotiation (with the occasional thrust of force) allowed.

Hasdrubal did not complete the conquest of the Iberian Celtic peoples. He died before he could, murdered by a slave of the Celtic leader Tago. Somehow, it seems that the Celtic people had figured out what was happening and, not willing to simply submit to the yoke of the slave, had taken action. However, Hasdrubal had expanded Carthaginian power in Iberia. With a larger source of silver flowing into the vaults of Carthage and a larger source of mineral and material wealth, as well as a larger source to draw for their armies, Carthage was more powerful when he died than when he took over the reins from Hamilcar.

Hannibal, brother-in-law to Hasdrubal and son of Hamilcar, would expand Carthaginian power in the Iberian Celtic lands to their maximum extent. He was considered a military genius who was a born strategist and an excellent tactician, he could envision how the enemy would move, then plant his army in exactly the right location to tear them apart. Few could defeat him.

Of course, his first efforts were in the Celtic lands. He first attacked the Olcades clan and captured their strongest center, Alithia, with surprising ease. Then he marched his troops westward and took out the Vaccaen strongholds of Helmantice and Arbucala with great speed. Upon his return, he was attacked by a coalition of Iberian tribes; the Iberian tribes were destroyed. He thus succeeded in spreading Carthaginian power into most of Iberia, though he never got to the Atlantic Ocean.

Roma, very concerned about the power of Hannibal, created a crisis. They made an alliance with the free city of Saguntium and proclaimed it a protectorate. The problem with this was that Saguntium, far south of the Iberus, was clearly in the sphere of Carthage per the solemn treaty Roma had signed. But that did not stop Roma which, having pacified Sardinia and Corsica and no longer receiving the indemnity from Carthage, was seeking ways in which to deal with the one power they feared.

Hannibal welcomed the challenge. He had a powerful force of infantry, along with cavalry, both Carthaginian and Numidian. His forces were highly trained and if the infantry was inferior to Roma’s, it was not for lack of training or expertise. He had a force of elephants, which were dominant on the battlefield. He knew his abilities and was certain he could defeat Roma in the field with the greatest of ease. And he was able to arm and armor his troops locally, thanks to Celtic craftsmen who were in his control.

Celtic craftsmen were among the most advanced in the western world. For a time, they were the very best in the world. They had entered the Iron Age around 700 BC when immigrants from Anatolia who escaped from the downfall of the Hittite Imperium introduced iron to the people in the Celtic region around the upper Danube, creating what historians love to call the Hallstatt culture. Experts assert that the culture spread by migration and conquest, but it was almost certainly mostly migration. The Celts allowed artisans to travel freely between clans, it is almost certain that the knowledge of the forging of iron traveled with the migrating artisans. Of course, it could have been a combination of conquest and travel, as the Boii clan was highly involved in a struggle with Roma in the early days and the Belgic people, one of the major branches of the Celts, moved themselves by conquering other Celtic lands. But by movement of individual craftsmen or by movement via conquest, the Celtic skill with iron traveled at a rapid speed.

Celtic craftsmen were the only people not directly tied to the family unit from birth but granted the right to go to whichever family they decided, even if they wanted to go to another clan altogether. The knowledge of the craftsman was extremely important but the Celtic leadership knew that a spreading of all crafts were vital to the continuation of Celtic society as a whole. And yes, women could become, and often were, excellent craftsmen. Ironworkers and leatherworkers made ringmail, chainmail, and other forms of armor and weapons. Chainmail, in fact, was a Celtic invention, though only Celtic nobility owned it. It was the best armor of its day. A sword that could go through a leather jerkin was usually stopped by a chainmail coat.

However, true to the standard of the day, most people had to pay for their own arms and armor. As so many could not afford the superior protection of chainmail, many had to do with ringmail, a leather jerkin on which iron rings were sewn. Not as good a protection as chainmail, ringmail was still very good armor for its day, affording decent protection over critical spots of the body.

The problem was that one had to afford the protection of the expensive chainmail or less expensive ringmail. If one could not afford either, one would go into battle either wearing a leather jerkin or going into battle naked, with just their weapons and shield to fight. The Celts, to their detriment, did not practice the tradition of providing their soldiers with weapons and armor. Though to be fair, in those days no other society did. Even Roma did not provide armor for their soldiers at that time. Soldiers everhwhere were expected to provide their own armor. As a result, a Roman soldier was often poorly armored.

Hannibal, Carthage’s greatest military leader, had access to the craftsmen who could make these fabulous armors. He made sure that all of his troops were as well armored and as well-armed as they could be, a virtual army of supermen as it were. He therefore had the best-armored fighting system in the world, at least for a while. To this, he added a number of weapons that the Romans did not really use—archers, horsemen, and elephants. He knew that Roman training and doctrine was far better than his, but he was convinced that training would amount to nothing compared to excellent armor and experience. He would be proved right!

When Roma challenged Carthage by making an alliance with with the city of Saguntium, Hannibal responded to Roman provocation in the one way certain to increase tensions; he laid siege to Saguntium, breaking the city and taking it. Naturally, Roma angrily reacted and demanded justice of Carthage. Carthage, aware of Hannibal’s skill, was in no mood to negotiate. War was declared and Hannibal had his chance.

Other books have talked about the Second Punic War in greater detail than I will go into. I will deal lightly with the actual fighting between Roma and Hannibal. What matters in this retelling are other issues that occurred during the long war, issues that tend to be overlooked but issues that I think were key to the war.

The march had been planned eight years prior by Hasdrubal and it was a masterful plan. Leaving nothing to chance, Hasdrubal had considered every contingency, thought out every option. If there was any weakness to the plan, it was in the truth that he was not certain that he could get elephants across the Alpine mountains that bordered Cisalpine Gaul. But that one negative was balanced by what Hasdrubal considered to be many positives that he had to leave to chance. He was certain that if the Carthaginian forces were marching on Roma that they would find numerous allies among the peoples the army marched through. And he was right for when Hannibal activated the plan and marched through Southern Gaul, many Gallic people joined his army, eager for spoils and desirous of glory. That said, many Gallic clans opposed Hannibal because they had to; a large army marching through lands tend to despoil it, so Hannibal lost much during the march as well. It is true that Hannibal lost a number of elephants and over half of his force during the crossing of the Alpine mountains but he still entered Cisalpine Gaul with a very large force.

Naturally, Roma reacted. They assembled a legion that was larger than the force Hannibal commanded and marched on him, determined to bring him down. But Hannibal, the military genius of his day, destroyed the legion with great ease. Another legion was formed and again Hannibal destroyed it. More forces were developed and sent out to attack Hannibal, he destroyed them all.

The Roman world started to show the strain. Cities that were allied to Roma deserted her; others that truly sided with Roma backed off. Hannibal was able to draw on the power of cities that hated Roma as well as the forces of the Cisalpine Celts; as a result, the power of Hannibal increased. It seemed that he was on the verge of ending Roma and establishing Carthage as the sole power of the Great Inland Sea.

The city of Carthage had a golden opportunity. They should have pushed a full effort to back Hannibal to the hilt, supplying him with men, equipment and even siege equipment. There was no good reason to not do it. They had justice on their side: Roma had clearly provoked the war and broken every treaty they had signed with Carthage. Every city in the Mediterranean would agree that Roma had acted in the worst of faith and deserved to be punished. Carthage could have regained the isles of the Mediterranean and even made Roma into its own colony if not outright destroy it. Hannibal had Roma on the brink; nothing could defeat him. Roman allies were deserting Roma. Support for Hannibal would have doomed it.

But Carthage, awash with success, threw away its golden chance. The same problem that destroyed Carthage’s hopes in the First Punic War came back to stab Hannibal in the back. The merchants and nobility of Carthage, the dominant power of Carthage, refused to send money or supplies to aid Hannibal. It would have been very easy for them to build some siege equipment and send it to Hannibal, with it he could have breached the walls of Roma and destroyed that city forever. But trade was all that the merchants of Carthage thought of, trade and profit. All expenses were directed towards improving the area in Iberia. Very little was sent to Hannibal, other than well wishes and a few reinforcements. Most of the reinforcements Hannibal received were from Italia and the Cisalpine region, almost none were from Carthage.

The leadership of Carthage allowed economic policy to decide military policy, a stupid move, for when one is fighting a war military policy has to dominate. This, combined with the continued refusal of the merchant nobility to let themselves be taxed, would result in the worst defeat Carthage would ever endure. Carthage threw away their chance, squandering their opportunity. They did not deserve the war that Roma all but forced on them, but by their actions, they ended up deserving the defeat that would come.

Maharbal, Hannibal’s cavalry commander, once made the following famous statement: Hannibal, you know how to gain a victory, but not how to use one. Of course, he was likely unaware of the consequences of the policies of the city of Carthage. If he had been aware of it, he would have said something like: Carthage, you do not know how to take advantage of a victory. He would have been right, for the city of Carthage doomed itself.

Fifteen years after he crossed into Italia, Hannibal’s forces were depleted, the golden opportunity Hannibal had given Carthage had been squandered. A reinforcement force led by his brother, Hasdrubal (named after his brother-in-law) had been wiped out and Hasdrubal’s head had been tossed into Hannibal’s camp, displaying the implacable attitude of the Roman Republic. Hannibal could still win victories but with his forces weakened and with new tactics by Roma which prevented open battle, he was losing ground. Even worse, Roma had conquered much of Iberia from Carthage and was now having chainmail made for their armies.

It was in this dire situation that he was recalled to Carthage. An emergency had arisen and Carthage, so long neglectful of its great general, suddenly needed him to defend them from attack.

The attacker was Scipio Africanus, one of the two leaders who could be considered Hannibal’s equal. Scipio was certainly a military expert in his own right; he might not have been a military genius but he had carefully studied the tactics and strategy of Hannibal and had realized what he was doing to constantly inflict defeat upon Roma. Scipio had his plans and he knew, as Roma did not, the value of a powerful cavalry. He did have the Roman infantry, the finest infantry in the world, but his cavalry would be nothing more than auxiliaries. If he had to face Hannibal with his normal forces, he would have almost certainly lost. And he would have, except for one thing; he had obtained the critical aid and support of a powerful ally.

The ally was Masinissa, the leader of the new nation of Numidia and the other military leader who could defeat Hannibal. He was a devoted foe of Carthage. Some say that Masinissa’s enmity with Syphax, a devoted ally of Carthage, helped to turn Masinissa. If true, and it almost certainly is, it would have been due to the reputed fact that the love of Masinissa’s life, Sophonisba, had been taken from him before he could marry her and given by her Carthaginian father to his enemy, Syphax. He had still hoped to join with her but she had, in the end, killed herself because she had been captured by the Romans. The cause of this was that Syphax had been captured and killed by Roman legionnaires in battle and she, as the captured wife of Syphax, would have been paraded through the streets of Roma. Rather than suffer the humiliation of such a travesty, she chose to kill herself. Though Masinissa knew Roma would have paraded his beloved in the streets had she lived, he blamed Carthage for the insult; it made him a most implacable enemy of Carthage.

Thanks to Scipio’s influence, Masinissa had been granted the honor of being a Senator of Roma, an unheard-of honor. And Scipio had pushed for Masinissa to be given this honor for a very specific reason: to encourage him to side with Roma. Masinissa was the head of the deadly Numidian cavalry, a horse force of considerable power and ability. Scipio knew that the situation called for unheard-of measures and he did everything he could to obtain Masinissa’s loyalty, this was absolutely critical to Roman success. This force would play a very decisive role in the Battle of Zama, the final battle of the Second Punic War.

Hannibal, upon his return, managed to have a force that was actually larger than Scipio’s, probably the only time his force was larger. His infantry was certainly more numerous, though the quality was inferior. He also had a considerable cavalry of his own, though smaller and not up to the level of the Numidian cavalry. But in his favor, he had eighty elephants, he was certain that these could lead him to victory.

Masinissa’s cavalry, along with the auxiliary cavalry that Scipio had, took on the cavalry of Hannibal and defeated it, driving it off so it could not take part in the rest of the battle. Hannibal’s elephants marched forward in exactly the way Hannibal knew they would, but Scipio, having already planned for this contingency, simply ordered his men to form aisles for the elephants to storm through; the mighty elephants ended up playing no role in the battle. Seeing that his elephants had done no damage to the legions of Roma, Hannibal knew he had all but lost but continued to fight to the best of his ability. Launching an all-out attack, he thrust his numerous infantries against the highly skilled legions. The fighting became an infantry slugfest with Hannibal trying to do all he could to turn the sides but Scipio managing to hold the lines even though he had to commit his reserves. It was when the situation was most desperate, with all thrown in and nothing left in reserve on both sides, that the event that Scipio had hoped for and Hannibal had feared occurred. Masinissa and his Numidian cavalry, fresh from their crushing of the Carthaginian cavalry, stormed the lines of the Carthaginian infantry from behind.

The defeat was total. The terms that Scipio imposed on Carthage were ruinous. It was designed to ensure that Carthage could never arise again. It also ensured that sooner or later Carthage would open itself to conquest by Roma, which they did fifty years later.

The mercantile nobility learned nothing from the defeat. To the bitter end, they continued to refuse to pay any taxes to support their nation and their military. Fifty years later when Roma came in and took over, they would be among the first to try to flee, they would be among the first killed. They were the ones who, through their greed and selfishness caused the defeat, the downfall of Carthage. We will see this defect, this refusal by the nobility and the rich to pay fair taxes, leading to destruction and disaster in the future; it always does. But for now, for our purposes, the rich and powerful Carthage passed from the story.

2

THE WAR ON THE CELTS

Roma had emerged victorious from its struggle with Carthage. There was still the so-called Third Punic War to be fought but, thanks to the refusal of the rich of Carthage to let themselves be taxed, it would be a minor struggle for Roma. Carthage would still play a minor role in paying money for mercenaries but the ruinous terms Scipio had imposed on Carthage ensured that Roma would become so powerful that anything Carthage could do would be all but useless. Roma still kept an eye on Carthage; she was determined to destroy that city, but with the threat removed, the issue had been decided. As a result, Roma could turn its eye to other areas.

The chief spots the Roman eye looked at were those that had supported Hannibal. While the clans of Gaul had not officially sided with Hannibal, many Gallic warriors had fought for Hannibal in Italia. Gaul, both the main and the Cisalpine of the Po River Valley, had provided over half of the reinforcements that Hannibal had enjoyed during his fifteen years of war with Roma. Of course, for the most part, the reinforcements who supported Hannibal came from the Cisalpine region, the main region of Gaul only supplied troops during Hannibal’s audacious march; this inadvertently protected them. But for the Cisalpine region, the damage was done. In Roman eyes, the Celts of the Cisalpine had sided with Carthage.

What most people do not realize is that the dread legions of Roma were born due to Celtic action. In the early days, the Romans practiced a standard type of warfare. They were good fighters on the Italian peninsula but ultimately their fighting style was the same as most. But all this changed when they were attacked by the Gallic people of the Po River Valley. Led by their fierce leader Brennus the Ri of the Senones clan, the Gauls attacked the Romans with a fury the Romans had never seen before.

Celtic families banded together into what were known as Clans. The leader of a clan was always known as a Ri, what we would call a king or a chief. The position of Ri was the mark of what was officially the supreme warlord of the entire clan, the one who was the leader in battle as well as the one who was responsible for the fate and welfare of the entire clan. However, in an egalitarian stand that no other people would embrace for centuries, the position of Ri was by no means limited to men; women could and did become Ri. Now in some clans, the position of Ri was hereditary; parent would pass on the position of Ri to the most qualified child, usually the male though a female who was highly skilled in battle would earn the position. In other clans, the family leaders would get together to select the Ri. It is noteworthy that Arveni and Aedui clans, both large and powerful neighboring clans, had completely different structures and systems at the top: the Arveni had a hereditary Ri system that depended on Clan Elder influence as to which child could become the Ri whereas the Aedui elected their Ri on a year by year basis. And it must be pointed out that the power of the Ri differed between clans; in some clans, the Ri was just the supreme warlord among a group of nobles while in other clans the power of the Ri approached that of a hereditary king with semi-absolute power.

Brennus was the Ri of the Senones, one of the larger clans who had recently migrated over the Alpine mountains into the Po River Valley. Under Brennus, the Senones had attacked the Etruscan city of Clusium. The people of Clusium had appealed for aid and Roma had marched. Unfortunately, the Romans were outmatched and outclassed in every way. It is hard to say whether the Romans of the time were Bronze Age or Iron Age warriors, but they waged war like their Bronze Age ancestors. The military unit of the Roman army was the Phalanx, taken from the Greeks. The main weapon of the Romans was a seven to eight-foot spear, exactly like the Greek doru. The fighting was rank and file with the soldiers lined up in disciplined regiments. It must be pointed out that the Romans were very good at this type of fighting. But the Celts used swarm tactics, speed, and maneuverability to fight, this took advantage of Roman inflexibility of tactics. And there was no doubt the Celts were in the Iron Age. Many of the Gauls wore iron armor, the ring mail that many could afford and the chainmail that the wealthiest could afford. Their sword, the falcata, was an excellent iron weapon that could kill at very close quarters. Finally, their shields, used by all including those who wore no armor, provided excellent protection. The attack was ruthless, bloody, and completely successful; the Romans were destroyed with the survivors fleeing to the river.

18 July, the day Brennus beat the Romans, was forever after a day of ill omen to them.

The victorious Celtic army entered Roma within a few days and simply remained, eating and looting, till the Romans could pay one thousand pounds in gold to make them leave. Of course, the Celts adjusted the scales to suit themselves. According to legend, when a Roman tribune complained about the scales being rigged in favor of the Celts, Brennus threw his sword and belt atop the counterweights to increase the Roman ransom and cried out, Woe to the vanquished, a quite hubristic statement but a common one in those days. And though it is legendary, it is probably true. The phrase, true or not, bit deep into the heart of the Roman psyche. What matters here is that the Celtic army could have destroyed Roma that day; in fact, some people claim they should have. But true to the warrior code of the Celts, all they cared about was gain, what they could carry away with them; they cared nothing about anything else. And this, both the act and the attitude, would have serious repercussions.

The Romans finally paid the ransom and the Celts returned home, celebrating their victory with heavy drinking and boastings of their individual military