The first battle of Celtic warriors vs Romans took place on 18 July, 390 BC. The two armies fought only twelve miles from Rome along the Allia River. On this day, 12,000 Celts unleashed their fury upon 24,000 soldiers of Rome’s organized military force and emerged victorious.
Long before the Romans came to Britain, a fierce chieftain named Brennus led his tribe, the Senones, in a battle of Celtic warriors vs Romans for the first time. The year was 390 BC, according to the Roman calendar (387 BC by modern reckoning). The Senones, whose tribal name means “The Ancient Ones” in Gaulish, prepared themselves to charge Roman lines.
Brennus amassed his painted warriors along the Allia River in what is now Lazio, Italy. Seemingly fearless of the fight to come, they pounded their swords upon body-length wooden shields. They roared at the enemy. Chainmail protected many, while others went without.
Across from them, the assembled Roman army readied itself. Clad in leather or metal armor and bronze helmets, their tightly packed, rectangular phalanx formation contrasted with the gathering of wild and unruly Celts. While the Romans had twice the numbers, the Celts were physically larger and savage fighters. The “barbarians” blew their warhorns. Today’s battle would mark the beginning of a centuries-long grudge and many battles to come.
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Celtic Warriors vs Romans
That day near the Allia River, the Gallic tribespeople attacked with javelins and double-edged iron swords. Slicing down their enemy and forcing the survivors to retreat, the Celts soon devastated the Roman forces. Within days, the Celts sacked the city of Rome itself. They occupied it for seven months before finally being paid a ransom to leave. This event is known as the first sacking of Rome.
While a good deal of myth and conjecture surrounds this legendary first sacking, certain aspects of the story have endured. Brennus wouldn’t agree to withdraw his siege upon Rome unless they paid him one thousand pounds in gold (in actual weight). The story goes that one of the Roman tribunes objected that the Celts had tampered with the scales. In response, Brennus tossed his sword and belt upon the counterweights and shouted, “Vae victis!” It meant “Woe to the vanquished.” According to Titus Livy, the historian who authored History of Rome, the phrase was “intolerable to Roman ears.” Brennus’ words added insult to injury in the wake of Rome’s destruction. From this day forward, the Romans harbored a bitter resentment toward the Celts.
Celtic Warriors vs Romans Timeline
When the Celts sacked Rome, it marked the beginning of a conflict between the two societies that lasted for five centuries. The future would also see them establish a complex relationship involving alliances and trade. Here’s a list of some of the significant battles of Celtic warriors vs Romans.
387 BC: Romans and Celts Begin to Battle in Europe
387 BC (390 BC on the Roman calendar): The Celts sack Rome after winning the battle at the Allia River.
295 BC: The Battle of Sentinum. The Romans defeated the Samnites (who were possibly proto-Celts) in the largest Italian battle since Rome’s founding.
284 BC: The Battle of Arretium in Tuscany. Gallic tribes, the Insubres and Boii, defeated the Romans.
225 BC: The Battle of Telamon in Etruria. The Romans defeated an alliance of invading Celts who were retreating north with plunder from their southern advance.
55 BC: Romans Invade Britain for the First Time
55 BC: Romans invade Britain for the first time under Julius Caesar. They defeated several tribes in the area that is now Kent, England. However, a severe storm forces the Romans to leave the island.
54 BC: Julius Caesar invades Britain once more, this time with far more ships, troops, and provisions. The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni tribe. However, uprisings in Gaul forced them to depart Britain again.
52 BC: The Siege of Gergovia. Julius Caesar besieged Gergovia in Celtic Gaul. Vercingetorix, the Gallic chieftain of the Arverni tribe, and his allies defeated the Romans. Vercingetorix’s name means “Victor of One Hundred Battles.”
52 BC: The Battle of Alesia, which occurred in what is now Côte-d’Or, France. The Romans defeated King Vercingetorix and his massive forces.
43 AD: Romans Invade Britain for the Second Time
43 AD: The Romans invaded Britain under Emperor Claudius, this time to establish a permanent presence. Equipped with massive forces, including war elephants, Claudius quickly brought eleven tribes to surrender in southern Britain. Victorious, Claudius returns to Rome. However, Roman troops remain behind, and the Roman occupation of Britain begins.
48 AD: After five years of fighting belligerent Celts and uncooperative terrain and weather, the Romans invaded what is now Wales. (The period we refer to as Roman Wales continues from 48 AD – 410 AD.)
50 AD: The Battle of Caer Caradoc on the Welsh border. The Romans defeated Caradog (also called Caractacus), leader of the ancient Welsh tribes known as the Silures and the Ordovices, after years of resistance.
60 AD: Romans attack Ynys Môn (Isle of Anglesey) but must withdraw due to Boudicca’s revolt.
61 AD: Battle of Watling Street. Queen Boudicca of the Iceni tribe leads an alliance of Celts against the Romans. The Romans eventually defeated her warriors despite being heavily outnumbered.
77 AD: The Ordovices tribes wipe out an entire regiment of Roman cavalry stationed along their territory. We don’t know exactly where this battle took place. However, we do know that the Ordovices occupied areas of Clwyd, Gwynedd, parts of Worcester, Hereford, and western Shropshire.
78 AD: Governor Julius Agricola eliminates nearly the entire Ordovices tribe. As in the previous event, we don’t know precisely where the battle occurred. It may have taken place in areas that encompassed Bryn-y-Gefeiliau and Pen-y-Gwrhyd, now part of Eryri (Snowdonia). Dinas Dinorwig is another possibility, as the name means “Fort of the Ordovices.”
78 AD: Governor Agricola invades Ynys Môn and, along with his Roman troops, brings Germanic soldiers with specialized seafaring skills. Roman forces eradicate the Druids and their religious center on the island.
Did the Celts ever beat the Romans?
Yes, they beat them in the very first major battle when they were outnumbered two to one and less than a dozen miles from Rome itself near the Allia River. They then sacked Rome in 387 BC. The Celts also beat the Romans in various battles, including the Battle of Arretium in 284 BC and the Battle of Gergovia in 52 BC. The Ordovices tribe in Wales also wiped out a Roman regiment in 77 AD. Ultimately, however, the Romans conquered the Celts in Europe and Britain. By 90 AD, they had subdued virtually all Celtic tribes in what is now England and Wales.
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