BC390-371 Celtic Gaul Conquests
In the twenty years from 390-371 BC the Celtic Gauls crossed the Alps into Italy, defeated the Roman army and burned Rome to the ground in 387 BC.
The Gauls were a Celtic people of Europe, nomadic and war-like, who did not wish to settle in Italy. Instead, they were interested only in amassing wealth. They looted Rome and then demanded a tribute.
The Romans both feared and marvelled at the Gauls. They described them as being tall, with rippling muscles, white skin and blond hair which they accentuated by washing their hair with lime and pulling it back from the forehead. Their men and women wear bracelets, heavy necklaces (torcs), rings, and even corselets, of gold. Their clothing is striking -- shirts which have been dyed and embroidered in varied colors -- and breeches. They wear striped coats in which are set checks, close together and of varied hues -- tartan plaid.
The Gauls had a 'levity of character' that makes them look insufferable when victorious, but scared out of their wits when defeated. Their speech is harsh and they converse with few words and in riddles, hinting darkly at things for the most part and using one word when they mean another. And, they drink to excess.
After the Gauls had collected their tribute, they returned home to central Europe leaving Rome vulnerable to all the tribes it had previously conquered.
Various Italian states tried to take advantage of Rome's demise by attacking the razed city, but the Romans resiliently asserted themselves and began rebuilding the region.
In Greece, Lysander of Sparta had been killed in the early years of the Corinthian War, but the war continued until 387 BC under the Spartan king Agesilaus II.
Thebes had been taken by Sparta and a pro-Spartan puppet government kept the Thebans in check. Exiles from the previous government regrouped at Athens and prepared to retake their city. Epaminondas, who had been overlooked by the Spartans as nothing more than a philosopher, prepared the young men of Thebes for a coup. In 379 BC a small group of exiles, led by Pelopidas, infiltrated the city with Epaminondas's aid and assassinated the leaders of the pro-Spartan government.
When news of the coup reached Sparta, an army under Agesilaus was sent but the Thebans refused to meet them. Instead, they occupied a stronghold outside the city and the Spartans departed after ravaging the countryside.
The Thebans then reconstituted their old Boeotian confederacy in a new, democratic form and the Spartans invaded three times over the next seven years. The Boeotians held them off, and the advantage was furthered when, in 375 BC, an outnumbered force of Boeotians under Pelopidas cut their way through the heart of a Spartan phalanx during the Battle of Tegyra.
Although Sparta remained the supreme land power in Greece, the Boeotians had arrived as a politically cohesive power and Pelopidas had arrived as a major political leader in Thebes.
By 371 BC Epaminondas was a Boeotarch leading the Boeotian delegation to a peace conference held at Sparta. There, Epaminondas caused a drastic break with Sparta when he insisted on signing not for the Thebans alone, but for all the Boeotians.
King Agesilaus II of Sparta refused to allow this and struck the Thebans from the peace document. Epaminondas returned to Thebes, and both sides marshaled for war.
The Gauls were a Celtic people of Europe, nomadic and war-like, who did not wish to settle in Italy. Instead, they were interested only in amassing wealth. They looted Rome and then demanded a tribute.
The Romans both feared and marvelled at the Gauls. They described them as being tall, with rippling muscles, white skin and blond hair which they accentuated by washing their hair with lime and pulling it back from the forehead. Their men and women wear bracelets, heavy necklaces (torcs), rings, and even corselets, of gold. Their clothing is striking -- shirts which have been dyed and embroidered in varied colors -- and breeches. They wear striped coats in which are set checks, close together and of varied hues -- tartan plaid.
The Gauls had a 'levity of character' that makes them look insufferable when victorious, but scared out of their wits when defeated. Their speech is harsh and they converse with few words and in riddles, hinting darkly at things for the most part and using one word when they mean another. And, they drink to excess.
After the Gauls had collected their tribute, they returned home to central Europe leaving Rome vulnerable to all the tribes it had previously conquered.
Various Italian states tried to take advantage of Rome's demise by attacking the razed city, but the Romans resiliently asserted themselves and began rebuilding the region.
In Greece, Lysander of Sparta had been killed in the early years of the Corinthian War, but the war continued until 387 BC under the Spartan king Agesilaus II.
Thebes had been taken by Sparta and a pro-Spartan puppet government kept the Thebans in check. Exiles from the previous government regrouped at Athens and prepared to retake their city. Epaminondas, who had been overlooked by the Spartans as nothing more than a philosopher, prepared the young men of Thebes for a coup. In 379 BC a small group of exiles, led by Pelopidas, infiltrated the city with Epaminondas's aid and assassinated the leaders of the pro-Spartan government.
When news of the coup reached Sparta, an army under Agesilaus was sent but the Thebans refused to meet them. Instead, they occupied a stronghold outside the city and the Spartans departed after ravaging the countryside.
The Thebans then reconstituted their old Boeotian confederacy in a new, democratic form and the Spartans invaded three times over the next seven years. The Boeotians held them off, and the advantage was furthered when, in 375 BC, an outnumbered force of Boeotians under Pelopidas cut their way through the heart of a Spartan phalanx during the Battle of Tegyra.
Although Sparta remained the supreme land power in Greece, the Boeotians had arrived as a politically cohesive power and Pelopidas had arrived as a major political leader in Thebes.
By 371 BC Epaminondas was a Boeotarch leading the Boeotian delegation to a peace conference held at Sparta. There, Epaminondas caused a drastic break with Sparta when he insisted on signing not for the Thebans alone, but for all the Boeotians.
King Agesilaus II of Sparta refused to allow this and struck the Thebans from the peace document. Epaminondas returned to Thebes, and both sides marshaled for war.
Labels: 390 bc, agesilaus ii, celtic, corinthian war, epaminondas, gauls, lysander, pelopidas, rome, sparta, thebes
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