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Celtic Iron Age
EuropeHeartland today: 
France, 
Switzerland, and 
Austria
The Iron Age in Celtic-speaking Europe opens with the Hallstatt C phase, dated 800 or 750 BCE depending on the scheme. It ends at very different times in different places: Gaul was conquered by Julius Caesar by 50 BCE, Britain remained independent until the Roman conquest of 43 CE, and Ireland was never conquered by Rome at all.
Before and after
In Britain:Came before: Neolithic Britain Came after: Ancient Rome
The Bronze Age, about 2200 to 750 BCE, came in between.
The Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 CE.
Meanwhile…
- Maya civilization
Mesoamerica · Longest-lasting hereThe Maya Long Count calendar tracks days in an unbroken count from a mythical starting point in 3114 BCE.
Compare - Ancient EgyptKemet (km.t)
Africa · Oldest here (disputed dates)The Ptolemies' Alexandria, with its lighthouse and library, grew into a city of hundreds of thousands while Qin's First Emperor unified China in 221 BCE and Rome fought Carthage.
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China · Southern states such as Wu and Yue cast bronze swords of such quality that one made for King Goujian of Yue, buried for over two thousand years, was dug up in 1965 with its edge still sharp.
Compare - Ancient RomeRoma
Europe · Tradition gives Rome just seven kings in 244 years; archaeology shows a cluster of hut villages growing into a walled city with a paved Forum by about 600 BCE.
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Zapotec nobles were buried in stone tombs beneath their own houses, later reopened and reused for centuries.
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A family of related languages, art styles and burial customs spread across much of Iron Age Europe, from Ireland to Anatolia, without ever forming one state. Celtic-speaking peoples worked iron, minted coins and traded across the continent, until Rome conquered most of them from Gaul to Britain.
Also alive at the same time
Key events
– Communities around Hallstatt in Austria grow rich from salt mining; their cemetery of over a thousand graves gives the early Iron Age its name
Sources
- Cunliffe, B. (1997). The Ancient Celts. Oxford University Press.
- Kern, Anton, Kowarik, Kerstin, Rausch, Andreas W. & Reschreiter, Hans (eds) (2009). Kingdom of Salt: 7000 Years of Hallstatt. Natural History Museum Vienna.
The distinctive curving, plant-like La Tène art style appears on weapons, jewellery and mirrors across Celtic Europe
Sources
- Megaw, R. & Megaw, V. (2001). Celtic Art: From its Beginnings to the Book of Kells. Thames & Hudson.
- Farley, Julia & Hunter, Fraser (eds) (2015). Celts: Art and Identity. British Museum Press.
Also happening around
- Paracas cultureSouth America
- Maya civilizationMesoamerica
- Olmec civilizationMesoamerica
- Zapotec civilizationMesoamerica
- Etruscan civilizationEurope
- Ancient GreeceEurope
- Ancient RomeEurope
- Ancient EgyptAfrica
- Warring States periodChina (uncertain overlap)
- Chavín cultureSouth America (uncertain overlap)
- Mixtec civilizationMesoamerica (uncertain overlap)
Celtic warriors under Brennus defeat a Roman army and sack the city of Rome itselfDisputed
The traditional date of 390 BCE comes from later Roman annalists; some modern scholars place it a few years later, around 387 BCE.
Sources
- Livy. Ab Urbe Condita, Book 5.
- Cornell, T.J. (1995). The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars. Routledge.
Also happening around
Celtic warbands raid deep into Greece and attack the sanctuary at Delphi
Sources
- Pausanias. Description of Greece, Book 10.
- Cunliffe, B. (1997). The Ancient Celts. Oxford University Press.
Also happening around
– Julius Caesar conquers Gaul over eight years of campaigning, ending Celtic independence there
Sources
- Caesar. Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
- Goldsworthy, A. (2006). Caesar: Life of a Colossus. Yale University Press.
Also happening around
- Han dynastyChina
- Moche cultureSouth America
- Nazca cultureSouth America
- Maya civilizationMesoamerica
- Zapotec civilizationMesoamerica
- TeotihuacanMesoamerica
- Ancient RomeEurope
- Ancient EgyptAfrica
- Mixtec civilizationMesoamerica (uncertain overlap)
- Etruscan civilizationEurope (uncertain overlap)
- Ancient GreeceEurope (uncertain overlap)
Emperor Claudius launches the Roman conquest of Britain, ending Celtic Iron Age independence in the south
Sources
- Suetonius. The Twelve Caesars, "Claudius".
- Mattingly, David (2006). An Imperial Possession: Britain in the Roman Empire, 54 BC – AD 409. Allen Lane.
– Queen Boudica leads the Iceni and allied Britons in a revolt that burns Londinium before Rome crushes it
Sources
- Tacitus. Annals, Book 14.
- Hingley, Richard & Unwin, Christina (2005). Boudica: Iron Age Warrior Queen. Hambledon Continuum.
Wars
Gallic Wars Rome and its alliesAncient Rome, Gallic peoples allied with Rome, among them the Remi and, until 52 BCE, the Aedui, and Germanic horsemen hired by Caesar
againstGallic, Germanic and British peoples who fought CaesarHelvetii and their allies (58 BCE), Suebi under Ariovistus (58 BCE), Belgic peoples, among them the Nervii and the Eburones, Veneti and other peoples of Armorica, Britons under Cassivellaunus (54 BCE), and Arverni and the Gallic coalition led by Vercingetorix (52 BCE)
Rome held all of Gaul up to the Rhine; Caesar withdrew most of his troops in 50 BCE as civil war loomed, and Gaul was organised into Roman provinces in 27 BCE.