Classical Antiquity
Celtic World
800 BC – 50 BC · peak 300 BC
The Celts were a collection of Iron Age tribes characterized by the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures, spanning from the British Isles to Galatia by the 3rd century BC. They famously sacked Rome in 390 BC under Brennus but were eventually assimilated or conquered by the Roman Empire, culminating in the defeat of Vercingetorix at Alesia in 52 BC. Their political independence on the continent ended with the Roman expansion and subsequent Germanic migrations.
Capital: Alesia / Bibracte
Key figures
Battles in this period
Trade routes in use
- Amber Road (1500 BC – 500 AD)
- Incense Route (1000 BC – 400 AD)
- Persian Royal Road (500 BC – 300 BC)
- Phoenician Mediterranean Routes (1100 BC – 300 BC)
- Silk Road (130 BC – 1450 AD)