ON THE CELTIC CONQUEST OF THRACE (280-279 BC)

through all Macedonia the gates of the city were shut, and all places filled with
mourning. Sometimes they lamented their bereavement, from the loss of their children;
sometimes they were seized with dread, lest their cities should be destroyed.

(Justinus, Epit. 24: 5)

Until recently our knowledge of the events surrounding the Celtic migration into
southeastern Europe at the beginning of the 3rd century BC has relied exclusively on
Greek and Roman histories, with little or no reference to modern archaeological
evidence which supplements and, in many cases, contradicts these accounts. However,
over the past decades a wealth of new archaeological data from the region concerned
finally allows us to furnish a more accurate picture of events surrounding this dramatic
episode in European history (on the precise dating of these events see Fontenrose 1981:344,
410, Petzl 1984:141-142, Boardman et al 1986, ael Kos 2005:189-196, Walbank et al
2006:499).

From the mid 4th century BC the Thracian interior gradually fell under the control of
the Macedonian Empire. This was largely achieved through the Thraco-Macedonian
Odrysae tribe whose rulers, notably Seuthes III, governed Thrace as de facto puppet
kings controlled by Macedonia (see below). The same tribe would later perform a
similar function for Rome in the late 1st c. BC/early 1st c. AD.

Bronze head discovered near the entrance of the Golyama Kosmatka Tumulus near
Seuthopolis, part of a life-size statue thought to be of Seuthes III.

(National Archaeological Museum, Sofia; see Mac Gonagle 2013)

Bronze issues of the Thracian king Seuthes III and the Macedonian ruler Lysimachus (late
4th c. BC and early 3rd c. BC) discovered at the Thraco-Macedonian (and later Celtic)
settlement at Bratya Daskalovi (Stara Zagora region) south-central Bulgaria

(After Tonkova et al 2011; see Mac Gonagle 2014)

With Macedonian support the Odrysae came to dominate most of Thrace during this
period, and Macedonian military garrisons were established at strategic positions to
enforce its control. By the late 4th century BC the consolidation of Macedonian power in
Thrace was complete, and ensured by fortresses such as those at Krakra (Pernik.
Region), Pistiros (Pazardjik, reg.), and Seuthopolis (Kazanlak; all in Bulgaria). At the latter
site, on the southern slopes of the Balkan mountains, a lavish Thraco-Macedonian royal
palace was constructed near the strategic Shipka Pass, and garrisoned by Macedonian
troops (Nankov 2009; see Mac Gonagle 2013).

Although weakened by the scramble among Alexanders successors for control of his
empire, at the beginning of the 3rd c. BC Macedonia was still the sole military
superpower in southeastern Europe, which enabled it to maintain the status quo in
terms of control over territory which had previously fallen under its influence. However,
this situation was to change radically from 280 BC onwards when the region was to
witness not only the dramatic collapse of Macedonian power, but of Macedonia itself.
Remains of the Thraco-Macedonian city at Pistiros, near Vetren (Pazardjik reg.),
Bulgaria.

The final destruction of the

city is well dated by a large
hoard of 561 coins, mainly
minted by Lysimachos
including his last issues,
and by Celtic swords and
spearheads and a late
Duchcov fibula found in the
destruction layers. They
reveal that the city was
completely destroyed by the
Celts in 280/279 BC.
(Bouzek et al. 2002,
Ruseva/Bouzek 2011).

No cultural layer post-

dating the destruction of the
city by the Celts has been
discovered.
Ritually killed Macedonian helmet from a Celtic warrior burial at Sevtopolis (after
Getov 1962)

Spatial distribution of Celtic (La Tne) brooches in Seuthopolis (marked with B

(bilateral fibulae). (After Emilov 2010)
 THE FALL OF MACEDONIA

The catalyst for this phenomenon was the ongoing expansion of Celtic tribes into the
Balkans, which gradually brought the barbarians into direct contact with the
Hellenistic world, and had already led to clashes between Macedonian and Celtic forces
in Thrace at the end of the 4th century BC (Seneca nat. quaest III, ii, 3, who quotes
Theophrastes; Pliny n.h. XXX I, 53). By 280 the situation had become critical for
Macedonia and was exacerbated by the misguided policies of its King, Ptolemy
Keraunos (The Thunderbolt), who completely underestimated his new enemy.
Refusing to negotiate with the barbarians and insulting their envoys, Keraunos chose
instead to rely on the Macedonian military machine to halt the Celtic expansion (Justinus
24:4). The result of this strategy was to prove catastrophic

and the Macedonians were defeated and cut to pieces. Ptolemy, after receiving several
wounds, was taken, and his head, cut off and stuck on a lance, was carried round the whole
army to strike terror into the enemy. Flight saved a few of the Macedonians; the rest were
either taken or slain (Justinus, Epit. 24:5).

The humiliating defeat of Keraunos forces by Bolgios (or Belgios - Galli duce Belgio
(Just. xxiv, 5; cf. Pomp. Prol. xxiv Belgius leader of the Gauls) western Celtic army was
compounded by the subsequent execution of the Macedonian king himself after he had
fallen off his elephant during the battle. Attempts to rally what remained of the
Macedonian army by a general called Sosthenes proved futile when the central Celtic
army, led by Brennos, swept south the following spring, annihilating Sosthenes forces
and thus the last elements of Macedonian resistance. The situation in Macedonia at this
point is described thus:

through all Macedonia the gates of the city were shut, and all places filled with
mourning. Sometimes they lamented their bereavement, from the loss of their children;
sometimes they were seized with dread, lest their cities should be destroyed; and at other
times they called on the names of their kings, Alexander and Philippus, as deities, to protect
them.

(Justinus, Epit. 24:5; on these events see also: Polyb. 9.354; Diod. Sic. 22.31-2; Memn. 88;
Plut. Pyrrh. 222; Paus. X. 19:6-7)
Iron helmet with reinforced crown from a Celtic warrior burial at Ohrid-Gorna Porta,
(FYR) Macedonia (3rd c. BC)

Meanwhile, the eastern Celtic army, led by Cerethrios, had marched into Thrace (Paus.
X, 19-6-7). Although Justinus (Prol. XXV:1-3) claims that the Celts destroyed the
powerful Thracian Triballi and Getae tribes during this period, no archaeological
evidence of such a devastating campaign exists and it appears more likely that, as in
other parts of the Balkans, an understanding was reached between the free Thracian
tribes and the Celts, thus facilitating a relatively peaceful migration into the area.
Burial of an Illyrian woman in the Celtic cemetery at Aradu Nou (Banat) in western
Romania (late 4th/early 3rd c. BC).

Dating to the initial phase of Celtic expansion into this area,

h e r i n t e r m e n t i n a C e l t i c cemetery again indicates a matrimonial
alliance contributing to the cementing of inter -c u l t u r a l r e l a t i o n s
during this period. Such alliances also logically contributed to
t h e creation of complex social networks between the elites of different
barbarian communities.

(after Rustoiu A., Ursuiu A. 2013; see Mac Gonagle 2015:

https://www.academia.edu/10087747/Bonds_of_Blood_-_On_Inter-
Ethnic_Marriage_in_the_Iron_Age )
Similarly, Hellenistic towns in eastern Thrace which fell under Celtic control during this
period without resistance suffered no discernible social or economic disruption. Indeed,
recent archaeological and numismatic evidence has indicated a period of economic boom
in this area throughout the 3rd century BC.

Tetradrachm of Kersebaules, one of the early kings of the Celtic Tyle state in Eastern
Thrace (270-260 BC)

Tetradrachm of the Celtic king Cavaros minted at Cabyle (Jambol) circa 240 BC

( See: https://www.academia.edu/5420363/THE_TYLE_EXPERIMENT )
Following the collapse of Macedonia it appears that most Macedonian
garrisons/settlements in the Thracian interior were simply abandoned as the Celts
approached. Such is the case, for example, with Sevtopolis in the Valley of the Thracian
Kings or the Thraco-Macedonian settlement at Bratya Daskalovi (both in South
Central Bulgaria (Mac Gonagle 2013, 2014); a phenomenon which is also to be observed
further west where Hellenistic settlements such as that at Kale Krevica near Bujanovac
(southeast Serbia) fell under Celtic control with no evidence of a destruction layer
pertaining to this period (Popovi 2006).

The suburbium at Kale Krevica (after Popovi 2006)

The most massive layers at Kale Krevica, with buildings, ramparts and other structures as
well as abundant nds of imported and local pottery made after Greek models date to the
period preceding the Celtic invasion. The later horizons yielded material typical of the
Celtic/La Tne culture. The hillfort was later an important stronghold of the Scordisci, and
used as a staging post for Celtic raids on Roman Macedonia during the Scordisci Wars of
the late 2nd / 1st c. BC (loc cit.).
Conversely, in the few cases where the Macedonians in Thrace resisted the Celtic
advance, such as at Krakra (Pernik reg, western Bulgaria), or Pisteros (Pazardjik reg.,
south-central Bulgaria) considerable devastation has been observed in the layers
pertaining to the final phase of Hellenistic settlement (Domaradski 1984:117, Dimitrov
2010:54; Bouzek et al. 2002, Dimitrov 2010:54, Ruseva/Bouzek 2011). Whether these
fortresses were captured and destroyed prior to or following the defeat of the
Macedonian armies by Bolgios and Brennos remains unclear. What is clear is that the
dramatic events of 280/279 BC shattered Macedonian power in the Thracian interior
and marked the de facto end of Hellenistic Thrace, ushering in a new era of Celtic/La
Tne cultural influence which would last until the Roman conquest.
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