The Galatian's Friends and Adversaries
The Galatians were fierce warriors of Celtic origin, and although their exact starting point in still subject to debate, they retained celtic/gallic armament, tactics and organization. Their equipment however changed over time, as they acquired enemi's equipments, notably helmets, shields and swords, body armour and everything in between.
As mercenaries, they started to change their tactics as well, fighting about notably the Seleucids or Ptolemies. As lavishly rewarded "seel swords" and considered very seriously by these Hellenistc powers, their attire started to even blend more with Hellenistic style, to the point of late Galatian "Katoikai" mercenaries, had tunics, sandals, greek kopis swords and Thueros shields, as shown in many depictions as well as masked helmets a bit like for the Romans hide their "barbarian face".
Ancient warfare: Civilizations
♕ Aquitani & Vasci ♕ Celts ♕ Indo-greeks ♕ Veneti ♕ Yuezhi ♕ Indians ♕ Etruscans ♕ Numidians ♕ Samnites ♕ Judaean ♕ Ancient Chinese ♕ Corsico-Sardinians
Ancient warfare: warriors
⚔ Cingetos ⚔ Immortals ⚔ Cavaros ⚔ Cataphract ⚔ Romphaiorioi ⚔ Chalkaspidai ⚔ Devotio Warrior ⚔ Scythian Horse archer ⚔ The Ambactos ⚔ Iberian warfare ⚔ Illyrian warriors ⚔ Germanic spearmen ⚔ Carthaginian Hoplite ⚔ Thracian Peltast ⚔ Caetrati ⚔ Ensiferi ⚔ Hippakontistai ⚔ Hastati ⚔ Gaesatae ⚔ Cretan Archer ⚔ Thorakitai ⚔ Soldurii ⚔ Iphikrates ⚔ Kardaka ⚔ The thureophoroi
This story of ancient warfare in fact goes back to the ancient "sea peoples", the achaeans and minoans from the bronze age and homeric times, but also the Mauryan empire and T'sin armies, the steppe peoples, the Celts, as the early, or at the opposite, very late romans, like the western "barbarized" ones, or the Byzantine, "Hellenized" romans. What we know apart the famous "triplex acies" of pre-marian times, triarii, principes, hastati, equites, and velites?
Before was a very early roman army composed of aristocratic cavalry or Celeres, derived from the Etruscan nobility, and a heavy phalanx composed mainly on spearmen by classes, and a reformed army by Dictator and general Marcus Furius Camilius, with six Censes classes, with rorarii, leves and accensii...
And what we know about the greek classic armies at this time, with hoplites and meprised psiloi and hippiko, and their opponents, the persians, and beyond the sparabara, takabara, kardaka and other troops ? -The greek-city states age became, with the Macedonian rise, the Hellenistic era, which created terms like "phalangitai, hypaspistai, chalkaspidai, argyraspidai, Leucaspidai, akontistai, peltastai, thureophoroi, toxotai, sphendonetai, thorakitai, hetairoi, prodromoi" were known and became a model for all combined army from the Herakles columns to the Indus river... This section is an encyclopedia of ancient warfare.
Splendid example of cross-culture in the IVth Century BC, the Agris ceremonial helmet of the era, widely decorated in Greek and Celtic patterns. The Galatians helmets of chieftains or nobles were probably inspired by ths style, with even some persian inputs. Sadly, we cannot find today any artefact confirming Galatian's headgear in 280-50 BC.