The Kingdom of Tyllis

Celts or Gaels arrived in Greece unexpectedly. According to Greek historians, they lived in western Europe from pre-historic years. As an Indo-European tribe, they first appeared on the northern borders of Balkans and then, in 6th century B.C, they started to roam eastward and southward. They settled in Spain, meanwhile they also invaded North Italy, Switzerland, south Germany and Hungary which was their starting point for the entry into the northern Greece in 4th century BC[1]

In 335 B.C, during Alexander the Great s campaign to Istros, Celt ambassadors met with him and signed a peace treaty, which later, in 323 B.C, was revised by a second Celtic embassy in Babylon. After Alexander's death, new Celtic tribes charged the northern Balkans. Having defeated by Romans in 284 B.C, Celts looked for a better life by moving to the east. It was to the Celts advantage that Lysimachus the ruler of Macedonia was occupied by a war in Minor Asia and could not protect the northern borders of his country from these superior warriors. Celts seemed to know the situation and preferred not to attack the south, where Pyrrus Kingdom of Eperus resided, but rather they attacked eastward into Thrace.

After the death of Lysimachus and Seleucus, civil wars erupted in central Greece between Sparta, Aitolea and Antigonus, Pyrrus went to Italy, and a large number of Celtic tribes invaded Greece. One army, led by Cerethrius, attacked in the east against the Trivallians and Thracians, while another one, led by Brennus and Ackihorius charged Pannonia. A third army, led by Belgius, attacked Macedonia and Illyria. Macedonian forces were completely defeated in 280 BC and Ptolemeaus the "Thunder", their ruler, died in the battle. After this conquest by Belgius, quick reformations begun in Macedonia.Meleagrus, Ptolemeaus brother, crowned himself King but, being powerless, he was dethroned by Macedonians, which declared Antipatrus, a Lysimachus nephew, the new King who, in his turn, proved to be also weak and lost his crown after a few days. Then, Sosthenes, a general, took control and after a struggle, succeeded in pushing Celts to Pannonia and Thrace.

During the spring of 279 BC, Brennus with his army noticed this situation and led his army to Macedonia. His army consisted of 200,000 people according to writers of that era, though today this sounds fictional. When they crossed into Thessaly, south of Macedonia, an alliance against Celts was built by former enemies in southern Greece. There, most of the cities were still autonomous while Antigonus Gonatas controlled mainly cities in Peloponessus, and few north of the Isthmus of Corinthus. The alliance comprised of the rest free cities of central Greece, and also included Aetoleia, Beaoteia, Locreia, Fokeia, Megara and Athens, which led the alliance. Antigonus sent a force of 500 men, same number as the men sent by Antiohus, the King of Syria. Kallipus, the Athenian general, being in charge of this army, could not fortify the Sperhius River pass and he prepared to defend Thermopylae.

Brennus, responded with a strategic action: he sent a power to Aetoleia, thus making 7,000 Aetolians to abandon the allied army in order to return and protect their homes. Then, he led his army through a pass and attacked from the side, using the same route Persians did 200 years before. Once again, this road was defended by Fokaies who were surrounded and were saved only by escaping to the nearby navy and so they returned to their home.

Brennus, marching into southern Greece now, came to Delphi where the Celts fell upon very cold weather and having considerable losses they also lost Brennus. Upon Brennus s death, Comondorius took the control and Celts, being in a hostile country, outnumbered and suffering from cold and skirmishing, begun to move back to the north crossing Thessaly, Macedonia and finally they settled down in Thrace. Meanwhile there, the other Celtic tribes, led by Belgius and Cerethrius, had already migrated this place.

Unified now, the Celts, formed a Kingdom, the "Kingdom of Tyllis" as it was named, which became so powerful that controlled even the city and the port of Byzantium. That Kingdom stayed in Celtic rule for almost 60 years, when Thracians deposed Canarus, the last Celt King in Thrace thus pushing them to Minor Asia. After this period, we have not historical record about any Celtic existence in Thrace.

[1]. Obviously, we cannot be sure of the exact Celtic origins. Ploutarchus (Camil.15) alleges that the first origin of the Celts the Ripea mountains, but we don't know where these mountains were located. Some historians suggest they are part of Caucasus, while others say that they may be Carpathia, or even Altaeia mountains in central Asia.
[2]. Brennus in ancient Celtic language meant General and is a name or perhaps a nickname of every Celt leader of that time.