The Celti and the Trophy of Augustus

As with the Etruscan civilization, the Roman Empire devoured the Celtic tribes in Northern Italy. I want to make it entirely clear that the Romans deliberately destroyed its parent Etruscan culture. There is very little left of the Etruscans. It was similar to a country literally and purposely eliminating itself in favor of going global.

In the case of the Celti, it was simple imperialism. The tribes constituted a small nation. So how shall we view this conquering of the Etruscans or Celti? I don't have that answer, but I think that we should be open-minded about the Roman Empire. There are two ways to look at it. One, a light in a world of darkness, which it was. And two, an oppressive imperialistic empire, which it was as well.

Had there been no Rome, I believe that the Etruscans, the early Italic tribes in Northern Italy, and the Celti, would have eventually merged into a greater Etruria that would have encompassed all of the North from the old Rome. The Greeks likely would have permanently annexed Southern Italy from Naples (Greek "Neapolis").

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Trophy of Augustus (Wikipedia; see impressive images)

The Trophy of the Alps or Trophy of Augustus was built by the Roman emperor Augustus to celebrate his definitive victory over the ancient Celto-Ligurian tribes who populated the region and who had harassed merchants along Roman roads. Its remains may be seen in the Commune of La Turbie (Alpes-Maritimes), on the Grande Corniche, 6 km from Monaco, and is the principal tourist attraction for the Commune. There is also a small museum with a scale model of the Trophy.

Construction

The stone used to build the monument was originally extracted from the Roman quarry located about 500 meters away. Visitors to that site can still see the traces of sections of carved columns in the stone.

The monument as partially restored by archaeologists at the beginning of the 20th century, is 35 meters high. When built, according to the architect, the base measured 35 meters in length, the first platform 12 meters in height, and the rotunda of 24 columns with its statue of an enthroned Augustus is 49 meters high.

Inscription

One of the stones of the tower, which Pliny the Elder transcribed, contained the names of the tribes. It reads:

"To the emperor Caesar, son of the deified Caesar, Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, hailed as Imperator for the 14th time, in his 17th year of tribunician power, the Senate and people of Rome [built this], in commemoration that, under his leadership and auspices, all the Alpine peoples, from the upper sea to the lower sea, were submitted to the Roman Empire. Conquered Alpine peoples:

"· The TRUMPILINI
· The CAMUNNI
· The VENOSTES
· The VENNONETES
· The ISARCI
· The BREUNI
· The GENAUNES
· The FOCUNATES
· The four VINDELICUS nations
· The COSUANETES
· The RUCINATES
· The LICATES


· The CATENATES
· The AMBISONTES
· The RUGUSCI
· The SUANETES
· The CALUCONES
· The BRIXENETES
· The LEPONTI
· The UBERI
· The NANTUATES
· The SEDUNI
· The VARAGRI
· The SALASSI


· The ACITAUONES
· The MEDULLI
· The UCENNI
· The CATURIGES
· The BRIGIANI
· The SOGIONTI
· The BRODIONTI
· The NEMALONI
· The EDENATES
· The VESUBIANI
· The VEAMINI
· The GALLITAE


· The TRIULLATI
· The ECDINI
· The VERGUNNI
· The EGUITURI
· The NEMATURI
· The ORATELLI
· The NERUSI
· The VELAUNI
· The SUETRI"

Later life

The monument originally served no military purpose and contained no fortress. Rather, it marked the boundary between Italy and Gallia Narbonensis, later pushed back to the Var. Between the 12th and 15th centuries, however, the Trophy did become a fortress, with locals building houses around its walls. In 1705, when war broke out between Savoy and France during the War of the Spanish Succession, Louis XIV ordered the destruction of all fortresses in the region, including this one. The partially destroyed Trophy then became a quarry and its stones were used, among other things, to build the nearby church of Saint-Michel.

Nearby Roman remains

The area surrounding the Trophy is rich with remnants of the Roman empire such as the famous Roman roads. The Trophy is situated on the Via Julia Augusta, named after the emperor Augustus, which is a continuation of the Via Aurelia which linked Vintimille to Cimiez (Nice). Various fountains within the territory of the communes of Beausoleil and Roquebrune-Cap-Martin are also said to be Roman.

Trophy of the Alps (more images)

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The following is a quick history lesson the the origin of the Celts. Most identify the Celts with Ireland or Scotland, but they lived on the European mainland long before migrating to the British Isles. We can look more closely into the Celts at a future time. Also, it should be pointed out that not all of the tribes listed on the Trophy of Augustus were Celti. They were as written "conquered Alpine peoples."

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Celts in Europe 400BC - 800 BC

The Celts also expanded down the Danube river and its tributaries. One of the most influential tribes, the Scordisci, had established their capital at Singidunum in 3rd century BC, which is present-day Belgrade. The concentration of hill-forts and cemeteries shows a density of population in the Tisza valley of modern-day Vojvodina, Hungary and into Ukraine. Expansion into Romania was supposedly limited , according to certain sources, yet syncreticsm of Celtic art is evident in contemporary Romanian folk art

Further south, Celts settled in Thrace (Bulgaria), which they ruled for over a century, and Anatolia, where they settled as the Galatians. Then, having taken advantage of easing of Macedon after civil war, the Celts have destroyed an army of its king Ptolemeus Keravn and have plundered Greece. Despite their geographical isolation from the rest of the Celtic world, the Galatians maintained their Celtic language for at least seven hundred years. One of the largest ports on the Lower Danube in Romania is called Galati and Galata is another Celtic toponym in Turkey.

The Boii tribe gave their name to Bohemia (Czech Republic) and to -see above- Bologna (Italy ) and Celtic artifacts and cemeteries have been discovered further east in both Poland and Slovakia. A celtic coin (Biatec) from Bratislava's mint is displayed on today's Slovak 5 crown coin.

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2-11-09 NOTE: It should be noted that the Celts from Gaul (France) did invade northern Etruria and pushed the Etruscans out of the regions where the Alps meet the Po River Valley. Some Celti settled in the southernmost Alps, and some in the area immediately south of it. They seemed to more-or-less get along with the equally rugged Italic tribes living in the Alps. Italic Alpine tribes joined with the Celti in opposing Rome. Really, this is almost exactly like the movie 'Braveheart.' Just like in 'Braveheart,' a few Celt tribes betrayed their kin and joined with the Romans against them.