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Short description

The Volcae were Celtic people in the province of Gallia Narbonensis.

Description

The axe is a weapon with tremendous striking power. A sharp and heavy bladed edge gives each swing, regardless of speed, a degree of bludgeoning force, causing the weapon to be more useful than a sword in terms of cracking through the protection of armours and shields. Unlike other wealthy Gallic Celts who have moved on to La Tene style chain mail, the Volcae axemen favour the older style scale mail and a bronze dagger of the Halstatt era. Still the equipment the Volcae march into battle with still gives great protection against other heavy infantry opponents. Only the elite warriors of the enemy would pose a hard time for this warrior, as they usually have strenuous training to complement their abilities in battle. The Volcae warrior is a professional in the eyes of his people, and he will fight for them until he wins or draws his last breath. The Volcae tribal name translates literally as "wolves," implying raiding warriors. This comparison could reasonably allude to highly organised and well lead raiding and war parties, attributes seen in the wolf pack.

The Volcae are one of the largest and most represented Celtic tribes in Europe. They have three large far-flung divisions within their tribe. According to tradition the Bituriges tribe held sway over much of Gaul before the rise of the Arverni, Sequani, and Aedui. Their king, Ambicatus, directed his nephews, Segovesus and Belovesus, to find new lands for his followers. As Belovesus went south into Italy, Segovesus went east into the Hercynian Forest of southern Germany. This region (modern Bavaria) quickly became the Volcae homeland, and with the Boii nearby in Boiohaemum (modern Bohemia), the stage was set for two more grand migrations.

Within the Volcae there was a branch called the Tectosages ('migrants in search of wealth'). From their homelands in southern Germania, the Tectosages were a major part of the migrations to the east and spread their tribe far and wide. The Volcae were known to settle in Carpathia and gave the region of Walachia its name. From this second home base in Carpathia, further migrations came about. Celts that journeyed from the Carpathian regions to the far northeast drove the Germanic Bastarnae and Sciri before them and established several important oppida in the region; namely Carrodunum, Maetonium, Vibantavarium, and Eractum. Raids reached as far as Oblia on the Black Sea, where here the Germanic Sciri are assisting the Celts in these ventures. Nearby Celtic tribes, such as the Cotini and Osi, were possibly branches of the Volcae. Other groups of this mass migration settled among the Dacians as well. Those that pushed south eventually crossed over into Asia Minor (modern Turkey) where the Tectosages were known as one of the three main tribes; the two others being the Trocmi and Tolistoboii. The Tectosages captured the ancient city of Ancyra (modern Ankyra) and used it as their own capitol city.

Members of these three Galatian tribes had fought with the Seleucid king Antiochus III at Magnesia against the Romans in 190 B.C. Using this as an excuse, the Romans, under Manlius Vulso, decided to seek war with them for their support of the Seleucids. Manlius Vulso and Attalus, brother to Eumenes II the King of Pergamon, marched to Galatia, first defeating the Tolistoboii and their chief, Ortagio, at a mountain called Olympus. Here the Romans declined to engage these warriors in close combat. Instead they relied on arrows, javelins, and sling bullets to do what their swords were unwilling to do. After that triumph they marched to Magaba to confront the combined warriors of the Tectosages, under Combilomarus, and the Trocimi under Gaulotos; 50,000 warriors total according to Livy. Here, the Romans again achieved victory by again using missile fire to seal their victory. In the heroic culture of the Galatians, this was a weak and cowardly way to fight. Regardless the tribes would make a major comeback later on.

Another large section coming from the homelands in southern Germany journeyed south along the Alps and through the Rhone valley. This section of the Volcae finally settled in southern Gaul north of the Pyrenees Mountains. Here they were known as the Volcae Tectosages (same as in Galatia) and Volcae Arecomici. South of the Pyrenees there is a Celtic tribe of the Volciani who name could denote yet another connection with the migrating Volcae.

When the Carthaginian commander Hannibal was crossing into their territory on way to Italy, the Volcae sent out women ambassadors to entreat with him. Undecided on how they should view Hannibal's warriors marching through their lands, some members brought all manner of rafts and boats to ferry the Carthaginians across the Rhone. Other hostile members of the tribe massed at the east of the river to block Hannibal's crossing. Hannibal sensed this and had already dispatched a detachment upstream to cross. When the Volcae warriors realised they had been outsmarted, they eventually decided to leave the river crossing unopposed. Despite this, they eventually dispersed back into their homes without much trouble having been caused by either side.