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Short description

Heavily influenced Celtic warrior cavalry armed with javelins and large oval shields.

Description

The Scordisci were, in ancient geography, a war-like tribe inhabiting the southern part of lower Pannonia, comprising parts of the present-day countries Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, between the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava) and Danube rivers. Their tribal name may be connected to the name of the Scordus mountain (Šar mountain), which was located between Illyria and Paionia. The ancient writers refer to the Scordisci as a bloodthirsty people engaging in human sacrifice and drinking out of human skulls.

They were a Celtic tribe, belonging to the Segovesus branch and evidence can be found in the testimony of Torgus Pompejus who already came in contact with them in that area. Strabo mentions the Celts already there as early as 350 - 300 BC. The Scordisci did not pose an active threat to the Greeks until other tribes invading the area pushed the Celts more southwards. The ancient geographer, Strabo, described their armor as Celtic, but that they were tattooed like the other Illyrians. There is a hypothesis that it was the Scordisci who met with Alexander the Great, according to Arrian and Strabo.

It took the Celtic delegation only a couple of day's travel to reach Alexander, and since there were no records of other Celtic tribes in the region historians presume these were the Scordisci. In the fourth century Macedon was attacked and almost obliterated by Thracian and Illyrian hordes. King Amyntas II was defeated and driven into exile, his son Perdiccas II was killed in battle. When Philip, a younger brother of Perdiccas, came to the obscure and tottering throne which he and his successors were to make the seat of a great empire he was powerfully aided in making head against the Illyrians by the conquests of the Celts in the valleys of the Danube and the Po. The alliance was continued, and rendered, perhaps, more formal in the days of Alexander.

When about to undertake his conquest of Asia (334 B.C.) Alexander first made a compact with the Celts "who dwelt by the lonian Gulf" in order to secure his Greek dominions from attack during his absence. The episode is related by Ptolemy Soter in his history of the wars of Alexander. Ptolemy, a friend, and probably, indeed, half-brother, of Alexander, was doubtless present when this incident took place. His work has not survived but is quoted by Arrian and other historians. As the Celtic envoys, who are described as men of haughty bearing and great stature, their mission concluded and were drinking with the king, he asked them, it is said, what was the thing they, the Celts, most feared. The envoys replied:

"We fear no man, there is but one thing that we fear, namely, that the sky fall on us and crush us, may the earth gape and swallow us up, may the sea burst out and overwhelm us, but we regard nothing so much as the friendship of a man such as thou."

Alexander bade them farewell, and, turning to his nobles, whispered: "What a vainglorious people are these Celts !"