tribal confederation · Anatolia and the Levant

Galatia

278 BCE – 25 BCE (approx.) · capital Ancyra

Galatia, the land of three Celtic tribes who crossed into Anatolia in 278 BCE and kept their own language and laws for centuries.

Origins

In 278 BCE Nicomedes I of the Kingdom of Bithynia invited bands of Celtic warriors across the Bosporus as mercenaries. After years of raiding western Anatolia, they were defeated by Antiochus I and Attalus I of the Kingdom of Pergamon and settled on the central plateau around Ancyra.

Rule and society

Three tribes, the Tolistobogii, Tectosages and Trocmi, each split into four parts under tetrarchs, met in a council of 300 at a sacred grove called Drynemeton. Galatians served as mercenaries across the Hellenistic world. The statues of the Dying Gaul commemorate Pergamon's victories over them.

Decline and legacy

In the 1st century BCE Deiotarus, Rome's ally, made himself king of all Galatia. After the death of the last king, Amyntas, in 25 BCE, Augustus made Galatia a Roman province; Paul later wrote to its Christian communities.

Lineage

GalatiaRoman Empire 27 BCE – 476 CE

Connections (2)

Galatia paid tribute to Kingdom of Pergamon183 BCE – 166 BCE
Galatia was a vassal of Roman Republic64 BCE – 27 BCE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Galatia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/galatia
MLA: “Galatia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/galatia. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Galatia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/galatia.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Galatia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/galatia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻