Read on Twitter
Before Rome and Carthage conquered the area we now call Spain, the majority of its inhabitants were Celts.
We might think these Celts migrated from Ireland/Britain but genetic testing is indicating the opposite. Good summary: https://owlcation.com/stem/Irish-Blood-Genetic-Identity
Some people think Hannibal's war elephants were quartered in Hispania, but there's not a lot of info about this. (The Celts were allies of Carthage so if would have been in their territory.)
The Celts served as mercenaries for both the Romans and Carthage. Polybius (The Histories: Book III) mentions one incident:
The famous Roman military commanders the Scipio brothers both died at Baetis when their Celt-Iberian mercenaries were bribed by Hannibal's brother.
The grandson of this betrayed Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus goes on to avenge his honor 52 years later, in hand-to-hand combat with a Celt king.
Furthermore—young Scipio Aemilianus goes on to besiege Carthage and utterly destroys it. Amid the wreckage, he has a vision of the future fall of his own nation:
Scipio is the subject of what might be one of the first works of science fiction, Cicero's "Dream of Scipio": https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somnium_Scipionis
"The Dream of Scipio" is simply beautiful. It's a predecessor to later works of science fiction that see mankind as a small part of the universe.
*********
Why am I fascinated war elephants, Spain, mercenaries, tribes, philosophy....obscure history?
********
Why am I fascinated war elephants, Spain, mercenaries, tribes, philosophy....obscure history?
********
Like young Scipio, I want to understand how small and insignificant I am.
I want to look at my own past, my enemies, my ruins, my victories, my glories from "from a high place full of stars, shining and splendid."
My faith in God and my religion is the greatest source of humility and perspective. It's my Milky Way, my vision of Cicero, my dream world...mystical and bright.
But history is my Polybius. My teacher. My philosopher mentor. My strategic advisor. I love history. I travel beyond my self-centric world into other realms through history.
Celts. Science fiction. The demarcation lines of Hispania. Tribal alliances. Betrayal. North African princes. War elephant technologies. Wives, sons, ancestors. Historians. Philosophers. Gods.
These things are not 2167 years old. They are timeless themes with modern application.
