Brenn (III century BC. E.)

About personal life Brenna there is almost no information. He was the leader of the Praus or Prausi tribe. The references to this tribe are present only in Strabo ^[1] .

In 280 BC. er Brenn led a coalition of Celtic tribes who gathered around Sava and the headwaters of the Danube . At that time they were oppressed by the Germans . As a result, Brenn developed a campaign plan against the countries and tribes of south-eastern Europe. The coalition of the Celts, led by Brennos, included the tribes of Praus, Trokmas, Tolistoboi, Volk-Tektosagov, Skordiskov and Drute. In total, he gathered an army of about 85,000 soldiers.

With this army, Brenn and Akihorii marched on the Balkans, dividing the army into three parts. They directed one part led by Tseretri against Thrace and tribals , the other under the chairmanship of Bol Brenn directed against Macedonia and Illyria . The number of these troops amounted to 20,000 soldiers. In Macedonia, Bolg defeated the army of the king of Macedonia, Ptolemy II Keravna , who died in battle.

With the main military force Brennus moved to Peonius . Here in 279 BC. er he defeated the king of Macedonian Sosphenes . After devastating Peonius and Southern Macedonia, Brenn returned to the north.

In 278 BC. er Brenn at the head of numerous Gallic hordes, numbering up, according to Mark Junian Justin ^[2] , up to 200,000 people ^[3] , again broke into the Balkans. This time his goal was Thessaly and Delphi . First, Brenn captured the border town of Herakleia and devastated it. After that, he reached the river Sperhey , passed along Ftiotide , reaching Magnesia .

In Thermopylae, at Eta Mountain, north of Corinth , taking up positions in a narrow passage, the Celtic army blocked the path of the Athenian strategist , who led a coalition of Aetolians , Boeotians , Athenians, Thessalians, Malies and representatives of the Phocidian Union . The Greeks gathered about 24,000 people, the heads of which were received by the Athenians, the once populous city which could then expose only 1,500 soldiers. The took .

Brenn, unable to break through Thermopylae, found himself in a difficult situation. During the first clash, Brenna's forces suffered heavy losses. Therefore, he decided to send a large force of his troops (up to 40,000 people) with Akihori against Aetolia. This detachment, as Brenn hoped, was to force the enemy to leave Thermopylae to protect their homes. In the defense of Aetolia, all its inhabitants participated: both old men and women. Realizing that the Gallic sword is dangerous only through direct contact, the Aetolians resorted to the tactics of firefight. The Gauls destroyed Calydon in the borders between Evritania and Aetolia, having committed terrible atrocities, but the fierce resistance of all the inhabitants dealt a decisive blow to Brenn's forces. Only half of those who went to Aetolia returned alive.

After that, the Celts from Aetolia struck the rear of the Greek troops at Thermopylae, and Brenn from the north: because of this, the coalition of the Greeks was defeated and part of them fled the sea. After this, Thessaly and Phocis were devastated throughout the year.

Titus Livius reported that part of the Gauls crossed into Asia Minor in 279-277 BC. er and reached Dardania . With the help of King of Nicomedes, the Vithynians, in a few days they crossed the Hellespont to the Asiatic coast. The total number of ferried Gauls was estimated at 20,000 people, which were divided into three tribes: tolostobogiya, trokma and tectosags. The first settled in Ionia , the second on the coast of the Hellespont, and the third reached the shores of Galis .

In 278 BC. er Brenn moved to Delphi , in order to rob the Pythian treasury (according to different versions, Brenn managed to do it), but a crowd of 4000 Greeks, taking advantage of the terrible storm, tearing stones from the mountains that fell on the enemy, fought with such courage that the Gauls were absolutely broken up.

Around 275 BC. er The Celts were defeated by Antiochus I , and Brenn was badly wounded. Brenn did not receive fatal wounds, but he felt shame and shame for the defeat of the Greeks. After the remnants of the Celtic troops retreated, Brenn handed over power to another leader, Akihoria, killed himself, or threw himself at the sword, or according to another version, poisoned with undiluted wine , or in the third news, drank undiluted wine as much as he could and thrust a dagger into his chest.

However, despite these defeats and Brenn's death, the Galatians continued to devastate the western part of Asia Minor for the next 46 years, until they were driven back by the forces of the Pergamum king Attalus I to the region located in the central part of Asia Minor north of Phrygia , between the middle course of the rivers Sangarius and Galis; This area is called Galatia .

• Brennus // Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities / ed.-comp. F. Lubker ; Edited by members of the Society of Classical Philology and Pedagogy F. Gelbke , L. Georgievsky , F. Zelinsky , V. Kansky , M. Kutorgi and P. Nikitin . - SPb. 1885.
• Brenn // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 extra.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.