Galatia and Galatians: have you ever heard about such a country and nation? At first, you might think we talk about Western Europe, but it is very close to us, Galatia is located in the central part of Asia Minor, right close to the Armenian Highland.
This historical region has formed in the 3rd century BC when the Galatians (also called Gauls) moved to our region this is a union of Celtic tribes. The Celts are tribes of Indo-European origin that are close with their culture and language and occupy a vast territory in Western and Central Europe.
The term “Galata” was first used by the ancient Greek historian Jerome of Kardia in the 3rd century BC, denoting the Celts who invaded Macedonia, Greece, and Asia Minor.
It is noteworthy that the historical region in France, where the Celts lived, was also called Gaul, and the local tribes were called Gauls (part of French historiography considers them to be the ancestors of modern French). Today we can distinguish the Welsh, the Irish, and the Scots among the Celtic Peoples.
The Celts who migrated from Europe to Asia Minor (Anatolia) created the state of Galatia, which bordered with Bithynia-Paphlagonia in the north, with Pontus in the east, Armenia Minor and Cappadocia, with Cilicia and in the south, with Phrygia in the west.
The capital of Galatia was Ankyura-Ankara (the current capital of Turkey). Though the Turks were heavily integrated in the Greek culture of the Asia Minor, they kept their linguistic and ethnic identity.
The fate of the Galatians is a matter of controversy, but by the 2nd century they were absorbed by the Greek-speaking population of the Asia Minor, becoming the Hellenistic civilization of Anatolia. Thus, Celts lived on our territory for a long time, and dissolved in the local population. In fact, one part of the European (the Greek) population culturally assimilated the other (the Celtic).
The Celts: Natives or Aliens?
Is the Asia Minor ancestral home of the Celts and other nations of Europe or are they an alien element?
Modern genetic researches help to find the answer to the question. If we take a look at the haplogroups of the peoples of Western Europe, we can see that the haplogroup R1b is dominated by the male population. The highest value of R1b is found among the Welsh (British Celts) – 89.
As you can see on the map, the haplogroup has a high percentage among Armenians as well: the results of the tests of the Armenian men are 35-40%. The percentage of the representatives of R1b is high among the Armenians of Syunik and Karabakh-more than 40%. It is noteworthy that only the Armenian people in the region have such a high proportion of R1b.
When studying R1b mutations, scientists built a tree for this haplogroup, which makes it possible to understand when and where it appeared and when its carriers began to migrate.
As can be seen from the diagram, the first carriers of this haplogroup lived in Asia Minor. The group’s migrations to Europe began much later. Thus, there are serious reasons to believe that our region is the ancestral home of the ancestors of today’s European peoples.
The haplogroup R1b is the most common in Europe today, it is closely connected with the spread of the Indo-European languages. Practically everywhere where this haplogroup exists, people spoke and speak Indo-European languages: from the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Indian subcontinent.
The conclusion comes itself: the ancestors of modern European peoples migrated and created their own state formations in Asia Minor – a region, that they have come from initially. The language, the genetics and the ancient Christian culture of the European people and the Armenians turned out to be interconnected.
Today the only nation, which has the great part in the haplogroup R1b in the region of Asia Minor and Armenian Highland, the so-called ‘’relative of Gallatins’’, is the Armenian people- the native speaker of the language which belongs to the most ancient Indo-European, the first state-forming Christians of the East.
Despite of all the disasters, attempts to exterminate and finally change the culture and history of the region, Armenia continues to exist in spite of all the alien elements in the region, playing the role of an outpost of the ancient Christian Indo-European civilization.
by Armat Team
