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Question: Were there Celtic mercenaries in Egypt around 200 B!.C!.E!.!?
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
YES!
There are records of Celtic mercenaries in Egypt serving the Ptolemies of Egypt!
Thousands were employed in 283-246 BC and they were also in service around 186 BC!. They attempted to overthrow Ptolemy II!.
A century before the Celts invaded Greece, they had served in the Greek armies as mercenaries, where their skill as horsemen had been particularly valued!. Xenophon, a Greek chronicler and cavalry officer of the 4th century BC, describes their performance in the wars between the Greek city-states!.
In Egypt, the Ptolemaic dynasty reigned, but it brought with it a dependency on Greek mercenaries!. Sometimes this reliance could be exploited, and around 259 BC, Ptolemy II, who was on the verge of war with a rival, found his own Celtic troops had mutinied!. They wanted to set up their own Celtic kingdom along the Nile!. Ptolemy defeated them and took severe retribution!. Those that were not killed were left on an island in the Nile to starve to death!. This experience, however, did not prevent Ptolemy II from recruiting new Celtic mercenaries years later!.
Ptolemy II and Ptolemy IV continued to recruit the Celts into their army, collecting them from Hellespont, the thin arm of sea between Asia and Europe, suggesting that many Celts remained in Macedonia after their defeat by the Greeks!.
Some Celtic graffiti has been found on the tomb of Seti I from the time of Ptolemy V!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

At the time Egypt was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty, which was Greek!. The Greeks thought the Celts were barbarians, but they were interesting ones who admired Greece so much than many of them learned to speak Greek!. They had a continent wide reputation as ferocious fighters, so I wouldn't be surprised!.Www@QuestionHome@Com