Writing for the general reader, Peter Berresford Ellis provides a full survey of the rise of one of the greatest of Europe's ancient civilizations. He covers the first millennium of Celtic history up until the time of Christ when, for a period, the Celts dominated the ancient world - from Ireland in the west to Turkey in the east, from Belgium in the north, south to Spain and Italy. According to one ancient chronicler, they attempted a coup d'etat in the Egypt of the Ptolemy pharaohs. They sacked Rome and spread down the Iberian peninsula into northern Italy. They then moved eastward across to what is now Czechoslovakia, along the Danube valley as far as the Black Sea, and on into Asia Minor where they established the Galatian state in the third century BC. In Greece, the Celts destroyed every army the city-states could throw at them, their sophisticated weapons and sturdy war-chariots devastating all adversaries. These Celtic tribes were the first European people north of the Alps to emerge into recorded history. Their civilization, now 3,000 years old, may soon disappear for ever. In this account, Peter Berresford Ellis aims to accord the Celts their proper place in the historical tapestry of Europe.