Native Name: | Gallia Celtica |
Subdivision: | Cultural region |
Nation: | Gaul |
Demonym: | Celts |
Today: | France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany |
Image Map Caption: | Map with the approximate location of the Celtica region of Gaul before the Roman conquest |
Gallia Celtica, meaning "Celtic Gaul" in Latin, was a cultural region of Gaul inhabited by Celts, located in what is now France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the west bank of the Rhine River in Germany.
According to Roman ethnography and Julius Caesar in his narrative Commentaries on the Gallic War (De Bello Gallico), Gaul was divided into three main regions: Belgica, Aquitania and Celtica. The inhabitants of Belgica were called Belgae, those of Aquitania were called Aquitani. The inhabitants of the Celtica region called themselves Celts[1] in their own language, and were later called Galli by Julius Caesar:
A similar definition is given by Pliny the Elder:[2]