Peter Berresford Ellis , the pre-eminent Celtic scholar, examines the first millennium of Celtic history - up to the time of Christ. The Celts were the first European people north of the Alps to emerge into recorded history. Their civilisation dominated the ancient world - from Ireland in the west to Turkey in the east, from Belgium in the north, south to Spain and Italy, where they sacked Rome itself in 390 BC. This was the Celtic Empire, but without an emperor or central government, made up instead of independent tribes who moved across Europe imposing their distinctive culture and social values on other peoples. In a new paperback edition of this lucid and expert account, Peter Berresford Ellis accords the Celts their proper place in the history of ancient Europe.