Collective term for a people that once inhabited large parts of western, central and south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The name means "the brave", "the sublime" or "the high", in Greek they were called "Keltoi", in Latin "Celtae" or "Galli". They came as far as Palestine and were the enemies of the Israelites mentioned in the Bible as "Galatians". The Celts, however, were never a united people with supreme leadership, but consisted of many tribes, often competing with each other. These were for example Allobroger, Arverner, Biturigen, Boier, Helvetier, Häduer and Sequaner. The Celtic tribes living in present-day France were collectively called "Gauls". The supreme power among the tribes was held by the Equites (knighthood) and the druids. The earliest mention of the Celts was in the 5th century BC by Herodotus (482-425 BC). At this time they began to migrate to the Italian Po Valley and the Balkans.