This term originally referred to a region and later to a Roman province that occupied the central portion of Anatolia (later known as Asia Minor) in present-day Turkey.

The region was named for the people who settled there, called Ga·laʹtai by the Greeks because they came from Gaul, in Western Europe. Large numbers of Celts, or Galli, had migrated from Gaul, their homeland, reaching as far as the Bosporus Strait. About 278-277 B.C.E., they crossed the Bosporus when they were hired as soldiers by the king of Bithynia. For their services, they were granted a large region of central Anatolia, which became the kingdom of Galatia. These mercenary soldiers brought with them their wives and children. At first, they apparently avoided intermarrying with the people already living there. For a period of time, they kept their Celtic culture, religion, and language distinct. Eventually, they adopted the worship of local gods and goddesses. Their last king, Amyntas, became a client king of Rome. During his reign, his kingdom expanded beyond the original boundaries of Galatia. Amyntas was killed in battle in 25 B.C.E., and his entire kingdom became the Roman province of Galatia.

Over the centuries, there were many changes in the boundaries of that Roman province. In the apostle Paul’s day, Galatia was one of the largest provinces in the Roman Empire. The province included the original Galatian territory as well as eastern Phrygia, Lycaonia, Isauria, parts of the three regions of Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Paphlagonia, together with regions of Pontus in the northeast.​—See App. B13; see also “Introduction to Galatians” and study note on Ga 1:2.