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Origins The prehistoric origins of the Thracians remain obscure, in absence of written historical records. Evidence of Proto-Thracians in the prehistoric period depends on remains of material culture. It is generally proposed that a Proto-Thracian people developed from a mixture of invading Indo-European and indigenous peoples in the Balkans over the centuries, starting from the Early Bronze Age . However, doubt is cast on this scenario with the proposed Indo-European theory. Thracians figure in the Iliad as allies of the Trojans, hailing from Thrace. Classical period By the 5th century BC, the Thracian presence was pervasive enough to have made Herodotus (book 5) call them the second-most numerous people in the part of the world known by him (after the Indians), and potentially the most powerful, if not for their disunity. The Thracians in classical times were broken up into a large number of groups and tribes, though a number of powerful Thracian states were organized, such as the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace and the Dacia of Burebista. A type of soldier of this period called the Peltast probably originated in Thrace. Extinction of the ethnicity and language See also Dacian language, Thracian language. Most of the Thracians would eventually become Hellenized (in the province of Thrace) or Romanized (in Moesia, Dacia, etc.). Small groups of Thracian speakers, however, may still have existed when the Slavs arrived in the Balkans in the 6th century AD, and theoretically some Thracians may have become Slavicized. Scholars have proposed that the present-day Albanians may be Thracians who maintained their language, but this is controversial. Archaeology
Sources The Iliad records that the Thracians from around the Hellespont and also the Thracian Cicones fought on the side of the Trojans (Iliad, book II). The Odyssey records that Odysseus and his men raided Thrace on their way back home from war. Many mythical figures, such as the god Dionysus, princess Europa and the hero Orpheus were borrowed by the Greeks from their Thracian neighbours. In book 7 of his Histories, Herodotus describes the equipment of the Thracians fighting under the Persians, The Thracians went to the war wearing the skins of foxes upon their heads, and about their bodies tunics, over which was thrown a long cloak of many colours. Their legs and feet were clad in buskins made from the skins of fawns; and they had for arms javelins, with light targes, and short dirks. This people, after crossing into Asia, took the name of Bithynians; before, they had been called Strymonians, while they dwelt upon the Strymon; whence, according to their own account, they had been driven out by the Mysians and Teucrians. The commander of these Asiatic Thracians was Bassaces the son of Artabanus. In book 5, Herodotus describes the customs of various Thracian tribes. The Thracians who live above the Crestonaeans observe the following customs. Each man among them has several wives; and no sooner does a man die than a sharp contest ensues among the wives upon the question which of them all the husband loved most tenderly; the friends of each eagerly plead on her behalf, and she to whom the honour is adjudged, after receiving the praises both of men and women, is slain over the grave by the hand of her next of kin, and then buried with her husband. The others are sorely grieved, for nothing is considered such a disgrace. The Thracians who do not belong to these tribes have the customs which follow. They sell their children to traders. On their maidens they keep no watch, but leave them altogether free, while on the conduct of their wives they keep a most strict watch. Brides are purchased of their parents for large sums of money. Tattooing among them marks noble birth, and the want of it low birth. To be idle is accounted the most honourable thing, and to be a tiller of the ground the most dishonourable. To live by war and plunder is of all things the most glorious. These are the most remarkable of their customs. The gods which they worship are but three, Mars, Bacchus, and Dian. Their kings, however, unlike the rest of the citizens, worship Mercury more than any other god, always swearing by his name, and declaring that they are themselves sprung from him. Their wealthy ones are buried in the following fashion. The body is laid out for three days; and during this time they kill victims of all kinds, and feast upon them, after first bewailing the departed. Then they either burn the body or else bury it in the ground. Lastly, they raise a mound over the grave, and hold games of all sorts, wherein the single combat is awarded the highest prize. Such is the mode of burial among the Thracians. Josephus claims the founder of the Thracians was the biblical character Tiras, son of Japheth: Thiras also called those whom he ruled over Thirasians; but the Greeks changed the name into Thracians. AotJ I:6. In a well-known fragment, Xenophanes comments: Men make gods in their own image; those of the Ethiopians are black and snub-nosed, those of the Thracians have blue eyes and red hair. Thracians and Mycenaeans On September 21 - 26, 1984, the Fourth International Congress of Thracology was held in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Congress was organized by the Henri Frankfort Foundation, which is a private institution whose main purpose is to augment the study of Mediterranean pre-history and proto-history. The opening of the symposium began on September 24 and was addressed by the Minister of Education and Science Dr. W. J. Deetman. "Thracians and Mycenaeans" was the theme name for the symposium, which held discussions pertaining to the potential ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic interrelations between proto-Thracians and proto-Greeks (i.e. Myceneans). It was believed that such interrelations had to exist since both groups have lived in the same geographic area in the past. According to Alexander Fol, the concept of "Mycenean Thrace" was first developed in 1973 in order to explain the relative cultural unity between the Thracians and the Myceneans. This is a list of the scholars that contributed to the symposium: Archaeologists Linguists and historians Varia Thracologica This section specifically lists scholars whose ideas and discussions did not entail any Thracian-Mycenean parallelism or interrelations. Thracian tribes Akrokomai Agriani Apsinthi Asti Bastarni Beni Bessi Bizalti Bistoni Bithini Thini Brigi Brizi Carpii Dardani Denteleti Dengeri Deroni Derzai Dii Diobesi Dolonci Drozi Edoni Eleti Eneti Geti Hipsalti Iskiten Ismari Kaeleti Kaeni Kabileti Kabiri Karbilezi Kari Kaukauni Kikoni Koilaleti Koreli Korpiali Krestoni Krobyzen Laiai Liki Maduateni Magneti Maioni Medi Melanditi Migdoni Mizi Moezi Nipsai Odrisi Odomanti Paioni Paiti Paphlagoni Peukini Phragondi Phrygi Prianti Pirogeri Pieri Sabii Samai Sapai Satri Seleti Serdi Sigini Sinthi Skordiski Synthi Terici Thyni Tranipsi Tauresi Treri Tribali Trilatai Tyrageti Uekri Usdicezi Eneti Vitini These next tribes are not certainly Thracian: Famous Thracians See also Notes | |||||||||||
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