Ancient Thrace ( Greek ΞΟάκη , Latin Thracia ) is a country between the Balkan Mountains and the Aegean Sea, inhabited by Thracian tribes ( Odrisses , honey or mesa , demons , bizalts , etc.). Currently, the territory of ancient Thrace is divided between three states - Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Content
Geography
In the west, the border of Thrace was the Strimon River, in the east - the shores of the Black Sea, in the south the Aegean Sea, and in the north it bordered on Moesia , which was separated from it by the Balkan Mountains .
History
Prehistoric Period
Ancient period
Herodotus writes that even before the Trojan War, the Mies living in Asia Minor crossed the Bosphorus to Europe, occupied the territory up to the Adriatic Sea and conquered all the Thracian tribes. Some scholars believe this was due to the expansion of the Hittite domination to the west of Asia Minor. However, about the XIII century BC. e. Illyrians push the Mies east and a new wave of tribal migration begins.
Archaic period
Numerous tribes inhabiting the territory of Thrace occupied a large territory rich in fertile soils, dense forests and significant ore deposits ( Pangea region). From the V century BC e. favorable conditions begin to attract here the Greeks, who founded many colonies ( Abdera , Maronea , etc.) and came into close contact with the southern Thracian tribes. In the VII-VI centuries. BC e. the Thracians were at the stage of decomposition of the primitive system - among the tribes a layer of nobility began to stand out, which acquired vast and fertile land, livestock. The first rudiments of the slave system appear.
Classic Period
In the 5th century BC e. after the departure of the Persians, the most developed tribes of the Odris founded their kingdom. The founder of the state at the Odris was the leader Teres. He subjugated the South Thracian tribes and even some Greek cities to his influence, forcing them to pay tribute.
Hellenistic period
In the 4th century BC e. Thrace was conquered by the Macedonian king Philip II . In 323 BC e. as a result of the division of the empire of Alexander the Great, Lysimachus became the ruler of the kingdom of Thrace , which disintegrated after his death in 281 BC. e.
Roman period
Literature
- C. Bakirtzes et al., Thrace , Greek National Tourist Organization Cultural Guides 1, Athens, 1988.
- S. Casson, Macedonia, Thrace, and Illyria , Oxford, 1926.