Thracians

The Thracians were an Indo-European tribe, inhabitants of Thrace, a region to the north of ancient Greece (currently southern Bulgaria, northern Greece, European Turkey and eastern FYR Macedonia).

They spoke Thracian language. As non-Greek speakers, they were viewed as barbarians by the Greeks. Thracians had red hair and grey eyes, as did their gods.

In the Neolithic ages, Thracians inhabited Northern Greece up to the Danube, the northern parts of Asia Minor, Boiotia, and Evoia.

In the 7th millennia B.C., Thracians occupied the area between northern Greece and southern Russia.

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.

The Thracians and Mycenaeans belonged to the same group from Europe originally. They split : the Mycenaeans settled in Greece and the Thracians settled in Thrace.

In the Illiad, the Thracians agreed to fight on the side of the Mycanean Greeks in the Trojan War. According to Homer, the Thracians did not fulfill this promise. In the Odyssey, Odysseus and his men raided Thrace on their way back home from the war. This was to punish them for their cowardice.

Thracian tribes

• Dacians: see List of Dacian tribes
  • Apuli - around Alba Iulia, Transylvania
  • Carps - Eastern slopes of the Carpathians
  • Costoboci - Ukraine
  • Suci - in Oltenia
• Agathyrsi
• Bisaltae
• Getae
• Odrysian kingdom (a tribal union)
• Satrae
• Triballi

Famous Thracians

• Burebista was a king of Dacia between 70 BC-44 BC who united under his rule Thracians in a large teritory, from today's Moravia in the West, to the Bug river (Ukraine) in the East, and from Northern Carpathians to Southern Dionysopolis.

• Orpheus, in Greek legend, was the chief representative of the art of song and playing the lyre, and of great importance in the religious history of Greece.

• Spartacus was a Thracian enslaved by the Romans, who led a large slave uprising in what is now Italy in (73 - 71 B.C.). His army of escaped gladiators and slaves defeated several Roman legions in what is known as the "Third Servile War".

bg:Траки de:Thraker ro:Traci