Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the
Balkan MountainsThe Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. The highest peaks of the Stara...
, on the south by the
Rhodope MountainsThe Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece...
and the
Aegean SeaThe Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey respectively. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
and on the east by the
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
and the
Sea of MarmaraThe Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Black Sea and...
. The region comprises areas in southeastern
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
(Northern Thrace), northeastern
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
(
Western ThraceThrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
), and the whole of the European part of
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
(Eastern Thrace). In Turkey, it is also called Rumeli. The name comes from the
ThraciansThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
, an ancient
Indo-EuropeanIndo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan, a 19th century term for Indo-European speakers.* Proto-Indo-European language, the reconstructed common ancestor of all Indo-European languages....
people inhabiting Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
Borders
The historical boundaries of Thrace have varied. Noteworthy is the fact that, at an early date, the Ancient Greeks employed the term "Thrace" to refer to all of the territory which lay north of Greece (of
ThessalyThessaly is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. The capital of the periphery and traditional geographical region is Larissa. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Thrace, it is often referred to unofficially as Northern Greece...
) inhabited by the Thracians, a region which "had no definite boundaries" and to which other regions (like Macedonia and even
ScythiaThe Scythians or Scyths were an Ancient Iranian people of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who throughout Classical Antiquity dominated the Pontic-Caspian steppe, known at the time as Scythia. By Late Antiquity the closely-related Sarmatians came to dominate the Scythians in this area...
) were added. In one ancient Greek source, the very
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
is divided into "Asia, Libya, Europa and Thracia". As the knowledge of world geography of the Greeks broadened, the term came to be more restricted in its application: Thrace designated the lands bordered by the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
on the north, by the Euxine Sea (Black Sea) on the east, by northern Macedonia in the south and by the
IllyrianThe Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited the Western Balkans during classical antiquity. The territory the tribes covered came to be known as Illyria to Greek and Roman authors, corresponding roughly to the area between Adriatic sea in west, Drava river in North, Morava river in east...
lands (i.e.
IllyriaIllyria was in Classical antiquity a region in the western part of today's Balkan Peninsula, inhabited by the Illyrians, a heterogeneous coalition of tribes, about whom very little is known, though a number of them are assumed to have been united by a common Illyrian language.Illyria and the...
) to the west. This largely coincided with the Thracian
Odrysian kingdomThe Odrysian kingdom was a union of Thracian tribes that endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. It consisted largely of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Romanian Northern Dobruja, parts of Northern Greece and modern-day European Turkey...
, whose borders varied in time. During this time, specifically after the Macedonian conquest, the region's old border with Macedonia was shifted from the
Struma RiverThe Struma or Strymónas is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymōn . Its catchment area is 10,800 km²...
to the
Mesta RiverThe Mesta or Nestos , formerly the Mesta Karasu , is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. It rises in the Rila Mountains and flows into the Aegean Sea near the island of Thasos. It plunges down towering canyons toward the Aegean Sea through mostly metamorphic formations...
. This usage lasted until the Roman conquest. Henceforth, (classical) Thrace referred only to the tract of land largely covering the same extent of space as the modern geographical region. In its early period, the
Roman province of ThraceThracia was the name of a province of the Roman empire. It was established in 46 AD, when the former Roman client state of Thrace was annexed by the emperor Claudius ....
was of this extent, but after the administrative reforms of the late 3rd century, Thracia's much reduced territory became of the six small provinces which constituted the
Diocese of ThraceThe Diocese of Thrace was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the eastern Balkan Peninsula . The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian, and was subordinate to the Praetorian prefecture of the East...
. The medieval
ByzantineThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
themata of Thrace containted only what today is Eastern Thrace.
Cities of Thrace
Bulgaria:
- Ahtopol
Ahtopol is a town and seaside resort on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located on a headland in the southeastern part of Burgas Province and is close to the border with European Turkey...
(Greek: Αγαθούπολη /Agathopolis; Turkish: Ahtabolu)
- Ardino
Ardino is a town in Southern Bulgaria, in the Rhodope Mountains. It is located in Kurdzhali oblast and is close to the town of Madan....
(Turkish: Eğridere)
- Asenovgrad
Asenovgrad is a town in central southern Bulgaria.Asenovgrad was originally founded by the Thracians as Stenimahos around 300-400 BC. In 72 BC the city was captured by the troops of the Roman Empire as part of the Roman expansion towards the Black Sea. After a long period of peace, the town was...
(Greek: Στενήμαχος / Stenimachos)
- Aytos
Aytos , sometimes written Aitos and Ajtos, is a town located in eastern Bulgaria some 30 kilometers from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and belonging to the administrative boundaries of Burgas Province.- History :...
(Greek: Αετός / Aetos (= eagle); Turkish: Aydos)
- Batak
Batak is a town in Southern Bulgaria. It is located in Pazardzhik Province and is close to the town of Peshtera. Batak is a municipal centre with 2 villages included and a total population of 7,480.- Geography :...
- Burgas
Burgas is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with population 210,260. It is also the fourth-largest by population in the country, after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna...
(Turkish: Burgaz, Greek: Πύργος Pyrgos (= tower))
- Chirpan
Chirpan is a town and municipality in south-central Bulgaria on the Tekirska River, in Stara Zagora Province. The town is a centre for wineries and viticulture....
- Devin
Devin may refeb to:*Devin , a Gaelic name*Devin, Bulgaria, a town in Bulgaria*Devín, a borough of Bratislava, Slovakia**Devín Castle*Devin Cars, an bmerican manufacturer of cars and kit-cars*Devin Smith softball player...
- Dimitrovgrad
Dimitrovgrad is a town and a municipality in Haskovo Province of southern Bulgaria. Dimitrovgrad is located northwest of Svilengrad and the Greek and Turkish border, east of Plovdiv and the capital Sofia and west of Burgas. The motorway A1 is north of Dimitrovgrad.The city was built in 1947 by the...
- Dospat
Dospat is a town in the very south of Bulgaria, part of Smolyan Province and situated in the Rhodope Mountains. It is close to Dospat Dam and is mainly populated by Muslim Bulgarians...
- Elhovo
Elhovo is a Bulgarian town in Yambol Province, on the left bank of the Tundzha between the Strandzha and Sakar mountains.-Honour:...
(Turkish: Kavaklı)
- Harmanli
Harmanli is a town in south-eastern Bulgaria. Its population is about 22,000. Harmanli came into being in about 1510 along the road that connects Central Europe and Anatolia...
- Haskovo
Haskovo ; is the name of a town and administrative centre of the province of the same name in southern Bulgaria, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. Its population is 96,010. The province includes the town of Dimitrovgrad....
(Turkish: Hasköy)
- Hisarya
- Ivaylovgrad
Ivaylovgrad is a town in Haskovo Province in the very south-east of Bulgaria set near the Arda River in the easternmost part of the Rhodope Mountains...
(Greek: Αρτάκη / Artake; Turkish: Ortaköy)
- Kardzhali
Kardzhali or Kurdzhali is a town in Bulgaria, capital of Kardzhali Province in the Eastern Rhodopes. Near the town is the noted Kardzhali Dam.-Geography:...
(Turkish: Kırcaali)
- Karlovo
Karlovo is a picturesque and a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains...
(Turkish: Karlıova)
- Karnobat
-Geography:Karnobat municipality is situated in the south-eastern part of Bulgaria, and it falls within the administrative boundaries of Burgas region. Rishki Passage links the municipality to north Bulgaria. The Karnobat-Aitos range of the Balkan Mountains is located in the northern part of the...
(Turkish: Karinabat)
- Kazanlak
Kazanlak is a Bulgarian town located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley. Kazanlak is the 10th biggest industrial center in Bulgaria, with a population of 79,464 people as of 2007...
(Turkish: Kazanlık)
- Kotel
Kotel is a town in central Bulgaria, part of Sliven Province. Kotel has a population of 7,179 and is known for the numerous personalities of the Bulgarian National Revival that are somehow connected to the town, such as politicians Alexander Bogoridi and Stefan Bogoridi, enlighteners Sophronius of...
- Krichim
Krichim is a town in southern Bulgaria, located in the southwestern part of Plovdiv Province close to Perushtitsa. It lies at the foot of the Rhodopes' northern slopes in the plains of Thrace, 20 km southwest of Plovdiv. The river Vacha, an important tributary of the Maritsa, runs through the town...
- Krumovgrad
Krumovgrad is a town in Kardzhali Province in the very south of Bulgaria, located in the Eastern Rhodopes on the banks of the river Krumovitsa. The majority of its population consists of ethnic Turks...
(Turkish: Koşukavak)
- Madan
Madan is a town with a population of 6,914, situated in the very south of Bulgaria in the Yellow Share of the Rhodope Mountains, in Smolyan Province.-Geography:...
- Nova Zagora
Nova Zagora is a town with a population of approximately 26,000 people in the city, and approximately 48,000 in the entire municipality . It is located in the southeastern plains of Bulgaria....
(Greek: Νέα Ζαγορά / Nea Zagora)
- Vratza
- Panagyurishte
Panagyurishte is a town in Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. The town is situated in a small valley in the Sredna Gora mountains. It is 91 km east of Sofia, 43 km north of Pazardzhik, and 37 km south of Zlatitsa. As of 2005 Panagyurishte has a population of 20,938 and the mayor...
(Greek: Παναγιούριστα / Panagiourista; Turkish: Otlukköy)
- Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik is a town situated along the banks of the Maritsa river in Bulgaria with a population of 95,485...
(Turkish: Pazarcık)
- Peshtera
Peshtera is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Pazardzhik Province, located in the Upper Thracian Lowlands at the foot of the Western Rhodopes. It takes its name from the many caves found in the vicinity.The first traces of human presence in the area date from the Neolithic...
(Greek: Περιστέρα / Peristera (= pigeon))
- Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, with a population of 380,312. Known in ancient times as Philippoupolis, it is the administrative center of Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria and three municipalities and Bulgaria's Yuzhen tsentralen planning region , as well as the...
(Turkish: Filibe, Greek: Φιλιππούπολη Philippoupoli (= city of Phillip))
- Pomorie
Pomorie is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located in Burgas Province 20 km from Burgas and 18 km from Sunny Beach...
(Greek: Αγχίαλος / Anchialos)
- Radnevo
Radnevo is a town in southern Bulgaria, part of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the eastern Upper Thracian Lowlands close to the Maritsa Iztok Complex....
- Sliven
Sliven is a town in southeast Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Sliven Province. It is a relatively large town with 115,000 inhabitants . Sliven is famous for its Bulgarian Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turks in the 19th century and is known as the "City of the 100 Voyvodi", a...
(Greek: Σήλυμνος / Selymnos; Turkish: İslimye)
- Smolyan
Smolyan is a town and ski resort in the very south of Bulgaria, the administrative center of Smolyan Province. It is situated in the valley of the Cherna and the Byala Rivers in the central Rhodopes at the foot of the mountains' highest part south of the popular ski resorts Pamporovo and...
(Turkish: Ahiçelebi veya Paşmaklı)
- Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
(ancient Serdica) (Turkish: Sofya)
- Sozopol
Sozopol is an ancient town and seaside resort located 35 km south of Burgas on the southern Black Sea Coast of Bulgaria. Today the town is mostly a seaside resort known for the Apollonia art and film festival and is named after one of Sozopol's ancient names.The busiest times of the year are the...
(Greek: Σωζόπολη / Sozopoli (= city of Sozon); Turkish: Süzebolu)
- Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and one of the nationally important economic centres. Stara Zagora is known as the city of straight streets, linden trees, and poets. According to the city's chamber of commerce, it is one of the oldest settlements in Europe, being at least eight...
(Greek: Παλαιά Ζαγορά / Palaea Zagora; Turkish: Eski Zağra)
- Topolovgrad
Topolovgrad is a town in southeastern Bulgaria, part of Haskovo Province. It is situated at the northern foot of the Sakar Mountain....
(Turkish: Kavaklı, Greek: Καβακλή / Kavakli)
- Tsarevo
Tsarevo is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of a municipality in Burgas Province...
(Greek: Βασιλικό / Vassiliko (= royal))
- Tylis
Tylis or Tyle was a capital of a short-lived Balkan state mentioned by Polybius that was founded by Celts led by Comontorios in the 3rd century BC, after their invasion of Thrace and Greece in 279 BC. It was located near the eastern edge of the Haemus Mountains in what is now eastern Bulgaria...
(Greek: Τύλις / Tylis)
- Zlatograd
Zlatograd is a town in Bulgaria, 60 km from Smolyan. It is located in a valley between the eastern and central massif of the Rhodope mountains. The Greek border lies just 5 km away from the town...
(Turkish: Darıdere)
- Pistiros
Pistiros was an inland Ancient Greek Emporium in Ancient Thrace. It is now situated in the territory of the city of Vetren, municipality of Septemvri, district of Pazardzhik, between the northern slopes of the Rhodopi Mountain and the foothill of Sredna Gora Mountain, in the westernmost part of...
(Greek: Πίστειρος / Pistiros)
- Seuthopolis
Seuthopolis was an ancient hellenistic-type city founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III, and the capital of the Odrysian kingdom. The city was founded sometime from 325 BC to 315 BC...
(ancient city) (Greek: Σευθούπολις / Sefthoupolis)
- Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha in the historical region of Thrace. Today, the town has 85,966 inhabitants...
(Greek: Υάμπολις / Yampolis; Turkish: Yanbolu)
GreeceThrace is a geographic and historical region of Greece, located between the Nestos and Evros rivers in the northeast of the country. Together with the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, it is often referred to informally as northern Greece...
:
- Alexandroupoli
For the ancient city of Alexander the Great in the Thracian mainland, see Alexandropolis MaedicaAlexandroupoli is a city of Greece and the capital of the Evros Prefecture in Thrace. Names for the city in other languages include , and...
(Bulgarian: Дедеагач / Dedeagach; Turkish: Dedeağaç)
- Abdera
Abdera was a city-state on the coast of Thrace 17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the Nestos, and almost opposite Thasos. The site now lies in the Xanthi Prefecture of modern Greece...
- Didymoteicho
Didymóteicho is a town located in the eastern part of the Evros Prefecture of Thrace, Greece. The Bulgarian rendering of the town's name is Димотика ; in Turkish, it is known as Dimetoka.It is the seat of the municipality and the province of the same name...
(Bulgarian: Димотика / Dimotika; Turkish: Dimetoka)
- Komotini
Komotini or Komotene , is a city in north-eastern Greece. It is the capital of the periphery of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace and the Rhodope Prefecture. It is also the administrative center of the Rhodope-Evros super-prefecture. The city is home to the Democritus University of Thrace, founded in 1973...
(Turkish: Gümülcine, Bulgarian: Гюмюрджина / Gyumyurdzhina)
- Lavara
Lavara is a town located in the eastern part of the prefecture of Evros. It is the seat of the municipality of Orfeas . It is located only 2 km from Turkey and the western banks of the Evros....
((Turkish: Saltıköy)
- Pythio
Pythio is a town located in the eastern part of Didymoteicho municipality and the province. It is 16 km ENE of the centre. Turkey is located south and east of the town. The settlement is connected south and east of GR-51 and a road linking to Keşan and south to the Dardanelles. The border...
(Turkish: Kuleliburgaz)
- Maronia
- Nea Orestiada
Orestiada is the northeasternmost and northernmost city of Greece and the second largest city of the Evros Prefecture of Thrace. The population is around 25,000. Orestiada is only 2 km west of the banks of the Evros, which forms a natural border between Greece and Turkey...
(Turkish: Kumçiftliği)
- Samothrace
Samothrace is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. It is a self-governing deme within the Evros Prefecture of Thrace. The island is long and is in size and has a population of 2,723 . Its main industries are fishing and tourism. Resources on the island includes granite and basalt. ...
(Turkish: Semadirek or Semendirek; Bulgarian: Самотраки / Samotraki)
- Sapes
Sapes is the second largest city in the Rhodope Prefecture of Thrace, Greece. The population is 9,542 ....
(Turkish: Şapçı; Bulgarian: Шапчи)
- Xanthi
Xanthi is a city in northern Greece, in the East Macedonia and Thrace periphery. It is the capital of Xanthi Prefecture.-History:...
(Bulgarian: Ксанти / Ksanti or Скеча / Skecha; Turkish: İskeçe)
Turkey:
- Çerkezköy
Çerkezköy is a town and district of Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara Region of Turkey.-Facts:The district is located in inland Thrace just to the west of the outlying Istanbul districts of Çatalca and Silivri. Çerkezköy is an industrial area and the most populous district of Tekirdağ. It is from...
- Çorlu
Çorlu is a northwestern Turkish city in inland Eastern Thrace that falls under the administration of the Province of Tekirdağ. It is a rapidly developing industrial center built on flatland located off the E80 highway between Istanbul and Turkey's border with Greece and Bulgaria...
(Greek: Τυρολόη / Tyroloi; Bulgarian: Чорлу / Chorlu)
- Demirköy
Demirköy is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey....
(Bulgarian: Малък Самоков / Malak Samokov)
- Edirne
Edirne is a city in Thrace, the westernmost part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, when Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne Province in...
(Greek: Αδριανούπολις / Adrianoupolis; Bulgarian: Одрин / Odrin) refounded by HadrianPublius Aelius Hadrianus was emperor of Rome from AD 117 to 138, as well as a Stoic and Epicurean philosopher...
- Uzunköprü
Uzunköprü is a small town and a district of Edirne Province in northwestern Turkey.It is on the railway line from Istanbul towards Sofia, Belgrade and western Europe, and a frontier post on the Greek border.- Long Bridge :...
(Greek: Μακρά Γέφυρα / Makra Gefyra (= long bridge); Bulgarian: Узункьопрю / Uzunkyopryu)
- Gelibolu
Gelibolu in modern Turkish, , is the name of a town and a district of Çanakkale Province, Turkey, located on the Gallipoli peninsula in the European part of Turkey. Gelibolu is well-known for sardine canning....
(Greek: Καλλίπολις / Κallipolis (= beautiful city); Bulgarian: Галиполи / Galipoli)
- Keşan
Keşan is the name of a district of Edirne Province, Turkey, and also the name of the largest town in the district. Keşan has a population of 45,000 during the winter; in the summer this increases to 70,000 because of an influx of tourists....
(Greek: Κεσσάνη / Kessani; Bulgarian: Кешан / Keshan)
- Lüleburgaz
Lüleburgaz is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey.-Facts:...
(Greek: Αρκαδιόπολις / Arkadiopolis (= city of Arcadian); Bulgarian: Люлебургас / Lyuleburgas)
- Kırklareli
Kırklareli is the capital of Kırklareli Province in Eastern Thrace, on the European part of Turkey. Ongoing archeological excavations in the city support the claim that the area may have been the location of the first organized settlement on the European continent.-Name:It is not clearly known...
(Bulgarian: Лозенград / Lozengrad; Greek: Σαράντα Εκκλησιές , Saranta Ekklisyes(= Forty churches))
- Tekirdağ
Tekirdağ is a city in Eastern Thrace, on the European part of Turkey. Tekirdağ is the capital of Tekirdağ Province and it is seen by many as a smaller, quieter town than the industrial centre of Çorlu, which it administers. The population as of 2008 was 137,962...
(Greek: Ραιδεστός / Raedestos; Bulgarian: Родосто / Rodosto)
- Istanbul
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
(European side) (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις / Konstantinoupolis (= city of Constantine) or Βυζάντιον / Vizantion, the ancient Greek name, named after the founder of the city Vyzantas; Bulgarian: Цариград / Tsarigrad or Константинопол / Konstantinopol or Византион / Vizantion)
- Sestos
Sestos was an ancient Greek town of the Thracian Chersonese, the modern Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey. Situated on the Hellespont opposite Abydos, it was the home of Hero in the legend of Hero and Leander. Sestos was an Aeolian colony, as it was founded by settlers from Lesbos...
Demographics and Religion
Most of the Bulgarian and Greek population are Christians, while most of the Turkish inhabitants of Thrace are Muslims.
Thrace in ancient Greek mythology
Ancient Greek mythology provides them with a mythical ancestor, named
ThraxIn Greek mythology, Thrax was regarded as one of the reputed sons of Ares. In the Alcestis, Euripides mentions that one of the names of Ares himself was Thrax since he was regarded as the patron of Thrace .-Popular culture:*In the re-imaging of Battlestar...
, son of the war-god
AresIn Greek mythology, Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera. Though often referred to as the Olympian god of warfare, he is more accurately the god of bloodlust, or slaughter personified: "Ares is apparently an ancient abstract noun meaning throng of battle, war."-Etymology:Ares is the god of war...
, who was said to reside in Thrace. The Thracians appear in
HomerHomer is a legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey...
's
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem recounting significant events during a portion of the final year of the Trojan War — the Greek siege of the city of Ilion — hence the title...
as
TrojanTroy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer...
allies, led by
AcamasAcamas was a name attributed to several characters in Greek mythology. The following three all fought in the Trojan War, and only the first was not mentioned by Homer....
and
PeirosThe Peiros is a river in the central and the northwestern parts of the Achaea prefecture. The river can also be known locally with numerous names including Kamenitsa , Mellas or Melas , Pieros , Nezeritiko , Prevedos and Acheloos .-Places within the...
. Later in the
Iliad, another Thracian king makes an appearance, named
RhesusRhesus can refer to any of the following:*Rhesus of Thrace, a king in Greek mythology* S. Vivianus Rhesus, a Roman governor of Thrace*In Greek mythology, a river-god, son of Oceanus and Tethys...
.
CisseusIn Greek mythology, Cisseus was a Thracian king and father of Theano, the wife of Antenor, as related in Homer's Iliad. His wife was Telecleia, a daughter of King Ilus of Troy....
, father-in-law to the Trojan elder
AntenorAntenor was an Athenian sculptor, of the latter part of the 6th century BC. He was named after the mythological figure also called Antenor. He was the creator of the joint statues of the tyrannicides Harmodius and Aristogeiton, set up by the Athenians on the expulsion of Hippias. These statues were...
, is also given as a Thracian king. Homeric Thrace was vaguely defined, and stretched from the River Axios in the west to the
HellespontHellespont was the ancient name of the narrow strait, now known by the modern European term 'the Dardanelles'. It was so called from Helle, the daughter of Athamas, who was drowned here in the mythology of the Golden...
and
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
in the east. The
Catalogue of ShipsThe Catalogue of Ships is a passage in Book 2 of Homer's Iliad , which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy...
mentions three separate contingents from Thrace: Thracians led by Acamas and Peiros, from
AenusAenus , modern Enez in Turkey, was an ancient Greek city on the southeastern coast of Thrace. Formerly called Poltyobria , it was located near the mouth of the Hebrus River, not far from the Melas Gulf , which is formed by the Thracian Chersonesus to the east...
;
CiconesThe Cicones, Ciconians or Kikonians, were a Homeric Thracian tribe, whose stronghold in the time of Odysseus was the town of Ismara , located at the foot of mount Ismara, on the south coast of Thrace . They are mentioned in book two of the Iliad as having joined the war on the side of the Trojans,...
led by
EuphemusThere are two figures in Greek mythology known as Euphemus "reputable".One was the son of Poseidon, granted by his father the power to walk on water. Euphemus's mother is variously named: Europe, daughter of the giant Tityos; Oris, daughter of Orion; or Macionice, daughter of Eurotas...
, from southern Thrace, near
IsmarosIsmara also Ismaros or Ismarus was*A Ciconian Homeric town on the Aegean coast of Thrace*A mountain of the same name "Ismaros".*Ismarus. Defender of Thebes. He killed Hippomedon , one of the Seven against Thebes...
; and from the city of Sestus, on the Thracian (northern) side of the Hellespont, which formed part of the contingent led by
AsiusAsius may refer to:* Asius Hyrtacides son of Hyrtacus.* Asius .* Asius of Samos, an ancient Greek genealogical poet.* Asius , a genus of gelinine wasps.* an Osian...
. Greek mythology is replete with Thracian kings, including
DiomedesThe Mares of Diomedes, also called the Mares of Thrace, were four man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to the giant Diomedes , king of Thrace, a son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea...
,
TereusIn Greek mythology, Tereus was a Thracian king, the son of Ares and husband of Procne. Procne and Tereus had a son, Itys.Tereus desired his wife's sister, Philomela. He forced himself upon her, then cut her tongue out and held her captive so she could never tell anyone. He told his wife that her...
,
LycurgusLycurgus or Lykurgus may refer to:* People:** Lycurgus of Sparta, creator of constitution of Sparta** Lycurgus of Athens, one of the ten notable orators at Athens, ** Lycurgus , king** Lycurgus , king...
,
PhineusPhineus may refer to:* Phineus, killed by Perseus. See Boast of Cassiopeia* Blind King Phineus or Phineas of Thrace, visited by Jason and the Argonauts* Phineas Nigellus, a deceased headmaster in the Harry Potter universe...
, Tegyrius,
EumolpusIn Greek mythology, Eumolpus was the son of Poseidon and Chione. According to Apollodorus, Chione, daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia, pregnant with Eumolpus by Poseidon, was frightened of her father's reaction so she threw the baby into the ocean...
,
PolymnestorPolymnestor is one of the characters in Euripides' Hecuba, the king of Thracian Hersones....
,
PoltysPoltys is a mythical king and eponym of the Thracian city of Poltyobria , featured in Apollodorus's account of the story of the hero Heracles . Poltys and his brother Sarpedon are given as sons of the sea-god Poseidon...
, and
OeagrusOeagrus in Greek mythology was a king of Thrace. He and the muse Calliope were possibly the parents of Orpheus and Linus. He was also sometimes called the father of Marsyas. He ruled over the Edonian kingdom in the region of Mygdonia...
(father of
OrpheusOrpheus is an important figure from Greek mythology, the inspiration for subsequent Orphic cults, much of the literature, poetry and drama of ancient Greece and Rome and, due to his association with singing and the lyre, much dramatic Western classical music.Orpheus was called by Pindar "the...
). In addition to the tribe that Homer calls Thracians, ancient Thrace was home to numerous other tribes, such as the
EdonesThe Edoni were a Thracian people who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Strymon rivers in southern Thrace, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon at least as far as the Axios. They inhabited the region of Mygdonia before the Macedonians drove them out. There were a number of Edonian towns,...
,
BisaltaeThe Bisaltae were a Thracian people on the lower Strymon river, who gave their name to Bisaltia, the district between Amphipolis and Heraclea Sintica on the east and Crestonice on the west...
,
CiconesThe Cicones, Ciconians or Kikonians, were a Homeric Thracian tribe, whose stronghold in the time of Odysseus was the town of Ismara , located at the foot of mount Ismara, on the south coast of Thrace . They are mentioned in book two of the Iliad as having joined the war on the side of the Trojans,...
, and Bistones.
Ancient history
The indigenous population of Thrace was a people called the
ThraciansThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
, divided into numerous tribal groups. Thracian troops were known to accompany neighboring ruler
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
when he crossed the
HellespontHellespont was the ancient name of the narrow strait, now known by the modern European term 'the Dardanelles'. It was so called from Helle, the daughter of Athamas, who was drowned here in the mythology of the Golden...
which abuts Thrace, and took on the Persian Empire of the day.
The name
ThraciansThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes who spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
and Thrace seems to be an exonym given by the Greeks.
Divided into separate tribes, the Thracians did not manage to form a lasting political organization until the Odrysian state was founded in the 4th century BC. Like
IllyriansThe Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited the Western Balkans during classical antiquity. The territory the tribes covered came to be known as Illyria to Greek and Roman authors, corresponding roughly to the area between Adriatic sea in west, Drava river in North, Morava river in east...
, the mountainous regions were home to various warlike and ferocious Thracian tribes, while the plains peoples were apparently more peaceable, owing to more contact and influence from the
GreeksThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
.
During this period, a subculture of
celibateCelibacy is defined as the lifestyle of someone who is, and is striving to remain, unmarried all his/her life. It is also used to describe a state of life where one chooses to abstain from all sexual activities...
ascetics called the
CtistaeThe Ctistae were a group/class in ancient Thracian culture. They led celebate lives, never marrying. They were held in a place of honor by the Thracians, with their lives being dedicated to the gods. They are very similar to the Jewish Essenes in that they were considered by themselves, and by...
lived in Thrace, where they served as philosophers, priests and prophets.
Medieval history
By the mid 5th century, as the Roman Empire began to crumble, Thracia fell from the authority of Rome and into the hands of Germanic tribal rulers. With the fall of Rome, Thracia turned into a battleground territory for the better part of the next 1,000 years. The eastern successor of the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
in the Balkans, the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
, retained control over
ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
until the beginning of the 9th century when most of the region was incorporated into
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
. Byzantium regained Thrace in 972 only to lose it again to the Bulgarians at the end of the 12th century. Throughout the 13th century and the first half of the 14th century, the region oscillated between
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
and the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
. In 1265 the area suffered a Mongol raid from
Golden HordeThe Ulus of Jochi or the Golden Horde is an East Slavic designation for the Mongol—later Turkicized—Muslim khanate established in the western part of the Mongol Empire after the Mongol invasion of Rus' in the 1240s: present-day Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus...
, led by
Nogai KhanNogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...
. In 1352, the
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
Turks conducted their first incursion into the region subduing it completely within a matter of two decades and occupying it for five centuries.
Modern history
With the
Congress of BerlinThe Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
in 1878, Northern Thrace was incorporated into the semi-autonomous Ottoman province of
Eastern RumeliaEastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire from 1878 to 1908, however it was under Bulgarian control from 1885, when it de facto annexed by the Principality of Bulgaria...
, which united with Bulgaria in 1885. The rest of Thrace was divided between Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey at the beginning of the 20th century, following the
Balkan WarsThe Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913. The First Balkan War broke out on 8 October 1912 when Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia , having large parts of their ethnic populations under Ottoman sovereignty, attacked the Ottoman Empire, terminating its five-century...
,
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
and the
Greco-Turkish WarThere have been several Greco-Turkish Wars:* The Greek War of Independence * Greco-Turkish War , also called the Thirty Days' War* the Greek front of the First Balkan War...
. Today Thracian is a strong regional identity in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
and
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
.
Famous Thracians and people from Thrace
- In Greek legend
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, OrpheusOrpheus is an important figure from Greek mythology, the inspiration for subsequent Orphic cults, much of the literature, poetry and drama of ancient Greece and Rome and, due to his association with singing and the lyre, much dramatic Western classical music.Orpheus was called by Pindar "the...
was the chief representative of the art of song and playing the lyreThe lyre is a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in classical antiquity and later. The recitations of the Ancient Greeks were accompanied by lyre playing. The lyre of Classical Antiquity was ordinarily played by being strummed with a plectrum, like a guitar or a zither, rather than...
, and of great importance in the religious history of Greece.
- Democritus
Democritus was an Ancient Greek philosopher born in Abdera in the north of Greece. He was the most prolific, and ultimately the most influential, of the pre-Socratic philosophers; his atomic theory may be regarded as the culmination of early Greek thought.His exact contributions are difficult to...
was a Greek philosopher and mathematician from Abdera, ThraceAbdera was a city-state on the coast of Thrace 17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the Nestos, and almost opposite Thasos. The site now lies in the Xanthi Prefecture of modern Greece...
(c. 460–370 BC.) His main contribution is the atomic theoryIn chemistry and physics, atomic theory is a theory of the nature of matter, which states that matter is composed of discrete units called atoms, as opposed to the obsolete notion that matter could be divided into any arbitrarily small quantity...
, the belief that all matter is made up of various imperishable indivisible elements which he called atoms.
- Herodicus
Herodicus was a Greek physician of the fifth century BC, and a native of Selymbria. The first use of therapeutic exercise for the treatment of disease and maintenance of health is credited to him, and he is believed to have been one of the tutors of Hippocrates...
was a Greek physician of the fifth century BC who is considered the founder of sports medicineSports medicine specializes in preventing, diagnosing and treating injuries related to participating in sports and/or exercise, specifically the rotation or deformation of joints or muscles caused by engaging in such physical activities.-See also:...
. He is believed to have been one of Hippocrates'Hippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos - Greek: ; Hippokrátēs was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles, and was considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine...
tutors.
- Protagoras
Protagoras was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and is numbered as one of the sophists by Plato. In his dialogue Protagoras, Plato credits him with having invented the role of the professional sophist or teacher of virtue...
was a Greek philosopher from Abdera, ThraceAbdera was a city-state on the coast of Thrace 17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the Nestos, and almost opposite Thasos. The site now lies in the Xanthi Prefecture of modern Greece...
(c. 490–420 BC.) An expert in rhetoricRhetoric is one of the arts of using language as a means to persuade. Along with grammar and logic or dialectic, rhetoric is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. From ancient Greece to the late 19th Century, it was a central part of Western education, filling the need to train public...
s and subjects connected to virtue and political life, often regarded as the first sophist. He is known primarily for three claims (1) that man is the measure of all things, often interpreted as a sort of moral relativismIn philosophy moral relativism is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect universal moral truths . Instead, Moral Relativism makes claims relative to social, cultural, or historical circumstances. Moral relativists hold that no universal standard exists by which to assess an...
, (2) that he could make the "worse (or weaker) argument appear the better (or stronger)" (see SophismSophism can mean two very different things: In the modern definition, a sophism is a confusing or illogical argument used for deceiving someone...
) and (3) that one could not tell if the gods existed or not (see AgnosticismAgnosticism is the philosophical view that the truth value of certain claims — particularly metaphysical claims regarding theology, afterlife or the existence of deities, spiritual beings, or even ultimate reality — are unknown or, in some forms of agnosticism, unknowable.It is not a...
).
- Spartacus
Spartacus , according to Roman historians, was a slave and a gladiator who became a leader in the major slave uprising against the Roman Republic known as the Third Servile War...
was a Thracian auxiliary soldier in the Roman armyThe Roman Army was employed by the Romans, the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, as part of the Roman military. Its most important infantry constituent for much of its history was the Roman legion, whose soldiers were called legionaries....
who deserted but was captured and then enslaved by the Romans. He led a large slaveSlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
uprising in what is now ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
in 73–71 BC. His army of escaped gladiatorA Gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s and slaves defeated several Roman legionThe Roman legion is a term that can apply both as a translation of legio to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly , to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army in the period of the late Roman Republic and the...
s in what is known as the Third Servile WarThe Third Servile War , also called the Gladiator War and The War of Spartacus by Plutarch, was the last of a series of unrelated and unsuccessful slave rebellions against the Roman Republic, known collectively as the Roman Servile Wars...
.
- Maximinus Thrax
Gaius Iulius Verus Maximinus , also known as Maximinus Thrax and Maximinus I, was Roman Emperor from 235 to 238....
, Roman emperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
(AD 235–238), was born in Thrace or Moesia to a GothicThe Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe. The historian Jordanes claimed that the Goths arrived from semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland , and that a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century, lending their name to the region of...
father and an AlanicThe Alans or Alani were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan — Greek: Αλανοί, Αλαννοί; Chinese: 阿蘭聊...
mother.
See also
- Music of Thrace
Music of Thrace is the music of Thrace, a region in Southeastern Europe spread over southern Bulgaria , northeastern Greece , and European Turkey ....
- Dacia
In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land in East-Central Europe inhabited by the Dacians. Ancient Greeks called the same people "Getae"...
- Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River...
- Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paionia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south...
- Paionia
Paionia or Paeonia was in ancient geography, the land of the Paeonians , the exact boundaries of which, like the early history of its inhabitants, are very obscure but they were in the region of Thrace...
- Dardania
- The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913
"The Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians in 1913" were events described by Bulgarian academician Lyubomir Miletich in 1918, but also mentioned from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace...
- 1934 Thrace Pogroms
1934 Thrace Pogroms refers to a serious of violent events that took place in June and July 1934 which involved Turks and Jewish residents of Thrace region of Turkey....
- Kara Thrace
Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is a fictional character in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica franchise. Played by Katee Sackhoff, she is a revised version of Lieutenant Starbuck from the 1978 Battlestar Galactica series.-Overview:...
, a fictional character from the series Battlestar Galactica
External links