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OriginsThe 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 Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age [2]. However, this remains uncertain. Modern historiography linguistically classifies Thracians as an Indo-European people of the Eastern (satem) subgroup, which links them to Iranians, Slavs and Balts. Similarities with the ancient Iranic peoples (Scythians, Cimmerians, Sarmatians) are further confirmed by historical and archaeological evidence of early Thracian material culture, way of life, crafts, works of art and burial practices. Greek philosopher Xenophanes describes Thracians as fair-complexioned people.
First historical record about the Thracians is found in the Iliad, where they appear as allies of the Trojans, hailing from Thrace. This record probably relates to the period of 1200-1100 BC. Classical periodBy 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. Image:ThracianCoin.JPG A Thracian coin from Pantica, bearing the Macedonian symbol of the Vergina sun inside a diadem. 2nd century BCE. In that period contacts between the Thracians and Classical Greece intensified which led to strengthening Greek influences in Thracian society, culture and handcrafts. Because their language had no written tradition, in some regions the Thracian aristocracy and administration adopted Classical Greek for an official language and Thracian merchants utilised it as a 'lingua franca' in their contacts with other tribes and peoples. As a result a level of Helenisation was observed in the following centuries and it was deeper imposed by the Macedonian conquests over the Thracian territory in 3rd century BC. Extinction of the ethnicity and language
After they were subjugated by the Macedonian king Alexander the Great and consecutively by the Roman empire, most of the Thracians eventually became Hellenised (in the province of Thrace) or Romanised (in Moesia, Dacia, etc.). The Romanised tribes of Dacia later became the ethnic substratum of the Vlach people (that first appeared in historical documents in the 10th century) who evolved into modern Romanians. In the 6th century some Thracian tribes south of the Danube river have got into contacts with the invading Slavs and were later Slavicised. Thus they became one of the main ethnic ellements in the consolidation of the Bulgarian nation in 8-9th century. Linguistic evidence about this is the presence of Thracian and direct Latin loanwords in Old Bulgarian and modern Bulgarian language. Some scholars have proposed that present-day Albanians may be descendants of Thracian tribes who maintained their language. However this is highly controversial as the official Albanian historiography relates modern Albanians with the ancient Illyrian people. Bulgarian historians also consider it possible for the Vlach and Karakachani people of Bulgaria to be descendants respectively of Romanised and Hellenised Thracian tribes. ArchaeologyMain article: Thracian culture Image:Thracian treasure NHM Bulgaria.JPG A gold Thracian treasure from Panagyurishte, Bulgaria The archaeological research of the Thracian culture started in the 20th century and especially after World War II, mainly on the territory of Southern Bulgaria. As a result of intensive excavation works in the 1960s and 1970s a number of Thracian tombs and sanctuaries were discovered. More significant among them are: the Tomb of Sveshtari, the Tomb of Kazanlak, Tatul, Seuthopolis, Perperikon, the Tomb of Aleksandrovo, Sarmizegetusa, etc. Also a large number of elaborately crafted gold and silver treasure sets from the 5th and 4th century BC were unearthed. In the following decades those were exposed in museums around the world, thus gaining popularity and becoming an emblem of the ancient Thracian culture. Since the year 2000, Bulgarian archaeologist Georgi Kitov has made discoveries in Central Bulgaria which were summarized as "The Valley of the Thracian Kings". On 19 August 2005, some Bulgarian archaeologists announced they had found the first Thracian capital, which was situated near Karlovo in Bulgaria. A lot of polished ceramic artifacts (pieces of roof-tiles and Greek-like vases) were discovered revealing the fortune of the city. The Bulgarian Ministry of Culture declared its support to the excavations. In Dabene, Bulgaria, a cache of more than 15,000 gold Thracian artifacts were discovered, including thousands of rings. In August 2006 a sensational archaeological find was made near the village of Dubovo. A Thracian dagger made of an alloy of gold and platinum, sharp, and in perfect condition, was found in a tomb near the village of Dubovo. [2] SourcesThe 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,
In book 5, Herodotus describes the customs of various Thracian tribes.
Josephus claims the founder of the Thracians was the biblical character Tiras, son of Japheth:
In a well-known fragment, Xenophanes comments:
Famous Thracians and Dacians
See also
Notes
References
bs:Tračani bg:Траки de:Thraker et:Traaklased es:Tracios eo:Trakoj fr:Thraces hr:Tračani it:Traci la:Thraci nl:Thraciërs pl:Trakowie pt:Trácios ro:Traci ru:Фракийцы sv:Thraker tr:Traklar
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