Thracian warfare
Encyclopedia
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Thracian tribes and their kingdoms in the Balkans. Apart from conflicts between Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
and neighboring nations and tribes, numerous wars were recorded among Thracian tribes.
Mythological
Instances of Thracian people engaging in armed conflict occur in the IliadIliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
of Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
and in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
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...
. The Greek Temenids ousted the Thracians from Pieria (later central Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia). The Thracians, prominent warriors who became allies of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, came from the Aegean coast. In the Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
there is only one instance of Thracians, that of Cicones
Cicones
The 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,...
again on the coast, but they are weak.
The Thracians were a particularly fierce culture in terms of violence and conflict and so they appeared in Greek Mythology
Greek mythology
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...
as mostly associated with its stories of strife. The god of war Ares
Ares
Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and...
was said to have been born in Thrace and was also heavily worshiped there; in contrast to the revulsion of his worship by many other Balkan city states. Homer recounts in the book of Odyssey that an embarrassed Ares retreated among his Thracian followers when his love affair with the goddess Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
was caught and the two were promptly ensnared by Hephaestus
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods - or else, according to some accounts, of Hera alone. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes...
.
Tribal wars
Thracian tribes fought amongst each other and they allied themselves with the Greeks against other Thracian tribes.Kingdoms
The Odrysian kingdom (Ancient GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, "Βασιλεία Όδρυσων") was a union of Thracian
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
tribes that endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC. The Odrysian state was the first Thracian kingdom that acquired power in the region, by the unification of many Thracian tribes under a single ruler, King Teres
Teres
Teres I , was the first king of the Odrysian state of Thrace. Teres, who united the 40 or more Thracian tribes under one banner, was well-known for his military abilities and spent much of his life on the battlefield. He died during a military campaign in 445 BC...
5th century BC. It became involved in wars and military conflicts against the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, Greek colonies, the kingdom of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
and the Diadochi
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
, the Persian Empire, Paeonians, Dacians
Dacians
The Dacians were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians. Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia...
, Celts, Scythians and Thracian tribes. Sometimes it was allied with various Ancient Greek tribes or Greek city states. During the Peloponnesian war, Thracians were the allies of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. The Thracians fought alongside Athenians and Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ians against the forces of the Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
ns. Greek generals like Iphicrates
Iphicrates
Iphicrates was an Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC....
and Charidemos fought for the Odrysae as well. The Thracians served under Scythian kings in 310 BC
310 BC
Year 310 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rullianus and Censorinus...
. Odrysian military strength was based on intra-tribal elite making the kingdom prone to fragmentation. Althouth the kingdom was wealthy, a large proportion of its income was in kind and suitable portions had to be paid to the tribal chiefs. The army was mostly fed and paid by plunder. Sitalces was able to raise an army supposedly 150,000 strong for his invasion of Macedonia in 429 BC but these economic and political factors (plus the onset of winter) meant that this army only held together for about six weeks and any Thracian conquests were ephemeral.
The Sapaeans
Sapaeans
Sapaeans, Sapaei or Sapaioi were a Thracian tribe close to the Greek city of Abdera. One of their kings was named Abrupolis and had allied himself with the Romans...
ruled Thrace after the Odrysians until its incorporation to the Roman Empire as a province.
Thrace became a Client state
Client state
Client state is one of several terms used to describe the economic, political and/or military subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs...
of Rome at 11 BC
11 BC
Year 11 BC was either a common year starting on Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Saturday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
and was annexed at 46 AD.
Infantry and Cavalry
Thrace had the potential to muster a huge number of troops though this rarely occurred. By tradition, Thracians honored warriors and, according to HerodotusHerodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, despised all other occupations.
The Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
fought as peltast
Peltast
A peltast was a type of light infantry in Ancient Thrace who often served as skirmishers.-Description:Peltasts carried a crescent-shaped wicker shield called pelte as their main protection, hence their name. According to Aristotle the pelte was rimless and covered in goat or sheep skin...
s using javelins and crescent or round wicker shields called peltes. Missile weapons were favored but close combat weaponry was carried by the Thracians as well. These close combat weapons varied from the dreaded Rhomphaia
Rhomphaia
The Rhomphaia was a close combat bladed weapon used by the Thracians as early as 400 BC. Most rhomphaias were polearms, featuring a straight or slightly curved single-edged blade attached to a pole that was considerably shorter than the blade. Some rhomphaias had short handles that extended to...
to clubs (used to knock the heads of the spears in Xenophon's Anabasis
Anabasis (Xenophon)
Anabasis is the most famous work, in seven books, of the Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment.- The account :Xenophon accompanied...
by Thynians), one- and two-sided axes, bows, knives, spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
s, akinakes and long swords. Thracians shunned armor and greaves and fought as light as possible, favoring mobility above all other traits and had excellent horsemen. The sica
Sica
The sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as...
was considered their national weapon.
The Bithyni
Bithyni
The Bithyni were a Thracian tribe who, along with the Thyni, migrated to Bithynia in Anatolia - a region which they gave their name to. Herodotus, Xenophon and Strabo all assert that the Bithyni and Thyni settled together in what would be known as Bithynia and Thynia...
an Thracians had contributed a number of 6,000 men (60,000 according to Herodotus) in Xerxes I of Persia
Xerxes I of Persia
Xerxes I of Persia , Ḫšayāršā, ), also known as Xerxes the Great, was the fifth king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire.-Youth and rise to power:...
campaign of 480 BC
480 BC
Year 480 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Vibulanus and Cincinnatus...
but in general resisted Persian occupation and turned against Mardonius
Mardonius
Mardonius was a leading Persian military commander during the Persian Wars with Greece in the early 5th century BC.-Early years:Mardonius was the son of Gobryas, a Persian nobleman who had assisted the Achaemenid prince Darius when he claimed the throne...
's army as he retreated. The Triballi
Triballi
The Triballi were an ancient tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined....
frequently used Scythian and Celt
Celt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic equipment. Thracians decorated their bodies with tattoos like the Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
and the Dacians
Dacians
The Dacians were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians. Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia...
.
Thucidides writes of their infantry tactics when attacked by Theban
Theban
Theban can refer to:* A thing or person of or from the city of Thebes, Greece.* A thing or person of or from the city of Thebes, Egypt.* The occult Theban alphabet...
cavalry:
"dashing out and closing their ranks according to the tactics of their country"
Arrian
Arrian
Lucius Flavius Arrianus 'Xenophon , known in English as Arrian , and Arrian of Nicomedia, was a Roman historian, public servant, a military commander and a philosopher of the 2nd-century Roman period...
writes of a tactic using wagons.
Archaic
A Thracian javelinman would wield a crescent wicker shield and a couple of javelins. This troop type would persist into the classic and Hellenistic era. Organized groups of spearmen or javelin throwers were not used.Classical
In the 4th century BC, both infantry and cavalry troops started wearing helmets (some of leather) and some peltastPeltast
A peltast was a type of light infantry in Ancient Thrace who often served as skirmishers.-Description:Peltasts carried a crescent-shaped wicker shield called pelte as their main protection, hence their name. According to Aristotle the pelte was rimless and covered in goat or sheep skin...
s are seen with greaves.
Principal weapons in the 4th century BC (as well as earlier) were the spear and short knife.
Armor, when it was available (for the nobility), was at first leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
or bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
but iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
armour started appearing in the 4th century BC.
Thracian cavalry would wear leather armor or no armor and would be armed with javelins, a bow, or a spear. Only royal cavalry would wear armor. Oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
shields and peltes (even by heavy cavalry) were later used. Thracian cavalry was numerous.
The helmet type used mostly was the Chalcidian type helmet (over 60 have been found) and, to a much lesser extent, the Corinthian type helmet (one has been found), Phrygian type helmet
Phrygian type helmet
The Phrygian type helmet was a type of helmet that was originated in Classical Greece and was widely used in Thrace, Dacia, Italy and the Hellenistic world until well into the Roman Empire. It received its name due to its resemblance to the Phrygian cap....
, Attic type helmet and Scythian type helmet (an open face helmet) with many hybrid types occurring. We must note that not a single Illyrian type helmet
Illyrian type helmet
The "Illyrian" or "Greco-Illyrian" type helmet is an archaeological term that describes a style of bronze helmet, which in its later variations covered the entire head and neck, and was open-faced in all of its subsequent forms. Its earliest styles were first developed in Ancient Greece,...
has been found in the east Balkans.
Hellenistic
A Thracian footman (3rd century BC - 1st century BC) could wield a knife or sword, RhomphaiaRhomphaia
The Rhomphaia was a close combat bladed weapon used by the Thracians as early as 400 BC. Most rhomphaias were polearms, featuring a straight or slightly curved single-edged blade attached to a pole that was considerably shorter than the blade. Some rhomphaias had short handles that extended to...
, a helmet, two javelins and a light oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
wooden shield (or a heavier iron-rimmed and spined thureos). No Thracian infantry would wear greaves until the 4th century BC. Later native and Greek types started being used, the Greek type being rarer. Thracians used mixed Thracian and Greek equipment and armors from different time periods, to the point of wearing armors that ceased to be used elsewhere; this is something they did even in the classic era. Later they would adopt Roman armaments.
Thracian mercenaries
Thracians were highly sought as mercenaries due to their ferocity in battle, but they were infamous for their love of plunder. Thracian mercenaries played an important role in the affairs between Athenians and SpartaSparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
ns. The Odomantii were described as expensive mercenaries. In one instance in 413 BC
413 BC
Year 413 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cossus and Medullinus...
, Dii
Dii
The Dii were an independent Thracian tribe, swordsmen, who lived among the foothills of Mount Rhodope in Thrace. They often joined the ranks of organized armies as mercenaries or volunteers...
mercenaries were so expensive to pay that after they missed the boat to Sicily the Athenians sent them home. They were hired occasionally by Persians. Croesus
Croesus
Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 547 BC until his defeat by the Persians. The fall of Croesus made a profound impact on the Hellenes, providing a fixed point in their calendar. "By the fifth century at least," J.A.S...
had hired many Thracian swordsmen for the Lydian
Lydian
Lydian may refer to:* Lydian language, an ancient Anatolian language* Lydian script* Lydian mode, one of the modes derived from ancient Greek music* Lydian , a decorative typeface* Lydia, an ancient kingdom in western Anatolia...
army. They also served in the Republican Roman and Mithridatic armies, as well as the armies of the Diadocii. They provided up to one third of the cavalry in Macedonian armies and up to a fifth of their infantry (usually as levies or allies rather than mercenaries). They later formed one of the most important nationalities in the Roman army, contributing up to 20,000 troops at any one time to auxiliary units during the early empire.
Nobility
A Thracian chieftain could have access to armor and helmets. One could be equipped with a Chalcidian type helmet, a breastplate (this sort of armor is rarely found outside CreteCrete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
and only one has been found in Thrace, a bell-type cuirass) with a mitrai (a plate attached to the bottom of the cuirass to protect the adbomen) a wicker
Wicker
Wicker is hard woven fiber formed into a rigid material, usually used for baskets or furniture. Wicker is often made of material of plant origin, but plastic fibers are also used....
pelte, two javelins and a sword. Body armor was restricted to nobles and army commanders. Greek armor was in use in Thrace before the classical age. Nobles would sometimes wear pectorals on their chests as a sign of rank.
Navy
There was no Thracian navy but there were instances of Thracians turning to piracy. The Greek cities of the coast that paid tribute to the Thracian kings did sometimes provide the Thracian kings with ships.Fortifications
Even though Thracians attempted to build only one polisPolis
Polis , plural poleis , literally means city in Greek. It could also mean citizenship and body of citizens. In modern historiography "polis" is normally used to indicate the ancient Greek city-states, like Classical Athens and its contemporaries, so polis is often translated as "city-state."The...
, they had forts in hills built as places of refuge. Thracian villages had basic fortifications as Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
witnesses in Anabasis
Anabasis (Xenophon)
Anabasis is the most famous work, in seven books, of the Greek professional soldier and writer Xenophon. The journey it narrates is his best known accomplishment and "one of the great adventures in human history," as Will Durant expressed the common assessment.- The account :Xenophon accompanied...
. Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
in his Annals describes a Roman attack against a hill fort. There were many Thracian hill forts and some were inhabited. Other fortified Thracian towns existed at places like Hellis and Kabyle.
Scythian
Scythians akinakes, Scythian saddles and horse archer equipment to the Scythian type helmet also called Kuban type. It was an open-face bronze helmet that stopped halfway (like a skullcap) and had leather flaps with sewn bronze plates that protected the back part of the head including the nape and the sides of the face.The Scythian cavalry wedge had been adopted by the Thracian cavalry. Despite the power of the Odrysians except during the reigns of Teres and Sitalkes they were still weaker than the Scythians militarily. Scale armor was adopted as well as a composite metal cuirass. The most northern Thracian tribe, the Getai, were so similar to the Scythians that they were often confused with them. Odrysian Thracian kings made treaties and royal marriages as equals with the Scythians. The royal name Spartokos (Spartacus) is shared between some Thracian royalty and some Crimean Skythian kings.Celtic
Thracian warfare was effected by Celts in a variety of ways like the adoption of certain long swords though this must not have been universal among them. The TriballiTriballi
The Triballi were an ancient tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined....
had adopted Celtic equipment. Another weapon, the sica
Sica
The sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as...
was called Thracian sword (Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
,"Θρακικον ξίφος") though it did not originate from there, despite its popular usage (it was considered their national weapon). The sword's utmost origin was the Hallstatt culture
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
and the Thracians may have adopted or inherited it.
Hellenic and Hellenistic
GreeceAncient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
affected Thracian warfare early on with the xiphos and other swords, Greek type greaves
Greaves
Greaves may refer to*Greave, armour that protects the leg *Greaves Greaves is also a surname, which may refer to:*Jimmy Greaves, English footballer*John Greaves, English mathematician and antiquary...
, breastplates, a variety of helmets and other equipment. During the Hellenistic period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
more Greek armaments were adopted. Seuthes had adopted a Greek tactic for a night march (though night marches and attacks were a favourite Thracian tactic). Thracian kings were the first to be Hellenized. After some time Thracians became fully Hellenized.
Roman
Thracians of the Roman client states used RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
equipment. From 11 BC
11 BC
Year 11 BC was either a common year starting on Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Saturday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
onwards Thracians would start resembling Roman legionaries. Thracians in Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
, Dacia
Dacia
In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...
and the North were Romanized.
Barbarians
Thracians were regarded as warlike, ferocious, and savagely bloodthirsty. Thracians were seen as "Barbarians" by other peoples, namely the Greeks and the RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
in his Republic considers them, along with the Scythians, extravagant and high spirited; and in his Laws considers them a war-like nation, grouping them with Celts, Persians, Scythians, Iberians and Carthaginians. Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
wrote of Cotys' sober and gentle character being unlike that of most Thracians.Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
in his Annals writes of them being wild, savage and impatient, disobedient even to their own kings. Polyaenus
Polyaenus
Polyaenus or Polyenus vs. e]]; , "many proverbs") was a 2nd century Macedonian author, known best for his Stratagems in War , which has been preserved. The Suda calls him a rhetorician, and Polyaenus himself writes that he was accustomed to plead causes before the emperor...
and Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
write how the Thracians broke their pacts of truce with trickery. The Thracians struck their weapons against each other before battle and engaged in night attacks. Diegylis
Diegylis
Diegylis was a chieftain of the Thracian Caeni tribe and father of Ziselmius. He is described by ancient sources as extremely bloodthirsty....
was considered one of the most bloothirsty chieftains by Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
. An Athenian club for lawless youths was named after the Triballi
Triballi
The Triballi were an ancient tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined....
. The Dii
Dii
The Dii were an independent Thracian tribe, swordsmen, who lived among the foothills of Mount Rhodope in Thrace. They often joined the ranks of organized armies as mercenaries or volunteers...
were responsible for the worst atrocities of the Peloponnesian war
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
killing every living thing, including children and dogs, in Tanagra
Tanagra
Tanagra is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it...
and Mycalessos. Thracians would impale Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
heads on their spears and Rhomphaias such as in the Kallinikos skirmish in 171 BC
171 BC
Year 171 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crassus and Longinus...
. Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
writes that "they sell their children and let their wives commerce with whatever men they please".
List of Thracian battles
This is a list of battles or conflicts that Thracians had a leading or crucial role in, usually as mercenaries.- Myth Temenids against ThraciansThraciansThe ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
, Thracian defeat - 6th century BC PersianPersian peopleThe Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
s against Thracians, Thracian defeat - 492 BC492 BCYear 492 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Macerinus and Augurinus...
MardoniusMardoniusMardonius was a leading Persian military commander during the Persian Wars with Greece in the early 5th century BC.-Early years:Mardonius was the son of Gobryas, a Persian nobleman who had assisted the Achaemenid prince Darius when he claimed the throne...
against Thracians, Thracian defeat - 435 BC435 BCYear 435 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the First year of the Consulship of Iullus and Tricostus...
BithyniBithyniThe Bithyni were a Thracian tribe who, along with the Thyni, migrated to Bithynia in Anatolia - a region which they gave their name to. Herodotus, Xenophon and Strabo all assert that the Bithyni and Thyni settled together in what would be known as Bithynia and Thynia...
ans against Odrysae and Greek, Bithynian victory - 429 BC429 BCYear 429 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tricipitinus and Fidenas...
The imperial Odrysian army, including contingents from most Thracian tribes, defeats the Macedonians and brifely overruns MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
but retreats with the onset of winter after accepting Macedonian diplomatic overtures. - 424 BC424 BCYear 424 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Crassus, Fidenas, Rutilus and Iullus...
AutariataeAutariataeThe Autariatae or Autariates were an ancient people that eventually became the most powerful Illyrian tribe. Their territory was called...
against TriballiTriballiThe Triballi were an ancient tribe whose dominion was around the plains of southern modern Serbia and west Bulgaria, at the Angrus and Brongus and the Iskur River, roughly centered where Serbia and Bulgaria are joined....
, Thracian defeat - 401 BC401 BCYear 401 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Potitus, Cossus, Camillus, Ambustus, Mamercinus and Iullus...
ClearchusClearchus*Clearchus of Athens - comic poet*Clearchus of Heraclea - tyrant of Heraclea Pontica*Clearchus of Rhegium - sculptor, pupil of Eucheirus, teacher of Pythagoras*Clearchus of Soli - author, pupil of Aristotle*Clearchus of Sparta - general, son of Rhampias...
against Thracians, Thracian defeat - 394 BC394 BCYear 394 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Camillus, Poplicola, Medullinus, Albinus, Mamercinus and Scipio...
AgesilausAgesilausAgesilaus was a Greek historian who wrote a work on the early history of Italy, fragments of which are preserved in Plutarch's "Parallel Lives", and in Stobaeus' Florilegium....
against TrallesTralles (Thracian tribe)Tralles is the name of a Thracian tribe whose members were hired as mercenaries, torturers, and executioners.According to the Greek geographer Strabo the ancient city of Tralles, in the valley of the Maeander River in Asia Minor was founded by Trallians and Argives....
, Thracian defeat - 376 BC376 BCYear 376 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Tribunate of Mugillanus, Lanatus, Cornelius and Praetextatus...
ChabriasChabriasChabrias was a celebrated Athenian general of the 4th century BC. In 388 BC he defeated the Spartans and Aeginetans under Gorgopas at Aegina and commanded the fleet sent to assist Evagoras, king of Cyprus, against the Persians. In 378, when Athens entered into an alliance with Thebes against...
against Thracians, Thracian defeat - 4th century BC AntipaterAntipaterAntipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became Regent of all of Alexander's Empire. Antipater was one of the sons of a Macedonian nobleman called Iollas or Iolaus and his family were distant collateral relatives to the...
against Thracians, Thracian defeat - 342 BC342 BCYear 342 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ahala and Rutilus...
Phillip II of Macedon against Thracians, Thracian victory (Phillip was captured by Triballi, but after negotiations he subdued the Triballi tribe) - 335 BC335 BCYear 335 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calenus and Corvus...
Alexander the Great against Thracians and IllyriansIllyriansThe Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
at a Hemus pass (unidentified, maybe ShipkaShipkaShipka may refer to:* Shipka , in Bulgaria* Shipka Pass, in Bulgaria** Battle of Shipka Pass, during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877–78* "The volunteers at Shipka", a poem by Ivan Vazov, part of Epic of the Forgotten...
pass or EtropoleEtropoleEtropole is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located close to the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains in the valley of the Malki Iskar from Sofia.-History:...
pass), Thracian defeat - 335 BC335 BCYear 335 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calenus and Corvus...
Alexander the Great against Triballi at Lyginus river (RositsaRositsaThe Rositsa is a river in central northern Bulgaria, the most important tributary of the Yantra River. It is long and has a drainage basin of ....
or IskarIskarThe Iskar is, with a length of 368 km, the longest river that runs solely in Bulgaria, and a tributary of the Danube.The Iskar is formed by three rivers, the Cherni Iskar, Beli Iskar and Levi Iskar , with the source being accepted to be the Prav Iskar, a tributary of the Cherni Iskar...
), Thracian defeat - 335 BC335 BCYear 335 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calenus and Corvus...
Alexander the Great against Triballi at Peuce island on Danube, Thracian defeat (but Alexander with his ships missed taking the island to finish Triballi because of the strong flow of the river) - 331 BC331 BCYear 331 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Potitus and Marcellus...
AntipaterAntipaterAntipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became Regent of all of Alexander's Empire. Antipater was one of the sons of a Macedonian nobleman called Iollas or Iolaus and his family were distant collateral relatives to the...
against MemnonMemnonMemnon may refer to:* Saint Memnon the Wonderworker — early Christian saint from Egypt, hermit and hegumen of one of Egyptian monasteries* Memnon and those erroneously named after him in the Graeco-Roman era:...
and Seuthes IIISeuthes IIISeuthes III was a king of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace from ca. 331 BC to ca. 300 BC, at first tributary to Alexander the Great of Macedon....
, Thracian defeat - 323 BC323 BCYear 323 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Longus and Cerretanus...
LysimachusLysimachusLysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...
against Seuthes III, Thracian defeat - 279 BC279 BCYear 279 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Saverrius and Mus...
GaulsGaulsThe Gauls were a Celtic people living in Gaul, the region roughly corresponding to what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland and Northern Italy, from the Iron Age through the Roman period. They mostly spoke the Continental Celtic language called Gaulish....
against SeuthopolisSeuthopolisSeuthopolis 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...
, Thracian defeat - 214 BC214 BCYear 214 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verrucosus and Marcellus...
Thracians against TylisTylisTylis 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...
, Thracian victory - 110 BC110 BCYear 110 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Rufus and Albinus...
Minucius Rufus against BessiBessiThe Bessi were an independent Thracian tribe who lived in a territory ranging from Moesia to Mount Rhodope in southern Thrace, but are often mentioned as dwelling about Haemus, the mountain range that separates Moesia from Thrace and from Mount Rhodope to the northern part of Hebrus...
and ScordisciScordisciThe Scordisci were an Iron Age tribe centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus , Dravus and Danube rivers. They were historically notable from the beginning of the third century BC until the turn of the common era...
, Thracian defeat - AD 77Year 7 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Nerva...
Marcus Valerius Messalla MessallinusMarcus Valerius Messalla MessallinusMarcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus was the son of the Roman famous orator Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, whom he resembled in character, and wife Calpurnia.He was a senator and consul in 3 BC and AD 3...
, GermanicusGermanicusGermanicus Julius Caesar , commonly known as Germanicus, was a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a prominent general of the early Roman Empire. He was born in Rome, Italia, and was named either Nero Claudius Drusus after his father or Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle...
& RhoemetalcesRhoemetalces- Thracian kings :* Rhoemetalces I, ruled from 12 BC to 12 AD* Rhoemetalces II, ruled from 19 AD to 26 AD* Rhoemetalces III, ruled from 26 AD to 46 AD- Other :* Remetalk Point on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, named for Rhoemetalces III...
against DalmatiaDalmatiaDalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
ns and Pannonians, Marcus Valeurius victory, it is not known how long Rhoemetalces participated
See also
- Dacian warfareDacian warfareThe history of Dacian warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the 2nd century AD in the region defined by Ancient Greek and Latin historians as Dacia. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Dacian tribes and their kingdoms in the Balkans...
- Illyrian warfareIllyrian warfareThe history of Illyrian warfare spans from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC up to the 1st century AD in the region of Illyria and in southern Italy where the Iapygian civilization flourished....
- Celtic warfareCeltic warfareThe history of Celtic warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the first few centuries AD and it concerns the distinct styles of warfare of the peoples known as Celts. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Celtic tribes and their kingdoms...
- List of ancient tribes in Thrace and Dacia
- List of rulers of Thrace and Dacia
- RhomphaiaRhomphaiaThe Rhomphaia was a close combat bladed weapon used by the Thracians as early as 400 BC. Most rhomphaias were polearms, featuring a straight or slightly curved single-edged blade attached to a pole that was considerably shorter than the blade. Some rhomphaias had short handles that extended to...
- SicaSicaThe sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as...