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(Ῥομβίτης/ Rhombítēs). Two rivers flowing from the east into the Maeotis, where they are abundant in fish, distinguished by their epithets 'the Great' and 'the Lesser' (Str. 11,2,4; cf. Ptol. 5,9,3 f.; 26; Amm. Marc. 22,8,29). [German version] [1] R. Megas (ὁ μέγας Ῥ./ ho mégas R., 'the Great R.'). Further north, modern Jeja; according to Str. ibid., 800 stadia from the mouth of the Tanais (Don). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) [German version] [2] R. Elatton (ὁ ἐλάττων Ῥ./ ho eláttōn R., 'the Lesser R.'). Further south; according to Str. ibid., 800 stadia from R. [1…

[German version] (Δρουσιπάρα; Drousipára). Important station on the Amphipolis ─ Hadrianopolis ─ Byzantium road in south-east Thrace, east of Büyük Kariştiran/Turkey (earliest reference Ptol. 3,11,7; also in It. Ant. 137,7; 323,3; It. Burd. 569; Theophanes, 1,234,2). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Thraci, Thracia | | Moesi, Moesia (Καβύλη, Kabýlē). City near today's Kabile on the bend of the river Tonzo in the district of Jambol/Bulgaria. Traces of settlements have been documented from the late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. During the mid 5th cent., C. developed intensive connections to the Aegean region. A mountain sanctuary with Cybele relief was created on the acropolis. In 342/41 BC, C. was conquered by Philip II (Dem. Or. 8,44; 10,14)…

[German version] (Ἀορσοι; Áorsoi). Group of tribes of the Sarmatae in the steppe region of the west and north coast of the  Caspian Sea, as far as the Maeotian ( Maeotis) river Achardeus and the lower reaches of the Tanais (Ptol. 3,5,10; Plin. HN 4,80). Strabo also mentions οἱ δ ̔̃ἄνω Ἄορσοι ( hoi d' ánō Áorsoi 11,5,8). They were known through their lively trade with  Media and  Armenia; their king Spadines provided 20,000 mounted men for Pharnaces (Str. 11,5,8). In 50 BC their prince Eunones supported Rome against the Siraci (Tac. Ann. 13,15). It was from the A. that the  Alani sprang. von Bred…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Thraci, Thracia | Colonization | Persian Wars (Καρδία; Kardía). Town on the northern face of the Thracian Chersonesus on the  Melas Kolpos (Ps.-Scyl. 67; Ps.-Scymn. 698f.; Str. 7a,1,52;54), not localized (the modern Bakla Liman?), described in Dem. Or. 23,182 as the gateway to Thrace. It was founded towards the end of the 7th cent. BC by Miletus, possibly with colonists from Clazomenae (Str. loc. cit), and re-established by  Miltiades with Attic coloni…

[German version] (Μάδυτος; Mádytos). City on the Thracian Chersonesus between Elaeus and Sestus, founded by Lesbos (6th cent. BC; Scyl. 67, Ps.-Scymn. 709; Str. 7, fr. 55). North of M., Xerxes had the pontoon bridge built over the Hellespontus (Hdt. 7,33; 9,120). In 465 BC, M. was a member of the Delian League (Plut. Cimon 4); a few tributes are recorded for 443/440 BC (ATL 1,336f.). In the Peloponnesian War, M. was used as a harbour by the Athenian fleet (Xen. Hell. 1,1,3). Conquered in 200 BC by …

[German version] (Κριοῦ μέτωπον, ‘Ram's Forehead’). The designation of the two southernmost peaks of the Taurian  Chersonesus [2]: Cape Capyc and Cape Ai Todor (Plin. HN 4,86; Ps.-Scymn. 953; Ptol. 3,6;2) opposite Cap Carambis in Paphlagonia. According to legend the golden ram carried  Phrixus from there to the Colchi (Ps.-Plut. De fluviis 14,4). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. D. Blavatskij, Očerki noennogo dela v antičnih gosudarstvah severnogo Pričernomor'ja, 1954, 133f.

[German version] (Πακτύη/ Paktýē). Fortress on the Propontic coast of Chersonesus [1], to the south of present-day Bolayır Iskelesi (Ps.-Scyl. 67; Str. 7a,1,52; 54; 56). Here stood the east end of the wall which ran from Miltiades [1] via the Chersonesus [1] to Cardia (Hdt. 6,36; Scymn. 711). Alcibiades [3] retreated here in 407 BC after the loss of his position as strategos (Nep. Alcibiades 7,4; Diod. Sic. 13,74,2). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography Müller 2, 895f.  B. Isaak, The Greek Settlements in Thrace until the Macedonian Conquest, 1988.

[German version] (Μυγδόνες; Mugdónes). Thracian inhabitants of the Mygdonia [1] region (Μυγδονία/ Mygdonía; Macedonia) between the lower Axios, the Gulf of Thermae, the Bolbe and the Kruša and Bogdanska mountains in the east (Hdt. 7,123f.; 127; Strab. 7a,1,11; 36). At the time of Herodotus (5th cent. BC) it was home to groups of Paeones, Sitones and Crestones; according to Thucydides 2,99,4 the Edones were expelled from Mygdonia by the Macedonian kings (after 479 BC? [4. 15]), at the time of Strabo it was i…

[German version] (Μαιῶται; Maiôtai). Greek collective name for the tribes on the east coast of the Maeotis and in the lower and middle reaches of Kuban/north-west Caucasus (Hdt. 4,123; Str. 11,2,2-4; 11). These probably include Iranian and Caucasian tribes of the Sindi, Cercetae, Toretae, Dandarii and Psessii among others. Farming and fishing formed the primary basis of their livelihood (Str. 11,2,4). They traded actively with Tanais in particular. The M. had to pay tributes to the Regnum Bosporanu…

[German version] (Βεργούλη; Bergoúlē). Lüle-Burgas on the Erghene, Thracian settlement and important statio of the province of Thracia (Ptol. 3,11,7), called Arcadiopolis from the beginning of the 5th cent. AD. In AD 441, it was threatened by the Huns, and in AD 473, captured by the Goths under  Theoderic. In the Middle Ages, it was a strong fortress. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. Zlatarski, Istorija na bălgarskata dăržava prez srednite vekove 1,1, 21994, pass.

[German version] (Ὑγιαίων; Hygiaíōn). Ruler of the Kingdom of the Bosporus ( Regnum Bosporanum), c. 220-200 BC. Successor of  Leucon II, but not as king, rather as árchōn, also portrayed without a royal diadem. Maybe not a Spartocid. On brick stamps and coins ἄρχοντος Ὑγιαίοντος. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. F. Gaidukevič, Das Bosporan. Reich, 1971, 93, 95.

[German version] (Πάγγαιον/ Pángaion, Παγγαῖον ὄρος/ Pangaîon óros). A mountain chain (up to 1956 m in height) forested in Antiquity, extending parallel to the northern Aegaean coast between the lower Strymon and Kavalla (25 km long, 16 km wide) isolated from other mountain ridges; still called P. today. With its rich gold and silver deposits it was constantly in the centre of disputes (Str. 7a,1,34). Ore production was probably begun in the 7th cent. BC by the Pieres, the Odomanti and the Satrae (Hdt. 7,112), but also by Thasos and the cities of its peraía . At a very early stage Athen…

[German version] (Ἀλανοί; Alanoí). Iranian alliance of tribes north of the  Caspian Sea, from the Caucasus to the Tanais. A. appear in sources since the end of the Roman republic in place of the Sarmatian tribes. During a campaign against  Mithridates VI, Pompey came upon A. (Luc. 8,133). Since the end of the 1st cent. AD there were invasions into Media and Armenia; under Hadrian (AD 117 to 138), they threatened Cappadocia. For their culture, see Lucian, Tox. 51; Amm. Marc. 30,2,3; Iord. Get. 24. A…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Thraci, Thracia | Diadochi and Epigoni (Σευθόπολις/ Seuthópolis). Residence city of king Seuthes [4] III of Thrace, 3,5 km to the south of modern Koprinka (municipality of Kazanlak in Bulgaria) at the confluence of the Goljama Varovica and the Tonzos (modern Tundža). A city wall of 890 m enclosed a pentagon (orthogonal city layout) of 5 hectares. In the agora there was a temple to Dionysus, with a great altar in its centre. In the northern part of S. there was a fortress defended by a wall of its own (4620 m2) with the residence …

[German version] (Μόσχοι; Mόschoi). Caucasian tribe between Colchis and Armenia. The Moschikḗ was situated in the hinterland of Phasis (Μοσχική/ Moschikḗ, Str. 11,2,17), the Moschian mountains were to the south of Colchis (Str. 11,2,15; Moschorum tractus, Plin. HN 6,29). Hdt. 7,78 describes the M.'s primitive weapons (wooden helmets, small shields and lances). Under Dareius [1] I. and Xerxes the M. were part of the 19th Persian satrapy (Hecat. FGrH 1 F 288). A shrine to Leucothea and the so-called oracle of Phrixus, which was plu…

[German version] (Ἰλούρατον; Iloúraton). Graeco-Scythian settlement north of the Curubas lake in the interior of modern Kerč, c. 17 km from Panticapaeum. Traces of settlement since the Neolithic; founded in the middle of the 1st cent. AD. The results of the excavations are representative for other inland settlements in the Bosporan kingdom of the Roman period: I. was naturally and artificially well fortified. The inhabitants were military peasants who engaged in agriculture and livestock breeding, Hellenized des…

[German version] Ethnicon for the place name Madytus, often erroneously regarded as a small Thracian tribe, mentioned only in Liv. 38,40,7 in connection with the attack by Thracian tribes on Cn. Manlius Vulso in 188 BC. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Βρύγες, Βρῦγαι, Βρύγοι, Βρίγες; Brýges, Brŷgai, Brŷgoi, Bríges). Thracian tribe in western Macedonia. In 492/91 BC, the B. ravaged the Persian army under Mardonius (Hdt. 6,45); later, they provided troops for Xerxes' infantry (Hdt. 7,185). They are often erroneously equated with the Phrygians. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography Chr. Danov, Altthrakien, 1976, 271ff.

(Θεοδωρόπολις/  Theodōrópolis, also Θεοδωρούπολις/ Theodōroúpolis). Name of several towns and forts in the northern Balkan peninsula founded by Iustinianus [1] I and named after his wife Theodora [2], which have not all been located. [German version] [1] City in Moesia Secunda City in Moesia Secunda (Moesi, with map) on the Danube (Ister [1]), between Securisca (modern Cherkovitsa) and Iatrus (modern Krivina; Proc. Aed. 4,7,5). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) [German version] [2] Fort in Dacia Ripiensis Fort in Dacia Ripiensis (Proc. Aed. 4,6,18) on the right b…

[German version] (Μελαντιάς/ Melantiás, Melantiana). Last station before (and 150 stadia from) Constantinople on the via Egnatia , where the Athyras flowed into the Propontis (Agathias 5,14,20; It. Ant. 138; 230); its precise location is unknown. The emperor Valens spent several days at his villa in M. before the battle of Adrianopolis in AD 378 (Amm. Marc. 31,11,1; 12,1). In AD 558, M. was attacked by the Cutrigur Huns (Agathias 5,13). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Νιψαῖοι/ Nipsaîoi). Thracian tribe west of Mesambria, probably on the eastern slopes of the Strandža mountain range to about Salmydessos. When the Persian army under Darius [1] marched through in a northerly direction against the Scythians in 513 BC, the N. subjugated themselves to Darius without bloodshed (Hdt. 4,93). Possibly identical with the Tranipsi (Xen. An. 7,2,32; Hsch. s.v. Τρανιψοί/ Tranipsoí). At the end of the 5th cent. they came under the rule of the Odrysae which is why they are not longer mentioned in later sources. The place name Νίψα/ Nípsa in Steph. …

[German version] (Ῥοδόπη/ Rhodópē). Mountain range stretching from the northern shores of the Aigaion Pelagos (Aegean Sea) to the Thracian plain around Philippopolis, mostly high, up to 2000 m in height, and inaccessible, modern Rhodopi, east of the mountain chain border between Greece and Bulgaria. According to ancient tradition R. also included the modern Rila and Pirin chains (Hdt. 4,49; 8,116; Thuc. 2,96-98; Str. 7,5,1; 7, fr. 36). Rich ore production (gold, silver, copper). R. was the area whe…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Pontos Euxeinos | Thraci, Thracia | Christianity | | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Colonization | Moesi, Moesia | Pertinax | Rome | Rome | Balkans, languages (Τόμοι/ Tómoi, Τόμις/ Tómis, Τῶμις/ Tômis; Lat. Tomi). Colony of Miletus [2] (Ps.-Scymn. 765) on the west coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos), modern Constanţa (Romania). T. was probably founded in the 6th cent. BC -- although Jer. Chron. 95b,4, lists the founding date as 657 BC. In Plinius [1] the Older (HD 4,44), T. is referred to as Eumenia (originally perhaps an…

[German version] Roman province in the north of the Balkan peninsula, established in AD 45. Its boundaries were: to the east the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos I.) from Apollonia [2] to the Bosporus [1] including Byzantium (Ptol. 3,11; Hdn. 3,1,5; from no later than AD 201, Mesambria [1] was also part of T.); to the the south the northern coast of the Aegean Sea including the islands of Proconnesus, Thasos, Samothrace and possibly also at times Imbros; to the west the province of Macedonia (border on …

[German version] (Τίριζις ἄκρα/ Tírizis ákra; Latin Tiristis promunturium). 'Cape' or fortress on the western coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos; Str. 7,6,1; cf. Mela 2,22), on the coast road between Callatis to the north and Dionysopolis to the west, modern Kaliakra (Ptol. 3,10,8: Tiristría ē Tiristrìs ákra; Arr. Peripl. p. eux. 35). T.' natural safe position on the steep coast had already been of useful service to the Thracian Terizi. Lysimachus [2] hid his treasure from the attacking Thraci under Seuthes [4] III there at the end of the 4th cent. BC (Str. 7,6,1). The comes foederator…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Xenophon | | | Colonization | Moesi, Moesia | Natural catastrophes | Peloponnesian War | Pergamum | Persian Wars | Delian League | Athenian League (Second) (Πέρινθος; Périnthos). Harbour town, established by Samos in 602 BC on a peninsula on the Thracian Propontis coast (Ps.-Scymn. 713-715; Str. 7a,1,56; Diod. Sic. 16,76; Plin. HN 4,47; Colonisation IV), where later the via Egnatia joined the coast road, modern Marmara Ereğlisi. The place name is of pre-Greek origin (cf. the ending -inthos). Around 570/560 BC, P. became …

[German version] (Θυσσαγέται/ Thyssagétai). Tribe of Volga Finns (Ugro-Finnic peoples) in the area of the trade route from the Tanais [1] (modern Don) to the Agrippaei, i.e. to the central Urals, seven days' travel to the northeast of the Budini and close neighbours with the Iyrcae (Hdt. 4,22; Plin. HN 6,19). This was the source region of the four great rivers, the Lycus [16], the Oarus (modern Kama), the Tanais and the Syrgis (Hdt. 4,123); it could hence be that the area where the Oarus flows into…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Pontos Euxeinos | Commerce | Colonization | Patricius (Διοσκουρίας; Dioskourías). Greek pólis and port (Ps.-Scyl. 81) on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, mod. Suḫumi/Abhazia, according to Eratosthenes (Str. 1,3,2; 2,5,25) the easternmost coastal town of the Pontus Euxinus. No exact dates of foundation; the pottery suggests that it was founded by Milesians in the 6th cent. BC (Arr. Peripl. p. eux. 10,4; Anon. Per. p. E. 7B). Important commercial centre …

[German version] (Καμασαρύη Φιλότεκνος; Kamasarýē Philóteknos). Daughter of the Bosporan king Spartocus V and wife of his successor, Paerisades III, very active politically and mentioned in many inscriptions along with him (e.g. sacrificial list from Didyma, CIG 2, 2855, 178/7 BC; Syll.3 439 from Delphi among others). IOSPE I2 19 ( Panticapaeum) mentions K. as ruler of the Regnum Bosporanum and her son (?) Paerisades IV. She married Argotas before 160 BC. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography B. N. Grakov, Materialy no istorii Skifii v grečeskih nadpisjah Ba…

[German version] (Νικωνία, Νικώνιον/ Nikōnía, Nikṓníon). A town in the north of the Black Sea area, northeast of the Tyras (Dniester) estuary, opposite Ophiusa (Str. 7,3,16; Νικώνιον/ Nikṓníon: Peripl. m. eux. 61 GGM 1 p. 418; Ps.-Scyl. 68; Ptol. 3,10,16) and near the present-day village of Roxolany. Steph. Byz. s.v. Νικωνία mistakenly located the town on the Danube. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography M.V. Agbunov, Davn'ogrečeskii Nikonij, in: Arheologija 32, 1979, 17-25  G.A. Koselenko, Antičnye gosudarstva Severnogo Pričernomor'ja, 1984, 29f.  M.L. Ber…

[German version] Praetor in 59 BC, thereafter probably governor of Africa (Cic. Flacc. 85). His relationship to the quaestor of Verres (T. V.; cf. V. [I 2]) and the tresvir monetalis (Tresviri [4]) T. V. Sabinus, whose dates are disputed (BMCRR, no. 3370; RRC, no. 404; MRR 2,455; 3,219), is unclear. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography T. Spiridonov, Istoričeska geografija na thrakijskite plemena, 1983, 19, 58.

(Παιρισάδης/ Pairisádēs, Παρισάδης/ Parisádēs, Βηρισάδης/ Bērisádēs). Royal name of Iranian origin among the Bosporanean Spartocids (Spartocus) and the Thracian Odrysae. [German version] [1] P. I. Ruler of the Regnum Bosporanum Ruler of the  Regnum Bosporanum, son of Leucon [3] I., 'árchōn of the Sindi, of all Maeotae, Thataeans and Dosci' [1. no. 8], husband of Kamasarye. P. ruled from  349/8-344 BC together with his brothers Spartocu II. and Apollonius, dividing the territory of the kingdom between themselves. In 347/6, a trade agreement with Athens was renewed by them (Syll.3 …

[German version] (Ζύγιοι/ Zýgioi). People on the eastern coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos) who lived between the Achaei [2] and the Heniochi (Str. 2,5,31; 11,2,1; 11,2,13 f.: Ζυγοί/ Zygoí; Dionys. Per. 687 with Eust. ad locum; Avien. Descriptio orbis terrae 871) and financed their way of life, tolerated by the Regnum Bosporanum, by means of piracy on the coasts of the Pontos Euxeinos (Str. 11,2,12). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. F. Gajdukevič, Das Bosporanische Reich, 1976, 311, 343.

[German version] (Κίκονες; Kíkones). Tribal group on the northern Aegean coast between Nestus and Hebrus, the later settlement area of the Bistones and Sapaei, in the Homeric epics named as allies of the Trojans (Hom. Il. 2,846f.; 17,72f.). Homer distinguishes between the coastal C. and those in the northern mountains. Ismarus is described as a wealthy city of the C., and herds of sheep and cattle along with viticulture are also mentioned (Hom. Od. 9,39-59). It is doubtful whether the C. belonged t…

(Σαυρομάτης; Sauromátēs). Name of Bosporan kings; see also Sarmatae. [German version] [1] King of the Regnum Bosporanum, c. 100 AD King of the Regnum Bosporanum, AD 93/4-123/4, son of Rhescuporis II; S. conducted successful wars against the Scythae (IOSPE 22 26) and pirates in the area of the northern Pontos. Many new buildings in Gorgippia and Panticapaeum attest to the increase in prosperity under his rule. There was a column in honour of S. in Sinope (IOSPE 22 40). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) [German version] [2] King of the Regnum Bosporanum, c. 200 AD King of the Regnum …

[German version] (Θυνία; Thynía). Island off the Bithynian southeastern coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos;  Str. 12,3,7; Ptol. 5,1,15; Steph. Byz. s.v. Θυνιάς), modern island of Kefken, approximately 40 km to the west of the mouth of the Sangarius. There was a sanctuary to Apollo there (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 2,684). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Μελινοφάγοι/ Melinophágoi; ‘Millet-eaters’). Greek name of a Thracian tribe located between Salmydessus and Byzantium. According to Xen. An. 7,2, the M. settled to the east of the Melanditae, Thyni and Tranipsii (cf. Theop. FGrH 115 F 223). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography T. Spiridonov, Istoriceska geografija na trakijskite plemena, 1983, 41, 108 f.

[German version] (Ἠδωνοί; Ēdōnoí, Ἠδῶνες; Ēdônes). Thracian tribe on the lower reaches of the Strymon and on the Pangaeum. Their region was rich in mines and forests and therefore much embattled. Records of the E. exist for the 6th to the 4th cent. BC. They were subjugated in Megabazus' first European campaign. The Milesian tyrant Histiaeus received the settlement of Myrcinus from Darius and had a city built in its place (Hdt. 5,11; 23; 124). His son-in-law Aristagoras [1] fell in the fight against t…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Persian Wars (Βισάνθη; Bisánthē). Town on the Propontis, later Resisthon (both names in Plin. HN 4,43; 48; cf. It. Ant. 176,1), modern Rodosto; possibly a foundation from Samos (Mela 2,24). Hdt. 7,137 mentions B. for 484 BC, when it was part of Sitalces' kingdom. Later, it was possibly in the possession of Alcibiades (Nep. Alc. 7,4), then part of the kingdom of Seuthes II, who offered B., together with Ganus and Neon Teichos to Xenophon (Xen. An. 7,2,38). Fortified by Justinian (Procop. Aed. 4,9; 17: Rhaidestos); destroyed by K…

[German version] (Ἀγάθυρσοι; Agáthyrsoi). Scythian or northern Thracian tribe on the upper reaches of the Mureş, north-east of the  Neuri (Hdt. 4,48; 4,100; 102). For Scythian-Agathyrsian relations, see Hdt. 4,78: Spargapeithes, a king of the A.; 4,119; 125). Because of the importance of the Dacian tribes, little mention is made of the A. around the end of the 1st cent. BC (Ptol. 3,5,10). For the mythological eponymous hero Ἀγάθυρσος ( Agáthyrsos) in the Greek version of the Scythian myth regarding their origin, see Hdt. 4,10. Later references are strongly depende…

[German version] (Κρηστῶνες, Κρηστωναῖοι, Γραστῶνες). Thracian tribe located south-east of the Mygdonia and in the south up to Lake Bolbe (Aristot. Mir. 122). Xerxes marched through their land on his approach from  Acanthus [1] to  Therme. The stream Echeidoros which rises near the C. could not provide enough water for his army (Hdt. 7,124; 127). At that time, the C. were led by a Bisaltaean king, which may point to the existence of an anti-Persian military alliance (Hdt. 8,116). The C. lived in s…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Patricius (Μυρμήκιον; Myrmḗkion). Harbour town on the European shore of the Bosporus [2] on Cape M. (Μ. ἄκρον; M. ákron), founded in the second quarter of the 6th cent. BC. It is uncertain whether M. had been an autonomous Ionian colony or a foundation by Panticapaeum (Ps.-Scyl. 68; Str. 7,4,5).  It is located close to the modern Karantinnaya. Quite early on, M. joined the  Bosporan League, led by Panticapaeum. M. experienced its greatest prosperity in the Hellen…

[German version] People between the central reaches of the Vistula (modern Wisła, German Weichsel) and the modern Daugava (German Düna), to the north of the Sarmatae and the Sciri (Plin. HN 4,97; Tac. Germ. 46,2; Ptol. 3,5,19: Οὐενέδαι/ Ouenédai). According to Iord. Get. 34 they settled between the Peucini and the Fenni and incorporated various Slav tribes in the region. It is assumed that the V. were bearers of the Przeworsk culture (2nd-6th cents. AD). From the term V. the name for a Slavonic people, the Wends, developed. It is un…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Thraci, Thracia | Colonization | Pergamum | Persian Wars | Athenian League (Second) | Education / Culture (Σηστός/ Sēstós). City on the European shore of the Hellespont (Hom. Il. 2,836) where it is narrowest (known as the Heptastádion, Str. 2,5,22; 7a,1,52), connected over a stretch of about 60 m by walls with the anchorage of Apobathra (Theop. FGrH 115 F 390; Str. 13,1,22), probably near modern Yalıkavat. Founded c. 600 BC on the site of a Thracian settlement by Lesbos (Ps.-Scymn. 709 f.). It was …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Coloniae | Moesi, Moesia Originally Thracian settlement on the   via Egnatia , near the modern Kestridze at the turn-off towards Aenus and Thracian Chersonesus (Plin. HN 4,47; Ptol. 3,11,7; on vessels found at Rogozen). Seat of a bishopric; in 312 noted by Hierocles as Theodosioupolis. Incursions by  Goths (Procop. Goth. 8,27,8). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Ἀλβανοί; Albanoí). Group of tribes in  Albania (Str. 11,4), in modern Dagestan. They fought with  Darius against  Alexander III [4] (Arr. Anab. 3,8,5; 11,4; 13,1). A. appear again in connection with the 3rd Mithridatic War (74 to 63 BC): Oroizes, the king of A., attacked Pompey in 65 BC with 60,000 men infantry and 22,000 riders at Cyrus (today Kura), when the former was on the march from Armenia to the Caspian Sea through their land. Beaten, they made peace with Rome (Liv. Per. 1…

[German version] (Θυνοί/ Thynoí). Thracian tribe in the southeast of Thrace (Thraci, Thracia), to the north of Perinthus and Selymbria on the upper reaches of the Agrianes (modern Ergene; cf. Xen. An. 7,2,22; 7,4,2) probably as far as the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos) coast to the north of Salmydessus [2]. Herodotus does not mention the T. among the tribes subjugated by Darius [1] I in Thrace in 513 BC, and this suggests that they did not consolidate there until after the withdrawal of the Achaemenid…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Thraci, Thracia | | Coloniae | Daci, Dacia | Legio | Limes Capital of  Dacia Apulensis, in southern Transylvania on the Mureçs; important crossroads (Ptol. 3,8,4), today's Alba Julia. Economy based on agriculture and gold ore. Under  Trajanus the camp ( c. 24-30 hectares in size) of the legio XIII Gemina was here. To the south the municipium Aurelium Apulense (CIL III 986), under Emperor Commodus colonia Aurelia Apulensis. Nearby, the colonia Nova Apulensis (inscription of AD 250) developed over an older Dacian sett…

[German version] (Ξάνθοι; Xánthoi). Thracian people (Hecat. FGrH 1 F 180), whose location cannot be determined; mentioned in Str. 13,1,21 in a list of Thracian/Trojan homonyms as a parallel to the River Xanthus (Hom. Il. 20,74; Scamander) in the Troad. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Τέαρος/ Téaros). Tributary of the Contadescus (modern Kaynarca), which in turn flows into the Agrianes, a tributary of the Hebrus. According to Hdt. the T. had healing water from 38 springs, some warm, some cold; the area of the source was two days' journey both from Apollonia [2] on the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos) and from Heraeum near Perinthus on the Propontis. On his campaign against the Scythae in 513 BC Darius [1] I erected a column with  inscription on the T. (Hdt. 4,89 f.)…

[German version] (Βέος; Béos). Ancient settlement between Aprus and Resisto, today's Bunarli. The name B. often appears on products of Thracian Hellenistic toreutic: Rogozen, Vraza, Borovo and Agighiol. Probably identical with the mutatio Bedizus (IH 570,1; 601,9). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography G. Mihailov, Rogozen Linguistique Balkanique 1, 1987, 5-19.

[German version] (Δόλογκοι; Dólonkoi). Thracian group of tribes that settled on the  Chersonesus [1] in the 6th/5th cents. BC. Harassed by the Apsinthii in the north, the D. on the advice of the Delphic Oracle in 561/560 BC brought in  Miltiades [1], who was considered the oikistḗs. He arrived in the Chersonesus with political opponents of Peisistratus and ruled over them as tyrant. His second successor, Miltiades [2], fled at the Scythian invasion of the Chersonesus (516/5), but was then recalled by the D. (Hdt. 6,34-40 [1. 79-82, 565-567]…

[German version] (Σινδοί/ Sindoí). Population of Sindice on the Taman peninsula to the north of the river Hypanis between the Toretae, the Dandarii and the Psessi with capital Sindus (or Sindicus Limen: Str. 11,2,14; Ps.-Scymn. 888; cf. Hdt. 4,28; Hellanicus FGrH 4 F 69). Their culture exhibits considerable Scythian elements. Because of their strong relations with the Regnum Bosporanum they became intensively Hellenized at an early stage. Kings and coins are known from the 5th century BC onwards. T…

[German version] (Στρυμών; Strymṓn). Thracian-Macedonian river, which rises in the Scombrus mountains (Hdt. 8,115), flows through the settlement areas of the Maedi, the Agrianes, the Laeii, the Sinti, the Bisaltae and the Odomanti (Thuc. 2,96,3; Str. 7,7,4), then through the Prasias Limne and, after 408 km, into the Aegean Sea to the west of Eion, modern Struma. The S. was navigable in its lower reaches. Xerxes had a bridge built over the S. at Ennea Hodoi (later Amphipolis) in 481 BC (Hdt. 7,24-25…

[German version] (Βισάλται; Bisáltai). Thracian tribe west of the Strymon and the Crestones, south of the Maedi and the Derrones. Silver mines and political independence enabled them to mint their own coins at the end of the 6th/beginning of the 5th cent. BC. At that time, the B. ruled over the Crestones (Thuc. 4,109) and fought against the Persians (Hdt. 8,116). A military leader by the name of Naris, who had supposedly captured Cardia, is mentioned by Charon (FGrH 262 F 9). The power of Athens and later of the Macedonians put an end to the political influence of the B. von Bredow, Iris (Bieti…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Byzantium (Κύψελα; Kýpsela, Cypsala). Inland Thracian town on the lower left bank of the  Hebrus at the via Egnatia (Str. 7,7,4), in a very marshy area (Str. 7,7,4; 6; 7a,1,9f.; 48; 57), mod. Ipsala. In the 4th cent. BC, C. was residence and mint of the  Odrysae dynasty. Because it was in Ptolemaic possession, the town was besieged by  Antiochus [3] II in 254 BC (Polyaenus, Strat. 4,16); in c. 200 BC, it was taken by Philip V. In 188 BC, Cn. Manlius Vulso was attacked by Thracians near C. In the Byzantine perio…

[German version] (Κερκίνη; Kerkínē). Uninhabited mountain chain forming the border between Sinti and Maedi in the south and Paeones in the north, through which in 429 BC  Sitalces marched to Doberus against the Macedonian King Perdiccas II. To that end, he himself had to have a path built through the mountains (Thuc. 2,98,1f.). The C. are equated with the mountain ridges of Belasica, Orbelos, or Kruša in the border region between Macedonia and Thrace. It is possible though that the name C. refers t…

[German version] (Γήπαιδες; Gḗpaides). Germanic tribe, related to the  Goti according to Iord. Get. 17,94. The original area of settlement was located in the Vistula-Nogat Delta. Groups of G. began to move south-east from the 2nd half of the 3rd cent. AD onward. In 249, the son of Philippus Arabs was defeated by the G. in Dacia (Chron. pasch. 503 de Boor). The G. participated in the great anti-Roman coalition of the Germani in c. 263. C. 290, battles erupted between the G. and the Vandali against the Taifali and the Visigoths (Pan. Lat. 287 Baerens). The G. took part in…

[German version] (Θυνιάς; Thyniás). Cape, about 36 km to the north of Salmydessus [2] (Arr. Peripl. p. eux. 37; Mela 2,23), modern Cape Iğneada, or bay (Str. 7,6,1: T. chṓra = 'area of land'; Str. 12,3,3: T. aktḗ = 'coast'; Hecat. FGrH 1 F 166; Scymn. 728 f.; Ptol. 3,11,4) on the southwestern coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos). The bay provided a good place of anchorage in the territory of Apollonia [2] (Scymn. 728). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography D. Müller, Topografischer Bildkommentar zu den Historien Herodots: Kleinasien, 1997, 922-924  B. Isaac, The G…

[German version] (Δύναμις; Dýnamis). Daughter of Pharnaces; wife and successor of Asander. For a short time autonomous queen of the  Bosporan kingdom. Her second husband was the anti-Roman  Scribonius; he died during the attack of Agrippa [1] and Polemon, whom D. had to marry on Roman orders (in 14 BC, Cass. Dio 54,24,4-6). Shortly afterwards she retired with her son  Aspurgus (perhaps to the residence found 15 km from Novorosijsk). Augustus restored her to the throne after the death of Polemon. Sh…

[German version] One of the six provinces of the diocese of Thrace with the capital  Hadrianopolis [3]. It comprised the territory on the Danube between the confluence with the Vit and the delta, the western Pontic coast up to Constantinople (excluding the city itself), the Propontis and the northern Aegean to the mouth of the Nestus. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. Velkov, Cities in Thrace and Dacia in Late Antiquity, 1977, 61 Soustal, Thrakien.

[German version] (Ζήρυνθος/ Zḗrynthos, Ζηρυνθία/ Zērynthía). City with a grotto (Steph. Byz. s.v. Ζήρυνθος) to the west of the mouth of the Hebrus (modern Marica; Liv. 41,38,4; Nicander, Theriaka 461f.) on the coast (Ov. Trist. 1,10,19: Zerynthia litora) of the Thracian peraia of Samothrace; there was a grotto sanctuary Z. on Samothrace as well (schol. Aristoph. Pax 277b α 3f.). The cult connected with the two Z.es was that of the goddess Zerynthia (Lycophron, Alexandra 958: Μήτηρ Ζηρυνθία/ Mḗtēr Zērynthía), probably a Thracian chthonic deity with a local epiclesis, who wa…

[German version] (Παντικάπης; P antik ápēs). Iranian name for the Bosporus [2] (Ps.-Scymn. 850; Eust. Ad Dion. Per. 311; Steph. Byz. s.v. Παντικάπαιον/ Pantikápaion), which gave Panticapaeum its name; it probably means  “fish road”. In Hdt. 4,18 it is the strait itself that is meant by the river P.; this reflects the idea that the Tanais flows into the Pontus Euxinus to the south of Lake Maeotis (Arr. Per. p. E. 29). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography E. Diehl, s.v. Pandikapes, PE, 825f.  V.I. Abaev, Osetinskij jazyk i folklor, 1949, 170, 175.

[German version] (Κερδύλιον; Kerdýlion). Elevated settlement on the right bank of the Strymon within the territory of Argilus near  Amphipolis in Thrace. There Brasidas took up position against the Athenians in 422 BC (Thuc. 5,6,3ff.). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Ταῦροι/ Taûroi). Pre-Scythian people on the Chersonesus [2] (Crimea), probably descendants of the bearers of the Kizil-Koba culture, in the 7th/6th cent. BC driven by the Scythae and Greek colonists into the inland hills. They occupied themselves especially with agriculture and animal husbandry; there is evidence of trade with Greek poleis only from the 4th cent. BC onwards. A goddess worshipped among the T. was identified by the Greeks with Artemis or Iphigenia (Hdt. 4,103). In 513 BC the T. declined to help the Scythae against…

[German version] (Παλάκιον; Palákion). Scythian fortress in the steppe region of the Crimea (Str. 7,4,7); together with the fortified settlements Chabon and Neapolis it was founded by Scilurus and his sons (Str. 7,4,3). The Scythians used P. as a base against Mithridates [5] V. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V.F. Gajdukevič, Das Bosporanische Reich, 1971, 309.

(Οὖννοι; Oûnnoi, Χοῦννοι; Choûnnoi), the Huns. [German version] A. History Nomadic people, origin debatable. In all probability they came from central Asia shortly after the time of Christ. As Χοῦννοι ( Choûnnoi) first mentioned in Ptol. 3,5,25 between  Bastarnae and Roxolani (additional later localizations in Amm. Marc. 2,1; Iord. Get. 36f.). Some of the Hunnic tribes moved to the Caucasus region; from the eastern Hunnic branch, several states emerged (Hephthalitae, Avares, Chazars and Protobulgarians). Around AD 376 Hunnic …

[German version] (Ἑρμώνακτος κώμη; Hermṓnaktos kṓmē). Settlement at the mouth of the  Tyras (Str. 7,3,16) or at a distance of c. 16.5 km from it (Ptol. Geog. 3,10,7). Perhaps identical with the remains of an ancient settlement near modern Kosovka. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography M. V. Arbunov, K voprosu o lokalizacii bašni Neoptolema u Germonaktovoj derevni [On the problem of locating the tower of Neoptolemos and H.K.], in: VDI 1, 1978, 43-51.

[German version] (Μαῖδοι, Μαίδοι; Maîdoi, Maídoi, M(a)edi). Thracian tribal league on the middle reaches of the Strymon, between Kresna and Rupel (modern Macedonia). According to the earliest witness (Thuc. 2,98), neighbours of the Sinti and Paeoni. In 429 BC, Sitalces moved through their territory, which did not belong to the kingdom of the Odrysae, against the Macedons. After the withdrawal of Sitalces, the M. expanded their tribal territory to the north, probably subjugated the Dentheleti and estab…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Pontos Euxeinos | Scythae | Thraci, Thracia | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Hellenistic states | Colonization | Patricius | Rome | Rome (Τύρας/ Týras). Colony of Miletus [2] on the northwestern coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos), modern Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, at the mouth of the river of the same name, modern Dnister (Ps.-Skymn. 7,98; 7,802 f.; Plin. HN. 4,82). The Ionian character of the polis is confirmed by inscriptions (IOSPE I2 2-19), the calendar and the cult of Apollo Ietrus. The date of foundatio…

[German version] (Ἀγαθόπολις; Agathópolis). Modern Ahtopol on the western coast of the Black Sea. Inscriptions on coins allow a probable trace of the name to the 5th cent. BC; according to Arr. Peripl. p. eux. 36 Aulaiou teichos, Ptol. 3,11,3 Perontikon, Geographus Ravennas 4,6,2-5 Burtinum; from Middle Ages verified as A. Traces of settlements from the aeneolithic period onward; in the 3rd/2nd cents. BC Greek polis (IGBulg 474-478). It was integrated into the Roman province of  Thracia in the midd…

[German version] (Κιμμέριοι; Kimmérioi, Lat. Cimmerii). Nomadic tribe probably of Iranian descent, attested for the 8th/7th cents. BC. The Assyrian and Babylonian forms of the name were Ga-mir, Gi-mir-a-a and similar; in the OT they were referred to as gmr, in the Masora Gȯmär. According to a document from the time of Sargon II [1. no. 30-32], the Urartian King Rusa I invaded the land of Gami(ra) (between 720 and 714 BC) and was defeated there. A further document from the same period attests to a Cimmerian intrusion into  Urartu from the region south of La…

The 'Bosporan kingdom' on the northern coast of the Black Sea (Pontos Euxeinos), the heart of which was the Kerč peninsula on the so-called Cimmerian Bosporus [2], called Kimmerikòs Bósporos or simply Bósporos (Diod. Sic. 12,36; 20,22). Cf. the two maps below. [German version] I. The founding of the kingdom The Greek cities on the straits of Kerč joined together c. 480 BC under the leadership of Panticapaeum, probably originally as a protective alliance against the native Scythians. The first dynasty was the Archaeanactids, whose founder Archaeanax proba…

[German version] (Μαστουσία/ Mastousía, Μαζουσία/ Mazousía). Unidentified location on the southern tip of the Thracian Chersonnesus [1] (Str. 7, fr. 52; Ptol. 3,2,9; 12,1; Mela 2,2,25). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Σκόμβρος; Skómbros). Heavily forested mountains with ore deposits in the west of Thrace (Thuc. 2,96,3; Scopius, Plin. HN 4,35), modern Vitoša south of Sofia. Aristot. Mete. 350b 16f. mistakenly locates the sources of the  Nestus [1] and the Hebrus there. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Πάγραι; Págrai). Port settlement on the Caucasian coast of the Pontos Euxeinos, 180 stadia from Hieros Limen (Arr. Peripl. p. eux. 28; Anon. Peripl. m. Eux. 10r 9; possibly identical with Toricus in Scyl. Peripl. m. Eux. 74), near modern Gelenǧik, 43 km to the southeast of modern Novorossiysk. Probably part of the Regnum Bosporanum. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V.F. Gajdukevič, Das Bosporanische Reich, 1971, 237f.  D.D. and G.T. Kacharava, Goroda i poseleniya Pričernomor'ya antičnoy epochi, 1991, 207, 280f.

[German version] (Τρῆρες/ Trêres, Τρᾶρες/ Trâres). Thracian tribe, located in the Plain of Serdica (modern Sofia) to the north of the Scombros (modern Vitoša) Mountains and to the west of the River Oescus [1] (modern Iskăr). In the kingdom of the Odrysae they were among the northwestern border tribes. They were neighbours of the Triballi and the Tilataei (Thuc. 2,96,6; Str. 1,3,18; Plin. HN 4,35). According to Str. (1,3,21; 13,1,8; 14,1,40) they were supposed to have been among the Cimmerii who migrated to Asia Minor. Ancient oriental sources do not mention them, however. von Bredow, I…

[German version] King of the Aorsi, supported C.  Iulius Aquila and  Cotys I against  Mithridates IX. However after the capture of Uspe, he received the latter but handed him over later on the condition that his life would be spared (Tac. Ann. 12,15-20).  Aorsi von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. F. Gajdukevič, Das Bosporanische Reich, 1971, 342f.

[German version] (Ἀθύρας; Athýras). Small river, which flows into the Propontis west of Byzantium, today Kara-su (Plin. HN 4,47; according to Ptol. 3,11,4 several branches). In the late Roman era, the fortified harbour settlement (Amm. Marc. 22,8,8) was restored by Justinian (Procop. Aed. 4,8,18). The fortified stone bridge, which was destroyed by Krum in 812, was famous. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V. Zlatarski, Istorija na bălgarskata dăržava prez srednite vekove 1,1, 21994, 275.

[German version] (Σκάρδον ὄρος/ Skárdon óros; Latin mons Scordus). High mountains, placed by Str. 7a,1,10 in the chain of mountains bounding Macedonia in the north beyond Bertiscus (nowadays in Montenegro) and this side of Orbelus, Rhodope (modern Rhodope, Rila and Prin) and Haemus (modern Stara Planina). According to Liv. 44,31,4 f. (cf. 43,20,1; Pol. 28,8,3, in connexion with the third of the Macedonian Wars) SO is surrounded in the east by Dardania, in the south by Macedonia and in the west by Illyricum. Thus SO is generally identified with modern Šar Planina. von Bredow, Iris (Bie…

[German version] (Ὀδόμαντοι; Odómantoi). Thracian tribe on the east bank of the lower Strymon at the western foot of Pangaeum (Str. 7a,1,36) in the area of modern Serres (northern Greece). The O. were involved in exploiting the gold mines there (Hdt. 7,112; Thuc. 2,101,3). Megabazus [1], commander of the forces of Darius, failed to subject the O. in 512 BC (Hdt. 5,16). A king of the O., Polles, provided a mercenary force to the Spartans in 425 BC (Thuc. 5,6,2). They were conquered by the Macedonians after 424 BC. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography Chr. Danov, Altthrakien…

[German version] (Ἄρζος; Árzos). River in Thrace, modern Sazlijka; at its mouth into the  Hebrus (not the Propontis, cf., however, Ptol. 3,11,4), there was a statio of the same name (It. Ant. 136,7; Tab. Peut. 8,2), modern Kalugerovo, district of Haskovo, in the territory of Augusta Traiana (IGBulg 3,1704-1706). Fortified by  Justinianus. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography IGBulg, 3,2, 131.

[German version] (Pharzanes). King of the Regnum Bosporanum in AD 253-254; he interrupted the reign of Rhecusporis V probably as a usurper who was hostile to the Romans. He is known on account of the coins he issued PIR2 P 343. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography V.F. Gaidukevič, Das Bosporanische Reich, 1971, 470  A.N. Zograph, Ancient Coinage. Ph. II: The Ancient Coins of the Northern Black Sea Littoral, 1977, 334-335.

[German version] (Τραυσοί/ Trausoí, Latin Trausi). Thracian tribe, which can be located in the southwestern part of the Rhodope mountains; their customs are supposed to have been distinct from those of the other Thraci  (Hdt. 5,3 f.). According to Liv. 38,41,5 the T. lived on robbery; he mentions them in connection with the defeat of  Manlius [I 24] Vulso at Tempyra. According to Steph. Byz. s. v. T., the Greeks called the T. Agathyrsi. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography A. Fol, Političeska istorija na trakite, 1972, 58.

[German version] (Ταυρικὴ Χερσόνησος; Taurikḕ Chersónēsos) see Chersonesus [2]. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography J. M. Mogaričev (Hrsg.), Problemy istorii i arheologii Krymy, 1994.

[German version] (Δοῦναξ; Doûnax, Dunuca, Dinax). Mountain range in western Thrace, probably the Rila mountains in Bulgaria (Ptol. 34,10,15 = Str. 4,6,12; Liv. 40,58,2: battle of the Thracians with the Bastarnae, 179 BC). It is not really possible to link homonymous personal names with this name. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] (Ἕβρος; Hébros). Southern Thracian river, modern Bulgarian Marica, Byzantine/Modern Greek Εὖρος, longest river after the Danube on the Balkan peninsula. According to Ps.-Plutarchus (De fluviis 3), its earlier name is supposed to have been Rhombus. Its headwaters lie in the Rila mountains (Thuc. 2,96,4). From there, it flows in an easterly direction through the fertile Thracian plain to  Hadrianopolis, where it is joined by the Tonzos, then turns toward the south and empties into th…

[German version] (Βεσσοί; Bessoí). Term given to various Thracian tribal groupings, first mentioned by Hdt. 7,111 as part of the  Satrae in the western Rhodope mountains, but thereafter not again until the 2nd cent. BC (Pol. 23,8,4; Syll.3 710 A). The B. gained political significance because of their opposition to the Romans: defeated by Lucullus in 72 BC, by C. Octavius (ILS 47) in 59 BC, and brought to battle c. 15 years later by Brutus (Liv. Per. 77); in 29 BC M. Licinius Crassus attacked them, took away from them the Dionysus sanctuary in the Rhodope and trans…

[German version] (Σκάπτη ὕλη/ Skáptē Hýlē, Σκαπτησύλη/ Skáptēsýlē). Unlocated township in the peraia of Thasos in the Pangaeum mountains with gold mines from which Thasos extracted 80 talents a year before the Persian Wars (Hdt. 6,46; Thuc. 1,100,2). The historian Thucydides had estates and also died there (Plut. Cimon 4,3; Markellinos, Vita Thucydidis 19,25,47). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography P. Perdrizet, Skaptésylé, in: Klio 10, 1910, 1-27  Müller, 100 f.

[German version] (Ἄμαρδοι; Ámardoi). Iranian town in  Media on the south bank of the  Caspian Sea, west of the Hyrcani ( Hyrcania), east of the  Cadusii (Str. 11,6,1; 8,1; 8; Plin. HN 6,36; Mela 3,39; 42 - joint source is  Eratosthenes). Not likely to be identical with the A. in the Persian armed forces under Xerxes (Aesch. Pers. 994), just as unlikely to be identical with the neighbours of the Persae (Arr. Ind. 40,6). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography F. C. Andreas, s. v. A., RE 1, 1729-1733 F. H. Weissbach, s. v. Mardoi, in: RE 14, 1648-1651.

[German version] (Σιντοί/ Sintoí). Thracian tribe on the western bank of the Strymon, probably between the mountains Malaševska and Ogražden, possibly somewhat more in the south; western neighbour of the Illyrian Dardani (Str. 7a,1,36; App. Mithr. 55); the westernmost tribe of the kingdom of the Odrysae ( cf. Thuc. 2,98,1 on Sitalces' [1] campaign against Macedonia in 429 BC). The main centre of the S. was Heraclea Sintica, which has not yet been located (Diod. Sic. 31,8,8; Liv. 45,29,6). The Sínties in Hom. Od. 8,294 are not the same as the S. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibli…

[German version] (Slavonic; Greek Πλίσκοβα/ Plískoba). Residency in the first kingdom of the Bulgari, one of the successor states on the soil of the Roman Empire, in the years 681-843, 25 km to the east of Šumen at modern Pliska (formerly Aboba) in northeastern Bulgaria, to the north of the Haemus, where important mountain passes can be controlled, probably founded by Khan Asparuh. Originally built as a military fortress 23 km2 in area, with rectangular and circular wooden buildings and three concentric embankments, the innermost ring enclosing the palace area (0·5 km2). This city,…

[German version] (Καινοί; Kainoí). Thracian tribe between Astae and Corpili in the region of the Paeti (Hdt. 7,110 Arr. Anab. 1,11,4). After the fall of the Odrysean kingdom, the C. were located in the area east of the river Hebrus spreading to the coasts of the Propontis and the Aegean Sea. The province Caenica at the lower reaches of the river Hebrus was named after this tribe (Plin. HN 4,47; Ptol. 3,11,6). In 188 BC, the C. followed the advice of Philip V and attacked the baggage train of Cn. Ma…

[German version] (Κασπία θάλαττα; Kaspía thálatta; also known as ‘Hyrcanian Sea’ after the pre-Iranian Caspii or Hyrcanii who settled on its south-western shore). The world's largest drainless salt lake (371,000 km2) with c. 50 smaller islands; in the west, it borders on the Caucasus, in the east on the Iranian highlands, in the south on the Elburz range, and in the north on the Russian lowlands. Rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea (CS) are: Volga (Tanais), Ural, Terek (Atrek), Sulak, and Kura (Cyrus). Whereas the CS was seen…

[German version] (Νεῦροι/ Neûroi). Tribe (not of the Scythae) on the Hypanis [1], to the west of the Borysthenes and south of the source lake of the Tyras (Hdt. 4,17); easterly neighbours of the Androphagi and Melanchlaeni (Hdt. 4,17; 51; 100; 125). Various attempts have been made to associate them with cultures of southern Belrus, including the ancestor tribes of the Slavs, Balts or Finns. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography A.I. Terenožkin, Predskifskij period na Dneprovskom Pravoberež'e, 1961, 234  E.A. Mel'nikovskaja, Plemena južnoj Belorusij v rannem ž…

[German version] Way station for swapping horses ( mutatio) on the Via Egnatia on the border between the late-antique provinces of Europa in the east and Rhodope in the west, 12 miles to the west of Aprus (It. Burdig. 602,1); not located. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen)

[German version] ( Tiza, Pathissus, Parthiscus; Τίσσος/ Tíssos, Τήσα/ Tḗsa, Τίτζα/ Títza; modern Tisza). The largest tributary of the Danube (Ister [1]), flowing from the Carpathians to the west of Singidunum and into the Danube from the north (cf. also Pathissus); original name probably Parthisus (Str. 7,5,2). Herodotus (4,100) and Strabo (7,3,4) identify the lower reaches of the T. with the Maris (modern Maros). The T. plain (modern Bánság) was fertile and densely settled: Agathyrsi (Hdt. 4,78), Daci, Bo…

[German version] (Ξάνθεια; Xántheia). City in Thrace between the Bistonis limne (modern Lake Vistonida) and Maronea [1] on the northern coast of the Aigaion Pelagos (Str. 7a,1,44) on the southern slopes of Rhodope, not precisely locatable. In the Byzantine city of the same name no remains suggesting Antiquity have been discovered; it was on the Via Egnatia (Nikephoros Gregoras 727,24; 814,19); modern Xanthi. von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography S. P. Kyriakidis, Περὶ τὴν ἱστορίαν τῆς Θρᾴκης, 1960, 27-32  P. A. Pantos, Ἱστορικὴ τοπογραφία τοῦ νομοῦ Ξάνθης…

[German version] (Βίστονες; Bístones). Thracian tribe on the Aegean Sea from around the Βιστονὶς λίμνη ( Bistonìs límnē) to the lower reaches of the Nestus; neighbours of the Cicones and the Sapaei. On their territory,  Abdera,  Dicaea and Stryme were founded. Hdt. (7,110) only mentioned as an intermediate staging post of the Persian army They appear frequently in mythological tales and in genealogies (Str. 7 fr. (43) 44 mentions B. on Thasos, under the rule of Diomedes; Val. Fl. 3,159: homeland of Orpheus). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) Bibliography A. Fol, T. Spiridonov,…