Thracians

The Thracians were an Indo-European people, inhabitants of Thrace and adjacent lands (present-day Bulgaria, Romania, Republic of Moldova, northeastern Greece, European Turkey and northwestern asiatic Turkey, eastern Serbia and parts of Republic of Macedonia). They spoke the Thracian language.

Related Topics:
Indo-European - Thrace - Bulgaria - Romania - Republic of Moldova - Greece - Turkey - Serbia - Republic of Macedonia - Thracian language

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The origins of the Thracians are obscure. They emerge into history from the 6th century BC, occupying the area east and north of the Black Sea. Their migration into the Balkans and Eastern Europe is sometimes associated with the Cimmerian raids into Anatolia in the 8th century BC. By the 5th century BC, the Thracian presence was pervasive enough to have made Herodotus (book 5) call them the second-most numerous people in the known world (after the Indians), and potentially the most powerful, if not for their disunity.

Related Topics:
6th century BC - Black Sea - Cimmerian - 8th century BC - Herodotus

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The Thracians were thus broken up into a large number of groups and tribes, though a number of powerful Thracian states were organized during some periods, such as the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace and the Dacia of Burebista.

Related Topics:
Odrysian kingdom - Dacia - Burebista

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Most of the Thracians would eventually become Hellenized (in the province of Thrace) or Romanized (in Moesia, Dacia, etc.). Small groups of Thracian speakers however may still have been in existence when the Slavs arrived in the Balkans in the 6th Century AD, and theoretically some Thracians may have become Slavicized. Scholars have even proposed that the present-day Albanians may be Thracians who maintained their language, but this is controversial.

Related Topics:
Thrace - Moesia - Dacia - Slavs - Albanians

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During the 2000s, Bulgarian archaeologists made discoveries in Central Bulgaria which were summarized as "The Valley of the Thracian Kings|: On 19 August 2005 some archaeologists announced they have found the first Thracian capital, which was situated near Karlovo in Bulgaria. A lot of polished ceramic artifacts (pieces of roof-tiles and Greek-like vases) were discovered revealing the fortune of the city. The Bulgarian ministry of culture declared its cooperation to supporting the excavations.

Related Topics:
2000s - 2005 - Karlovo - Bulgaria

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