List of ancient Thracian cities

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of ancient Thracian cities, towns, villages, and fortresses. A number of these cities were Greek cities, some were Celtic or Roman. An asterisk [*] indicates that the toponym is reconstructed. The endings -bria ("town, city"), -disza, -diza, -dizos ([1] "fortress, walled settlement"), -para, -paron, -pera, -phara ("town, village") are from the Thracian language, as are numerous other lexical elements in this list.

This list includes a few Thracian towns located on land that was incorporated into Macedon around the time of Alexander I. Also some towns in Lower Moesia (see List of ancient towns in Scythia Minor).


  • Aegospotami or Aegospotamos
  • Agathapara
  • Agēssos
  • Ainos
  • *Alaaibria (reconstructed from the Thracian ethnonym, Alaaibriēnoi)
  • *Athypara
  • Authiparu
  • Elaios
  • Bastira (see Mastira)
  • Bazopara
  • Bedizos
  • Belaidipara
  • Bendipara
  • Beodizos
  • Beripara
  • Beroea
  • Bespara
  • Bessapara
  • Bisanthe
  • *Bolbabria
  • Breierophara
  • Brentopara
  • Briparo(n)
  • Burtudizos
  • Bussipara
  • Chesdupara
  • Dardapara (in Dardania)
  • Dikaia
  • Dodoparos
  • Doriskos
  • Drabeskos
  • Drusipara
  • Galepsus
  • Gelupara
  • Heraion
  • Iamphorynna (a Maedan town)
  • Isgipara
  • Ismara (a Ciconian town)
  • Ismaros (alternate name of Ismara)
  • Kabyle
  • Kardia
  • Kastiakon
  • Keirpara
  • Kēriparōn
  • Kirpizos
  • Kistidizos
  • Kras(s)alopara
  • Krenides
  • Kypsela
  • Longinopara
  • Lysimachia
  • Madytus
  • Maronea
  • Maskiobria
  • Mastira (mentioned by Demosthenes (341 BCE) in his "The Oration On The Sate Of The Chersonesus". This town was unknown to the scholar Harpocration (100-200 CE), who suggests that instead of Mastira we should read Bastira, a Thracian town of that name.
  • Medista
  • Menebria (older name of Mesembria)
  • Mutzipara
  • Myrkinos (an Edonian town)
  • Oesyme
  • Orudisza
  • Ostudizos
  • Philippopolis (Greek name of Pulpudeva)
  • Pistiros
  • Pizos
  • Poltymbria
  • Priskupera
  • Pulpudeva (Daco-Thracian name of Philippopolis)
  • Rossokastron
  • Salmydessos (from IE *salm-udes "salty water"; cf. Greek álmē "sea water, brine" and ýdos "water" [1])
  • Selymbria (modern Silivri in European Turkey)
  • Sestos
  • Seuthopolis
  • Skafida
  • *Skaptopara (modern Blagoevgrad)
  • Skedabria
  • Skelabria
  • Skept (near Pizos)
  • Siris
  • Stratopara (near Pizos)
  • Strupil
  • Stryme
  • Subzupara
  • Tranupara
  • Tyrodiza
  • Uscudama
  • Zburulus

Contents

[edit] Note

^  Thracian -disza, -diza, and -dizos are derived from Proto-Indo-European *dheigh-, "to knead clay", hence to "make bricks", "build walls", "wall", "walls", and so on. These Thracian lexical items show a satemization of PIE *gh-. Cognates include Ancient Greek teichos ("wall, fort, fortified town", as in the town of Didymoteicho) and Avestan daēza ("wall").

[edit] References

  1. ^ Katičic', Radoslav. Ancient Languages of the Balkans, Part One. Paris: Mouton, 1976: 147

[edit] See also

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] External links