List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia

This is a list of ancient cities, towns, villages, and fortresses in and around Thrace and Dacia. A number of these settlements were Thracian and Dacian, but some were Celtic, Greek, Roman, Paeonian, or Persian.

A number of cities in Thrace and Dacia were built on or close to the sites of preexisting Dacian or Thracian settlements. Some settlements in this list may have a double entry, such as the Paeonian Astibo and Latin Astibus. It is believed that Thracians did not build true cities even if they were named as such; the largest Thracian settlements were large villages. The only known attempt to build a polis by the Thracians was Seuthopolis., although Strabo considered the Thracian cities with "bria" ending polises. Some of the Dacian settlements and fortresses employed the traditional Murus Dacicus construction technique.

Note: Throughout these lists, an asterisk [*] indicates that the toponym is reconstructed.

Thracian and Dacian

Many city names were composed of an initial lexical element affixed to -dava, -daua, -deva, -deba, -daba, or -dova, which meant "city" or "town" Endings on more southern regions are exclusively -bria ("town, city"), -disza, -diza, -dizos ("fortress, walled settlement"), -para, -paron, -pera, -phara ("town, village"). Strabo translated -bria as polis, but that may not be accurate. 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 da?za ("wall").

It is suggested that the "dava" endings are from the Dacian language, while the rest from the Thracian language. However "dava" towns can be found as south as Sandanski and Plovdiv. Some "dava" toponyms contain the same linguistic features as "diza" toponyms, e.g. Pirodiza and Pirodava. The first written mention of the name "Dacians" is in Roman sources. Strabo specified that the Daci are the Getae, identified as a Thracian tribe. The Dacians, Getae and their kings were always considered as Thracians by the ancients (Dio Cassius, Trogus Pompeius, Appian, Strabo, Herodotus and Pliny the Elder) and were said to speak the same language. The Dacian language is considered a variety of the Thracian language. Such lexical differentiation -dava vs. para, would be hardly enough evidence to separate Dacian from Thracian, thus they are classified as dialects. It is also possible that '-dava' and '-bria' mean two different things in the same language, rather than meaning the same thing in two different languages. Thus bria could have been used for urbanized settlements, similar in scale and design to those of the "civilised" peoples like Greeks and Romans, whereas '-dava' could mean a settlement which is rural, being situated in the steppe-like part of the Thracian lands.

Unknown names

Thraco-Illyrian

• Chesdupara
• Daradapara
• Scupi of the Dardani tribe
• Sirmium

Thrace and Macedonia

Thrace, from Strymon to Nestos

• Amphipolis, founded by colonists from Athens
• Akontisma
• Antisara
• Creston, modern Kilkis
• Datos, founded by colonists from Thasos
• Drabeskos
• Eion, founded by colonists from Athens
• Ennea Hodoi
• Galepsus, founded by colonists from Thasos
• Gasoros
• Heraclea Sintica
• Krenides, founded by colonists from Thasos
• Mastira, mentioned by Demosthenes (341 BCE) in his "The Oration on the State 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 known Thracian town of that name.
• Myrkinos, founded by colonists from Miletus in 497 BC
• Neapolis, founded by colonists from Thasos, modern Kavala
• Oesyme, founded by colonists from Thasos
• Paroikopolis
• Pergamos
• Phagres, founded by colonists from Thasos
• Philippi, founded by Philip II of Macedon, rebuilt Crenides
• Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv)
• Pistyros, founded by colonists from Thasos
• Sirra, founded by Philip II of Macedon, rebuilt town of the Siriopeoni, modern Serres
• Skapte Hyle
• Skotoussa
• Tristolos

Thrace, from Nestos to Hebros

• Abdera, founded by colonists from Klazomenai
• Ainos (Poltymbria) founded by colonists from Alopeke, Mytilene, and Kyme
• Bergepolis, founded by colonists from Abdera
• Doriskos
• Drys, founded by colonists from Samothrace
• Dikaia, founded by colonists from Samos
• Kypsela
• Larissa
• Maroneia, founded by colonists from Chios
• Menebria, founded by colonists from Samothrace on a town named Melsambria, modern Nessebar
• Orthagoria
• Sale, founded by colonists from Samothrace
• Stryme, founded from colonists from Thasos
• Zone, founded by colonists from Samothrace

Inland Thrace

• Alexandropolis Maedica
• Beroea, founded by Philip II of Macedon in 342 BC
• Philippopolis| Pulpudeva (Philippopolis), today's city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria, founded by Philip II of Macedon in a town formerly called Eumolpias.
• Stanimachos, founded by colonists from Istiaia, modern Asenovgrad
• Pistiros, founded by Pistyrians from the coast

Thracian Chersonesos

• Aegospotami (Aegospotamos)
• Alokopennesos, founded by colonists from Aeolis
• Araplos
• Callipolis
• Chersonesos (Agora), founded by colonists from Athens
• Derris
• Elaious, founded by colonists from Athens
• Ide
• Kardia, founded by colonists from Athens
• Kressa
• Krithotai, founded by colonists from Athens
• Limnae, founded by colonists from Miletus
• Madytos, founded by colonists from Lesbos
• Pactya, founded by colonists from Athens
• Paion
• Sestos, founded by colonists from Lesbos

Propontic Thrace

• Athyra
• Byzantion, founded by colonists from Megara on a town called Lygos, modern Istanbul
• Bisanthe, founded by colonists from Samos
• Daminon Teichos
• Ergiske
• Heraclea (Perinthus)
• Heraion, founded by colonists from Samos
• Lysimachia
• Neapolis (Thracian Chersonese), founded by colonists from Athens
• Orestias, rebuilt
• Perinthus, founded by colonists from Samos
• Rhaedestus, founded by colonists from Samos
• Serrion Teichos
• Selymbria, modern Silivri in European Turkey, of Thracian etymology
• Tyrodiza, of Thracian etymology

West Pontic coast

• Aegyssos, modern Tulcea
• Aquae Calidae
• Ahtopol, founded by colonists from Athens
• Anchialos, modern Pomorie, founded by colonists from Appolonia
• Apollonia, modern Sozopol, founded by Ionians
• Berga, founded by colonists from Thasos
• Bizone, founded by colonists from Miletus, modern Kavarna
• Krutoi, modern Balchik founded by Miletian colonists
• Dionysopolis, modern Balchik, founded by colonists from Miletus
• Heliopolis, modern Obzor
• Histria, founded by colonists from Miletus
• Kallatis (Callatis), founded from colonists from Herakleia Pontike, modern-day Mangalia, Romania
• Mesembria, modern Nesebar, settled during the 6th century BC by Dorians from Megara
• Odessos, modern Varna, founded by colonists from Miletus
• Nikonion, founded by colonists from Istros
• Salmydessos (from IE *salm-udes, "salty water"; cf. Greek álmē, "sea water, brine"; ýdos, "water")
• Tomis, modern Constanta, rebuilt Scythian town

Other

• Aison
• Brea, founded by colonists from Athens,
• Gazoros
• Heraclea Sintica on a tribe of the Sintoi tribe
• Kossaia

Persian

• Boryza (city)
• Doriscus

Roman

Celtic

See also

• List of ancient tribes in Thrace and Dacia
• List of rulers of Thrace and Dacia
• List of ancient cities in Illyria
• List of rulers of Illyria
• Dacian Dava
• Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains
• Tabula Peutingeriana
• Notitia Dignitatum

Notes

References

External links

• Durdinov, Ivan. "The Language of the Thracians".
• Sorin Olteanu's Project: Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum - Toponyms Section
• Duridanov's paper on Thracian toponyms
• Placenames in the Compilation 'notitia dignitatum' (Cnd)
• Lists of Dacian fortresses, towns and citadels Archived 20 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• Dacia
• Dacian Map
• Thracians and Dacians
• Thracians 700-46 BC Archived 30 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine