Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1214

 1190 THRACIA. Thrace now shared in the general fortunes of the Eoman world, on the division of which into the Eastern and Western Empires, it was attached to the former, being governed by the Vicarius Tltracia- rum, who was subordinate to the Praefectits Prac- torio Orientis. Its situation rendered it extremely liable to the inroads of barbarians, and its history, so far as it is known, is little else than a record of war and devastation. The Goths made their first appearance there in A. d. 255; the emperor Probus, about A. D. 280, established in it 100,000 Bastarnae. In A. D. 314, and a<:ain in 323, the emperor Licinius was defeated at Hadrianople by Constantine, who, in A. D. 334, settled a multitude of Sarmatians in Thrace, which, in 376, received another accession to its heterogeneous population, Valens having given permission to the Goths to reside in it. This gave rise to innumerable wars, the details of which are recorded by Anmiianus (lib. xsxi.). In 395 the de- voted country was overrun by Alaric, and in 447 by the more dreadful Attila. Through all these mis- fortunes, however, Thrace remained in connection with the Eastern Empire, the capital of which was within its boundaries, until the year 1353, when the Turks, who had crossed over into Europe in 1341, obtained possession of the Tliracian fortresses. Their leader Anmratli conquered the whole country, except Constantinople, and made Hadrianople his capital. At length, in 1453, Constantinople itself was taken, and the Turks have ever since been the undisputed lords of Thrace. VI. Topography. — Under this head we shall merely collect such names as will serve to direct the reader to articles in this work, where fuller informa- tion is given. Pliny (iv. 18; cf. Mela, ii. 2 ; Amm. xxvii. 4) enumerates the following as the principal Thracian tribes: Denseletae, Maedi, Bisaltae, Digeri, Bessi, Eletlii, Diobessi, Carbilesi, Brysae, Sapaei, Odo- manti, Odrysae, Cabyleti, Pyrogen, Drugeri, Cae- nici, Hypsalti, Beni, Corpilli, Bottiaei, Edoni, Selle- fae, Priantae, Dolonci, Tliyni, Coeletae. To these we may add, the Apsinthii, Bistones, Cicones, Satrae, Dii, and Trausi. Of the towns mentioned by Pliny (J. c), these be- longed to Thrace Proper: 1. On the coast (i.) of the Aegean: Oesyma, Neapolis, Datum, Abdera, Tirida, Dicaea, Maronea, Zone, and Aenus; to these must be added Amphipolis, Pistyrus, Cosinthus, and Mesem- bria; (ii.) of the Chersonesus; Cardia, Lysimachia, Pachyta, Callipolis, Sestus, Elaeus, Coelos, Tiristasis, and Panormus; besides these there were Alopeconne- sus and Agora ; (iii.) of the Propontis : Bisanthe, Pe- rinthus, and Selymbria; (iv.) of the Bosporus: By- zantium; (v.) of theEuxiue: Mesembria, Anchia- lus, Apollonia, Thynias, Salmydessus, and Phino- polis. 2. In the interior: Philippopolis, Philippi, Sootusa, Topiris, Doriscus, Cypsela, Apros, and De- velton. This is a very scanty list ; but many of the principal inland towns were founded after Pliny's time: their names also were often changed. Tiie following are some of the chief towns in the interior: Hadrianopolis, Plotinopolis, Trajanopolis, Tempyra, Nicopolis, Beroea, lamporina, and Petra. Besides the rivers mentioned in the course of this article, the following occur: the Bathynias, Pydaras or Atyras, Bargus, Cossinites, Compsatus, and Xerogypsus. As to the poHtical divisions of Thrace, Pliny (/. c.) states that it was divided into fifty strategiae ; but he describes Moesia as part of Thrace. According to THRONI. Ptolemy (iii. 11. § 8, seq.), its districts were Mae- dica, Denthcletica, Sardica, Bessica, Drosica, Ben- nica, Usdicesica, Selletica, Samaica, Coeletica, Sa- paica, Coi'piliaca, Caenica, and Astica. Ammianus (I. c.) states that in the 4th century Thrace was divided into six provinces, but of these only four belonged to Thrace south of the Haemus: (i.) Thrace Proper (special! nomine), including the W. part of the country; principal cities, Philippo- polis and Beroea ; (ii.) Haemimontus, i. e. the NE. district: chief towns, Hadrianopolis and Anchialus: i; (iii.) Europa, comprehending the SE. district; cities, Apri and Perinthus (Constantinople, being the ca- pital of the whole Eastern Empire, was not regarded as belonging to any province) : (iv.) Rhodopa, com- prising the SW. region ; principal cities, Maximiano- polis, Blaroneia, and Aenus. The principal modern writers in whose works information will be found respecting Thrace, have been mentioned in the course of this article. Among the other authors whom the reader may consult, we may name the following : Dapper, iJesc/irynw.^r dcr Eilanden in de Archipel, Amst. 1688, of which Latin and French translations were published at; Amsterdam in 1703. Paul Lucas, Voyage dans la Turquie, I'Asle, cf-c. 2 vols. Amst. 1720. Choiseul, Voyage Pittoresque dans I'Empire Ottoman : of this work the first volume was published at Paris in 1782, the first part of the second not till 1809; the author died in 1817. A new edition, with many corrections and additions, was published in 4 vols. 8vo. at Paris in 1842. This work is devoted chiefly to the antiquities of the country ; of which the plates contained in the illustrative Atlas which accom- panies the book give many representations. Ami Bone's, La Turquie dEurope, 4 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1840, is the most complete work yet written on the subject; its author, a man of great scientific acquire- ments, made two journeys in Turkey, in 1836, when he was accompanied by M. Viquesnel, and in 1838. The first volume contains an elaborate account of the physical geography, geology, vegetation, fauna, and meteorology of the country; but takes little or no notice of its classical geography. A map is prefixed to it, which was a vast improvement on all that had preceded it ; but it is now in its turn superseded by that of Kiepert, who has employed in its construc- tion the materials atforded by M. Viquesnel's reports already referred to. (Comp. Gatterer, ]>e Herodoti ac Thucydidis Thracia, contained in the Commenta- tiones Soc. Reg. G ottin. Yol. iv. pp. 87 — 112, vol. V. pp. 59—88. [J. P.] THRACIA, in Asia. A district in Asia Minor on the coast of the Euxine, is sometimes called Thrace, and its inhabitants Thracians. (Herod, i. 28; Xen. Anab. vi. 2. § 14, et al.) This country is more commonly called Bithynia. [See Bitiiyxia, Vol. I. p. 404.] [J. P.] THRA'CIUS BO'SPOEUS. [Bosporus.] TKKASYME'NUS LAC US [Trasimenus.] THKAUSTUS (epavaros, Xen ) or THKAE- STUS (OpaitTToj), a town in the momitainous dis- trict of Acroreia in Elis, of unknown site. (Xen. Bell. vii. 14. § 14; Diod. xiv. 17.) THRIA. [Attica, p. 328, b.] THKOASCA (&p6a(rKa), a place in Carmania, mentioned by Ptolemy (vi. 8. § 14). Perhaps the modern Glrost. [V.] THRONI (@p6voL), a town and promontory on the SE. coast of Cyprus, distant 700 stadia from the promontory Curias. On the promontory of Throni