Генезис и развитие на одриската държавност
Genesis and Development of Odrysian Statehood

Summary/Abstract: Formation of statehood in antiquity is not a one-time act, but a lengthy process, the stages of which are very difficult to understand, especially in so-called “barbarian societies” by the Greeks and Romans. Problems are mainly generated by the fact, that unlike classic civilizations do not have their own writing and therefore do not create a narrative historical tradition. As a result of these objective factors, we study the history of these ethnicities using the Greco-Roman narrative tradition, which provides only fragmentary data about the historical processes going on. These general observations on state educational processes in antiquity are fully applicable in the concrete realities of the Thracian ethno-linguistic substrate and in particular for the Odrys. The gradual establishment of Odrysian statehood in 7th–6th c. BC is in the context of similar processes developing and among the other Thracian tribes. In this competitive environment, the Odrys during the period under review probably managed to put into control a considerable size and rich in natural resources territory situated between the Rhodopes and the Balkan Mountains, which is basically marked by the Tundja River and the upper and middle course of the Hebros River. During the same period, there were other strong political subjects in Thrace, such as Getae, Triballi, Satrae, which prevents their aggression from spreading beyond the specified territory. The penetration of the Persians with military force in Thrace in the end of 6th – the beginning of the 5th century BC. changes the strategic situation, which leads to the weakening of the Getae’s and allows the Odrys to develop their military and political potential. Under the leadership of their ruler Teres I, they manage to put their Getae under their control. They conquer the lands situated between the middle course of the Tundzha River, the Eastern Balkan Mountains, the western coast of the Black Sea and the Strandzha-Sakar Mountains. It is possible for Teres to undertake military campaigns and in the southeast direction against the tribes of Thyni. These military-political successes warrant the Athenian historian Thucydides to define this Odrys ruler as the creator of the powerful Odrysian kingdom.

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