Hellenes, Thracians, Illyrians 2

Hellenes, Thracians, Illyrians 1

After Alexander's death, Macedonian Empire was divided by his generals, mainly Cassander, Lysimachus, Ptolemy, Seleukus. Cassander got Macedonia and the rest of Hellas (Greece), except Epirus. Lysimachus got Thrace, western and northern Asia Minor. Ptolemy got northern Egypt, Palestine, Cyprus and southeastern Asia Minor. Seleukus got eastern central Asia Minor, northern Middle East and the eastern part of the empire, all the way to India.

Italy (except northern), Sicily, Corsica, Sardinia, Marseille, Carthage were also parts of Macedonian Empire after Alexander's death. Hellenistic period started with Alexander's death in 323 BC and ended with Cleopatra's death in 30 BC. Cleopatra erroneously is considered Egyptian by many. She was queen of Egypt but Macedonian, member of Ptolemaic dynasty. Cleopatra was daughter of Ptolemy XII and descendant of Ptolemy I, Alexander's general.

Hellenistic period lasted three centuries. The term Hellenistic was not used at that time but was coined later by historians. A characteristic of that period was the spread of Hellenic culture and civilization. By the end of Hellenistic period, Thracians and Paeonians were to a large degree hellenized, much more than Illyrians. Paeonians were Thracians, Illyrians or mixed. At the second half of 3rd century BC, Illyrian tribes had united and formed a proto-state.

Macedonia remained Greece's leading power until Roman conquest which started with the three Macedonian wars between 214 and 148 BC. Thracians fought on Macedonians' side against Romans, although there were some rebellious Thracian tribes that assisted Romans. Gladiator Spartacus (103 - 71 BC) who led the uprising against Romans was Thracian.

Beginning of Roman Empire is considered 27 BC, which is the end of Hellenistic period. First division of Roman Empire was in 285 AD. Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium in 330 AD and renamed it Constantinople, city (polis) of Constantine. Final division of Roman Empire was in 395 AD. Βeginning of Byzantine Empire is considered either 330 AD or 395 AD.

Byzantine Empire was Hellenic, Thracian and Illyrian. Constantine's father was Illyrian and his mother was Greek. Byzantine's inhabitants and ruling class were Hellenes, Thracians and Illyrians. There is a continuity from Macedonian Empire and Hellenistic period to Byzantium. Byzantine Emprire's culture and civilization were Hellenistic and language was Hellenic (Greek).

Birth places of some Byzantine emperors were; Pannonia, Moesia, Dacia, Constantinople, Thrace, Isauria, Cappadocia, Phrygia, Paphlagonia, Bithynia. Pannonia included Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia. Moesia was next to Pannonia and contained today's Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine.

Pannonia was originally inhabited by Illyrians who mixed with Thracians and Dacians. Moesia was inhabited by Thracians, Dacians and Illyrians. Dacians and Gatae where Thracians. Isauria, Cappadocia, Phrygia, Paphlagonia, Bithynia were in Asia Minor. Hellenic, Thracian and Illyrian territory was larger than Byzantine Empire. It extended much northern from Byzantium's borders.

The area where Hellenes, Thracians and Illyrians had lived since ancient times, reached as north as Slovakia and southern Ukraine and according to some sources even northern. Generally, Hellenes were in today's Hellas, Minor Asia and Cyprus. Thracians were on the eastern part of Balkans and further north. Illyrians were on the western part of Balkans and further north. Byzantine Empire lasted more than a thousand years.

During that period, Hellenes, Thracians and Illyrians lived in the same state, so movement was easier. They mingled and mixed more. Newcomers settled in the area. Starting in 6th century AD, Slavs migrated peacefully in Byzantine Empire's territory. First Bulgars were Altaic tribes. They settled in today's Bulgaria at around 7th century AD.

First Hungarians were Uralic tribes. The settled at the fringes of Byzantium but inside Illyrian - Thracian - Hellenic territory. So in all this vast area, today's populations originate from Hellenes, Thracians, Illyrians, Slavs and Ural - Altaic tribes. The percentages vary in different countries. Some countries are more Slavic. In today's Hellas, people descent more from Ancient Hellenes.

By the end of Hellenistic period, Thracians and Paeonians had been hellenized, more than Illyrians. Since Byzantium's culture and civilization were hellenistic, Illyrians became hellenized as well. Thracians and Illyrians did not disappear, they became hellenized Byzantines and were assimilated in Byzantine Empire. Ottoman Turks came in the region much later. They were Altaic tribes.

After the sack of Constantinople in 1453 AD, Ottoman period started in the region. When countries gradually gained their independence from Ottoman Empire, for some reason, there was no Thrace or Illyria formed. Only Hellas (Greece) was formed, where it was in ancient times. Thrace is a prefecture of contemporary Hellenic state, an area that was part of Odrysian Kingdom which also included European Turkiye, Bulgaria and southeastern Romania.

Bulgaria was named after the first Bulgars who were Altaic tribes although today's Bulgarians do not originate much from them. In today's Serbia, Triballi, Dardani and Autariatae (Illyrian tribes) were living in ancient times. They had relations with the Ancient Greeks at least since 5th century BC. Serbs were an early Slavic tribe that settled in the area. Today's Bulgarians and Serbs are 45% Slavic while Hellenes are 25%.

Albania was named after the Illyrian tribe Albanoi which lived in today's central Albania. There were many more Illyrian tribes like Abroi, Amantes, Balaites, Dalmatae, Grabei, Lapydes, Messapians, Tariotes. According to some sources, today's Albanians derive from Thracian tribe Bessi. They moved in the area after they were pushed out by Bulgars and Slavs.

Ancient Greeks had established colonies in Black Sea (Romania) since 7th century BC and had relations with local tribes which were Thracians. Dacians and Getae were Thracians. Romanian is a Latin language and probably remained after Roman era. Hungarian and Estonian are Uralic languages. All the rest of the languages in Eastern Europe, except Hellenic, are Slavic languages.

Romans sent troops but did not migrate. On the contrary, Slavs migrated in large numbers. So ancient inhabitants, Hellenes, Thracians, Illyrians, mixed a lot more with Slavs and less with Romans. They also mixed somewhat with Uralaltaic tribes. Judging by the way they look, this was not much because they do not look much Asian. Nevertheless, there was some mixture with Uralaltaic tribes, like in northern Eastern Europe.

Byzantine Empire had very close relations with Kievan Rus. Byzantium had a major influence on them. Since Byzantium's culture and civilization were hellenistic, Kievan Russes had big influence from hellenistic culture and civilization. Today's Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians originate from them. So, there is hellenistic influence in these countries. On the other hand, there was Slavic cultural influence in Byzantium, since Slavs settled in large numbers. So in most Eastern Europe, culture is Hellenoslavic.