The Dentheletae ( el, Δενθελῆται), also Danthaletae (Δανθαλῆται) or Denseletae, were a

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

tribe that in antiquity lived near the sources of the River Strymon, and are mentioned in texts by

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

and by

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

. They lived in the neighbourhoods of the modern towns

Kyustendil Kyustendil ( bg, Кюстендил ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, ...

(ancient Pautalia) and

Dupnitsa Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second l ...

(ancient

Germania Germania ( ; ), also called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman province of the same name, was a large historical region in north-c ...

, "hot" in

due to the springs), stretching to as far as the mountains to the west towards the valleys of the Morava and the

Vardar The Vardar (; mk, , , ) or Axios () is the longest river in North Macedonia and the second longest river in Greece, in which it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . Th ...

river, with territories situated next to the Thracian tribes Agrianes (per

Theopompus Theopompus ( grc-gre, Θεόπομπος, ''Theópompos''; c. 380 BCc. 315 BC) was an ancient Greek historian and rhetorician. Biography Theopompus was born on the Aegean island of Chios. In early youth, he seems to have spent some time at Athen ...

) and the

Maedi The Maedi (also ''Maidans'', ''Maedans'', or ''Medi''; grc, Μαῖδοι or Μαιδοί) were a Thracian tribe in antiquity. In historic times, they occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along t ...

(per

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

). Their main city, called Dentheletica, was presumably Pautalia (modern-day Kyustendil) as this was the capital of the Roman region Dentheletica. They possibly built fortifications around

Stara Planina The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border be ...

in the 1st century BC, lived around

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

and Skaptopara (modern

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...

) was their town. Livy mentions them in passing in his account of King Philip V of Macedon, who in 214BC plundered them for supplies even though they were his ally. The Dentheletae were allies of Rome. Along with the

Scordisci The Scordisci ( el, Σκορδίσκοι) were a Celtic Iron Age cultural group centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus (Sava), Dravus (Drava), Margus (Morava) and Danube rivers. They were historically ...

, the Dentheletae invaded Macedonia. Circa 30BC, when under their king 'Sitas, who was blind', and whilst under treaty with Rome, their territories were invaded by the

Bastarnae The Bastarnae ( Latin variants: ''Bastarni'', or ''Basternae''; grc, Βαστάρναι or Βαστέρναι) and Peucini ( grc, Πευκῖνοι) were two ancient peoples who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited areas north of the Roman front ...

. In response to this invasion and with the wider objective of securing the Macedonia/Thrace frontier of the Roman Empire, Consul Marcus Licinus Crassus Dives (grandson of

Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

the

triumvir A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

) earned a triumph for his attack on the Bastarnae in defense of the Denteleti in 28-29BC with Legio IIII ''Scythica'', Legio V ''Macedonica'' and possibly Legio X ''Fretensis''.''The Legions of Rome'', Stephen Dando-Collins, pp212-6, Quercus (December 2010) Raids in Dardania 16-13BC marked the end of the Dentheletae. In late antiquity, the area of the Dentheletae was Greek-speaking.

References

Sources

* *{{cite journal, title=Epigraphic and archaeological evidence contributing to identifying the location and character of Timacum Maius, author=Petrović Vladimir P., Filipović Vojislav, journal=Balcanica , year=2013 , issue=44 , pages=35–49, doi=10.2298/BALC1344035P , url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/ft.aspx?id=0350-76531344035P Ancient tribes in Thrace Ancient tribes in Bulgaria Ancient tribes in the Balkans Thracian tribes

See also

References

Sources