thracians - Classical period
By the 5th century BC, the Thracian presence was pervasive enough to have made Herodotus (book 5) call them the second-most numerous people in the part of the world known by him (after the Indians), and potentially the most powerful, if not for their disunity. The Thracians in classical times were broken up into a large number of groups and tribes, though a number of powerful Thracian states were organized, such as the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace and the Dacia of Burebista. A type of soldier of this period called the Peltast probably originated in Thrace.

(Picture) A Thracian coin from Panticapaeum, bearing the Macedonian symbol of the Vergina Sun inside a diadem. 2nd century BCE.
In that period contacts between the Thracians and Classical Greece intensified which led to strengthening Greek influences in Thracian society, culture and handcrafts. Because their language had no written tradition, in some regions the Thracian aristocracy and administration adopted Classical Greek for an official language and Thracian merchants utilised it as a 'lingua franca' in their contacts with other tribes and peoples. As a result a level of Helenisation was observed in the following centuries and it was deeper imposed by the Macedonian conquests over the Thracian territory in 3rd century BC.

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