Once More on the Thracian Strategies of Claudius Ptolemy Peter Delev Among the few historical texts containing information on the inner tribal and political divisions of ancient Thrace in Hellenistic and Early Roman times, none other has raised so much discussion and so varied and controver- sial interpretations than the list of Thracian strategies in the Geography of Claudius Ptolemy (Dimitrov 1932-1934; Mihailov 1967; Jones 1971, 10-23; Fol 1975, 60-92; Tacheva 1983). The short text of Ptolomy reads: “The strategies in this province [Thrace] on the side of the two Moesias and around Mount Haemus are the following, beginning from the west: Dantheletica, Sardica, Ousdicesica, Selletica; on the side of Macedonia and the Aegean Sea in the same order are Maedica, Drosica, Coeletica, Sapaica, Corpilica and Caenica; and above Medica is Bessica, under it is Bennica, and further on Samaica. In the coastal region from the city of Perinthus to Apollonia is the strategy Astica”. 1 It has been suggested that the description of Thrace in the Geography of Ptolemy was based on reliable information which had been originally record- ed during the reign of the emperor Trajan (Mihailov 1967, 37-38). It is also clear that most of the strategies were named after Thracian tribes; it could therefore be presumed that their different territories coincided at least partial- ly with those occupied by the respective tribes at the time when they fell un- der Roman domination. In the text of Ptolemy the strategies are listed follow- ing a definite and explicitely mentioned order, which should have been help- ful in the attempt to arrange them on the map. Unfortunately, several emba- rassing issues have made this desirable operation quite difficult, resulting in significant disagreements among the several authors who have discussed the subject in more detail. It remains for example unexplained why no strategy was named after the most important Thracian tribe, that of the Odrysians, and whether that means that the central territories of the Odrysian kingdom in the Hebros valley were completely exempt from the system of strategies, 1 Ptol. 3.11.6: Στρατηγίαι δὲ εἰσὶν ἐν τῇ ἐπαρχίᾳ πρὸς μὲν ταῖς Μυσίαις καὶ περὶ τὸν Αἷμον τὸ ὄρος ἀρχομένοις ἀπὸ δυσμν Δανθηλητικὴ, Σαρδικὴ, Οσδικησικὴ, Σελλητική· πρὸς δὲ τῇ Μακεδονίᾳ καὶ τ Αἰγαί πελάγει ὁμοίως στρατηγίαι Μαιδικὴ, Δροσικὴ, Κοιλητικὴ, Σαπαϊκὴ, Κορπιλικὴ, Καινική· καὶ πὲρ μὲν τὴν Μαιδικὴν Βεσσικὴ, φ' ἣν Βεννικὴ, εἶτα Σαμαϊκή· παρὰ δὲ τὴν ἀπὸ Περίνθου πόλεως μέχρις Απολλωνίας παράλιον ἡ Αστικὴ στρατηγία.