Thrace is mostly mountainous and was first inhabited by Pelasgians, a race closely connected to the other Greek tribes. Thracians founded Eleusis in Attica and the mythical musicians Orpheus and Mousaios were from Thrace.
In ancient times, Thrace stretched from Mt. Olympus in the south to the Danube in the north, and among its most famous cities was Abdera, the birthplace of Democritus.
Thrace continued to play an important role in history during both the Roman and Byzantine periods.
A large section of Thrace was ceded to Bulgaria at the beginning of this century, while Turkey took another part after the First World War ( Treaty of Lausanne, 1923 ), while Greece was left with the Xanthi, Komotini, and Evros regions, the river Evros acting as a border to the East.
Thrace is largely agricultural, with around 350,000 inhabitants, of both Greek and Muslim origin. It is the most north-easterly part of the Greek state.
