Doriscus ( grc-gre, Δορίσκος and Δωρίσκος, ''Dorískos'') was a settlement in

ancient Thrace 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 ...

(modern-day

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

), on the northern shores of

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

, in a plain west of the river Hebrus. It was notable for remaining in

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n hands for many years after the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and remained thus known as the last Persian stronghold in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Doriscus was founded by Darius the Great in 512 BC. He built a Royal Fortress and stationed a large number of Persian troops there at the time of his Scythian campaign.

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

(7.59) reports that Doriscus was the first place

Xerxes the Great Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of D ...

stopped to review his troops after crossing the Hellespont in 480 BC, during the Second Persian invasion of Greece. Herodotus also writes that Xerxes I of Persia made

Mascames Mascames, also spelled Maskames ( Old Persian: ''Maškāma'') was a Persian official and military commander, who flourished during the reign of Xerxes I (486–465). He was the son of Megadostes, and was appointed governor of Doriscus in 480 BC b ...

, son of Megadostes, governor of Doriscus in order to replace the man Darius I had appointed. Doriscus is notable as it was one of the few Persian towns in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

that remained under the Persian sway, even after the Second Persian invasion of Greece. The Athenian general Cimon that led the conquests after the Persian retreat was unable to capture it. Herodotus states that Doriscus "was never taken" from the Persians. Its governor Mascames was honored by the Persian king for his defence. According to Raphael Sealey, the Achaemenid ruler probably recalled Mascames with his garrison around 465 BC, and finally abandoned Doriscus. However,

Muhammad Dandamayev Muhammad Abdulkadyrovich Dandamayev ( lbe, Мухаммад Абдулкадырович Дандамаев; September 2, 1928 – August 28, 2017 ), Chief Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOM- ...

notes that when Herodotus wrote his '' Histories'' in the second half of the fifth century BC, Doriscus was still held by the Persians. Doriscus' site is located at the modern village of Doriskos,

Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Eastern Macedonia and Thrace ( el, Ανατολική Μακεδονία και Θράκη, translit=Anatolikí Makedonía ke Thráki, ) is one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It consists of the northeastern parts of the coun ...

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* * {{Coord, 40.873623, N, 26.164008, E, display=title, format=dms, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/32318 Populated places in ancient Thrace Former populated places in Greece Thracian towns Achaemenid Thrace Achaemenid cities Darius the Great

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References

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