Drilae ( ka, დრილები, ''Drilebi'') were an ancient western
Georgian tribe, inhabiting mountainous coasts of the southern shores of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
. In the hinterland of Trapezus dwelt the Drilae (Dri/lai, Dri/llai), a Kartvelian tribe which was chronically at war with the Trapezuntians. In 401 BC their territory were invaded by Greek mercenaries, which is attested in
Anabasis - the work of
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
soldier and historian
Xenophon
Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...
. Xenophon records that they were most warlike of the pontic tribes and inhabited mountainous and inaccessible land. He also notes that their capital was so well fortified that even experienced Greek soldiers were unable to take it.
Drillae were mainly
pastoralists, but they were skilled in construction as well. The country of the Drilae was “mountainous and difficult to traverse and its inhabitants the most warlike of all that dwell upon the Euxine” (Xenophon, Anabasis, V.ii.2-27). Arrian (2nd century A.D.) claims that Xenophon’s Drilae still existed in his day but were known as “Sanni.” He states that “these too are very warlike, even to this day, and are hostile to the Trapezuntines, live in fortified places, and are a tribe without a king. They were also formerly liable for tribute to the Romans, although, being pirates, they are not anxious to pay their tribute” (Periplus 11.1-2).
References
*''მიქელაძე თ.,'' ქსენოფონტის "ანაბასისი" (ცნობები ქართველი ტომების შესახებ), თბ., 1967;
*''Максимова М. И.,'' Античные города Юго-восточного Причерноморья, М.-Л. 1956;
*''Максимова М. И.,'' Местное население Юго-восточного Причерноморья по "Анабасису" Ксенофонта: дрилы и моссиники, «Вестник древней истории», 1951, № 1;
*''მიქელაძე თ.,'' ქსე, ტ. 3, გვ. 639, თბ., 1978
{{Ancient Georgians
Ancient peoples of Georgia (country)
Tribes in Greco-Roman historiography
Anabasis (Xenophon)