Expert: Maria - 10/5/2008

Question
Simple: Who were the exact cultural/national inhabitants of Troy 6-7 ( The illiads era)

In Depth: I am attempting to achieve this information to closely tie the war with these peoples, who may have been in my speculation quite possibly directly connected to the Greek " Dark Ages ". My theory is that the inhabitants of Troy at this time were actually from where Macedonia would be several hundred years later. In  this theory the  Greek alliance destroys a Hittite protectorate and a birthchild of these Northern Greco peoples causing a backlash, leading to the so called Dark age period, from the "Invasion of Unknown peoples invading from the North. The two events potentially take place only 60 years apart. I also have made several connections between epoch events such The disappearance of the minoan civilization and Cretans and the estimated event of the Volcanic eruption of the Island of Santorini. If this event was as great as is said, then an earthquake is not far fetched, which is often speculated to have destroyed troy the 6th. - I know there is alot here, and my initial simple question will aid me the most, however I would really enjoy some open dialog on these other concerning subjects. In closing I came across a text in an old history book on Troy, saying that the only reference to these " Mysterious" Indo European peoples of the time of the Illiads troy was that they were, " Great Horseman " and the Pre eastern expansion Hittites referred to the area Near troy as The "Grazing lands" I believe it was .

Thank you for your time,and patience,
Kelly
VisionsToLife@hotmail.com

Answer
Hello,

This is a very broad question, indeed, in spite of its apparent simplicity.

Anyway, without going into such a difficult argument which would need a very long and in-depth  answer, I think that the inhabitants of Troy VIIa, which has been dated to the mid- to late-13th century BC and is the most often-cited candidate for the Troy of Homer, were from Thrace, the region in the South Eastern Balkans.

According to the legend which has likely a basis of historical truth, it seems in fact that Troy was built by the son of Zeus and Electra, i.e. Dardanus, who  is said to have lived in Samothrace, a mountainous Greek island in the northeast Aegean Sea, just off the coast of Thrace.

This in  short, of course, as I don’t have time to analyse thoroughly such a difficult matter  to which many scholars have tried to find a  reliable answer that however is still uncertain.

Best regards,
Maria