Tiras
Encyclopedia
Tiras was, according to and Chronicles 1, the last-named son of Japheth
who is otherwise unmentioned in the Hebrew Bible
. According to the Book of Jubilees, the inheritance of Tiras consisted of four large islands in the ocean.
Josephus
wrote that Tiras became ancestor of the "Thirasians" (Thracians
) — a "flame-haired" (red or blond haired) people according to Xenophanes
. Tiras or Tyras
in antiquity was also the name of the Dniester
river, and of a Greek colony situated near its mouth; the native inhabitants of the surrounding region Tyragetae
. The Getae
were one of the major components of the Thracians (Herodotus
4.93, 5.3), who the Greeks held to descend from the eponymous Thrax
.
Some, including Noah Webster
, have suggested that Tiras was worshiped by his descendants as Thor
, the god of thunder, equating both these forms with the Θουρος (Thouros) mentioned by Homer
as the "Ares
(Mars) of the Thracians". The Icelandic saga Prose Edda
names Thor (or Tror) as a fair-haired chieftain ancestral to the Germanic peoples, and a king of Thrace.
In 1838, the German scholar Johann Christian Friedrich Tuch
suggested identifying Tiras with the Etruscans — who, according to Greek and Roman sources such as Herodotus
(I, 94), had been living in Lydia
as the Tyrsenoi before emigrating to Italy as early as the 8th century BC. Some scholars have additionally connected both Tiras and the Etruscans with Troas (Troy
), as well as with the contingent of Sea Peoples
known to New Kingdom of Egypt as the "Tursha" (Ramesses III
inscription) or "Teresh of the Sea" (Merneptah Stele
).
According to tractate Yoma
, in the Talmud
, Tiras is the ancestor of Persia.
The medieval rabbinic text Book of Jasher (7:9) records the sons of Tiras as Benib, Gera, Lupirion, and Gilak, and in 10:14, it asserts that Rushash, Cushni, and Ongolis are among his descendants. An earlier (950 AD) rabbinic compilation, the Yosippon, similarly claims Tiras' descendants to be the Rossi of Kiv, i.e. Kievan Rus, listing them together with his brother Meshech
's supposed descendants as "the Rossi; the Saqsni and the Iglesusi".
Another mediaeval Hebrew compilation, the Chronicles of Jerahmeel
, aside from quoting Yosippon as above, also provides a separate tradition of Tiras' sons elsewhere, naming them as Maakh, Tabel, Bal’anah, Shampla, Meah, and Elash. This material was ultimately derived from Pseudo-Philo
(ca. 75 AD), extant copies of which list Tiras' sons as Maac, Tabel, Ballana, Samplameac, and Elaz.
The Persian historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
(c. 915) recounts a tradition that Tiras had a son named Batawil, whose daughters Qarnabil, Bakht, and Arsal became the wives of Cush, Put, and Canaan, respectively.
Japheth
Japheth is one of the sons of Noah in the Abrahamic tradition...
who is otherwise unmentioned in the Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
. According to the Book of Jubilees, the inheritance of Tiras consisted of four large islands in the ocean.
Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
wrote that Tiras became ancestor of the "Thirasians" (Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
) — a "flame-haired" (red or blond haired) people according to Xenophanes
Xenophanes
of Colophon was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and social and religious critic. Xenophanes life was one of travel, having left Ionia at the age of 25 he continued to travel throughout the Greek world for another 67 years. Some scholars say he lived in exile in Siciliy...
. Tiras or Tyras
Tyras
Tyras , was an ancient Greek city founded as colony of Miletus, probably about 600 BC, situated some 10 m from the mouth of the Tyras River...
in antiquity was also the name of the Dniester
Dniester
The Dniester is a river in Eastern Europe. It runs through Ukraine and Moldova and separates most of Moldova's territory from the breakaway de facto state of Transnistria.-Names:...
river, and of a Greek colony situated near its mouth; the native inhabitants of the surrounding region Tyragetae
Tyragetae
The Tyrageti, Tyragetae, or Tyrangitae , literally, the Getae of the Tyras, were a sub-tribe of the Getae Thracians, situated on the river Tyras . They were regarded as an immigrant tribe of European Sarmatia dwelling E...
. The Getae
Getae
The Getae was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian tribes that occupied the regions south of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria, and north of the Lower Danube, in Romania...
were one of the major components of the Thracians (Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
4.93, 5.3), who the Greeks held to descend from the eponymous Thrax
Thrax (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Thrax was regarded as one of the reputed sons of Ares. In the Alcestis, Euripides mentions that one of the names of Ares himself was Thrax since he was regarded as the patron of Thrace .-Popular culture:*Thrax appears in the animated...
.
Some, including Noah Webster
Noah Webster
Noah Webster was an American educator, lexicographer, textbook pioneer, English spelling reformer, political writer, editor, and prolific author...
, have suggested that Tiras was worshiped by his descendants as Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
, the god of thunder, equating both these forms with the Θουρος (Thouros) mentioned by Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
as the "Ares
Ares
Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and...
(Mars) of the Thracians". The Icelandic saga Prose Edda
Prose Edda
The Prose Edda, also known as the Younger Edda, Snorri's Edda or simply Edda, is an Icelandic collection of four sections interspersed with excerpts from earlier skaldic and Eddic poetry containing tales from Nordic mythology...
names Thor (or Tror) as a fair-haired chieftain ancestral to the Germanic peoples, and a king of Thrace.
In 1838, the German scholar Johann Christian Friedrich Tuch
Johann Christian Friedrich Tuch
Johann Christian Friedrich Tuch was a German Orientalist and theologian born in Quedlinburg.He studied at the University of Halle, where in 1830 received his habilitation. In 1841 he relocated to the University of Leipzig as a professor of theology.His best written work was Kommentar über die...
suggested identifying Tiras with the Etruscans — who, according to Greek and Roman sources such as Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
(I, 94), had been living in Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
as the Tyrsenoi before emigrating to Italy as early as the 8th century BC. Some scholars have additionally connected both Tiras and the Etruscans with Troas (Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
), as well as with the contingent of Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
known to New Kingdom of Egypt as the "Tursha" (Ramesses III
Ramesses III
Usimare Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. He was the son of Setnakhte and Queen Tiy-Merenese. Ramesses III is believed to have reigned from March 1186 to April 1155 BCE...
inscription) or "Teresh of the Sea" (Merneptah Stele
Merneptah Stele
The Merneptah Stele — also known as the Israel Stele or Victory Stele of Merneptah — is an inscription by the Ancient Egyptian king Merneptah , which appears on the reverse side of a granite stele erected by the king Amenhotep III...
).
According to tractate Yoma
Yoma
Yoma is the fifth tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for their sins from the previous year...
, in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, Tiras is the ancestor of Persia.
The medieval rabbinic text Book of Jasher (7:9) records the sons of Tiras as Benib, Gera, Lupirion, and Gilak, and in 10:14, it asserts that Rushash, Cushni, and Ongolis are among his descendants. An earlier (950 AD) rabbinic compilation, the Yosippon, similarly claims Tiras' descendants to be the Rossi of Kiv, i.e. Kievan Rus, listing them together with his brother Meshech
Meshech
In the Bible, Meshech is named as a son of Japheth in Genesis 10:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:5.Another Meshech is named as a son of Aram in 1 Chronicles 1:17 .-Interpretations:...
's supposed descendants as "the Rossi; the Saqsni and the Iglesusi".
Another mediaeval Hebrew compilation, the Chronicles of Jerahmeel
Chronicles of Jerahmeel
The Chronicles of Jerahmeel is a voluminous work that draws largely on Pseudo-Philo's earlier history of Biblical events and is of special interest because it includes Hebrew and Aramaic versions of certain deuterocanonical books in the Septuagint....
, aside from quoting Yosippon as above, also provides a separate tradition of Tiras' sons elsewhere, naming them as Maakh, Tabel, Bal’anah, Shampla, Meah, and Elash. This material was ultimately derived from Pseudo-Philo
Pseudo-Philo
Pseudo-Philo is the name commonly used for a Jewish pseudepigraphical work in Latin, so called because it was transmitted along with Latin translations of the works of Philo of Alexandria but is very obviously not written by Philo...
(ca. 75 AD), extant copies of which list Tiras' sons as Maac, Tabel, Ballana, Samplameac, and Elaz.
The Persian historian Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari
Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
(c. 915) recounts a tradition that Tiras had a son named Batawil, whose daughters Qarnabil, Bakht, and Arsal became the wives of Cush, Put, and Canaan, respectively.