For other meanings of DII, including the UK's Defence Information Infrastructure DII see the disambiguation page. For other meanings of DII, including the UKs Defence Information Infrastructure DII see the disambiguation page. ... For other meanings of DII, including the UKs Defence Information Infrastructure DII see the disambiguation page. ...

The Dii (also Dioi ) were an independent Thracian tribe, swordsmen, who lived among the foothills of Mount Rhodope in Thrace. They often joined the ranks of organized armies as mercenaries or volunteers. Thucydides declared that they were the most warlike infantry in Sitalkes' army. The Thracians were an Indo-European people, inhabitants of Thrace and adjacent lands (present-day Bulgaria, Romania, northeastern Greece, European Turkey and northwestern asiatic Turkey, eastern Serbia and parts of Republic of Macedonia). ... A swordsman is one skilled in the use of swords. ... Landscape of the Rhodopes near the village of Hvoyna View from the Belintash Rock towards the village of Vrata The Rhodopes (Bulgarian: Родопи, Rodopi, usually used with a definite article: Родопите, Rodopite, sometimes also called Родопа, Rodopa or Родопа планина, Rodopa planina; Greek: Ροδόπη, Rodopi, red aspect) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over... Thrace (Greek Θράκη, Thrákē, Latin: Thracia or Threcia, Turkish Trakya, Bulgarian Тракия, Trakiya) is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. ... Bust of Thucydides residing in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. ... Sitalkes (reigned 431 - 424 BC) was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state. ...

Though usually described as swordsmen, they defeated a Theban cavalry by using peltast tactics, so they were certainly skilled in other areas of warfare as well. Thebes (in modern Greek: Θήβα — Thíva, in ancient Greek and Katharevousa: — Thēbai or Thívai) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. ... A peltast was a type of light infantry in Ancient Greece who often served as skirmishers. ...

See also: Bessi. The Bessi were an independent Thracian tribe who lived in a territory ranging from Moesia to Mount Rhodope in southern Thrace, but are often mentioned as dwelling about Haemus, the mountain range that separates Moesia from Thrace. ...