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 and from
Mount Rhodope to the northern part of
Hebrus.
Herodotus described them as a sort of priestly-caste among the
Satrae, the Bessi being interpreters of the prophetic utterances given by a priestess in an
oracular shrine of
Dionysus located on a mountain-top.