The [[Tyre]], which the Targum identifies this as Tarkey (Targum Yonathan), which is identified as Thrace. Josephus likewise states that Tiras is Thrace. This is a people who lived in the Balkans, in what is now European Turkey and Bulgaria. Indeed according to the Targum, Turkey derives its name from Thrace. Linguistically Thracian is related to Albanian. There is also a possible relationship with the Etruscans. It is notable that there was a Tearus (Tiras) River going through Thrace (Herodotus 4:89).
In the Talmud, however, there is a dispute as to the identity of Tiras, with some saying that it is Thrace, while others say that it is Persia (Yoma 10a; Yerushalmi, Megillah 1:9). The Persians, however, received their name from Perseus, whose kingdom was originally Tiryns (Herodotus 7:61). Moreover, one of the original Persian tribes was the Terusieans or Derusieans (Ibid. 1:125).
