250px|thumb|Mount Cholomon, highlands in or near ancient Mygdonia.
'''Bryges''' or '''Briges''' (Greek: Βρύγοι or Βρίγες) is the historical name given to a Thracian<ref>Roth, Jonathan. ''The Logistics of the Roman Army at War (264 B.C.-A.D. 235)''. BRILL, 1999, ISBN 9004112715, p. 93. "The Briges were a Thracian people, whom Herodotus considered Phrygians, and in classical Greek, "Phrygian" served as a virtual synonym for slave."</ref> people that dwelled in Ancient Macedonia north of Beroia in the neighborhood of Mount Bermius.<ref>Strabo. ''Geography'', [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/7Fragments*.html 7.25 (Fragments)]. "Mt. Bermium, also, is somewhere in this region; in earlier times it was occupied by Briges, a tribe of Thracians; some of these crossed over into Asia and their name was changed to Phryges."</ref><ref>Smith, William. ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'', 1854 (Original from Harvard University), p. 452. "BRYGI (Βρύγοι), called BRIGES (Βρίγες) by the Macedonians, a Thracian people dwelling in Macedonia, north of Beroea in the neighborhood of Mt. Bermius."</ref> Based on extremely limited archaeological evidence, some scholars (Nicholas Hammond, Eugene N. Borza et al) argue that the Bryges were members of the Lusatian culture that migrated into the southern Balkans during the Late Bronze Age.<ref>Borza, Eugene N. ''In the Shadow of Olympus: the Emergence of Macedon''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990, ISBN 0691008809, p. 65. "What can be established, despite an extremely slight archaeological record (especially along the slopes of Mt. Vermion), is that two streams of Lausitz peoples moved south in the later Bronze Age, one to settle in Hellespontine Phrygia, the other to occupy parts of western and central Macedonia."</ref><ref>The Gordion Excavations 1950-1973: Final Reports Volume 4, Rodney Stuart Young, Ellen L. Kohler, Gilbert Kenneth, p. 53.</ref>

==History==
Macedonians, the Bryges changed their name to "Phruges/Phryges" (Phrygians) after crossing the Anatolia,<ref>Herodotus. ''Histories'', [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Hdt.+7.73 7.73]. "The Phrygian equipment was very similar to the Paphlagonian, with only a small difference. As the Macedonians say, these Phrygians were called Briges as long as they dwelt in Europe, where they were neighbors of the Macedonians; but when they changed their home to Asia, they changed their name also and were called Phrygians. The Armenians, who are settlers from Phrygia, were armed like the Phrygians. Both these together had as their commander Artochmes, who had married a daughter of Darius."</ref> a movement which is thought to have happened between 1200 BC and 800 BC<ref>Borza, Eugene N. ''In the Shadow of Olympus: the Emergence of Macedon''. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1990, ISBN 0691008809, p.65</ref> perhaps due to the Epirus,<ref name=IESE></ref> as well as Macedonia, mainly west of the Eugammon in his ''Epirotian Brutus.<ref>Plutarch. ''The Parallel Lives'' ([http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Brutus*.html#note38 Brutus]).</ref> However, modern scholars state that a historical link between them and the original Bryges cannot be established.<ref>Wilkes, J. J. ''The Illyrians''. Blackwell Publishing, 1992, ISBN 0631198075, p. 111. "The presence of Bryges at Epidamnus in the account of Appian seems to be confirmed by other sources, including the ''Coastal Voyage'' attributed to Scymnus of Chios and Stabo's ''Geography''. No later record of their presence in the area survives nor can any link be established with the Bryges of Thrace..."</ref>

==Etymology==
thumb|right|200px|Thessaloniki, location of ancient [[Mygdonia, Macedonian home of the Bryges.]]

There is no certain derivation for the name and tribal origin of the Bryges. In 1844, Hermann Müller suggested the name might be related to the same Indo-European root as that of to German ''Berg'' (mountain) and Slavic ''breg'' (hill, slope, mountain),<ref>Müller, Hermann. ''Das nordische Griechenthum und die urgeschichtliche Bedeutung des Nordwestlichen Europas'', p. 228.</ref> i.e. IE . It would then be cognate with Western European tribal names such as the Celtic Brigantes and the Germanic Burgundians,<ref>Kluge, ''Etymologisches Wörterbuch'', Berlin: de Gruyter 1995, v. ''Berg''.</ref> and semantically motivated by some aspect of the word meanings 'high, elevated, noble, illustrious'.<ref></ref>

===Proper names===
Some personal or geographic names mentioned in ancient authors may be etymologically related to "Bryges":

*Brygean islands in the supposed delta of Istros, mentioned in Argonautica epic poem.<ref>Apollonios Rhodios (translated by Peter Green). ''The Argonautika''. University of California Press, 1997, ISBN 0520076877, p. 223. [Glossary] "'''Brygean Isles''': A group of islands occupying the (supposed) Adriatic delta of the '''Istros R.''' (Danube) and sacred to Artemis."</ref>

*Brygias or Brygium, city in ''Lychnitis palus''.<ref>Hazlitt, William. ''The Classical Gazetteer: A Dictionary of Ancient Geography, Sacred and Profane''. Whittaker, 1851, p. 81. "Brygias (Brygium, Brucida), capital of the Brygi, Illyria, E. of Lychnitis palus on the Via Egnatia, bet. Lychnidus (13) and Scirtiana (4). ''Presba''."</ref>

*Brygos (son of Aphrodisios) Epidamnos/Dyrrhachion.<ref>[http://epigraphy.packhum.org/inscriptions/oi?ikey=182255&bookid=228&region=4&subregion=10 Epigraphical Database] - ''Epitaph of Brugos, son of Aphrodisios. White limestone cippus. Βρῦγος Ἀ[φ]ροδισίου χαῖρε.''</ref><ref>Smith, William. ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'', 1854 (Original from Harvard University), p. 452. "Some of the Brygi were settled in Illyricum, where they dwelt apparently north of Epidamnos. Strabo assigns to them a town Cydriae."</ref>

'''Бригите''' се етничка заедница која во предисторискиот, протоисторискиот период и периодот на Антиката го населувала просторот на Пелагонија, Албанија и северозападна Грција. 

Најстариот помен на Бригите е во историските извори е во врска со нивниот конфликт со Теспротијците кои го населувале просторот на јужна Албанија во времето на Тројанската војна.

Според зачуваните лични имиња, Бригите имаат сличности со античките Македонци, Пајонци, Мигдонци, Едонци и особено со малоазиските Фригијци. Веројатно тие биле првичното етничко јадро од кое подоцна се диференцирале овие старобалкански народи.