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Leucosyri, or Leucosyroi (Singular: Leucosyros), also known as Leucosyrians or White Syrians, are an ancient tribe that existed in Anatolia. They were eventually hellenised. The name "Leucosyri" derived from the Greek name Λευκόσυροι or Λευκοσύριοι meaning White Syrians. It's been believed that the Leucosyri are of Syro-Hittite origin, relating to the Hittites.
They are referred as 'Cappadocians' by the Persians, as well as 'Troglodytes' by Greeks. It has been believed that the Leucosyri lived in Pontus, Cappadocia, Cilicia and parts of central-west Asia Minor.
The Leucosyri of Pontus mainly lived in the mountainous highland of Pontus near Armenia Minor with a considerable number of people living in the interior of Pontus (the coastal area). During the reign of the Kingdom of Pontus, they may have been one of the Iranians of Pontus and Taurica (another traditional area with a large population of Pontic Greeks), to have contributed to Pontus' Iranian and Anatolian influence of the ancient Pontic population. By the time of Justinian I, the Leucosyri had been hellenized.
During the Mithridatic Wars, the Leucosyrians were recruited as mercenaries into the Pontic army to fight off the Roman army of Sulla and later Pompey.
The Leucosyri have also lived in Cappadocia amongst the Greeks, Diauekhi, Taochi and other Anatolian tribes such as the Galatians. Like the Leucosyri of Pontus, the remaining Leucosyri assimilated into the Cappadocian Greek population.
It has never been clear of the background of the Leucosyri, as history had mentioned them only a few times. Their religion has never been clear and remains a mystery of what deities the Leucosyri worshipped. Leucosyri would have assumed to worshipped Anatolian deities before adopting Greek and Hellenized deities.