The Dardanoi were a legendary people of the Troad, located in northwestern Anatolia. The Dardanoi were the descendants of Dardanus, the mythical founder of Dardanus, an ancient city in the Troad. A contingent of Dardanians figures among Troy's allies in the Trojan War. Homer makes a clear distinction between the Trojans and the Dardanoi, however, "Dardanoi"/"Dardanian" later became essentially metonymous–– or at least is commonly perceived to be so–– with "Trojan", especially in the works of Vergil such as the Aeneid.

Dardanus or Dardanum was an ancient city in the Troad. It was sometimes called Dardania, a term used also for the district around it. Pliny the Elder called it Dardanium. It appears in other sources indirectly as well. The city-ethnic, or appellation of a person from Dardanus, is Dardaneus. Its coin legends are DAR and DARDAN. Its localization is securely marked by an inscription naming itself on the site.