Sextus Julius Cotys III (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Κότυς, flourished second half of 1st century BC and first half of 1st century, died 18 AD) was the

Sapaean Sapaeans, Sapaei or Sapaioi (Ancient Greek, "Σαπαίοι") were a Thracian tribe close to the Greek city of Abdera. One of their kings was named Abrupolis and had allied himself with the Romans. They ruled Thrace after the Odrysians until ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

client king of eastern

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

from 12 to 18 AD.

Family and origins

Cotys was the son and heir of loyal Roman client rulers

Rhoemetalces I Rhoemetalces I () was king of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace from 15 BC to 12 AD in succession to his nephew Rhescuporis II. Rhoemetalces I was a loyal ally to the first Roman Emperor Augustus. He was a direct descendant of the Thracian King ...

and Pythodoris I of Thrace. Cotys' mother is only known through surviving numismatic evidence, which bears her image and her Royal title of Queen Pythodoris. Cotys' father

was an ally of the first Roman Emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

. Rhoemetalces I was a direct descendant of the Thracian King Cotys I. Rhoemetalces I was the son of a previous Thracian King, whose name was Cotys II and his mother is unknown. Rhoemetalces I was the middle son, who had an elder brother who was called Cotys and his younger brother was

Rhescuporis II file:Monete ellenistiche, regno di tracia, Rescuporide II, in bronzo, 12-18 dc.jpg, Coin of Rhescuporis II of Thracia Rhescuporis II (Greek language, Greek: Ρησκούπορις) was king of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace from 12 to 19 AD. He rul ...

. Rhoemetalces I's eldest brother Cotys who was Thracian King and an ally to Roman General

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

, had sent Pompey a force of auxiliaries under his son Rhescuporis I in 48 BC, during the Roman civil war between Pompey and Gaius

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

. When Rhoemetalces I's brother died, his nephew Rhescuporis I became Thracian King. Rhoemetalces I became the guardian to the young son of his brother, Cotys. Rhescuporis I died in 13 BC when he was defeated and slain in a battle by Vologaeses, chief of the Thracian Bessi, who was a leader in the revolt against the Romans in that year. During this revolt Rhoemetalces I and his family had fled Thrace and only returned when the revolt had ended. Augustus then returned Thrace to him and his family. When Rhescuporis I died, he left no heir so Rhoemetalces I became King of Thrace in 12 BC. Rhoemetalces I ruled Thrace until his death in 12 AD. The Roman historian,

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

, describes Rhoemetalces I as 'attractive and civilized'.

King of Thrace

National Historical Museum of Bulgaria PD 2012 059

When Rhoemetalces I died, Augustus had divided the kingdom into two separate kingdoms: one part for his son Cotys to rule and other half for Rhoemetalces I's remaining brother

to rule. Tacitus states that Cotys received the cultivated parts, most towns and most Greek cities of Thrace, while Rhescuporis received the wild and savage portion with enemies on its frontier. Not much is known on the early life of Cotys. Cotys had married the

Antonia Tryphaena Antonia Tryphaena also known as Tryphaena of Thrace or Tryphaena (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀντωνία Τρύφαινα or Τρυφαίνη, 10 BC – 55 AD) was a Kingdom of Pontus, Pontian Princess and a Ancient Rome, Roman Client Queen of Sapa ...

, a Pontian princess who was the daughter of Roman client rulers, Polemon Pythodoros and

Pythodorida of Pontus Pythodoris of Pontus (, 30 BC or 29 BC – 38), also spelled Pythodorida (Πυθοδωρίδα), was a Roman client queen of Pontus, the Bosporan Kingdom, Cilicia, and Cappadocia. Origins and early life According to an honorific inscription de ...

. She was of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

n Greek and Roman heritage. Tryphaena's mother was the first grandchild of Roman Triumvir,

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

. However the relationship between Tryphaena and Cotys is unknown. Tacitus describes Cotys as a man of 'gentle disposition, good natured and mannered'. The Roman poet

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, wrote an

epistle An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...

addressed to him. Ovid praises Cotys for his cultivated taste for literature, and claimed his favour and protection as a brother-poet. Rhescuporis II always wanted to annex Cotys' kingdom for himself to rule. However, he was unable to do this out of his fear of Augustus. However, when Augustus died in 14 AD, Rhescuporis II decided to take action. Tacitus describes his character as 'treacherous'. Rhescuporis II was at first peaceful in seeking to annex his nephew's kingdom, but when Cotys resisted, Rhescuporis II plotted to kill his nephew. Rhescuporis II invited his nephew to a banquet to ratify a treaty between them. Cotys had not expected trouble and was arrested and imprisoned by his uncle. With Cotys imprisoned, Rhescuporis II seized his kingdom. In 18 AD Cotys was murdered by order of Rhescuporis II who falsely represented his death as self-inflicted. Cotys' wife and children fled Thrace to

Cyzicus Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have or ...

. In 19 AD Roman Emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

opened a murder investigation into Cotys' death. Tiberius put Rhescuporis II on trial in the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

and invited Tryphaena to attend the trial. During the trial Tryphaena accused Rhescuporis II of killing her husband. Tiberius found Rhescuporis II guilty and sent him to live in exile in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. On his way to Egypt Rhescuporis II tried to escape and was killed by Roman soldiers. Tiberius returned the whole Thracian Kingdom to Tryphaena and Tiberius appointed Cotys and Tryphaena's first child, Rhoemetalces II, to rule with his mother. The son of Rhescuporis II, Rhoemetalces III was spared by Tiberius and the emperor allowed him to return to Thrace.

Marriage and children

Cotys had four children by Tryphaena and they were: * A son,

Rhoemetalces II Rhoemetalces II (Greek: Ροιμητάλκης) was a Client Ruler in association with his mother Antonia Tryphaena of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace under the Romans. He ruled from 19 until 38 AD.Mladjov, Thracian Kings, University of Michigan
Werner 1961: 118-120, 239, 242; Sullivan 1990: 25-30, 145-151, stemma 1. * A daughter,

Gepaepyris Gepaepyris (, flourished 1st century) was a Thracian princess, and a Roman Client Queen of the Bosporan Kingdom, the longest known surviving Roman Client Kingdom. She ruled in AD 37/38–39. Life Gepaepyris was the first daughter and was among th ...

, who married the Roman client king

Tiberius Julius Aspurgus Tiberius Julius Aspurgus Philoromaios (, fl. second half of 1st century BC and first half of 1st century AD; died 37/38) was a prince and Roman client king of the Bosporan Kingdom. History The name Aspurgus is of Iranian origin, derived from ''as ...

of the

Bosporan Kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (; ), was an ancient Greco-Scythians, Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, centered in the present-day ...

. * A son,

Cotys IX Cotys IX or Kotys IX ( Greek: Κότυς, flourished 1st century) was a Thracian prince and the Roman Client King of Lesser Armenia. Cotys was the second son of Roman Client rulers of Thrace Cotys VIII and Antonia Tryphaena. His paternal grandpa ...

, who became Roman client king of

Lesser Armenia Lesser Armenia (; ; ), also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, comprised the Armenian-populated regions primarily to the west and northwest of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (also known as Kingdom of Greater Armenia), on the western sid ...

from 38 until at least 47. * A daughter,

Pythodoris II Pythodoris II or Pythodorida II (Greek: Πυθοδωρίς; reigned AD 38–46) was a client ruler of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace under Roman rule, in association with her father's cousin Rhoemetalces III. Pythodoris succeeded her mother Anto ...

or Pythodorida II. She was named after her maternal grandparents and her paternal grandmother. In 38, after the death of Rhoemetalces II, Tryphaena abdicated the throne at the request of Roman Emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

. Pythodoris II married her second paternal cousin

Rhoemetalces III Rhoemetalces III () was a king of the Sapaean Thracians. He was the son of Rhescuporis II. In association with his wife Pythodoris II, (daughter of his cousin Cotys III), they were client rulers of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace under the Romans ...

and they ruled Thrace as Roman client rulers from 38 until 46.

Notes

Sources

* ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' v. 3, page 433 * * * {{end 1st-century BC births 18 deaths Roman client monarchs 1st-century monarchs in Europe Odrysian kings Eponymous archons

Family and origins

King of Thrace

Marriage and children

See also

Notes

Sources