Octamasades (

Scythian The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...

: , ) was briefly a king of the Scythian/North-Caucasian tribe of the Sintis and a son of Hecataeus and

Tirgatao Tirgatao (Scythian: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ) was a princess of the Maeotes mentioned by Polyaenus. She was the first wife of the Sindian king Hecataeus, and was a notable participant of the Bosporan wars of expansion. Name The name T ...

. He usurped the throne from his father some time in 378 BC after his failed war against Octamasades' mother, Tirgatao.

Name

The Greek name is the Hellenisation of the

language name , meaning "possessing greatness through his words."

Biography

Octamasades' accession to the throne was likely backed by the Sindian aristocracy, as his father was probably unpopular due to his previous affairs and having been restored by

Satyrus I Satyrus I (, died 389 BC) was the Spartocid ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom from 432 BC to 389 BC. During his rule he built upon the expansive foreign policy of his father, Spartocus I. He conquered Nymphaion, became involved in the political dev ...

who perhaps made him even more unpopular. In the ensuing days of his accession to the throne, he was induced by his mother to make war on 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 ...

who was at the time under the rule of the ambitious and militaristic ruler, Leucon. Heeding to his mother's words, he attacked the Bosporan city of Labrytai which provoked Leucon into a battle. It can be speculated that Leucon was already setting his sights in fully annexing the Sindians, and used this as an excuse to finally do so. In the following Battle of Labrytai, Leukon completely routed Octamasades' forces and forced him to flee into Scythia. After this battle, nothing more is known about him.

References

{{Reflist Scythian kings 4th-century BC monarchs 4th-century BC deaths