Pythodoris II or Pythodorida II (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Πυθοδωρίς; reigned AD 38–46) was a client ruler of the Odrysian kingdom of

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 ...

under Roman rule, in association with her father's 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 ...

. Pythodoris succeeded her mother

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 ...

and brother Rhoemetalces II. She was a daughter of Tryphaena and the former Thracian King Cotys VIII, and 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 the 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 ...

. Caligula put Rhoemetalces III on the Thracian throne.

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 ...

, the father of Rhoemetalces III, had murdered and usurped the throne of Pythodoris' father. Caligula and Tryphaena arranged for Pythodoris to marry Rhoemetalces III to repair past dynastic rifts. The plan did not succeed. Pythodoris II and Rhoemetalces III reigned together as client rulers of Thrace from 38 until 46, when the latter was murdered by insurgents or on the orders of his wife. The subsequent fate of Pythodoris II is unknown. She seems not to have had any children with her father's cousin. Pythodoris and Rhoemetalces III were the last monarchs of Thrace. Under Caligula's successor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

, the kingdom was made a

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

External links

Coinage of Pythodoris II and her husband

References

1st-century monarchs in Europe Thracian women 1st-century queens regnant Odrysian kings Roman client monarchs {{Ancient-Thrace-stub