Rhescuporis II was king of the

Sapaean kingdom The Thracian kingdom, also called the Sapaean kingdom, was an ancient Thracian state in the southeastern Balkans that existed from the middle of the 1st century BC to 46 AD. Succeeding the Classical and Hellenistic era Odrysian kingdom of Thra ...

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

from 12 to 19 AD. He ruled half of the kingdom in succession to his brother

Rhoemetalces I Rhoemetalces I (Sapaean) ( grc, Ῥοιμητάλκης) was king of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace from 15 BC to 12 AD. He was king of Odrysian kingdom of Thrace in succession to his nephew Rhescuporis II (Astaean). Rhoemetalces I was a loya ...

, and briefly ruler of the entire realm thereafter, usurping the other half from nephew

Cotys VIII Cotys III ( Ancient Greek: Κότυς, flourished second half of 1st century BC and first half of 1st century, died 18 AD) was the Sapaean Roman client king of eastern Thrace from 12 to 18 AD. Family and origins Cotys was the son and heir of l ...

. He was a son of the earlier Thracian king Cotys VI and the younger brother of kings

Cotys VII Cotys I (Ancient Greek: Κότυς; died 48 BC) was a Sapaean client king of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace from c. 57 BC to c. 48 BC. He was the son of Rhoemetalces. Cotys was an ally of the Roman general Pompey, to whom he sent a body of auxili ...

and Rhoemetalces I. 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. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

describes his character as "treacherous". On the death of Rhoemetalces, Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

divided Thrace into two separate kingdoms, one half for Cotys VIII to rule and the other half for Rhescuporis II. 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.Tacitus, The Annals 2.64 Rhescuporis wanted to annex Cotys’ kingdom, but was prevented from doing so from fear of Augustus. Augustus' death in 14 emboldened him, and he initiated efforts to obtain the remainder of Thrace, at first by negotiation, but afterwards, when Cotys proved resistant, by treachery. Inviting his nephew to a banquet to falsely ratify a treaty between them, he arrested and imprisoned Cotys, seizing his kingdom. Cotys died while incarcerated in 18, allegedly by suicide. His wife and children fled Thrace to

Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') 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 Peni ...

to escape Rhescuporis. The Roman Emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

opened an investigation into Cotys’ death, putting Rhescuporis on trial in the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

. He invited Cotys' widow

Tryphaena Tryphaena ( el, Τρύφαινα; c. 141 BC111 BC) was a Ptolemaic princess. She married the Seleucid king Antiochus VIII Grypus and was queen of Syria (124–111 BC). Biography Early life and Queen of Syria It is often assumed that Tryphaen ...

to testify at the trial, during which she accused the defendant of murdering her husband. Rhescuporis was found guilty, and Tiberius sent him to live in exile in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...

. En route, Rhescuporis tried to escape and was killed by Roman soldiers. His son, who would later rule Thrace as

Rhoemetalces III Rhoemetalces III ( grc-gre, Ῥoιμητάλκης) was a King of the Sapaean Thracians. He was the son of the Monarch Rhescuporis II. In association with his wife Pythodoris II (daughter of his cousin Cotys III), they were client rulers of the ...

, was spared by Tiberius and allowed to return to Thrace. In the meantime Tiberius returned the whole Thracian Kingdom to Tryphaena and appointed Rhoemetalces II, her eldest child with Cotys, as coruler.

Sources

Smith, William, ed. ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''. Boston : Little, Brown, and Company, 1867, v. 3, p. 647

Notes

19 deaths Year of birth unknown Roman client rulers 1st-century monarchs in Europe Odrysian kings {{Ancient-Thrace-stub