Rhoemetalces I () 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 Th ...

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 15 BC to 12 AD in succession to his nephew

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 was a loyal ally to 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 ...

. He was a direct descendant of the Thracian King Rhescuporis I, and the middle child of the earlier Thracian king Cotys II. His younger brother was

; his sister married to Cotys VII. When Cotys VII died about 48 BC Rhoemetalces I became the guardian of his nephew

, his sister's young son and heir. Rhescuporis II died in 13 BC, when he was defeated and slain in battle by Vologases, 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 fled Thrace, returning only when it ended, when Augustus returned the kingdom to his family. As Rhescuporis II had left no heir, Rhoemetalces I became King of whole Thrace in 12 BC. 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 him as ‘attractive and civilized’. His wife and the mother of his heir, known only through numismatic evidence, was Queen Pythodoris I. Rhoemetalces I ruled Thrace until his death in 12. Augustus then divided his realm into two separate kingdoms, one half for his son Cotys III to rule and the other half for Rhoemetalces's remaining brother

. Tacitus states that Cotys III received the cultivated parts, most towns and most Greek cities of Thrace, while Rhescuporis II received the wild and savage portion with enemies on its frontier.Tacitus, The Annals 2.64

Sources

Smith, William, ed. ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''. Boston : Little, Brown, and Company, 1867, v. 3, p. 653

Notes

12 deaths Kings of Thrace Roman client monarchs 1st-century BC monarchs in Europe 1st-century monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown {{Ancient-Thrace-stub