Roman Thrace Augustus Rhoemetalces Pythodoris

The Thracian kingdom, also called the Sapaean kingdom, was an ancient Thracian state in the southeastern

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

that existed from the middle of the 1st century BC to 46 AD. Succeeding the Classical and

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

era 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 ...

, it was dominated by the Sapaean tribe, who ruled from their capital Bizye in what is now northwestern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Initially only of limited relevance, its power grew significantly in the ancient Roman world as a client state of the late

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

. After the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Octavian (later emperor Augustus) installed a new dynasty that proved to be highly loyal and expansive. Conquering and ruling much of Thrace on behalf of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, it lasted until 46 AD, when Emperor Claudius annexed the kingdom and made

Thracia Thracia or Thrace () is the ancient name given to the southeastern Balkans, Balkan region, the land inhabited by the Thracians. Thrace was ruled by the Odrysian kingdom during the Classical Greece, Classical and Hellenistic period, Hellenis ...

into 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 ...

History

In the late 2nd and early 1st century BC, Thrace was politically fractured and subject to constant fighting between local and foreign powers. As a result of a paucity of sources for this period, the status and background of various little-known local monarchs remains disputed among historians. At least some of the Thracian kings of this period probably belonged to the Thracian tribe of the Sapaeans. At the same time, the Roman Republic tried to exert more influence in the region, though Roman relations with the Thracians remained inconsistent and dependent on the interests of individual Roman officials. The Romans encountered great resistance and suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Thracian tribes, most importantly the Bessi; regardless, the Romans gradually contained the Thracian raiding into surrounding, Roman-dominated areas like the one of ancient Macedon. The Romans were generally interested in centralizing the disorganized Thracian territories, hoping that local monarchs could then act as intermediaries and reduce the chaos at the Roman borders. By the middle of the 1st century BC, the Sapaeans had emerged as one of the most important Thracian tribes; the latter eventually became Rome's allies and clients. Despite this, the Romans initially favored a local kingdom led by an Odrysian-Astaean royal family. Probably soon after the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Roman leader Augustus sought to implement indirect rule over Thrace through a large, Hellenized client kingdom. The Romans removed the Odrysian-Astaean royal family from power, and put the entire kingdom under Sapaean rule with Bizye acting as the initial center of this reorganized polity. However, many Thracians continued to oppose both the Sapaeans as well as the Romans. Around 13 BC, the Bessi under a priest named Vologaesus revolted and killed the Thracian king. The Roman Empire put down the rebellion and consequently expanded its holdings along the Danube. Another unsuccessful revolt broke out in 11 BC. The power of the Thracian kingdom declined as the royal family became embroiled in dynastic conflicts and civil wars. When Sapaean ruler Rhoemetalces I died in 12 AD, the Romans divided his kingdom among his son Cotys III and his brother Rhescuporis II, but the two rulers quickly started to fight each other. Cotys III was murdered by his uncle in 19 AD, whereupon the Romans deposed him and picked new kings from the two lines. Further rebellions continued to erupt in the Thracian kingdom, such as in 21 AD when insurgents besieged king Rhoemetalces II. He was saved by the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

's intervention. In turn, Rhoemetalces II helped the Romans to put down a rebellion among the southern Thracian mountain tribes in 26 AD. Around 44/45 AD, another revolt broke out during which king Rhoemetalces III was killed. In 46 AD, Roman Emperor Claudius put an end to the kingdom by annexing it.

List of Sapaean kings

* Cotys I (57–48 BC) * Rhescuporis I (48–41 BC) * Cotys II (42–15 BC) * Rhoemetalces I, son of Rhescuporis I (15 BC–12 AD) * Cotys III, son of Rhoemetalces I and rule of the kingdom's eastern portion (12–18 AD) * Rhescuporis II, younger brother of Rhoemetalces I and rule of the kingdom's western portion (12–19 AD) * Antonia Tryphaena, mother and co-ruler of Rhoemetalces II (19–38 AD) * Rhoemetalces II, son of Cotys III (19–38 AD) * Rhoemetalces III, son of Rhescuporis (38–46 AD) * Pythodoris II, sister of Rhoemetalces II and co-ruler of Rhoemetalces III (38–46 AD)

References

Works cited

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History

List of Sapaean kings

References

Works cited

Further reading