Octamasades (

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

: , grc, Ὀκταμασάδης, Oktamasades) was briefly a king of the

tribe of the Sindians 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 Tir ...

. He usurped the throne from his father some time in 383 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 deve ...

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 (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, ...

who was at the time under the rule of the ambitious and militaristic ruler,

Leucon In Greek mythology, the name Leucon (; Ancient Greek: Λεύκων) may refer to: *Leucon, a son of Themisto by either Athamas or Poseidon. His children were Erythras, Pisidice, Hyperippe and Euippe (mother of Eteocles by Andreus). He was said t ...

. 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 The Battle of Labrytae () was a battle around 380 BC that occurred nearly directly after Octamasades usurped the Sindian throne from his father Hecataeus and attacked and took the city of Labrytae, presumably a city under Bosporan rule. Leukon ...

, Leukon completely routed Octamasades' forces and forced him to flee into Scythia. After this battle, nothing more is known about him.

References

{{Reflist Scythian rulers 4th-century BC rulers 4th-century BC deaths