Raizdos (Ῥαίζδος, the Latin form would be Rhaezdus) was possibly a king of the
Odrysians
The Odrysian Kingdom (; Ancient Greek: ) was a state grouping many Thracian tribes united by the Odrysae, which arose in the early 5th century BC and existed at least until the late 1st century BC. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria and ...
in
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 t ...
in the early 3rd century BC. He is attested in an inscription from
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
as the father of
Kotys III, who was king sometime between 276 and 267 BC (the date of the inscription). The date and the names suggest the possibility that Raizdos was the son of
Kotys II, himself attested in an inscription from
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
dated to 330 BC (perhaps before he became king, if he is to be identified as a son of
Seuthes III
Seuthes III ( grc, Σεύθης, Seuthēs) was a king of Odrysian kingdom, Odrysia, a part of Thrace, during the late 4th century BC (securely attested between 324 and 312 BC).
Historical background
Following the campaigns of Philip II of Macedo ...
). Several scholars have considered the name "Raizdos" a variant orthography of "Roigos", a Thracian royal name found on 3rd-century BC coins and in a graffito in the
Kazanlăk Tomb, naming "Roigos, son of Seuthes."
[P. Todorova, "Sin na Sevt III pogreban v Kazanlăškata grobnica," 5/16/2008 https://news.bg/culture ; Dana 2015: 250] Even if the two names are variant forms of the same name, it remains uncertain whether Kotys III's father Raizdos can be identified with
Roigos Roigos (Ῥοιγος; the Latin form would be Rhoegus) was an Odrysian king in Thrace during the 3rd century BC. He is known primarily from his rare coinage and a graffito inscription from the Kazanlăk Tomb revealed in 2008 by Konstantin Bošnako ...
, son of Seuthes (III or IV). No Raizdos is attested among the several known sons of Seuthes III.
See also
*
List of Thracian tribes
This is a list of ancient tribes in Thrace and Dacia ( grc, Θρᾴκη, Δακία) including possibly or partly Thracian or Dacian tribes, and non-Thracian or non-Dacian tribes that inhabited the lands known as Thrace and Dacia. A great number o ...
References
Bibliography
* D. Dana, Inscriptions, in: J. Valeva et al. (eds.), ''A Companion to Ancient Thrace'', Wiley, 2015: 243-264.
* J. Jurukova, ''Monetite na trakijskite plemena i vladeteli'', vol. 1., Sofia, 1992.
* J. Kabakčiev, "Who was Roigos?," ''Bulgarian Historical Review'' (1998) 3-6.
* S. Topalov, ''New Contributions to the Study of the Coinage and History of the Early Odrysian Kingdom in the Lands of Ancient Thrace,'' Sofia, 2004.
{{Dacia-stub
3rd-century BC rulers
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Odrysian kings