Rhoemetalces I (Sapaean) ( grc, Ῥοιμητάλκης) 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 t ...

from 15 BC to 12 AD. He was king of

Odrysian kingdom 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 ...

of Thrace in succession to his nephew

Rhescuporis II (Astaean) Rhescuporis I was king of the Odrysian kingdom of Thrace from ca. 18 BC to ca. 13 BC, in succession to his father Cotys VII. In 48 BC, before he became king, he led a body of auxiliaries his father sent to the aid of Pompey for use in the Roman ...

. Rhoemetalces I was a loyal ally to the first Roman 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 Pri ...

. He was a direct descendant of the Thracian King

Cotys I (Sapaean) 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 the middle child of the earlier Thracian king

Cotys II (Sapaean) Cotys II (Ancient Greek: Κότυς) was a king of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace from 42 to ca. 15 BC, succeeding his father, Rhescuporis I. References See also *List_of_rulers_of_Thrace_and_Dacia This article lists rulers of Thrace and Dac ...

. His younger brother was

Rhescuporis II Rhescuporis II was king of the Sapaean kingdom of Thrace from 12 to 19 AD. He ruled half of the kingdom in succession to his brother Rhoemetalces I, and briefly ruler of the entire realm thereafter, usurping the other half from nephew Cotys VIII ...

(Sapaean); his sister married to

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 auxilia ...

(Astaean). When Cotys VII died about 48 BC Rhoemetalces I became the guardian of his nephew

, his sister's young son and heir. Rhescuporis II (Astaean) 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 Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 (Astaean) 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 historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...

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

to rule and the other half for Rhoemetalces's remaining brother

(Sapaean). Tacitus states that Cotys III received the cultivated parts, most towns and most Greek cities of Thrace, while Rhescuporis II (Sapaean) 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 Thracian kings Roman client rulers 1st-century BC rulers in Europe 1st-century monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown {{Ancient-Thrace-stub