Spartocus III ( gr, Σπάρτοκος, Spartokos) was king of 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, ...

from 304 to 284 BC. He succeeded to the throne after the death of his father

Eumelus Eumelus ( grc, Εὔμηλος ''Eúmēlos'' means "rich in sheep") was the name of: ''Mythology'' *Eumelus ( Gadeirus), the younger twin brother of Atlas in Plato's myth of Atlantis, and the son of Poseidon and Cleito, daughter of the autocht ...

in a carriage accident.

Reign

Spartocus inherited the throne from his father in 304 BC, after his father's unexpected death during his return from Sindia. Upon assuming the throne, he became the first Bosporan ruler to take the title of

Basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

, likely following the example of contemporary

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

kings such as the

Antigonids The Antigonid dynasty (; grc-gre, Ἀντιγονίδαι) was a Hellenistic dynasty of Dorian Greek provenance, descended from Alexander the Great's general Antigonus I Monophthalmus ("the One-Eyed") that ruled mainly in Macedonia. History ...

, Lysimachids, Seleucids and

Ptolemies The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic K ...

. As soon as the

Athenian 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 ...

trade was liberated from Demetrius, Spartocus sought to renew his relationship with Athens, which had already been trade partners with the Bosporan Kingdom in the reign of his great-grandfather Leukon. Spartocus received Athenian honors, thanking him and his predecessors for maintaining good relations with Athens.

Succession

Spartocus died in 284 after ruling for twenty years. He was succeeded by

Paerisades II Paerisades II ( el, Παιρισάδης) or Parysades was king of the Bosporan Kingdom from 284 to 245 BC. He may have been a son of either Spartokos III, or Satyros II. Reign Paerisades II was either the son or cousin of Spartokos III, a prev ...

, who may have been the son of

Satyrus II Satyrus II ( grc, Σάτυρος, Satyros) was a son of Paerisades I and Spartocid king of the Bosporan Kingdom for 9 months in 310 BC. He was the elder brother of Eumelus and Prytanis. He was challenged and ultimately overthrown by Eumelus in t ...

who escaped and survived Eumelus' slaughter of the family, but may also have been Spartocus' own son.

References

{{Hellenistic rulers Rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom 284 BC deaths 4th-century BC monarchs 3rd-century BC monarchs Ancient Thracian Greeks Spartocid dynasty

Reign

Succession

See also

References