Theothorses ( el, Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Θοθώρσης, translit=Tiberios Ioulios Thothorses), also known as Thothorses, Fophors or Fofors, was the 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, ...

, a

Roman client state This is a list of the client rulers of Ancient Rome, sectioned by the kingdom, giving the years the ruler was on the throne, and separating Kings and Queens. Rome's foreign clients were called ''amici populi Romani'' (friends of the Roman people) ...

, from 279 to 309. His reign coincided with the

Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (AD 235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascensi ...

and the

Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the '' augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares' ...

in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. Like most of the late Bosporan kings, Theothorses is known only from coinage. The nature of his origin and rise to the throne is disputed; some scholars regard him to have been a member of the incumbent Bosporan

Tiberian-Julian dynasty The Tiberian-Julian dynasy was the third and last dynasty of the kingdom of Cimmerian Bosporan. The members of it bare the names ''Tiberius Julius'' before their names, on behalf of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Julius. The first member of the family ...

whereas others believe him to have been a barbarian warlord who usurped power. His reign appears to have seen conflict with the

and within his kingdom and the degradation in quality of the Bosporan coinage.

Origin

Theothorses became king of the

in 279, succeeding Teiranes. On account of lacking source material, the relationship between Theothorses and his predecessors is not clear. He is sometimes believed to have been part of the same dynasty (the

), but some evidence has also been interpreted as suggesting he was a usurper of

Sarmatian The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

origin. The most notable evidence for a foreign origin is that Theothorses is not a Greek name but rather a name of Iranian origin, making it unlikely to be adopted by a genuine member of the Tiberian-Julian dynasty. Furthermore, Theothorses's otherwise traditional Bosporan coinage incorporates a

tamga A tamga or tamgha (from otk, 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga, lit=stamp, seal; tr, damga; mn, tamga; ; ); an abstract Seal (emblem), seal or Seal (emblem), stamp used by Eurasian nomads and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the e ...

, a type of symbol usually used by Eurasian nomads. Ivan Alekseevich Astakhov considers it "undoubtable" that Theothorses was a member of the Sarmatian or Alan aristocracy and seized power in the Bosporus after defeating a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

invasion in the middle/late 3rd century. The evidence of Theothorses being a barbarian does not necessarily mean that he was not part of the Tiberian-Julian dynasty; the dynasty itself was of partly Sarmatian origins, with the common names Sauromates and Rhescuporis also being of Sarmatian origin, and tamgas were frequently used symbols in the kingdom, including on coinage. The French genealogist

Christian Settipani Christian Settipani (born 31 January 1961) is a French genealogist, historian and IT professional, currently working as the Technical Director of a company in Paris. Biography Settipani holds a Master of Advanced Studies from the Paris-Sorbo ...

believes Theothorses to have been born as a son of the previous king Rhescuporis V () and a nephew of Teiranes.

Reign

Coins minted by Theothorses are known from 286/287 to the end of his reign. Some of Theothorses's early coins had surfaces of silver but a lack of available materials led to the coinage to degrade over the course of his reign; shortly after his accession, Theothorses went over to only minting

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

coins. Coins from the last five years of his reign are considerably rarer than during preceding times, which could suggest either conflict within the kingdom or conflict with the Roman Empire, perhaps resulting from his possible non-dynastic rise to the throne or from conflict between pro-Roman and anti-Roman parties in the kingdom. An inscription from the last few years of Theothorses's reign from the city of Theodosia by its governor, Aurelius Valerius Sogus, indicates that the city was at this time incorporated into the Roman Empire (due to Sogus using imperial titles and paying homage to the incumbent emperors rather than to Theothorses and calling Theodosia a "province"). Combined with brief mentions of a Bosporan campaign in the

Transcaucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

in later sources, possibly taking place in 292–293, Sogus's inscription was interpreted by Benjamin Nadel in 1977 as indicating that Theodosia had temporarily been incorporated into the empire after Theothorses attacked Roman possessions and was defeated. This temporary loss of territory could in combination with internal conflict help explain the scarce coins from his late reign. Theothorses died in 309 and was succeeded by Rhadamsades. The precise relationship between the two kings is not known but Rhadamsades is also a name of Iranian origin. If Theothorses was a Sarmatian or Alan aristocrat the same might also be true for Rhadamsades. Settipani believes Theothorses to have been Rhadamsades's father, as well as the father of the later king Rhescuporis VI. Settipani also identifies Theothorses as the father of

Nana Nana, Nanna, Na Na or NANA may refer to: People and fictional characters * Nana (given name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Nana (surname), including a list of people and characters with the surname * Nana ( ...

, the queen of

Mirian III of Iberia Mirian III ( ka, მირიან III) was a king of Iberia or Kartli (Georgia), contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ( r. 306–337). He was the founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty. According to the early medieval Geo ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theothorses, Tiberius Julius Rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom Roman client rulers 309 deaths 4th-century monarchs in Europe 3rd-century monarchs in Europe Theothorses, Tiberius Year of birth unknown