Ateas (ca. 429 BC – 339 BC) was described in Greek and Roman sources as the most powerful

king of Scythia Scythia (Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. His ...

, who lost his life and empire in the conflict with

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

in 339 BC. His name also occurs as ''Atheas'', ''Ateia'', ''Ataias'', and ''Ateus''.

Unification of Scythia

It is not certain if Ateas was connected to the royal dynasty of Scythia; most historians view him as an usurper who ousted other Scythian kings from power and eliminated the traditional tripartite division of Scythian society. By the 340s, he had united under his power Scythian tribes inhabiting a vast territory between the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

and the

Maeotian marshes The Maeotian Swamp or Maeotian Marshes ( grc, ἡ Μαιῶτις λίμνη, ''hē Maiōtis límnē'', literally ''Maeotian Lake''; la, Palus Maeotis) was a name applied in antiquity variously to the swamps at the mouth of the Tanais River in ...

. His purported capital was excavated by Soviet archaeologists near the town of Kamianka on the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

relates several anecdotes about the character of Ateas and his attitude toward Greek culture: "Ateas took prisoner Ismenias, an excellent piper, and commanded him to play; and when others admired him, he swore it was more pleasant to hear a horse neigh... Ateas wrote to Philippus: You reign over the Macedonians, men that have learned fighting; and I over the Scythians, which can fight with hunger and thirst".

Conflict with Macedon

Towards the end of his life, Ateas increasingly encroached upon the Greek-Macedonian

sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal a ...

in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Greek sources record his campaign against the tribe of the

Histriani Histria or Istros ( grc, Ἰστρίη, Thracian river god, Danube), was a Greek colony or ''polis'' (πόλις, city) near the mouths of the Danube (known as Ister in Ancient Greek), on the western coast of the Black Sea. It was the first urba ...

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 ...

. At first Ateas found it prudent to enlist the assistance of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an Classical antiquity, ancient monarchy, kingdom on the periphery of Archaic Greece, Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. Th ...

. When Philip's troops arrived to Scythia, they were dismissed with derision: the king of the Histriani had died and military action was no longer on the agenda. Another collision between Philip and Ateas arose during the former's siege of Byzantium, when the Scythians refused to provide Macedonian troops with supplies, citing the barrenness of their land as a pretext. These petty conflicts with Ateas gave Philip a ground for invading his dominions. The final straw was the Scythians' reluctance to allow Philip to dedicate a statue of Heracles at the Danube estuary. In 339 BC, the two armies clashed on the plains of modern-day

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

. Ateas was killed in action and his army was routed. Philip seems to have been wounded as well and his horse was killed in the thick of the fray. Peace was bought at the price of concession of 20,000 Scythian women and as many steppe mares to the Macedonians. In the wake of this defeat, the empire of Ateas fell to pieces. The Scythians are presumed to have lost their dominant position in the

Pontic steppe Pontic, from the Greek ''pontos'' (, ), or "sea", may refer to: The Black Sea Places * The Pontic colonies, on its northern shores * Pontus (region), a region on its southern shores * The Pontic–Caspian steppe, steppelands stretching from no ...

for two centuries, until the reign of

Scilurus Skilurus, or Scylurus, was a renowned Scythian king reigning during the 2nd century BC. His realm included the lower reaches of the Borysthenes and Hypanis, as well as the northern part of Crimea, where his capital, Scythian Neapolis, was situat ...

in the 2nd century BC.

References

*James R. Ashley. ''The Macedonian Empire: the era of warfare under Philip II and Alexander the Great''. McFarland & Company, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ateas 420s BC births 339 BC deaths Scythian rulers European kings 4th-century BC rulers Philip II of Macedon