Tiberius Julius Cotys I Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes,
''Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes'' means "lover of Caesar, lover of Rome who is the pious one"
''Philopatris'' means "lover of his country" also known as Cotys I of the Bosporus ( fl. 45–63 AD), was a Roman client 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, ...

Life

Cotys I was the second son of Roman client rulers Aspurgus and Gepaepyris. His eldest brother was prince and King Mithridates. He was a prince of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

and Roman ancestry. Cotys I was the second grandson of Bosporan monarchs

Asander Asander or Asandros ( el, Άσανδρoς; lived 4th century BC) was the brother of Parmenion and Agathon, and uncle of Philotas. He was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, and satrap of Lydia from 334 BC as well as satrap of Caria ...

and Dynamis, and Roman client rulers of

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 ...

Cotys VIII and

Antonia Tryphaena Antonia Tryphaena also known as Tryphaena of Thrace or Tryphaena (her name in Greek: ἡ Ἀντωνία Τρύφαινα or Τρυφαίνη, 10 BC – 55 AD) was a Pontian Princess and a Roman Client Queen of Thrace. She co-ruled with her son ...

. Through his maternal grandmother Antonia Tryphaena, he was a descendant of Roman triumvir

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

. Tryphaena was the first great granddaughter born to the triumvir. Through Tryphaena, Cotys I was also related to various members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Through Aspurgus, Cotys I was a descendant of the Greek Macedonian Kings: Antigonus I Monophthalmus,

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the po ...

and

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, Antipater. These three men served under King

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. Cotys I was named in honor of his late maternal grandfather, Roman client ruler of Thrace Cotys VIII. Little is known on the life of Cotys I. Aspurgus headed the Bosporan domain until his death in 37 or 38. Gepaepyris succeeded her husband as sole ruler. In AD 39 Mithridates inherited the throne of his mother. Sometime before 45, the Roman Emperor Claudius gave his brother the whole Bosporan Kingdom to rule. Claudius recognised and appointed Mithridates as the legitimate Bosporan King. In 45, for unknown reasons, Claudius deposed Mithridates from the Bosporan throne and installed Cotys instead. Claudius had withdrawn the Roman garrison under

Aulus Didius Gallus Aulus Didius Gallus was a Roman general and politician of the 1st century AD. He was governor of Britain between 52 and 57 AD. Career The career of Aulus Didius Gallus up to 51 can be partly reconstructed from an inscription from Olympia. H ...

from the Bosporan Kingdom and a few Roman cohorts were left with the Roman knight Gaius Julius Aquila in the Bosporan. Cotys I's brother despised the situation and mistrusted him and Aquila. Mithridates attempted to regain his throne. Mithridates was able to entice the leaders of the local tribes and deserters into becoming his allies. He was able to seize control of the local tribes and collect an army to declare war on Cotys and Aquila. When Cotys and Aquila heard news of this war, they feared that the invasion was imminent. Both men knew they had the support of Claudius. Mithridates with his army engaged in war with Cotys I's army and Aquila's

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s, in a three-day war, which Cotys I and Aquila won unscathed and triumphant at the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

. Mithridates was forced by Claudius to surrender. Mithridates was captured and taken to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

as a prisoner. He was displayed as a public figure beside the platform in the Roman Forum along with his guards and his expression remained undoubted. Mithridates appealed to the Emperor for mercy to be spared from a triumphal procession or capital punishment. Claudius was impressed with Mithridates’ mercy from his letter and allowed Mithridates to live. He was spared from any capital punishment and was exiled. Cotys I's brother lived as a destitute exiled monarch until his death. From 45 until 63, Cotys I reigned as Roman client king of the Bosporan Kingdom. Sometime during his reign, Cotys married a Greek noblewoman called

Eunice Eunice is a feminine given name, from the Greek Εὐνίκη, ''Euníkē'', from "eu", good, and "níkē", victory. Eunice is also a relatively rare last name, found in Nigeria and the Southeastern United States, chiefly Louisiana and Georgia. Pe ...

, through whom he had a son called Tiberius Julius Rhescuporis. Cotys named his son after

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 ...

, a Thracian prince and king, who was a paternal uncle of his maternal grandfather. In 63, for unknown reasons, the Roman Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

deposed Cotys from his throne. The fate of Cotys is thereafter unknown. The Bosporan Kingdom was incorporated as a part of the Roman Province of Moesia Inferior from 63 to 68. In 68, the new Roman Emperor Galba restored the Bosporan Kingdom to Rhescuporis, son of Cotys. Rhescuporis I reigned from 68 until at least 90. Rhescuporis was a contemporary of the ruling

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known ...

, in particular the reign of

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

. Through Rhescuporis, Cotys had descendants occupying the Bosporan throne until the mid-4th century. Among his descendants at least two kings bore his name.

References

Sources

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'', 12.15–21. *

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, 60.8. *

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

, ''Natural History'', 6.5.

Notes

Bibliography

"Cotys (7)"
William Smith (ed.) ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

.'' 3. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1867.

External links