Rhadamsades ( el, Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Ραδαμσάδης, translit=Tiberios Ioulios Radamsades), also known as Radamsad, Rhadamsadius or Rhadampsadius, 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, from 309 to 322. For the last five years of his reign he ruled together with

Rhescuporis VI Rhescuporis VI ( el, Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Ῥησκούπορις, translit=Tiberios Ioulios Rheskoúporis), also transliterated as Rheskuporis or Rheskouporis and sometimes known as Rhescuporis the Last, is the last well-known king o ...

, who became the sole king upon Rhadamsades's death. It is possible that Rhadamsades, perhaps of

Sarmatian The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic peoples of classical antiquity who dominated the Pontic steppe from about the 3rd century BC to the 4th cen ...

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.'' * ...

origin, is the same person as

Rausimod Rausimod (? - 322) was a Sarmatian or Maeotian warrior king. In 322, Rausimod is recorded as having crossed the Danube into the Roman Empire and attacked the territory of Licinius. The defence against Rausimod was conducted by Constantine, who ...

, a barbarian king who invaded

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now west ...

in 322 and was killed by the forces of

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

Origin

Rhadamsades became king of the

in 309, succeeding Theothorses. Nothing is known of his origin and relationship to other kings. Like his predecessor Theothorses, his name is of Iranian origin, which could indicate that he was a

tribal leader or nobleman who seized power, rather than a genuine member of the previous Bosporan ruling

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 ...

. The name in of itself is not wholly convincing evidence since the dynasty itself was originally of partly Sarmatian origin. 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 Rhadamsades to have been born as a son of Theothorses.

Reign

Rhadamsades shared power with another Bosporan king,

, from 314 until the end of his reign. Rhescuporis VI's name suggests that he was of Bosporan origin and a genuine Tiberian-Julian dynast. It is not clear whether Rhadamsades and Rhescuporis VI co-ruled in peace or if they were competing claimants. Settipani believes Rhescuporis VI to have been the younger brother of Rhadamsades. According to the writings of the fifth-century historian Zosimus and the tenth-century emperor

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe ...

, an army of Sarmatians and Maeotians invaded

in 322 under the command of the king

, perhaps identifiable with Rhadamsades. Rausimod is said to have been defeated, pursued and killed by the forces of

in 322; the Bosporan Rhadamsades is also known to have died in 322.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhadamsades Rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom 322 deaths Roman client rulers 3rd-century births 4th-century monarchs in Europe Rhadamsades, Tiberius