Roman Thrace Augustus Rhoemetalces Pythodoris

The Thracian kingdom, also called the Sapaean kingdom, was an ancient

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

state in the southeastern

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 ...

that existed from the middle of the 1st century BC to 46 AD. Succeeding the Classical and

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 i ...

era

Odrysian kingdom The Odrysian Kingdom (; Ancient Greek: ) was a state grouping many Thracian tribes united by the Odrysae, which arose in the early 5th century BC and existed at least until the late 1st century BC. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria an ...

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 ...

, it was dominated by the Sapaean tribe, who ruled from their capital Bizye in what is now northwestern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Initially only of limited relevance, its power grew significantly in the ancient Roman world as a

client state A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite sta ...

of the late

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

. After the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ne ...

in 31 BC,

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

(later emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

) installed a new dynasty that proved to be highly loyal and expansive. Conquering and ruling much of Thrace on behalf of 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 Medite ...

, it lasted until 46 AD, when Emperor Claudius annexed the kingdom and made Thracia into a

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

History

In the late 2nd and early 1st century BC, Thrace was politically fractured and subject to constant fighting between local and foreign powers. At the same time, the Roman Republic tried to exert more influence in the region. The Romans encountered great resistance and suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Thracian tribes, most importantly the

Bessi The Bessi (; grc, Βῆσσοι, or , ) were a Thracian tribe that inhabited the upper valley of the Hebros and the lands between the Haemus and Rhodope mountain ranges in historical Thrace. Geography The exact geographic location of the Bes ...

; regardless, the Romans gradually contained the Thracian raiding into surrounding, Roman-dominated areas like the one of ancient

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled b ...

. By the middle of the 1st century BC, one of the most important Thracian tribes were the Sapaeans; the latter eventually became Rome's allies and clients. However, many Thracians continued to oppose both the Sapaeans as well as the Romans. Around 13 BC, the Bessi under a priest named Vologaesus revolted and killed the Thracian king. The Roman Empire put down the rebellion and consequently expanded its holdings along 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 , ...

. Another unsuccessful revolt broke out in 11 BC. The power of the Thracian kingdom declined as the royal family became embroiled in dynastic conflicts and civil wars. When Sapaean ruler Rhoemetalces I died in 12 AD, the Romans divided his kingdom among his son Cotys III and his brother Rhescuporis II, but the two rulers quickly started to fight each other. Cotys III was murdered by his uncle in 19 BC, whereupon the Romans deposed him and picked new kings from the two lines. Further rebellions continued to erupt in the Thracian kingdom, such as in 21 AD when insurgents besieged king Rhoemetalces II. He was saved by the

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

's intervention. In turn, Rhoemetalces II helped the Romans to put down a rebellion among the southern Thracian mountain tribes in 26 AD. Around 44/45 AD, another revolt broke out during which king

Rhoemetalces III Rhoemetalces III ( grc-gre, Ῥoιμητάλκης) was a King of the Sapaean Thracians. He was the son of the Monarch Rhescuporis II. In association with his wife Pythodoris II (daughter of his cousin Cotys III), they were client rulers of the ...

was killed. In 46 AD, Roman Emperor Claudius put an end to the kingdom by annexing it.

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History

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