Bulgars

<펌> Odrysian kingdom (BC 480 - BC 30)

Chung Park 2020. 12. 25. 07:39

Odrysian kingdom

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For the Roman vassal kingdom during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD, see Sapaean kingdom.

c. 480 BC–30 BC : Odrysian Kingdom

Labrys[a]

 


The Odrysian kingdom during its peak under king Sitalces
Seuthopolis :  Capital
(c. 330–250 BC)
Thracian : Common languages
Greek (writing, trade, administration)
Thracian polytheism : Religion
Monarchy : Government
Classical antiquity : Historical era
c. 480 BC : • Foundation
340 BC : • Conquest by Philip II of Macedon
330–320 BC : • Foundation of Seuthopolis
30 BC : • Conquest of Odrysian heartlands by the Sapaeans
Today part of
 Bulgaria
 Greece
 Turkey
 Romania

 

 

The Odrysian Kingdom (/oʊˈdrɪʒən/; Ancient Greek: Βασίλειον Ὀδρυσῶν; Latin: Regnum Odrysium) was a state union of over 40 Thracian tribes[2] and 22 kingdoms[3] that existed with interruptions between the 5th century BC and the 1st century AD. It consisted mainly of present-day Bulgaria, spreading to parts of Southeastern Romania (Northern Dobruja), parts of Northern Greece and parts of modern-day European Turkey. Dominated by the eponymous Odrysian people, it was the largest and longest-lasting Thracian state in recorded history.

 

The realm was founded after the Persian invasion of Greece in the early 5th century BC and reached its greatest extent and power under the rule of king Sitalces (431–424). Sitalces is most known for his spectacular albeit short entrance in the Peloponnesian War on the side of Athens. Under his successors a decline commenced that eventually resulted in the fragmentation of the state after the death of Kotys I in around 360. Now split into three rivaling entities, they were conquered by the rising kingdom of Macedon under Philip II, with the last two of them falling in 340.

 

The Odrysian kingdom was revived in around 330 by Seuthes III, who founded a new capital named Seuthopolis and who is well known from his lavish tomb in Kazanlak. Seuthopolis functioned until around 270, when it was destroyed by Celtic warriors. Little is known about 3rd century Thrace, but it seems to have disintegrated into various petty states. By the mid-2nd century Odrysia appears once again as the most powerful Thracian kingdom, when it fought, together with the Macedonians, against the Romans. By the 1st century BC it seemed, once again, to have been one Thracian kingdom among many, which were all eventually vassalized by Rome. Rome eventually united many of the Thracian petty states into a vassal kingdom that lasted until 46 AD, when it became a Roman province.

 

It is suggested that the kingdom had no capital. Instead, the kings may have moved between residences.[4] The main royal residence was the city of Odryssa (assumed to be either modern Plovdiv,[5] as inscribed on coins; or Uscudama, modern Edirne.[2]) Another royal residence believed to have been constructed by Cotys I (383–358 BC) is in the village of Starosel, while in 315 BC Seuthopolis was built as a capital.[2] A later residence may have been the city of Vize.[6] The kingdom broke up and Kabyle was a co-capital by the end of the 4th century BC.[7]

 

Contents

 

The Odrysians

Greek vase painting showing a Thracian woman with tattooed arms, c. 470 BC

 

The Odrysians (Odrysae or Odrusai, Ancient Greek: Ὀδρύσαι) were one of the most powerful Thracian tribes that dwelled in the plain of the Hebrus river.[8] This would place the tribe in the modern border area between Southeastern Bulgaria, Northeastern Greece and European Turkey, centered around the city of Plovdiv[9] or Edirne.[10][11] The river Artescus[12] passed through their land as well. Xenophon[13] writes that the Odrysians held horse races and drank large amounts of wine after the burial of their dead warriors. Thucydides writes on their custom, practised by most Thracians, of giving gifts for getting things done,[14] which was refuted by Heraclides. Herodotus was the first writer to mention the Odrysae.

 

History

 

Background

 

Since the Thracians had no literature of their own one is forced to reconstruct the history of the region with archaeological and numismatic evidence as well as accounts of Greek historians.[15] In the late 6th century Athenian settlers interacted with a "king of Thrace" (and possible predecessor of the Odrysian kings?) residing north of the Gallipoli peninsula.[16]

A man from "Skudra" in a pose of submission as depicted on a royal Persian tomb in Naqsh-e Rostam, c. 480 BC. "Skudra" is traditionally identified with Thrace, although this is not undisputed.[17]

 

In around 513 BC, an army of the mighty Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids crossed the Bosphorus, after already having subdued the Thracians of Bithynia thirty years earlier. King Darius I' goal was a punitive expedition against the Scythians at the northern shores of the Black Sea. Most eastern Thracian tribes submitted peacefully, except of the Getai, who were defeated. More expeditions under the generals Megabazus and Mardonius as well as king Xerxes I followed, even though they only managed to secure the Aeagean coast.[18] It seems most likey that the Achaemenids did not establish a satrapy (provincial administration) in Thrace,[17][19] even though the historian Herodotus claimed that the subdued regions had to pay taxes. As a matter of fact, there is no evidence for important administrative centers. Instead, Persian authority was merely exersiced through a couple of garrisoned forts, most importantly those of Doriskos and Eion.[17] Hence, the vast majority of Thrace remained unaffected by the Persian presence.[19] After the failed invasion of Greece in 480-79, the Persian foothold in Europe collapsed. By around 450, Persian authority in Europe, including Thrace, had vanished entirely.[20]

 

Foundation and early years (c. 480–431 BC)

 

Although the Persian presence in Thrace was short-lived, it probably stimulated trade and first state formations among the Thracians. Mintings of Thracian coins started around 500 and may be an indicator for a variety of early tribal kingdoms. It has been suggested that the Odrysian kingdom might have had its origins in this period, even though the name of the Odrysians is notably absent from the numismatic evidence.[21] The Odrysians eventually stepped into the light of history in the aftermath of the Persian failure in Greece, when they were mentioned by Herodotus, but without any further details.[19] The Odrysians had their core territory in the valleys of the Maritsa river and its tributaries Tundzha and Arda.[22] Like other Thracian polities, the Odrysian tribal kingdom attempted to fill the vacuum left by the Persian retreat.[23]

 

The first known Odrysian king was the expansionist Teres I, who is claimed by Thucydides to have been the first Odrysian king altogether.[19] Writing in the late 5th century BC, he wrote that Teres "was the first powerful king of the Odrysae" and that he "was the first founder of the great Odrysian empire, which he extended over a large part of Thrace, although many of the Thracian tribes are still independent."[24] Teres most likely came to dominate central Thrace soon after 480 BC. Building his realm on a priviliged warrior aristocracy, he and his son Sitalces expanded the realm from the Danube in the north to the outskirts of Abdera at the Aegean Sea. He also expanded to eastern Thrace, although he suffered a setback at the hands of the Thynoi. In the north-east, he cemented the position of his realm by allying himself with the kingdom of Scythia under king Ariapeithes, who married Teres' daughter.[25] In conclusion, the Odrysians were the first to superseed the Thracian tribal system and establish a large state in the eastern Balkans.[26]

A typical Odrysian elite tomb: the Zhaba Mogila tumulus near Strelcha, 5th–4th centuries BC

 

Gold funeral mask from the Svetitsa tumulus near Shipka, second half of the 5th century BC

 

Around the middle of the 5th century, when Sitalces had not yet succeeded his father,[27] the Odrysians intervened in a Scythian civil war, seemingly on the side of the dethroned king Scylas against Octamasadas, who was a son of Ariapeithes and Teres' sister. When the two armies met at the Danube, however, Sitalces simply agreed to hand over Scylas (who was killed on the spot) for an unnamed brother of his who resided among the Scythians.[28] Another important event may have happened further east, in the Bosporan Kingdom, when a Thracian named Spartokos seized power in around 438. It is not unlikely that he was of Odrysian descent and that his takeover was instigated by the Odrysian royal house, although this must remain speculation.[29]

 

Archaeological evidence confirms that by the middle of the 5th century, a new and powerful elite had emerged that accumalted a wealth of precious artifacts of both local and regional origin.[25] Burial practices were changing after the Persian withdrawal and a new type of elite burial emerged in central Thrace[30] in the form of tombs with ashlar masonry, sometimes with stone sarcophagi.[31] The tomb of Rouets from the late 5th century even contained traces of wall paintings.[32] The earliest of these new elite tombs can be found in the necropolis of Duvanli, with the oldest tombs dating to the mid-5th century.[33] Their inventory is exceptional not only by contemporary Thracian, but even Mediterranean standards.[34] According to the archaeologist Tonkova they contained "splendid sets of head and body ornaments, consisting of numerous hoop or boat-shaped earrings, pendants for earrings, a necklace, a torque, bracelets, finger-rings, chains with pendants and fibulae, and pectorals."[33] Most Thracian elite tombs have been identified as warrior burials as they contained weapons and gold pectorals. Two burials from Svetitsa (second half of the 5th century BC) and Dalakova (early 4th century BC) also contained finely crafted and rather impressive gold funeral masks.[33]

 

The Odrysian empire and the Peleponnesian war (431–404 BC)

 

Teres, who is claimed to have lived 92 years, had died by the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war in 431. His successor was his son Sitacles, whose reign is mostly known thanks to the account of Thucydides.[22] Before the war he is known to have campaigned against the Paeonians in the west, subjugating some of the tribes living along the upper reaches of the Struma river.[35] Now, his influence extended over much of Bulgaria, Greek and Turkish Thrace and also parts of southeastern Romania: from the Struma and Iskar rivers in the west to the Black and Marmara Seas in the east as well as the Balkan Mountains and the mouth of the Danube (which was ruled by the tributary Getae) in the north.[36][37] According to Thucydides, the Odrysian state was "very powerful, and in revenue and general prosperity exceeded all the nations of Europe which lie between the Ionian Sea and the Euxine."[38]

 

In the south, much of coastal Thrace had passed under the rule of Athens, making them direct neighbours of the Odrysians.[39] The Athenians had already taken some interest in the Thracian interior before 431, but it was in said year when they concluded an alliance with Sitalces against Perdiccas II of Macedon in the west.[40] This pact was cemented by a dynastic marriage, as Sitalces would marry the sister of the Athenian ambassador, Nymphodoros of Abdera. Sitalces' son Sadokos was sent to Athens and was granted the Athenian citizenship.[37] Sitalces, apparently an experienced leader with political acumen,[41] would prove his commitment to the alliance in the next year, when he arrested a Peloponnesian embassy that tried to persuade him to join the Spartan side and handed it over to Athens.[37]

Greek vase painting showing Orpheus singing for two Thracian warriors, c. 430 BC

 

At the turn of the year 428, Sitalces raised a massive, multi-ethnic army to march against Macedon and insurgents on the Chalkidiki peninsula. His army consisted of a variety of Thracians (some, like those of the Rhodope Mountains were independent, but joined nonetheless), Getae and some Paeonians.[37] In total, this army was claimed to have numbered 150.000 men. While this number is probably inflated, there is still little reason to doubt that Sitalces' force was very large, even though most of these men were not professionals, but mere levies.[42] While Sitalces managed to subjugate some of the Thracian tribes of the lower Struma his invasion of eastern Macedon and the Chalkidiki was less successful, as his opponents avoided open combat and simply hid behind their walls. The Odrysian army had not the means to storm them, plus winter was approaching and food supplies were running out. Furthermore, the Athenian force that was promised to them never arrived, perhaps because Athens feared the might of the unleashed Thracian kingdom. After failed negotiations with Perdiccas II Sitalces reteated back home.[43] Thus, after only 30 days the Odrysian invasion had come to an end.[37]

 

Sitalces was succeeded in 424 by his nephew Seuthes I after the former was killed while campaigning against the Triballi,[44] who resided north of the Balkan Mountains.[45] Throughout his reign, the Odrysians did not inteverne in coastal Thrace, which had now become a contested battlefield between Athens and Sparta.[46] Athens for its part began to make heavy use of Thracian mercenaries acting as light skirmishers, the peltasts. Due to their success the Greeks soon began to raise peltast units of their own. Still, the Athenians eventually lost the Peleponnesian war and, for a few years at least, much of their influence in the northern Aegean.[47] Seuthes I was eventually succeeded by Medokos in around 410[48] or 405 BC.[46]

 

First signs of decay and brief revival under Kotys I (404–360 BC)

 

By the turn of the 4th century the Odrysian kingdom showed its tendecy towards fragmentation. Two rulers are known by 405: Medokos and Seuthes II.[49] The historian Diodorus Siculus even called both of them "kings of the Thracians", although this is most likely a misunderstanding: by 405 Seuthes II still considered Medokos to be his suzerein.[50] Medokos was the son of the previous king Seuthes I, while Seuthes II was the son of a Thracian chieftain named Maisades. Maisades was a descendant of king Teres, making Seuthes II a distant relative of Medokos. There was also an autonomous Odrysian prince in the western hinterlands of Byzantium named Teres.[48] Seuthes II was initially raised at the court of Medokos before he was sent to eastern Thrace several years before 405. By 405 he had managed to consolidate his position[51] over a realm stretching from Apollonia Pontica over the Strandzha to parts of the northern Marmara coast. In 400 BC he hired Greek mercenaries under Xenophon to expand his dominion at the cost of Teres and other rebels, forcing them to reaknowledge the authority of Medokos.[52] Due to lacking funds they left his service already after two months. Seuthes II eventually rose against Medokos, although little is known about this insurrection. In 389 the Athenian general Thrasybulus mediated between the two parties, resulting in Seuthes II, whom Xenophon called "ruler of the coast region", recognizing Medokos' authority again.[53]

Silver coin of king Cotys I, 384-359 BC

 

Medokos, who had defied Seuthes' inscurrection probably due to his own popularity, died soon after 389.[54] His successor was Hebryzelmis, about whom very little is known, but who, like Medokos, sought the good will of Athens. Seuthes II on the other hand allied with Sparta.[55] An Athenian inscription from the year 386/5[55] confirms that Hebryzelmis sent a delegation to Athens to legitimize his rule and/or gain an ally against Seuthes. However, the Athenians had little interest in another war in the region and thus limited themselves to kind words.[56] Meanwhile, Seuthes had risen yet again against the crown. This second war went pretty bad, as he seemingly lost all of his domains before reconquering them thanks to a mercenary army led by Iphicrates. Iphicrates subsequently married the daughter of Seuthes' son, Kotys I.[55]

 

Kotys I succeeded Seuthes I in 383. The historian Michael Zahrnt described Kotys as "the right man to strengthen the run-down Odrysian realm, vigorous, and an artful diplomat [...]."[55] Indeed, it was under him that the kingdom reached its greatest might and became a considerable political factor in the nascent Hellenistic world.[57] While virtually nothing is known about the early years of his rule it is clear that he, together with his son-in-law Iphicrates, managed to conquer the domains of the deceased Hebryzelmis, thus uniting the Odrysian realm under his rule.[55] In 375 he faced an invasion of the Traballi, who devastated the western parts of the realm while marching towards Abdera at the coast.[58]

 

Disintegration and conquest by Macedon (360–330 BC)

Greek inscription from Athens mentioning the three Odrysian kigs Berisades, Amadokos and Kersebleptes, 357/6 BC

 

Thraco-Phrygian bronze helmet with silver appliques. Pletena, first half of the 4th century BC

 

This large territory was populated with a number of Thracian and Daco-Moesian tribes that united under the reign of a common ruler, and began to implement common internal and external policies. These were favourable conditions for overcoming the tribal divisions, which could have led gradually to the formation of a more stable ethnic community. This was not realised and the period of power of the Odrysian kingdom was brief. Despite the attempts of the Odrysian kings to bolster their central power, the separatist tendencies were very strong. Odrysian military strength was based on intra-tribal elites[59] making the kingdom prone to fragmentation. Some tribes were constantly trying to separate, while others remained outside the borders of the kingdom. The political and military decline continued, while Macedonia was rising as a dangerous and ambitious neighbour.[60]

 

After the kingdom had split itself in three semi-independent kingdoms, Philip II of Macedon invaded and conquered much of Thrace. Some Odrysian kings and other Thracian tribes submitted to the Macedonians and paid taxes at different times to Philip II, Alexander the Great and Philip V. Two of the three kingdoms were forced into vassal status by Philip II in 352 BC, while in 342–341 BC he conquered the Odrysian heartland deposing reigning kings or rebellious vassals.

 

The kingdom of Seuthopolis (330–second quarter of the 3rd century BC)

Probably bust head of Seuthes III from Kazanlak

 

Nevertheless, Seuthes III (341-300 BC) was able to survive despite the expansion of Macedonian power under Philip, maintaining continuity of the kingdom. However, by 323 BC it was probably only as a client state on a power-sharing basis with the appointed Macedonian satrap of Thrace Lysimachus. Seuthes battled frequently with Lysimachus. Seuthes established his capital at Seuthopolis from 320 BC until it was sacked by the Celts in 281 BC.

 

Age of fragmentation (early 3rd century BC–46 AD)

 

Later writers, royal coin issues, and inscriptions indicate the survival of this dynasty into the early 1st century AD, although its overt political influence declined progressively first under Persian, Macedonian and Roman encroachment. Despite their demise, the period of Odrysian rule was of decisive importance for the future character of Southeast Europe under the Roman Empire and beyond.

 

By 212 BC an army led by an Odrysian king Pleuratus destroyed the Celtic kingdom and its capital Tylis. The Odrysian kingdom had maintained continuity with its own kings, but had broken up into several kingdoms (including Canite and Odrissae) by the early second century BC. The kingdoms succumbed to complete Roman conquest by 146 BC.

 

In 100 BC a Thracian kingdom was restored, possibly by a son of Beithys, one of the last kings of the Odrissae. However, it is not clear if it was a vassal of Rome or entirely independent. Several years later, some Thracians and Celts overran the southern Balkans, Epirus, Dalmatia and northern Greece, and penetrated the Peloponnese.

 

A kingdom of another Odrysian bloodline had re-emerged in 55 BC (Sapei) and by 30 BC it conquered or otherwise controlled the other Odrysian kingdom (Antaea), although it, along with[clarification needed] other Thracian tribes, became a Roman proxy soon afterward. By 11 BC, the uncle of the Roman emperor Augustus was the Odrysian king, which led to the gradual Romanization of the region. The Odrysian king Rhoemetalces III was murdered by his co-ruler and wife Pythodoris II, and his kingdom was completely subjected to Roman rule in 46 AD.[2][61][62][63]

 

Culture

Ring from Ezerovo with a Thracian inscription in Greek letters, c. 400 BC

 

Odrysian crafts and metalworking were largely a product of Persian influence.[64][65] Thracians as Dacians and Illyrians all decorated themselves with status-enhancing tattoos.[66] Thracian warfare was affected also by Celts and the Triballi had adopted Celtic equipment. Thracian clothing is regarded for its quality and texture and was made up of hemp, flax or wool. Their clothing resembled that of the Scythians including jackets with coloured edges, pointed shoes and the Getai tribe were so similar to the Scythians that they were often confused with them. The nobility and some soldiers wore caps. There was a mutual influence between the Greeks and the Thracians.[67] Greek customs and fashions contributed to the recasting of east Balkan society. Among the nobility Greek fashions in dress, ornament and military equipment were popular.[68] Unlike the Greeks, the Thracians often wore trousers. Thracian kings were influenced by Hellenization.[69] Greek as a lingua franca had been spoken at least by some members of the royal household in the fifth century BC and became the language of administrators; the Greek alphabet was adopted as the new Thracian script.[70]

 

Archaeology

A golden wreath and ring from the burial of an Odrysian aristocrat at the Golyamata Mogila tumulus (mid-4th century BC

 

Residences and temples of the Odrysian kingdom have been found, particularly around Starosel in the Sredna Gora mountains.[71] Archaeologists have uncovered the northeastern wall of the Thracian kings' residence, 13 m in length and preserved up to 2 m in height.[72] They also found the names of Cleobulus and Anaxandros, Philip II of Macedon's generals who led the assault on the Odrysian kingdom.[72]

 

See also: Gold wreaths from Thrace

 

List of Odrysian kings

Main article: List of ancient Thracian kings

 
Main category
 Bulgaria portal

Part of a series on theHistory of Bulgaria

 

The list below includes the known Odrysian kings of Thrace, but much of it is conjectural. Various other Thracian kings (some of them perhaps Odrysian like Pleuratus) are included as well.[73] Odrysian kings, though called Kings of Thrace, never exercised sovereignty over all of Thrace.[74] Control varied according to tribal relationships.[75] Odrysian kings (names are presented in Greek or Latin forms):

 

Odrysian treasures

 

See also

 

Notes

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