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Greek Kingdom of Thrace
Rhoemetalkes I – King: 11 B.C. – 12 A.D.
Bronze 13mm (2.14 grams) from the Greek Kingdom of Thrace circa 11 B.C. – 12
A.D.
Reference: RPC I 1706
ΣΕΒΑΣΤΟΥ, Fasces (ceremonial axe).
B A POIMHTAΛKOY, sella curulis (throne) and spear.
The symbols on this coin symbolize Roman power.
Youroukova posited that this type was struck circa 11 B.C. when coming on the
throne and receiving the symbols of power from Augustus.
Thrace did not become a Roman province until the reign of Claudius (A.D. 46).
Augustus created Rhoemetalkes I ruler of the whole of Thrace in 11 B.C. and he
governed the country well for almost a quarter of a century until his death in
A.D. 12. Thereafter the Kingdom had a troubled history culminating in the
murder, by his wife, of the last ruler Rhoemetalkes III.
Son of Kotys and Sapaean, Rhoemetalkes had a long political career in the
earlier part of which he acted as the guardian of the children of Kotys III. He
became King of Thrace in 11 B.C. and remained a loyal ally of the Romans
throughout his reign.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Rhoemetalces I
(Ancient Greek:
Ῥοιμητάλκης) was king of the
Odrysian kingdom
of
Thrace
from 12 BC to 12 AD, in succession to
his nephew
Rhescuporis I
.
Rhoemetalces I was a loyal ally to the first
Roman Emperor
Augustus
. He was a direct descendant of the
Thracian King
Cotys I
, and the middle son of the earlier
Thracian king
Cotys VI
. His older brother was
Cotys VII
, and his younger brother was
Rhescuporis II
.
When Cotys VII died about 48 BC Rhoemetalces became the guardian of his
nephew Rhescuporis I, his brother’s young son and heir. Rhescuporis I died in 13
BC, when he was defeated and slain in battle by
Vologases
, chief of the Thracian
Bessi
, who was a leader in the revolt against
the Romans
in that year.
During this revolt Rhoemetalces and his family fled Thrace, returning only
when it ended, when Augustus returned the kingdom to his family. As Rhescuporis
I had left no heir, Rhoemetalces became King of Thrace in 12 BC. The Roman
Historian Tacitus
, describes him as ‘attractive and
civilized’. His wife and the mother of his heir, known only through numismatic
evidence, was Queen Pythodoris [I].
Rhoemetalces I ruled Thrace until his death in 12. Augustus then divided his
realm into two separate kingdoms, one half for his son
Cotys VIII
to rule and the other half for
Rhoemetalces’s remaining brother
Rhescuporis II
. Tacitus states that Cotys
received the cultivated parts, most towns and most Greek cities of Thrace, while
Rhescuporis received the wild and savage portion with enemies on its frontier.
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Rhoemetalces I
Odrysian kingdom of Thrace
Born:
Unknown
Died:
12 AD |
Preceded by
Rhescuporis II (Astaean) |
King of
Thrace
12 BC–12 AD |
Succeeded by
Cotys III (Sapaean) and
Rhescuporis II |
The
Odrysian kingdom of Thrace (Βασίλειον
Ὀδρυσῶν, Latin: Regnum Odrysium) was a state union of over 40
Thracian
tribes and 22 kingdoms that existed
between the 5th century BC and the 1st century AD. It consisted mainly of
present-day Bulgaria
, spreading to parts of
Northern Dobruja
, parts of Northern
Greece
and parts of modern-day
European Turkey
.
It is suggested that the kingdom had no capital, instead the kings may have
moved from a residence to another. A capital was the city of Odryssa (assumed to
be Uscudama, modern
Edirne
), as inscribed on coins. 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 build as a capital. An early
capital was Vize
. The kingdom broke up and
Kabyle
was a co-capital by the end of the 4th
century BCE.E.
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