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Seuthes III – Odrysian King of
Thrace: circa 330-300 B.C.
Bronze 17mm (3.15 grams) Struck 324 B.C.
Reference: Sear 1725; B.M.C. 3.1,2; SNGCop 1072; Moushmov 5730
Bearded head of Seuthes right.
ΣEYΘY – Horseman cantering right, wreath
beneath.
* Numismatic Note: Fantastic coin in excellent state of preservation with
original, emerald-green patina.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured,
provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of
Authenticity.
Seuthes III (Ancient Greek:
Σεύθης) was a king of the
Odrysian kingdom
of
Thrace
from ca. 331 BC to ca. 300 BC, at first
tributary to
Alexander the Great
of
Macedon
.
Thrace
had been largely subject to Macedon since the campaigns of Alexander’s father
Philip II
in 347-346, followed by his conquest
of southern Thrace in 341 BC. After Philip’s death in 336 BC, the Thracian
tribes revolted against Alexander, who waged a campaign against and defeated the
Getai
and King
Syrmus
of the Triballi. All other Thracians
submitted to him and sent troops to join his army. A son of Seuthes,
Cotys II
, had gained
Athenian
citizenship.
Seuthes in turn revolted against the Macedonians about 325 BC, after
Alexander’s governor Zopyrion was killed in battle against the Getae. He was
apparently subdued by
Antipater
, but after Alexander died in 323 BC
he again took up arms in opposition to the new governor
Lysimachus
. They fought each other to a draw
and each withdrew from battle, but ultimately Seuthes was compelled to
acknowledge the authority of Lysimachus, by then one of Alexander’s successor
kings. In 320 BC, Seuthes III moved the
Odrysian kingdom
to central Thrace and built
his capital city at
Seuthopolis
(Kazanluk).
In 313 BC he supported
Antigonus I
in the latter’s war against
Lysimachus, occupying the passes of Mount Haemus against his overlord, but was
again defeated and forced to submit. Lysimachus ultimately died in the
Battle of Corupedium
against
Seleucus I Nicator
in 281 BC, following which
Thrace came under the suzereinty of
Ptolemy II
.
The Odrysian kingdom (Ancient
Greek: Βασίλειον Ὀδρυσῶν) was
a union of Thracian
tribes that endured between the
5th century BC
and the
3rd century BC
. It consisted largely of
present-day Bulgaria
, spreading to parts of
Northern Dobruja
, parts of Northern
Greece
and modern-day
European Turkey
. King
Seuthes III
later moved the capital to
Seuthopolis
.
//
The
Odrysians
The Odrysians (Odrysae or Odrusai,
Ancient Greek
: “Οδρύσαι”) were one of the most
powerful Thracian tribes that dwelled in the plain of the
Hebrus
river. This would place the tribe in
modern
European Turkey
close to
Edirne
. The river
Artescus
passed through their land as well.
Xenophon
writes that the Odrysians held horse
races and drunk large amounts of wine and after the burial of their dead
warriors. Thucydides
writes on their custom, practised by
most Thracians, of giving gifts for getting things done.
Herodotus
is the first that mentions the
Odrysae.
The
Odrysian kingdom
Thrace had nominally been part of the Persian empire since
516 BC
and was re-subjugated by
Mardonius
in
492 BC
. The Odrysian state was the first
Thracian kingdom that acquired power in the region, by the unification of many
Thracian tribes
under a single ruler, King
Teres
in the
5th century BC
.
Extent
and control
Initially, during the reign of
Teres
or
Sitalces
the state was at its
zenith
and extended from the
Black Sea
to the east,
Danube
to the north, the region populated with
the tribe called
Triballi
to the north-west, and the basin of
the river
Strymon
to the south-west and towards the
Aegean
. Later its extent changed from present
day Bulgaria
,
Turkish
Thrace
and Greece between the
Hebrus
and the Strymon except for the coastal
strip the Greek cities occupied. Sovereignty was never exercised over all of its
lands as it varied in relation to tribal politics.
Historian Z.H. Archibald writes:
The Odrysians created the first state entity which superseded the
tribal system in the east Balkan peninsula. Their kings were usually known
to the outside world as kings of Thrace, although their power did not extend
by any means to all Thracian tribes. Even within the confines of their
kingdom the nature of royal power remained fluid, its definition subject to
the dictates of geography, social relationships, and circumstance
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. Those were favorable conditions for
overcoming the tribal divisions which could lead 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 the central power, the separatist tendencies were very strong. Odrysian
military strength was based on intra-tribal elites making the kingdom prone to
fragmentation. Some tribes were rioting constantly and tried to separate while
others remained outside the borders of the kingdom. At the end of the fifth and
the beginning of the fourth century BC, as a result of conflicts the Odrysian
kingdom split in three parts. The political and military decline continued,
while Macedonia was rising as a dangerous and ambitious neighbour.
Historians
According to the Greek historians
Herodotus
and
Thucydides
, a royal dynasty emerged from among
the Odrysian tribe in
Thrace
around the end of the
5th century BC
, which came to dominate much of
the area and peoples between the
Danube
and the
Aegean
for the next century. Later writers,
royal coin issues, and inscriptions indicate the survival of this dynasty into
the early first century AD, although its overt political influence declined
progressively first under
Persian
,
Macedonian
, later
Roman
, encroachment. Despite their demise, the
period of Odrysian rule was of decisive importance for the future character of
south-eastern Europe, under the Roman Empire and beyond.
Teres’ son, Sitalces
, proved to be a good military leader,
forcing the tribes that defected the alliance to acknowledge his sovereignty.
The rich state that spread from the Danube to the Aegean built roads to develop
trade and built a powerful army. In
429 BC
,
Sitalces
allied himself with the
Athenians
and organized a massive campaign
against the
Macedonians
, with a vast army from independent
Thracian and
Paeonian
tribes. According to Thucydides it
included as many as 150,000 men, but was obliged to retire through failure of
provisions, and the coming winter.
In the
4th century BC
, the kingdom split itself in
three smaller kingdoms, of which one, with the capital at
Seuthopolis
survived the longest. During the
Hellenistic era it was subject at various times to
Alexander the Great
,
Lysimachus
,
Ptolemy II
, and
Philip V
, and was at one time overrun by the
Celts
, but usually maintained its own kings.
During the Roman era its
Sapaean
rulers were clients of
Rome
until Thrace was annexed as a Roman
province in 46 AD.
Hellenization
Under the Odrysians
Greek
became the language of administrators and
of the nobility, and the Greek alphabet was adopted. Greek customs and fashions
contributed to the recasting of east Balkan society. The nobility adopted Greek
fashions in dress, ornament and military equipment, spreading it to the other
tribes. Thracian kings were among the first to be
Hellenized
.
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