Seuthes III.

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Seuthes III. ( Ancient Greek Σεύθης ; † around 300/295 BC) was a prince of the Thracian tribe of the Odrysen in the second half of the 4th century BC.

The bronze head of Seuthes III. from the grave near Kazanlak.

Since the reign of Philip II († 336 BC), the tribes of Thrace had to submit to a Macedonian supremacy. Both for Philip and for his son, Alexander the Great , this landscape played an important strategic role in the struggle against Persia. As the European foreland to the Hellespont , it had the most direct connection to the Asian continent. But after Alexander in 334 BC After leaving for Asia, the Macedonian position increasingly disintegrated. In June 330 BC Seuthes' son, Rhebulas, was granted Attic citizenship in Athens . Presumably this honor was part of an alliance policy directed against the Macedonians, whose position in Thrace must have been shaken by the previous revolt of the strategist Memnon . But it was only the death of the strategist Zopyrion in the battle against the Scythians in 325 BC. BC enabled the Thracian tribes under Seuthes' leadership to shake off Macedonian rule.

In 323 BC The situation changed after the general Lysimachus was appointed the new governor of Thrace in Babylon . According to Diodorus , Seuthes was able to raise an army of 20,000 men and 8,000 mounted men this year to defend themselves against the new threatening Macedonian regime. In the following years he led a constant resistance struggle against Lysimachos, while at times allied with his enemy Antigonos Monophthalmos . But in 313 BC BC Lysimachos achieved a military victory over Seuthes in the Haimos (Balkan Mountains) , whereupon the latter had to submit.

This submission was limited to a formal recognition of the sovereignty of Lysimachus over the Odryses, since Seuthes III. remained in his previous positions of power. His domain was bordered by the Haimos in the north, as well as the river courses of the Tonzos in the east, the Evros in the south and the Strjama in the west, corresponding to today's central Bulgaria . Numerous finds of coins minted by him in this region, the number of which exceeds that of Lysimachus, document an economically flourishing and politically stable rule. Apparently Seuthes tried to be recognized as equal to them by the Macedonian Diadoch rulers . Based on their model, Seuthes founded a Hellenistic city, Seuthopolis , which had a temple dedicated to the Greek Kabiren deities ( Theoi Megaloi ). He also married a Macedonian named Berenike and had himself depicted on his coins with a royal diadem . Seuthes was recognized by historiography (see Diodorus) as king ( Basileus ), although it remains unclear whether his Hellenistic rulers gave him such recognition. He himself renounced this title when minting his coins, which indicates a certain subordination to Lysimachus.

Seuthes III. probably died in the first years of the 3rd century BC, before the death of Lysimachus († 281 BC) and the onslaught of the Celts . He had at least six sons, two from a first marriage (Kotys and Rhebulas) and four from his second marriage to Berenike (Hebryzeimis, Teres, Sadokos and Sadalas). His successor in Seuthopolis is not clear, it was probably fought over among his sons. The leading Thracian prince was succeeded by the dynast of Kabyle (near Jambol ), Spartokos, who, in contrast to Seuthes, had actually accepted the title of king.

The grave of Seuthes

In autumn 2004, the undamaged barrow of Seuthes III, equipped with numerous additions, was opened . discovered near Kazanlak by the archaeologist Georgi Kitov . In addition, a well-preserved head of a bronze statue of him was found in front of the grave, depicting him as an older man with a thick beard.

literature

  • Hermann Bengtson : rulers of the Hellenism. Beck, Munich 1984.
  • Hermann Bengtson: The Diadochi. The successors of Alexander (323–281 BC). Beck, Munich 1987.
  • DP Dimitrov, M. Chichikova: The Thracian City of Seuthopolis. (= BAR Supplement Series 38). Oxford 1978.
  • Kamen Dimitrow: The State of Seuthes III. based on numismatic and epigraphic materials from Seuthopolis (Bulgarian). In: Vekove 10, No. 1 (1981) pp. 54-61 abstract .
  • Iris von Bredow : Seuthes 4th In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 11, Metzler, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-476-01481-9 , column 482.
  • Stefan Lehmann : With long hair and a patriarchal beard - The early Hellenistic ruler portrait of Seuthes III. In: F. Bertemes, AE Furtwängler (ed.): Pontos Euxeinos. Contributions to the archeology and history of the ancient Black Sea and Balkan region. Festschrift for Manfred Oppermann. (= Writings of the Center for Archeology and Cultural History of the Black Sea Region . Volume 10). Langenweißbach 2006, pp. 155-166.
  • Vincenzo Saladino: Il ritratto di Seuthes III. In: Yearbook of the German Archaeological Institute 127/128, 2012/2013, pp. 125–206.

Web links

Commons : The Seuthes tomb of Kazanlak  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ IG II 2 349.
  2. ↑ Curtius Rufus 10, 1, 43-45.
  3. ^ Diodor 18:14 , 2.
  4. ↑ Diodorus 19, 73, 8.
  5. ↑ Pausanias 1, 10, 4-5; Appian , Syriake 64, 341.
personal data
SURNAME Seuthes III.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Thracian prince of Odrysen
DATE OF BIRTH 4th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 3rd century BC Chr.