Thracian king 424 – about 408 BC, son of the Odrysian ruler Sparadokos and successor of Sitalces. At the time of the military operations against Macedon and Chalkidiki in 429 BC, he played a major role in the kingdom politics. After Sitalces’ death in 424 BC he demonstrated the entire might of the kingdom by collecting from the Aegean colonies tributes to the total amount of 400 talents and the same sum paid in kind. About 411 BC he led active military political campaigns in the Thracian Chersonese aiming to abolish the Athenian influence. During his reign the Odrysian kingdom turned into a significant political power on the Balkans.

A Macedonian king-reformer, who ruled 359-336 BC and turned Macedonia into a centralized kingdom.

Philip II of Macedon reorganized the army – introduced into the infantry corps the so called Macedonian phalanx, and made the first steps for fleet in Macedonia.

He managed to conquer the Pangaion Hills with their gold mines and the colony of Amphipolis from the Thracians. He took advantage of the Odrysian kingdom, weakened after the death of Cotys I and conquered Aegean Thracia, where he initiated a great colonization. Philip II of Macedon started minting gold coins, which led to a conflict with the Persian interests and undermining of the Athenian silver coins. He seized the opportunity, when the Second Athenian Sea League lost its power, and took part in the Holy War on the side of Phocis against Thebes and Athens – 352 BC. In 339 BC, he crushed their united forces at Chaeronea. The established peace made easier for Philip II of Macedon to force the Macedonian hegemony in Hellas. In 337 BC, at the Synedrion at Corinth, a Hellenic league was established under Macedonian hegemony and peace for entire Hellas and a Holy War on Persia was declared. In 336 BC, the military operations began and the Macedonian army, commanded by Parmenion and Attalus, invaded Anatolia to liberate the Greek settlements. In the same year Philip II of Macedon was assassinated by plotters.

The last king of Macedon 179 – 168 BC, son of Philip V. He succeeded to dethrone his pro-Roman brother Demetrius and to organize an anti-Roman coalition with the Greek city-states. The so called Third Macedonian War started with an initial success for Perseus but in the Battle of Pydna 168 BC he suffered an utter defeat and was forced to surrender to the Romans. His victor, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, carried immense plunder back to Rome and enslaved 150 000 people from the Epirote towns, allied to Perseus. He was captured too and died in 165 or 162 BC.

This was the most significant Thracian kingdom, which started its gradual political expansion at the time of the first famous king, called Teres, who ruled at the end of the 6th and the first half of the 5th century BC. He strengthened his power and influence to the Danube Delta to the north, to the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) to the southeast, and to the mouth of the Maritsa River to the west. His successor was Sparadokos – famous with the coinage and the political pressure over the settlements along the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and Aegean Region. His successor was his brother Sitalces – 424 BC. He played an active role in the political life on the Balkan Peninsula. He became an ally to Athens, and during the Peloponnesian War (429 BC) invaded Macedon and Chalkidiki. He was succeeded on the throne by Seuthes I 424-410 BC, who continued the active economic and political actions of his predecessor.

A real height in the political life of the Odrysian Kingdom is the reign of Cotys I 383-359 BC. He established a stable and lasting control over the settlements along the Propontis and the Thracian Chersonese and turned into a serious political opponent for Athens. His energetic actions added new aspects to the political life on the Balkans. His successor Cersobleptes 359-341 BC was forced into long wars with the king of Macedon, Philip II.

The Odrysian Kingdom continued its existence even after the conquests of Philip II and Alexander of Macedon in Thrace. The dynast Seuthes III fought unrestingly against Alexander’s successor in Thrace, Lysimachus. Then a long period of decline came in the 3rd–2nd century BC. Often the Odrysian kings were true allies of the Roman Republic that aimed at full control over the Balkan Peninsula. In 45 under the reign of the emperor Claudius the Odrysian Kingdom became part of the province of Thrace.

Map of Odrysian Kingdom from Wikimedia

In order to make his position stronger Cotys married his daughter to the Athenian general Iphicrates who soon became the second person in command after the king. Cotys starts to pursue an active foreign policy, which used renting Greek army and commanders. 

In 376-375 BC Cotys used the leader of powerful Thracian tribe of Triballi in war over the town of Abdera and placed him under control. The Triballi, rebelled against his kingdom. One of the reasons for this revolt was that the Triballi were unable to get luxurious goods and other items from the south. Cotys stopped the rebellion by rebuilding the Greek city of Pistiros. 

Cotys violate the union with Athens. He went to war with the Athenians for the possession of the Thracian Chersonese, which aims to turn Odrysian Kingdom the marine force and the first Balkan factor. In 362 BC he controlled peninsula except the cities Elayos, Sestos and Kritote. In 361 BC Athens organized a rebellion against Cotys, led by his treasurer Miltokythes. Yet Iphicrates, with the help of Charidemus, bribed the Athenian military and naval commanders to suppress the rebellion. In 361 BC, Charidemus returned to Athens with a treaty from Cotys, proclaiming him an ally. Cotys had successful retained his kingdom.

By 359 BC, Cotys controlled the whole Chersonese peninsula. This circumstance and contacts that Cotys I established with new Macedonian King Philip II, brought to his murder, organized by the intervention of Athens. 

Cotys I policy and his actions in Thracian Hersones deep disrupting the Second Athenian sea league and became the main factor that prepare and makes it easier Philip II victory over Athens. After his death Odrysian kingdom collapsed.

view Odrysian Kingdom map

Alexander the Great 356-323 BC, son of Philip II of Macedon and Olympias. Aristotle was his tutor and thus Alexander was influenced by the Hellenic theories. After the death of Philip II, Alexander of Macedon subjugated Hellas, and in Corinth, proclaimed himself a leader of the Greeks in the war against the Persians. After he conquered the Hellespont, he went to Anatolia where he gained number of victories over the Persian king Darius III. He captured the Phoenician city of Tyre and made for Egypt where he was welcomed as a liberator (from the Persians). In Egypt he visited the temple of Amun where the priests gave honour to him as a god.

In 332-331 BC, in Egypt, he founded the future big cultural Hellenistic centre – Alexandria. Then he started his victorious march to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, Babylon, Susa and Persepolis and reached the Indus River. He defeated the Indian king Porus in 326 BC, who later became his ally, and Alexander made him a satrap of India, then he set off with his army to the north-east.

Alexander of Macedon had to turn back due to the discontent and exhaustion of his army. He settled in Babylon where he died of fever later on.

During his marches Alexander of Macedon founded hundreds of new settlements that turned into important seats for distribution of the Hellenic culture. On the other hand, this culture was deeply influenced by the Eastern one, which led to the forming of the so called Hellenistic culture. The enormous empire, formed by Alexander’s marches, was not lasting because it comprised of economically and ethnically heterogeneous regions. After his death, his generals, the Diadochi, began long wars for the so called Alexander’s legacy. This led to the dissolution of his vast empire into numerous Hellenistic kingdoms. The most significant of them were these of the Seleucids in Syria, Ptolemies in Egypt and Antigonids in Macedonia and Hellas.

The Empire of Alexander the Great - map from Wikimedia