Seuthes V Explained

Seuthes V (Ancient Greek: Σεύθης, Seuthēs) was a king of the Odrysians in Thrace in the late 3rd or early 2nd century BC. He is only known as the father of Cotys IV, who is attested between 171 and 166 BC as an ally first of Antigonid Macedon, then of Rome. The Roman historian Livy specifically describes Cotys and his father Seuthes as Odrysians.^[1] Livy's statement that in its diplomatic interaction with Cotys IV the Roman Senate referenced a traditional friendship with Cotys and his ancestors can be interpreted as evidence for contact between Rome and Seuthes V.^[2] Seuthes V is believed to have reigned around the year 200 BC as a predecessor or rival of Amadocus III, who was captured by the Macedonians in 184 BC.^[3] The chronology and names suggest that he may have been a son of Roigos and grandson of Seuthes IV or a son of Teres IV and grandson of Seuthes IV, depending on the chronological placement of Roigos in the middle or beginning of the 3rd century BC.^[4]

See also

• List of rulers of Thrace and Dacia

References

• Livy (Titus Livius) History of Rome. English Translation by Rev. Canon Roberts. New York, E. P. Dutton and Co. 1912.
• P. Delev, From Koroupedion to the Beginning of the Third Mithridatic War (281-73 BCE), in: J. Valeva et al. (eds.), A Companion to Ancient Thrace, Wiley, 2015: 59-74.
• M. Tačeva, Istorija na bălgarskite zemi v drevnostta prez elinističeskata i rimskata epoha, Sofia, 1997.
• R. Werner, in: W.-D. von Barloewen (ed.), Abriss der Geschichte antiker Randkulturen, Munich, 1961: 83-150, 239-242.

Notes and References

1. Livy 42.51.10: "Cotys, the son of Seuthes and king of the Odrysae, had come in with a picked force of 1000 horse and about the same number of infantry."
2. Livy 45.42.7: "The senate instructed the praetor to tell them in reply that the senate bore in mind the friendly relations which had existed between Rome and Cotys and the ancestors of Cotys and the Thracian nation." Tačeva 1997: 58-59 doubts the statement.
3. Werner 1961: 116, 239; Delev 2015: 66-67.
4. https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/imladjov/chronologies Mladjov, Rulers of Thrace, University of Michigan