The
Odrysian kingdom 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
Romanian Northern Dobruja, as parts of Northern Greece and modern-day
European Turkey. King
Seuthes III later moved the capital to
Seuthopolis, now located at the bottom of the "Koprinka" reservoir near the town of
Kazanlak in Central
Bulgaria.
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. Initially, the state included eastern Thrace and regions as far north as the mouths of the Danube. Later, its territory increased significantly and was contained in the following borders the Black Sea to the east, Danube to the north, the region populated with the tribe Tribali to the north-west, and the basin of the river Strymon (Struma) to the south-west. This large territory was populated with a number of Thracian and Daco-Moesian tribes that united under the reign of a common ruler (king), 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.
According to the Greek historians Herodotus and Thucydides, a royal dynasty emerged from among the Odrysian tribe in Thrace around the end of the sixth 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 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. Under the Odrysians Greek became the language of administrators; Greek customs and fashions contributed to the recasting of east Balkan society. The Odrysians created the first state entity which superseded the tribal system in the east Balkan peninsula.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.
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 organized a massive campaign against the Macedonians, with a vast army from independent Thracian and Paionian 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.[1]
