Pages: 43-49

The author suggests a hypothesis on emergence of Bosporan kings' personal tamgas in 2nd c. AD. He considers evolution of tamgas from Asander to Sauromates II. Known are tamgas of Asander, his son Aspurgus and his wife, Queen Dynamis. Then, after a century-long hiatus, tamgas reappear during the reign of King Rhoemetalces. Nobody ever called Tiberius Julius Rhoemetalces a son of the Bosporan King Cotys II. The author believes that the genealogical line of the Bosporan dynasties, no doubt related to each other from Dynamis and Aspurgus to Cotys II, got interrupted in 133 AD, due to which a new dynastic line appeared. Its representatives reintroduced the earlier symbols — personal blazons-tamgas — to prove their succession line from Dynamis and Aspurgus. Tamgas belonging to the latter two fell out of use after Aspurgus had married Gepaepyris and their heirs acceded to the throne. The latter assumed the key attributes of the Odrysian dynasty, who ascended from Eumolpus, Poseidon and Hercules. The years 131—133 were marked by coins minted by childless Cotys II and Rhoemetalces, whose personal sign emphasized his kinship with Aspurgus. The next ruler, Tiberius Eupator, had been emphasizing his relation to Dynamis and Aspurgus since 154, i. e. not with the Thracian, but rather with the Iranian House, which included Asander's and Mithridates's bloodlines.

Keywords: Bosporus, the Roman Time, the royal tamga, Rhoemetalces, Tiberius Eupator, Sarmatians

Information about author:

Oleg Sharov (Saint Petersburg, Russia). Doctor of Historical Sciences. Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, 18, Saint Petersburg, 191186, Russia
E-mail: [email protected]