View source for Dromichaetes

{{Infobox monarch
| name            = Dromichaetes - Δρομιχαίτης
| title           = King of [[Getae]]
| image           =
| caption         =
| reign           = {{circa}} 300 &ndash; {{circa}} 280 BC
| spouse          = a daughter of [[Lysimachus]]
| death_date      = {{circa}} 280 BC
| death_place     = 
| date of burial  =
| place of burial = [[Sveshtari]], [[Bulgaria]]
|}}

'''Dromichaetes''' ({{langx|grc|Δρομιχαίτης|Dromichaites}}) was king of the [[Getae]] on both sides of the lower [[Danube]] (present day [[Romania]] and [[Bulgaria]]) around 300 BC.

== Background ==

[[Image:Sofia - Unique Tracian Helmet from Bronze and Silver.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Thracian helmet with decorations made from bronze and silver. Dated mid-4th century BC.]]

The Getae had been federated in the [[Odrysian kingdom]] in the 5th century BC.{{sfn|Archibald|1994|p=472}} It is not known how the relations between Getae and Odrysians developed. The Balkan campaigns of [[Philip II of Macedon]] between 352 and 340 BC shattered Odrysian authority and the Getae profited from the situation.{{sfn|Archibald|1994|pp=467-472}}{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=43}} By the second half of the 4th century, the Getae occupied sites on both banks of the lower Danube{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=43}}{{sfn|Sîrbu|2006|p=42}} and this region flourished as never before.{{sfn|Archibald|1994|p=473}} The new [[Macedon]]ian conquests, secured with considerable military power, caused consternation in the adjoining territories and thus stimulated the political fusion of the [[Getic tribes]].{{sfn|Delev|2000|pp=396,399}}

== Name ==
There is no consensus on the etymology of the name Δρομιχαίτης (''Dromichaites''). It can be a Greek name (δρόμος "run" + χαιτήεις "long-haired"),{{sfn|Eichwald|1838|p=294}} a [[Thracian language|Thracian]] name,{{sfn|Tomaschek|1894|p=36}} or a Thracian name formed with Greek elements (Δρομο- and Χαιτο-, -χαιτης).{{sfn|Detschew|1957|p=159}}{{sfn|Bechtel|1917|pp=142,464}}

Other people with this name include:{{sfn|Detschew|1957|p=159}}{{sfn|Dana|2001–2003|pp=87-88}}

* a [[Thracian]] [[mercenary soldier]] in [[Attica]] around 300 BC;
* a Thracian chief helping [[Antiochus II Theos]] (261 – 246 BC) at the siege of [[Cypsela (Thrace)|Kypsela]];
* a general of [[Mithridates VI Eupator]] sent with reinforcements in 87 BC to support [[Archelaus (Pontic army officer)|Archelaus]] in [[Athens]].

== Reign ==
Not much is known about the reign of Dromichaetes, his court and his kingdom. The most detailed account is provided by two fragments from the [[Bibliotheca historica|history]] of [[Diodorus Siculus]]. But this source must be treated with caution, as the interference of [[motif (narrative)|literary motifs]] lessens its value as historical evidence.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=46}}

=== Helis ===
[[Image:Argedava - Graphical Reenactment by Radu Oltean.jpg|thumb|left|[[Archaeological illustration|Pictorial reconstruction]] of the fortified settlement discovered at [[Mihăilești|Popeşti]], [[Giurgiu County]], [[Muntenia]] (southern Romania).]]

According to Diodorus, the main residence of Dromichaetes was named Helis.{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=392}} Traditionally, Helis and the kingdom of Dromichaetes have been placed beyond the Danube, in the [[Romanian Plain]].{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=46}} Thus Helis was variously located at [[Dacian Fortresses of Crăsanii de Jos|Piscul Crăsani]] on [[Ialomița River]],{{sfn|Pârvan|1926|pp=63,65}} at [[Mihăileşti|Popeşti]] on [[Argeş River]],{{By whom|date=October 2011}} at [[Zimnicea]] on the [[river|left bank]] of Danube,{{By whom|date=October 2011}} or identified with one of the several earth-walled fortifications from the [[Alexandria, Romania|Alexandria]]-[[Roşiorii de Vede]] complex.{{By whom|date=October 2011}} It was also suggested Helis was located in the [[Moldavian Plateau]] in a cluster of fortified settlements dated to between the 6th and the 3rd century BC, where two royal treasures were also found at [[Cucuteni|Cucuteni Băiceni]] and [[Mihai Eminescu, Botoşani|Stânceşti]].{{sfn|Irimia|2005|p=55}}

The Getic tomb at [[Sveshtari]] (discovered in 1982) in the western [[Ludogorie]] in Bulgaria is also supposed to have been near the location of Helis.{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=400}} In the vicinity of the mausoleum, the remains of a large ancient city were found along with dozens of Getic mound tombs. The settlement is situated in a natural stronghold, a plateau surrounded like a [[peninsula]] by the ravines of Krapinets River.{{sfn|Emilov|2007|p=63}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=398}} The outer [[stone wall]], up to 4m thick, follows the edges of the peninsula and defends a territory of about 10 [[hectare]]s. The inner wall, of similar construction, encloses a roughly [[quadrilateral]] area of about 5 hectares.{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=398}} The fortified territory was relatively densely occupied by dwellings connected by a network of thoroughfares.{{sfn|Stoyanov|Mihaylova|1996|p=55}} Dating finds such as [[amphora]]e stamps and [[coin]]s indicate that this settlement existed between {{circa}} 335 and {{circa}} 250 BC.{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=398}}{{sfn|Stoyanov|Mihaylova|1996|pp=55,57}}

The settlement enjoyed economic prosperity and sustained active trade relations with the [[Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies|Greek colonies]] in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] and the [[Black Sea]] region. Imported goods were found in abundance: [[Attica|Attic]] black-glazed ceramics, amphorae from [[Thassos]], [[Sinop, Turkey|Sinope]] and [[Heraclea Pontica]] and pottery of probably West-[[Black Sea|Pontic]] colonial origin.{{sfn|Emilov|2007|p=63}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=398}} It was also an important production centre with metalworking, bone and pottery workshops.{{sfn|Emilov|2007|p=63}}{{sfn|Stoyanov|Mihaylova|1996|p=57}}

== The war with Lysimachus ==
[[Image:Lysimachus.jpg|thumb|202px|right|Coin of Lysimachus.]]

{{see also|Lysimachus}}

In 313 BC, during the [[Wars of the Diadochi#Third War of the Diadochi, 314–311 BC|Third War of the Diadochi]], the Greek colonies of the western Black Sea shores revolted against [[Lysimachus]], a former general of [[Alexander the Great]], and expelled the military garrisons imposed by him. Lysimachus besieged successively [[Odessus]] and [[Histria (ancient city)|Histria]] and forced them to capitulate. A peace treaty was drawn up in 311, but the siege of [[Callatis]] continued until 310 or 309 BC.{{sfn|Lund|1992|pp=40-42}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=386}} No other action of Lysimachus is known north of [[Balkan mountains|Haemus]] until the clash with Dromichaetes in the 290s BC.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=44}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=386}}

The evidence for the conflict is incomplete and contradictory, although attested by a number of ancient authors.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=45}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=386-387}} It was probably provoked by the territorial expansion of Lysimachus and the control of the Greek colonies was perhaps the issue at stake.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=45}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|pp=389-390}}

The two fragments of Diodorus' history suggest two separate campaigns. During the first the Getae captured [[Agathocles (son of Lysimachus)|Agathocles]], the son of Lysimachus, but later set him free hoping to recover the territories lost to Lysimachus. During the second Lysimachus himself was taken prisoner and then released under similar conditions. However [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], mentioning the same two episodes, implies they are parallel versions of one and the same event.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=45-46}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=387}}

The campaign in which Lysimachus fell captive to the Getae is dated by scholars variously between 294 and 291 BC.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=45}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=392}} Lysimachus invaded with significant forces and his offensive enjoyed some early success before ending in disaster.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=47}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=391}} According to [[Polyaenus]], Seuthes, a general of Dromichaetes, presented himself as a deserter, deceived Lysimachus and led him into difficult terrain. Attacked by Dromichaetes, the army of Lysimachus was defeated and the king had to surrender.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=47}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=391}}

Diodorus gives our only account of the captivity and subsequent release of Lysimachus. Dromichaetes succeeded in persuading the assembly of his compatriots that the release of the enemy king would bring them greater political advantage than his punishment. Dromichaetes also set out a feast to demonstrate the barbarian ways and the poverty of his people, using different furniture, tableware and food.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=48}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=392}} He then asked Lysimachus:

{{Quote | Why then, forsaking such ways, a splendid manner of life, and a more glorious kingdom as well, did you desire to come among men who are barbarous and lead a bestial existence, and to a wintry land deficient in cultivated grains and fruit? Why did you force a way against nature to bring an army into such a place as this, where no foreign force can survive in the open? | Diodorus Siculus, ''Library of History'', book XXI, chapter 12{{sfn|Walton|1957|p=21}} }}

Dromichaetes crowned Lysimachus with a wreath and then set him free, after receiving promises of loyalty and friendship and the return of the Getic territories occupied by Lysimachus.{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=392}} As precaution, the Getae held some high-born hostages like [[Clearchus of Heraclea|Clearchus]], the son of the [[tyrant]] [[Dionysius of Heraclea]].{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=392}}{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=48}} Lysimachus also had to give his daughter in marriage to Dromichaetes.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=48}}

=== Death and burial ===

[[Image:Tomb sveshtari2-1-.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The main burial chamber of the Thracian tomb of Sveshtari in northeast Bulgaria.]]

{{See also|Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari}}

The great tomb in [[Ginina mound]] near Sveshtari is among the most prominent [[Thracian tomb]]s with its unique architecture and luxurious decoration. It is dated approximately to the early 3rd century BC. A painted scene, interpreted as either one of heroization or investiture, points to its probable royal character.{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=397}} The man and the woman buried here were tentatively identified with Dromichaetes and his consort. The unfinished details of its sculptured and painted decoration indicate a hasty and premature burial. The woman was probably murdered to accompany her royal husband in the grave.{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=400}}

The [[Roman citizenship|Roman]] historian [[Justin (historian)|Justin]] mentions a large army of [[Celts]] defeating both [[Triballi]] and Getae before attacking [[Antigonus Gonatas]] in 279 BC. Based on this account, Peter Delev argued that Dromichaetes could have fallen in battle against these Celts.{{sfn|Delev|2000|pp=400-401}}

== Legacy ==

=== Classical world ===
The captivity of Lysimachus was echoed in the Classical Greek literature as a [[morality|moralizing]] story about the punishment of pride and the virtues of barbarians.{{sfn|Dana|2001–2003|p=88}}{{sfn|Delev|2000|p=390}} Diodorus' story of Dromichaetes' banquet for his royal prisoner is probably a [[literary device]], contrasting Macedonian opulence with Thracian frugality.{{sfn|Lund|1992|p=48}}

=== Modern world ===
Dromichaetes is the king of Dacians and the main character in ''Muntele'' ("The Mountain"), a [[play (theatre)|play]] written in 1977 by [[Dumitru Radu Popescu]]{{sfn|Cernat|Mitchievici|Stanomir|2008|p=301}} and a political [[fable]]. The identity between [[Conducător|the ruler]] and its people alludes to Ceauşescu's [[cult of personality]].{{sfn|Cernat|Mitchievici|Stanomir|2008|p=311}}

[[Helis Nunatak]] on [[Livingston Island]] in the [[South Shetland Islands]], [[Antarctica]] is named after the Getic Helis.

== See also ==
* [[List of rulers in Thrace and Dacia]]
* [[List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|colwidth=20em}}

== References ==
* {{cite book|last=Archibald|first=Zofia H.|chapter=Thracians and Scythians|title=The Cambridge Ancient History|volume=6|edition=2|year=1994}}
* {{cite book|last=Bechtel|first=Friedrich|title=Die historischen Personennamen des Griechischen bis zur Kaiserzeit|url=https://archive.org/details/diehistorischenp00bechuoft|year=1917}}
* {{cite book|last=Boia|first=Lucian|title=History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness|year=2001|publisher=Central European University Press}}
* {{cite book|last1=Cernat|first1=Paul|last2=Mitchievici|first2=Angelo|last3=Stanomir|first3=Ioan|title=Explorări în comunismul românesc|year=2008|volume=3|publisher=Polirom}}
* {{cite journal|last=Dana|first=Dan|title=Étude sur les porteurs du nom ''Γέτας''|journal=Studii Clasice|volume=37-39|year=2001–2003|pages=85–102}}
* {{cite journal|last=Delev|first=Peter|title=Lysimachus, the Getae, and Archaeology|journal=The Classical Quarterly |series=New Series|pages=384–401|issue=2|year=2000|doi=10.1093/cq/50.2.384|volume=50}}
* {{cite book|last=Detschew|first=Dimiter|title=Die thrakischen Sprachreste|year=1957}}
* {{cite book|last=Eichwald|first=Karl Eduard|title=Alte Geographie des Kaspischen Meeres, des Kaukasus und des südlichen Russlands, nach Griechischen, Römischen und anderen Quellen|year=1838}}
* {{cite journal|last=Emilov|first=Julij|title=La Tène finds and the indigenous communities in Thrace. Interrelations during the Hellenistic period|journal=Studia Hercynia|volume=11|year=2007|pages=57–75}}
* {{cite journal|last=Irimia|first=Mihai|title=Cu privire la raporturile dintre sciţi, geţi şi coloniile greceşti de la Dunărea de jos, în secolele VI-IV a.Chr|journal=Revista Română de Studii Eurasiatice|volume=1|year=2005|pages=51–94}}
* {{cite journal|last=Jordanov|first=Kiril|title=La politique de Lysimaque en Thrace, en Asie Mineure occidentale et en Macédoine (294-281 av. J.-C.)|journal=Thracia|volume=13|year=2000|pages=187–217}}
* {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YY01JTecHpoC|last=Lund|first=Helen S.|title=Lysimachus. A study in early Hellenistic kingship|year=1992|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-203-03404-0}}
* {{cite book|last=Pârvan|first=Vasile|title=Getica|year=1926}}
* {{cite journal|last=Sîrbu|first=Valeriu|title=Elitele geţilor dintre Carpaţi şi Balcani (sec. IV-II a. Chr): 'prinţii de aur şi argint'|journal=Istros|volume=XIII|year=2006|pages=41–70}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Stoyanov|first1=T.|last2=Mihaylova|first2=Zh.|title=Metalworking in the Getic City in Sboryanovo locality near Isperih, NE Bulgaria (Preliminary report)|journal=Ephemeris Napocensis|year=1996|volume=6|pages=55–77}}
* {{cite book|last=Tomaschek|first=Wilhelm|title=Die alten Thraker|year=1894|volume=II.2}}
* {{cite journal|last=Ursulescu|first=Nicolae|title=Une hypothèse concernant la localisation du pouvoir de Dromichaitès et de son conflit avec le roi Lysimachos|journal=Bulletin de Thracologie|volume=III|year=1996|pages=191–193}}
* {{cite book|last=Walton|first=Francis R.|title=Diodorus Siculus: Library of History, Books 21-32|year=1957|volume=XI|publisher=Loeb Classical Library}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120105174952/http://soltdm.com/langtdm/thes/d/Dromichaites.htm Dromichaites, philological and linguistical aspects] {{in lang|ro}} at [http://soltdm.com/index.htm Sorin Olteanu's LTDM Project (soltdm.com)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113100711/http://soltdm.com/index.htm |date=2007-11-13 }}

{{Dacia topics}}

[[Category:Kings of Dacia]]
[[Category:Kings of Thrace]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Thrace]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC monarchs in Europe]]