The Wars of the Odrysian Kingdom against Philip II (352–339 BC)

Abstract

The paper traces the dynamism of the complex military and political relations between the Odrysian State and Philip II, which are often the subject of brisk polemics in historiography. The military campaigns of the Macedonian ruler in 352/331, 347/346 and 342/341 BC, which resulted in a considerable weakening of the Odrysian kingdom, are investigated successively and in detail. The successes of Philip II, however, are not the sought reliable evidence about the existence of a stable Macedonian military and administrative rule in the lands between the Haemus, the Aegean Sea and the Propontis, as some researchers are inclined to believe. The Odrysian State continued to exist even under the successors of Philip II, Alexander the Great and the diadochos Lysimachos.