Name Satyrus Bosporus | ||
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Satyros I (died 389 BC) also known as Satyrus (Greek:Σάτυρος A') was the Spartocid ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom from 432–389 BC. During his rule he built upon the expansive foreign policy of his father Spartokos I. He conquered Nymphaion, became involved in the political developments of the neighboring Sindike kingdom and laid siege to the city of Theodosia, which was a serious commercial rival because of its ice-free port and proximity to the grain fields of eastern Crimea.
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He presided over a strengthening of ties with Athens, and at one point possibly had a statue raised in his honour in the city. He was also the father of Leukon and Gorgippos who would expand their realm into a powerful kingdom.
Reign
Satyros I was a leading figure in the expansion of his father's kingdom, initially gaining some success by gaining Nymphaeum from Gylon and perhaps Kimmerikon, but later had extensive problems with the neighboring Sindike Kingdom, with which he had started an unsucessful war, and the Greek city-states of Theodosia and Heraclea Pontica.
He allowed the son of his powerful minister Sopaios to travel to Athens with two ships filled with wheat. Sopaios's son's ships managed to avoid pirates and arrived at Athens. Once in Athens, he sought the bank of Pasion and managed to settle his affairs. Satyros, however, expected Sopaios himself to be conspiring in a conspiracy against his life and had him arrested. As Sopaios's son was still in Athens, Satyros ordered the Bosporans in Athens to confiscate Sopaios's son's property and force him to return to the Bosporan Kingdom.
After Satyros acquitted Sopaios of his crimes, he had Sopaios's daughter, Theodosia, marry his son Leukon to re-conciliate their differences.
Problems with the Sindi
Satyros encountered extensive problems with the Sindi. This happened due to Satyros I offering his daughter to Hekaktaios, the king of the Sindi but told him to kill his previous wife, Tirgatao. Hekataios, instead of killing his wife, had her imprisoned in a tower, from which she was able to escape and reach her original tribe, the Ixomatae. Tirgitao married her father's successor, her father presumably being king of the Ixomatae, and roused many tribes to lay war against Satyros. Satyros, knowing he could not win, offered his son Metrodoros as a hostage and sued for peace.
Shortly after this, there was an attempt on Tirgatao's life, likely organized by Satyros. After finding out about this scheme, Tirgatao had Metrodoros killed, and once again waged war on Satyros. This war would be ended by Leukon and Gorgippos shortly after their father's death and their ascent to the throne.
Death and legacy
Satyros would later die in the unsuccessful Siege of Theodosia in 389 BC at the age of 81, his death giving the ascension to Leukon and Gorgippos who would later expand the Bosporan Kingdom to boundaries Satyros had not dreamed of, and establish a dynasty that would rule the Bosporus for another 300 years.