<論説>前三五〇年代、トラキアのオドリュサイ王国をめぐる政治・軍事情勢 --東王国の王ケルソブレプテスの動向を中心に--

Abstract

前三六〇/五九年にエーゲ海北岸以北の大勢力であったトラキア系オドリュサイ王国は、コテュス王の死を受けてベリサデス、アマドコス、ケルソブレプテスを王とする三つの王国に分裂する。このうち最も東側の王国を支配したのはコテュスの子ケルソブレプテスであった。彼はとりわけ前三五〇年代に毀誉褒貶の激しい信頼のおけないバルバロイとしてギリシア系史料に記される。そのため、諸研究者たちは彼を、マケドニアのピリッポス二世とアテナイとの狭間にあって、オドリュサイ王国再統一を目論んだ好戦的かつ未開の王として評価してきた。具体的には、ケルソブレプテスはアテナイからケルソネソス半島を奪取しようとし、一方で他のオドリュサイ諸王や周辺諸勢力を攻めるなど、攻撃的な政策を展開した、と考えられてきた。しかしながら、諸史料を再検討した結果、前三五〇年代に彼がオドリュサイ王国再統一を試みたことはなかったことを明らかにした。

The Thracian Odrysian Kingdom, a major power in the northern Aegean coastal region, split into three kingdoms in 360/359 BCE with the death of its King, Cotys. The western part was ruled by Berisades, the central part by Amadocus, and the eastern part by Cersobleptes, son of Cotys. Traditionally, the ancient Thracian world was perceived to be little more than an illiterate, uncivilized world, being relatively isolated and having only limited contact with the Greek world. In general, Greek sources stereotypically portrayed the Thracians as a warlike people practicing raiding as a livelihood. Because of this, the Odrysian kings were often perceived to be warlike as well, despite influencing the Greek world to no small amount. However, recent advances in the field of Thracian studies, especially that of archaeology, have been great, revealing the close contact that existed between the Thracian world and the Greek world. The Thracian world is now being thoroughly reevaluated, and it is now considered an important factor in the reevaluation of the ancient eastern Mediterranean world's development. Within this context, the Odrysian kingdom, the only power to unify southeastern Thrace from 5th to 4th century BCE, occupies an extremely important position in analyzing the relationship between Thrace and the Greek world. However, some of the Odrysian kings are still seen as aggressive invaders. This is especially true of King Cotys, preeminent in his power during the 4th century BCE, along with his son Cersobleptes. This is due to their portrayals in Greek sources as being unlawful aggressors. The Odrysian kingdom occupies an important position in the field of Thracian studies, and a major reevaluation is now required. This paper especially focuses on Cersobleptes' political and military actions in the 350s BCE. Greek sources from 350s BCE depicted Cersobleptes as an untrustworthy barbarian when appraising his character. Because of this, many historians have hitherto regarded him as an aggressive and uncivilized king, who attempted to reunify the Odrysian kingdom while shuttling between Philip II of Macedon and Athens. One historian also asserted that while he never destroyed his friendly relationship with Athens, he nonetheless pursued aggressive policies in order to reunify the divided Odrysian kingdom. Such traditional views portrayed Cersobleptes as an aggressive and wily king who attempted to reunify the Odrysian kingdom in some form. In particular, Cersobleptes allied himself with Phillip II of Macedon and attempted to seize from Athens the Thracian Chersonesus peninsula, which was located in a crucial area of the contemporary grain transport route from the Black Sea to Athens. He also acted aggressively towards other Odrysian kings west of the central area and neighboring Poleis such as Byzantion. Yet, in many cases, Cersobleptes' portrayal as an untrustworthy barbarian, alongside that of his advisor the Greek mercenary captain Charidemus, was made in the political orations of Demosthenes. So far, criticism of these sources has been unsatisfactory, despite the fact they were politically motivated. By utilizing various literary and archaeological sources, this paper argues that Cersobleptes never attempted to reunify the Odrysian kingdom in 350s BCE. Cersobleptes did attempt to oppose the eastward advance of Phillip II by utilizing Athenian power, which desired stability in Thrace, but he did not pursue any aggressive policy in particular. In a sense, he used Athens in order to maintain his kingdom. The Odrysian kingdom had experienced civil war during the reign of Cotys, followed by a protracted war between Cotys' reunified kingdom and Athens. The split of the kingdom caused by Cotys' assassination culminated in the confrontations among the three Odrysian kings who attempted to rebuild their relations with Athens. Cersobleptes had in fact placed a halt to unnecessary military actions at the time in order to rebuild his exhausted and war-weary kingdom, while effectively utilizing Athenian power to his own advantage.