kingdom · Balkans and Hungary

Kingdom of Tylis

277 BCE – 212 BCE (approx.) · capital Tylis

Celtic kingdom in eastern Thrace that extorted heavy tribute from Byzantium after the great Celtic invasion of 279 BCE.

Origins

Celts who had invaded the Balkans in 279 BCE, defeating Macedon, settled in eastern Thrace under their leader Comontorius around 277 BCE. They founded a kingdom with its capital at Tylis, whose exact location near the Haemus or Strandzha mountains is still debated.

Rule and society

The kingdom lived largely from tribute. According to Polybius, Byzantium paid it ever larger sums, rising to 80 talents a year. Celtic warriors ruled over a Thracian population, and coins of the last king, Cavarus, are known. Cavarus was praised as a statesman and mediated in the war between Byzantium and Rhodes in 220 BCE.

Decline and legacy

Around 212 BCE the local Thracians rose against Celtic rule and destroyed the kingdom. Thracian dynasts reasserted themselves in the region, which later came under Macedonian and Roman influence.

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Kingdom of Tylis. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tylis
MLA
“Kingdom of Tylis.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tylis. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Kingdom of Tylis.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tylis.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Kingdom of Tylis’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/kingdom-of-tylis (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻