Zyraxes was aGetae king who ruled the northern part of what is todayDobrogea in the 1st century BC. He was mentioned in relation with the campaigns ofMarcus Licinius Crassus (grandson of the triumvir). His capital,Genucla, was besieged by the Romans in 28 BC, but he managed to escape and flee to hisScythian allies.
Earlier,Antonius Hybrida, the governor ofMoesia, was defeated beneath the walls ofHistria in 61 BC. TheGetae under Zyraxes and thebastarnae ofScythia were allied with the Histrians, but it seems that the main victors of this conflict were the Getae, as they were the keepers of the battle trophies and brought them back toGenucla, Zyraxes' capital.
The trophies were recovered byMarcus Licinius Crassus when he attacked the Genucla fortress, situated somewhere on the bank of theDanube, in 28 BC. Zyraxes knew well enough that he could not hold on his own and retreated across the Danube to the Bastarnae (Scythians), with whom he was allied, while also taking the treasure with him. The fortress fell in his absence, after a brief but hard siege.
