By virtue of the matrimonial alliance he had with King Kothelas of the Getae (the so-called Rex Histrianorum), King Philip II of Macedonia, the founder of the anti-Persian coalition often designated as the „Macedonian Empire,” was for several years , and the direct sovereign of the South-Danubian Getae. The relations of the Getae with the Macedonian coalition were, however, more complex and longer lasting.