Due to the fragementary nature of the remaining sources, the royal court and the administration of the kingdom must remain largely obscure. It can be assumed that, as in early Macedon, the Odrysian kings formed the heart of the realm and controlled the policy and the minting of coins, appointed loyal deputies and commanded the troops on the battlefield. The realm was essentially the king's estate. Below the king was an elite of horse warriors and administrators deriving not only from the royal court, but also from rival tribes. Thucydides called said local rulers "paradynasteuontes", meaning "those who share power". A similar elite class loyal only to the king, the "hetairoi", could also be found in Macedon. The Odrysian kingdom appears to have been rather decentralized, consisting of many different regional elites vying for power. Their rule over their subjects, who lived in scattered hamlets, was very loose and exercised mainly through raiding and demanding tribute.