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Dacia Redirected from Dacians
Dacia, in ancient geography, the land of the Daci or Getae, a large
district of Central Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians,
on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Pathissus (Tisza
river, in Hungary), on the east by the Tyras (Dniester[?], border
between Moldavia and Ukraine), thus corresponding in the main
to the modern Romania; Toward’s the west it may originally have
extended as far as the Danube where it runs from north to south at
Waitzen[?] (Vacz), while on the other hand Ptolemy puts its
eastern boundary as far back as the Hierasus (Siret[?] river, in
Romania). The inhabitants of this district were of Thracian stock.
By the Greeks the Dacians were usually called Getae, by the
Romans, Daci.
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Dacian Kingdom, during the rule of Burebista, 82 BC
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The Dacians had attained a considerable degree of civilization when
they first became known to the Romans. They believed in the
immortality of the soul, and regarded death as merely a change of
country. Their chief priest held a prominent position as the
representative of the supreme deity, Zamolxis, upon earth; he was
the king’s chief adviser. They were divided into two classes - an
aristocracy and a proletariate. The first alone had the right to cover
their heads and wore a felt hat (hence tarabostesei = pileati); they
formed a privileged class, and it is supposed they were the
predecessors of the Romanian boyars. The second class, who
comprised the rank and file of the army, the peasants and artisans,
wore their hair long (capillati). They dwelt in wooden huts surrounded
by palisades, but in later times, aided by Roman architects, built
walled strongholds and conical stone towers. Their chief occupations
were agriculture and cattle breeding; horses were mainly used as
draught animals. They also worked the gold and silver mines of
Transylvania, and carried on a considerable outside trade, as is
shown by the number of foreign coins found in the country.
A kingdom of Dacia was in existence at least as early as the
beginning of the 2nd century BC under a king Oroles[?]. Conflicts
with the Bastarnae and the Romans (112 BC-109 BC, 74 BC), against
whom they had assisted the Scordisci[?] and Dardani[?], had greatly
weakened the resources of the Dacians. Under Burebista
(Boerebista), a contemporary of Caesar, who thoroughly reorganized
the army and raised the moral standard of the people, the limits of the
kingdom were extended to its maximum expansion; the Bastarnae
and Boii were conquered, and even Greek towns (Olbia, Apollonia[?])
on the Pontus Euxinus fell into his hands. Indeed the Dacians appeared so
formidable that Caesar contemplated an expedition against them,
which was prevented by his death. About the same time Burebista
was murdered, and the kingdom was divided into, four (or five) parts
under separate rulers. One of these was Cotiso[?], whose daughter
Augustus is said to have desired to marry and to whom he betrothed
his own five-year-old daughter Julia. He is well known from the line in
Horace (Occidit Daci Cotisonis agmen, Odes, III. 8. 18), which, as
the ode was written on the March 1 29, probably refers to the
campaign of Marcus Crassus (30-28), not to that of Cornelius Lentulus[?], who was not consul till 18. The Dacians are often mentioned under Augustus, according to whom, they were compelled to recognize the Roman supremacy. But they were by no means subdued, and in later times seized every opportunity of
crossing the frozen Danube and ravaging the province of Moesia.
From A.D. 85 to 89 the Dacians were engaged in two wars with
the Romans, under Duras or Diurpaneus, and the great Decebalus.
After two severe reverses, the Romans, under Tettius Iullianus[?],
gained a signal advantage, but were obliged to make peace owing to
the defeat of Domitian by the Marcomanni. Decebalus restored
the arms he had taken and some of the prisoners. But the Dacians
were really left independent, as is shown by the fact that Domitian
agreed to purchase immunity by the payment of an annual tribute.
To put an end to this disgraceful arrangement, Trajan resolved to
crush the Dacians once and for all. The result of his first campaign
(101-102) was the siege of the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa,
and the occupation of a part of the country; of the second (105-106),
the suicide of Decebalus, the conquest of the whole kingdom and
its conversion into a Roman province. The history of the war is given
in Dio Cassius, but the best commentary upon it is the famous
Column of Trajan[?] in Rome. The province was limited to
Transylvania and Oltenia. It was under a governor of praetorian
rank, and Legio XIII Gemina with numerous auxiliaries had their fixed
quarters in the province. To make up for the ravages caused by the
recent wars colonists were imported to cultivate the land and work the
mines, and the old inhabitants gradually returned. Forts were built as
a protection against the incursions of the surrounding barbarians, and
three great military roads were constructed to unite the chief towns,
while a fourth, named after Trajan, traversed the Carpathians and
entered Transylvania by the Roteturm pass. The chief towns of the
province were Colonia Ulpia Traiana[?] Sarmizegetusa (today
Sarmizegetusa, Hunedoara county, Romania), Apulum[?] (today
Alba-Iulia[?], Alba county), Napoca (today Cluj-Napoca, Cluj[?]
county) and Potaissa[?] (today Turda[?], Cluj county). With the
religion the Dacians also adopted the language of the conquerors,
modern Romanian language being a Romance language.
In 129, under Hadrian, Dacia was divided into Dacia Superior[?]
and Dacia Inferior[?], the former comprising Transylvania, the latter Little
Walachia or Oltenia. Marcus Aurelius redivided it into three (tres
Daciae): Porolissensis, from the chief town Porolissum[?] (near
Moigrad, Salaj[?] county), Apulensis from Apulum and Malvensis from
Malva[?] (site unknown). The tres Daciae formed a commune in so far
that they had a common capital, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, and a
common diet, which discussed provincial affairs, formulated
complaints and adjusted the incidence of taxation; but in other
respects they were practically independent provinces, each under an
ordinary procurator, subordinate to a governor of consular rank.
The Roman hold on the country was, however, still precarious. Indeed
it is said that Hadrian, conscious of the difficulty of retaining it, had
contemplated its abandonment and was only deterred by
consideration for the safety of the numerous Roman settlers. Under
Gallienus (256), the Goths crossed the Carpathians and drove
the Romans from Dacia, with the exception of a few fortified places
between the Timis river[?] and the Danube. No details of the event
are recorded, and the chief argument in support of the statement in
Rufius Festus that "under the Emperor Gallienus Dacia was lost" is
the sudden cessation of Roman inscriptions and coins in the country
after 256. Aurelian (270-275) withdrew the troops altogether and
settled the Roman colonists on the south of the Danube, in Moesia,
where he created the province Dacia Aureliani[?]. This was
subsequently divided into Dacia Ripensis[?] on the Danube, with
capital Ratiaria[?] (Arcar[?] in Bosnia-Herzegovina), and Dacia Mediterranea[?], with capital Sardica[?] (Sofia, the capital of
Bulgaria), the latter again being subdivided into Dardania and
Dacia Mediterranea.
See also:
List of Dacian kings
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