Dacians and Romans

The origins of the Romance culture

Decebalus After Burebista, the Dacian State was reestablished under the reign of Decebal (87 a.D. - 106 a.D.), who had the role to face the Roman expansion in the region.

In the 1^st century a.D. Roman Empire was expanding toward East, and provinces were created in Moesia (6 a.D.), Pannonia (10 a.D.), Dalmatia (10 a.D.) and Thracia (46 a.D.). In 46 a.D. Dobruja is annexed to Moesia and the Danube became the border between the Roman Empire and the Dacian world, along 1,500 Km.

In 85 a.D. the Dacian kings Duras entered the province of Moesia, but he was defeated by the emperor Domitian (81 - 96).

In 87 the Roman general Cornelius Fuscus entered the Banat region, but the Roman army was defeated at Tapae (near the village of Bucova in Caraş-Severin county) by the Dacians leaded by Diurpaneus. Following this victory, the king Duras abdicated in favor of Diurpaneus, who got the name of Decebalus, which means "the brave one". In 88 the Roman general Tettius Iulianus crosses Danube, following the same itinerary as Fuscus. There was again a new battle at Tapae, won by the Romans. However, due to revolts of the Germans, the Roman military force engaged with the Dacians was obliged to retire. A peace treaty was signed in 89, with the Romans forced to pay tribute to the Dacians to maintain the peace in the region.

Tropaeum Traiani In 98 Trajan (98 - 117) became Emperor of the Romans. He engaged a series of military campaigns which would expand the Roman Empire to its maximum extent. In 101 Dacia was invaded by the Romans army, that crossed Danube at Viminacium (nowadays Kostolac, in Serbia). Decebalus attacks the Romans at Tapae, but he was defeated. A new attack was done with the Dacians allies Bastarnae and Roxolanae from the south of the Danube, but they were defeated and a new Roman victory toke place in Adamclisi; to celebrate this victory, the Tropaeum Traiani was built in 109. In 102 the Romans advanced toward Sarmizegetusa. After a long siege to the Dacian fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains, the fortress of Costeşti was conquered. Decebalus asked for peace and the Dacian kingdom was maintained as a Roman protectorate, but Banat, Oltenia, Muntenia, and Southern Moldavia passed under Roman control.

Trajan's Column In 105 the peace treaty was broken and a new campaign began. The Trajan's bridge was built in the gorge of the Iron Gate by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, on the Danube near Drobeta-Turnu Severin, to allow to the Romans to move towards Sarmizegetusa again. The Romans moved toward the Hunedoara County against the fortresses of Costeşti, Blidaru and Piatra Rosie, which were destroyed. The Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa was subjected to a long siege and conquered in 106. Decebalus troops retreats toward the Carpathians followed by the Romans: to avoid being captured, he committed suicide.

To commemorate the Dacian campaigns, in 113 the Trajan's Column was erected at the Imperial Forum in Rome by the same architect Apollodorus of Damascus.

The new Roman province of Dacia, founded after the last war, was limited to Transylvania, Banat and Oltenia, leaving to the Dacians the Crişana, Maramureş, Northern and Central Moldavia.

Due to a decrease in population of the conquered territory caused by the Dacian Wars and consequent flight of many Dacians north of Carpathian mountains, colonists were introduced to cultivate the land and to work into the mines alongside the Dacian population. The colonists were from Noricum or Pannonia, later supplemented with colonists from South Thracians and settlers from the Roman provinces of Asia Minor.

In Dacia the religion and language of the Romans were progressively adopted. The Romans built forts as a protection against the attacks of the Roxolani, Alani, the Daci Carpians, and the Dacians in the independent areas. Three military roads were built to link the main towns of Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa (nowadays Sarmizegetusa), Apulum (Alba Iulia), Napoca (Cluj-Napoca), Potaissa (the Dacian Dierna, nowadays Turda), Drobeta (Drobeta-Turnu Severin), and Tibiscum (Jupa). A fourth road, named after Trajan, traversed the Carpathians and entered Transylvania by the Turnu Rosu pass.

People in the province adopted the Roman language and the current Romanian language is a Romance language, like Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

In 129 Emperor Hadrian split Dacia into Dacia Superior (Transylvania) and Dacia Inferior (Oltenia and Wallachia). 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.

After the Dacian Wars, Dacians were recruited into the Roman Army, and were employed in the construction and guarding of Hadrian's Wall in Britain, or elsewhere in the Roman Empire. Several Cohors Primae Dacorum (first cohort of Dacians) and Alae (Ala) Dacorum fighting in the ranks of the Legion were stationed at Deva (Chester), Vindolanda (Stanegate) and Camboglanna (Birdoswald), in Britain. The Antonine Column of Marcus Aurelius and the Arch of Galerius depict Dacian troops with their characteristic Phrygian Caps and Parthian Draco Standards. The English word dagger might come from Vulgar Latin daca, a Dacian knife.

During the reign of Gallienus (256), the Goths crossed the Carpathians and drove the Romans from Dacia, with the exception of a few fortified places between the Timis and the Danube. Aurelian (270-275), confronted with the secession of Galia and Hispania from the Empire since 260, with the advance of the Parthians in Asia and the devastations that the Carpians and the Goths had done into Moesia and Illyria, abandoned the province of Dacia and withdrew the troops altogether, fixing the Roman frontier at the Danube.

A new Dacia Aureliana was reorganized south of Danube river, with its capital at Serdica (today Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria). Later on, Diocletian and Constantine reorganized the provinces Dacia Mediteranea, Moesia Inferior, Dardania, Prevalitania and Dacia Ripensis into Diocese of Dacia, which along with Macedonia formed the Prefecture of Illyricum.

After the Roman withdrawal, the former Roman province Dacia Traiana became possession of the Goths and the Carpians (Dacians outside Roman possessions), till the invasion of the Huns.