Dacia

   

Alternate meanings: see Dacia (disambiguation)
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Dacia, in ancient geography the land of the Daci or Getae, was a large district of Central Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisa (Tisza river, in Hungary), on the east by the Tyras (Dniester or Nistru, now in eastern Moldova). It thus corresponds in the main to modern Romania and Moldova.

Towards the west it may originally have extended as far as the Danube where it runs from north to south at Waitzen (Vacz). Julius Caesar in his De Bello Gallico (book 6) speaks of Hercynia forest extending along the Danube to the teritories of the Dacians. Ptolemy puts its eastern boundary as far back as the Hierasus (Siret river, in modern Romania).

The inhabitants of this district are considered as belonging to the Thracian stock. The Dacians were known as Getae in Greek writings, and as Dacorum, Dagae and Getarum (Getae) in Roman documents — see the late Roman map Tabula Peutingeriana.

Culture

Dacian Kingdom, during the rule of Burebista, 82 BC
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Dacian Kingdom, during the rule of Burebista, 82 BC

The Dacians had attained a considerable degree of civilization by the time they first became known to the Romans.

Religion

According to Herodotus History (book 4) account of the story of Zalmoxis (or Zamolxis), the Getae (speaking the same language as the Dacians - Strabo) 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. The chief priest was also the king's chief adviser. The Goth Jordanes in his Getica (The origin and deeds of the Goths), gives account of Dicineus (Deceneus), the highest priest of Buruista (Burebista).

Besides Zamolxis, the Dacians believed in other deities such as Gebeleizis and Bendis.

Society

Dacians were divided into two classes: the aristocracy (tarabostes) and the common people (comati).

The aristocracy alone had the right to cover their heads and wore a felt hat (hence pileati, their Latin name). 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, might have been called capillati (in Latin). their appearance and clothing can be seen on Trajan's Column.

Dacians had developed the Murus Dacicus, characteristic to their complexes of fortified cities, like their capital Sarmisegetusa in today Hunedoara (Romania). the degree of their urban development can be seen on Trajan's Column and in the account of how Sarmisegetusa was defeated by the Romans. The Romans identified and destroyed the water pipelines of the Dacian capital, only thus beeing able to end the long siege of Sarmisegetusa.

Greek and Roman chroniclers record the defeat and capture of Lysimachus in the 3rd century BC by the Getae (Dacians) ruled by Dromihete, their military strategy, and the release of Lysimachus following a debate in the assembly of the Getae.

The cities of the Dacians were known as Dava, Deva, Deba or Daba : Buri Dava, Marco Dava, Petro Dava, Saca Dava, Suci Dava, Pelen Dava, Pulpu Deva, Rusi Dava, Cumu Deva, Clepi Dava, Cumi Dava, Per Buri Dava, Doci Dava, Argi Dava, Ita Deba, Desu Daba, Dausa Dava, Saga Dava, etc.

Occupations

The chief occupations of Dacians were agriculture, apiculture, viticulture, livestock (cattle breeding) and metal working. The Roman Province Dacia is represented on Roman Sestertius (coin) as a woman seated on a rock, holding aquila, a small child on her knee holding grain ears, and a small child seated before her holding grapes.

They also worked the gold and silver mines of Transylvania. They carried on a considerable outside trade, as is shown by the number of foreign coins found in the country. see Decebalus Treasure

Language

Main article:Dacian language

The characteristics of the Dacian language are still disputed, due to insufficient archaeological evidence.

History

Political entities

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 Julius Caesar, who thoroughly reorganized the army and raised the moral standard of the people, the limits of the kingdom were extended to their maximum. The Bastarnae and Boii were conquered, and even the Greek towns of Olbia and Apollonia on the Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus) recognised Burebista's authority.

Indeed the Dacians appeared so formidable that Caesar contemplated an expedition against them; something his death prevented. 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 Augustus 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 March 1, 29 BC, probably refers to the campaign of Marcus Crassus (30 BC-28 BC), not to that of Cornelius Lentulus, who was not consul until 18 BC. Marcus Crassus is supposed to be long dead by 30 BC; something needs to be done about this mistake.

The Dacians are often mentioned under Augustus, according to whom they were compelled to recognize Roman supremacy. However they were by no means subdued, and in later times seized every opportunity of crossing the frozen Danube during the winter and ravaging the Roman cities in the province of Moesia.

Roman Conquest

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. Nevertheless, 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, or perhaps to restore the finances of the Roman Empire by capturing the famous Treasure of Decebalus, Trajan resolved to conquer Dacia, thus gaining control over the Dacian goldmines of Transylvania. 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. The second campaign (105-106) achieved the suicide of Decebalus, and the conquest of the teritory that was to form the Roman province Dacia Traiana. The history of the war is given in Dio Cassius, but the best commentary upon it is the famous Column of Trajan in Rome.

Roman rule

The Roman province Dacia 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. Due to a decrease in population of the conquested teritory, caused by the recent Dacian Wars and consequent flight of many Dacians north of Carpathian mountains, colonists were imported to cultivate the land and work the mines alongside Dacian population that can bee seen on Trajan's Column submitting to Trajan during the Dacian Wars. The Romans built forts as a protection against the attacks of the Roxolani, Buri, Carpians and free Dacians, and constructed three great military roads to unite the chief towns. A fourth road, named after Trajan, traversed the Carpathians and entered Transylvania by the Roteturm (Turnu Rosu) 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). The Dacians adopted the religion and language of the conquerors - the modern Romanian language being a Romance language.

In 129 Hadrian divided Dacia into Dacia Superior and Dacia Inferior, the former comprising Transylvania and 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 single society insofar as they had a common capital, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, and a common diet, which discussed provincial affairs, formulated complaints and adjusted the incidence of taxation. However, in other respects they were practically independent provinces, each under an ordinary procurator, subordinate to a governor of consular rank.

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 in Deva (Chester), Vindolanda (Stanegate) and Camboglana (Birdoswald), in Britain. The Antonine Column of Marcus Aurelius and the Arch of Galerius depict the Dacian Cohors and their characteristic Phrygian Cap and Parthian Draco Standard. The English word dagger might come from Vulgar Latin daca, a Dacian knife.

Roman withdrawal

The Roman hold on the country was 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 fixed the Roman frontier at the Danube. A new Dacia Aureliana was reorganised south of Danube river, with its capital at Serdica (today the Bulgarian capital Sofia).

Post-Roman history

The issue of "what happened with the population after the Aurelian withdrawal" is under debate. The main two theories about the Romanized population are:

  1. they continued to live in the same place and assimilated the non-Romanized Dacians, the theory supported by most Romanian historians.
  2. they accompanied the troops in their withdrawal, only to return after the Migration Era, the theory supported by most Hungarian historians.

This scientific issue has political implications: if the people withdrew with the troops, then the Magyar tribes conquered Transylvania from non Daco-Roman local rulers (Gelu, Glad and Menumorut - see Gesta Hungarorum), while if they stayed the Romanians have a continuity in the disputed area going back to Dacians and the Getae and their Roman conquerors. (For more on this debate, see: Origin of Romanians.)

See also

External links



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