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The province of Dacia was the last European
conquest of the Roman Empire. It became the first Roman territory situated
deeply to the North from the traditional Roman Danube frontier of the 1st century AD. The province was set up by the Emperor Trajan, in AD 106 after the
defeating of the Dacian Kingdom during two difficult expeditions: the first
one in AD 101-102 and the second one in AD 105-106.
The Dacian Kingdom, led by the last king Decebalus, was a barbarian state having a structure closely to the Oriental monarchies, a social and political level never touched by the Celts, or Germans in Western Europe. That is why the new Roman province of Dacia will have several original characteristics, which make the difference comparing it with other European provinces of the Roman Empire.
The territory of Trajan’s Dacia was approximately
the same of the former Dacian Kingdom, because the Romans conquered an enemy
with well defined borders: the regions of today Romania called Banat, Transylvania
to the West and Western Little Wallachia (Oltenia) to South-East. Other lands
conquered by the Romans at the same time (a few years earlier), as Wallachia
(Muntenia), Eastern Little Walachia (Oltenia), Southern Moldavia and the South-Eastern
corner of Transylvania, were included in the province of Lower Moesia. Trajan’s
Dacia had an army based on three legions and its governor was a former consul
in Rome. The frontier of Roman Dacia was not defended using natural barriers.
Auxiliary forts were built on the frontier, trying to block the main access
routes to the inner province, while the legions were placed behind. Dacia was
a province having a strong military character. Its main destination was to
separate the barbarian world, mainly the Sarmatian Iazyges from the Western Tisza Plain and the Sarmatian Rhoxolans from the plain situated
to the North of the Black Sea.
The first administrative change has taken place after the death of Trajan. That time Dacia was hardly attacked by barbarian coalition, led by the Iazyges. This people was very angry that a part of their land taken by force by the Dacian king Decebalus was included by Trajan in the new province, as tells Cassius Dio. This territory must have been situated somewhere in the Western Plain, probable North of the Mures River. This was probable the main reason of the war they started in AD 117. After a difficult war, the new Emperor Hadrian decided in AD 119 to reorganize Trajan’s Dacia. He withdrew the Roman army from the Western Plain leaving the whole plain to the Iazyges and moving back the Western border of Dacia and so he did in the South-Eastern plain belonging to Lower Moesia. From the rest of the territories conquered by Trajan he organized three Dacias: Upper Dacia, Lower Dacia and Dacia Porolissensis to the North West. Only one legion was left in Upper Dacia at Apulum. New forts and new auxiliary units were placed to watch the new borders.
A new change was necessary in Marcus Aurelius time, during the Marcommanic Wars. In AD 168 a new legion was sent to Dacia Porolissensis, at Potaissa. Later, new names were given to the three Dacias: Apulensis (instead of Upper), Malvensis (instead of Lower), while Porolissensis was kept on. From now on they will be under a unique military command, belonging again to a governor who was a former consul in Rome, having its headquarter at Apulum.
This situation was continuing without known changes till to the end of the Roman rule in Aurelianus time, when the Roman army and the imperial administration were moved south of the Danube (AD 271). There, in a part of Moesia, Aurelianus set up his new Dacia (Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea).
The evidence concerning the presence of
the natives Dacians inside the new province are fewer that in the case of Illyrians,
Thracians, Celts and Germans in the other Roman provinces. There is not known
any Dacian god-name in all the 4000 Latin inscription of Dacia and the people’s
ordinary names are very rare attested (only one sure example).
Archaeologically point of view, at the moment, there is not identified not even one settlement or cemetery belonging to the natives, which continue to be used in the Roman period. All the settlements were destroyed at the Roman conquest.
There are not attested in Dacia the native communities, the civitates. This situation can be explained based on the evolution of the native Dacian society over the tribal level, reaching the state moment of evolution. The tribal society and the tribal elite were destroyed, probably by force, by the king.
The natives are not present in the new Roman communities. The only native small villages can be found to the South and Eastern zones of the province, close to the mountains.
In conclusion, the natives are little documented in the Roman towns. It is possible that small groups were used as labor force, free, or slaves on rural farms. The natives seem to be a group not very numerous and with a limited social contribution to the economic and social life of the new province and without the right of property over the land.
As a frontier province with an important strategic role, Dacia had a strong military character. In Trajan’s time the garrison of Dacia was composed of three legions: the 13th Gemina at Apulum-"Cetate", 1st Adiutrix (probably at Apulum –"Partos") and the 4th Flavia Felix at Berzobis.
There were also numerous auxiliary units taken mainly from Upper Moesia and Pannonia.
The defense system was based on timber forts connected by roads. They were placed, some closer to the frontier line, some in a second line situated behind, inside the province. In Dacia cannot be detected a continuous defense line, a limes as in the other European provinces. The legionary bases were also built inside the province along the main military road.
After the crisis from AD 117-118 and the reorganization of the Roman territories from the North of the Danube, only one legion was kept in Dacia (i.e. 13th Gemina at Apulum), while the 1st Adiutrix was moved back to Brigetio in Lower Pannonia and the same happened to 4th Flavia Felix retreated to Singidunum, in Upper Moesia. New auxiliary units were taken from Lower Moesia to watch the new created Lower Dacia. To the North, instead of former infantry auxiliary troops, Dacia Porolissensis was reinforced with new cavalry units, as ala I Tungrorum Frontoniana from Vrsec (Upper Moesia) brought to the fort at Ilisua, ala Siliana from Lower Pannonia brought at Gilau, while at Gherla was placed ala II Pannoniorum.
In the future decades the auxiliary timber forts got stone defense walls. Very seriously was fortified the area of Porolissum, having the main point the fort on the hill "Pomet".
Nothing changed till the Marcomannic wars of Marcus Aurelius. In AD 168 the 5th legion Macedonica from Troesmis (Lower Moesia) was moved to Potaissa in Dacia Porolissensis. Its mission was also to watch the golden mines region from the Western Carpathians. Again the three Dacias had two legions and a unique military command, at Apulum, in Upper Dacia.
At the moment there are known in Dacia 104 auxiliary and legionary forts. The number of soldiers was estimated to 35 000-40 000. There are attested 79 military units.
One of the main consequences of the Roman conquest of Dacia was a radical change of the habitat. The urbanization was a new and decisive phenomenon for the future of the civilization in Dacia. Former Dacian settlements were nucleated settlements. They were all destroyed at the Roman conquest and there is not even one example of a reconstruction. There is no new Roman settlement placed on top of a former Dacian one.
In the first years after the setting up of the province a veteran colony (colonia deducta) was established in the Hateg Depression, in South-West Transylvania. The place was not far from the gorge called the "Iron Gates", probably former Tapae, where Trajan won the famous battle from AD 101. Cassius Dio tells also that the emperor raised there an altar for the Roman soldiers who died in action. The colony was built on top of a former timber legionary fortress.
A lot of tile stamps with the name of the 4th legion Flavia Felix were found during the years. Recent excavations uncovered a timber principia and a lot of burnt Roman military equipment traces.
The situation is frequently known for the veteran colonies, as it was for example Trajan’s veteran colony at Oescus, in Lower Moesia, also built on top of a former legionary base, identified by timber structures and Roman military equipment. An inscription attests that the second governor of Dacia, Decimus Terentius Scaurianus, set up the colony in the name of the emperor, as a bronze coin from AD 108 shows.
The name of the new town was colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa. Sarmizegetusa was the former royal residence of the Dacians, having also a strong religious significance for the Dacians. Adding this name to the name of the emperor was a political message that the new rule was seen by Trajan more a continuity than a cut with the past and a signal for tolerance and peace to the natives. The territory of the new colony was spreading at the beginnings, probably, across the mainly part of Banat and till to the middle valley of the Mures River in Western Transylvania (i.e. the most part of the province).
In the third century, the colony got the title of Metropolis and here was the headquarters of the concilium Daciarum trium, the general assembly of the three provinces of Dacia. Here, was recently archaeologically researched the only forum known in Dacia.
It was built in Trajan’s time. At the entrance, a fragmentary inscription, mentioning the name of the town, was found, very close to one from Trajan’s colony at Thamugadi, in Roman Numidia.
The plan of the building has also close analogies with the headquarters building of the 3rd legion Augusta at Lambaesis in North Africa, also dating from Trajan’s time.
It was also uncovered the headquarters of the financial procurator of Dacia Apulensis and partially, a big store building (horreum).
Another important monument of the colony is the amphitheatre. It was built outside the walls, in timber and stone, at the beginning, being rebuilt in stone later. Its plan is very carefully done, having close analogy at the legionary amphitheatre at Deva (Chesters) in Britain. It had more than 4000 places.
In the same outside area several temples, as the temple of Nemesis, Aesculap and Hygia, Liber Pater and others, were excavated. There are also known the glass workshop and on the other side of the town an urban house. There are also other monuments excavated and covered in the past and many inscriptions mentioning others.
Other settlements became Roman towns with the statute of municipium in Hadrian’s time (Napoca, Drobeta, Romula), others in Marcus Aurelius time (Apulum I,), others only in the 3rd century (Dierna, Tibiscum, Porolissum, Apulum II, Potaissa, Ampelum). Marcus Aurelius and Commodus offered the title of colonia to Napoca (colonia Aurelia), Apulum I (colonia Aurelia), while Septimius Severus made colonies Drobeta, Potaissa and probably Romula (colonia Septimia).
The Roman roads system belongs mainly to the period of the conquest and of the beginnings of the organization of the province. In Tabula Peutingeriana are recorded three main roads starting from the Danube at Lederata, Dierna and Drobeta. All three have been built during the wars of Trajan.
At the same time he ordered to the famous architect Apollodorus from Damascus to design a stone bridge over the Danube at Drobeta, in front of Pontes from Upper Moesia. The bridge was inaugurated in AD 103.
A milestone (milliarium) from Aiton (Cluj County) mentions in AD 107-108 the road between two settlements (vici), Napoca and Potaissa. It was the imperial road, the main road of Dacia, coming from Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa to Apulum. Its last section was reaching the frontier auxiliary fort at Porolissum, the furthest Roman station to the North. The latest stonemiles mentioning the reparation of the road between Apulum and Micia dated from AD 251-253.
Many secondary roads were linking the towns, villages and the auxiliary forts. There were three roads connecting Dacia to Lower Pannonia crossing the barbarian plain, the territory of the Sarmatian Iazyges: one between Porolissum and Aquincum, another along the Crisul Repede valley to Intercissa and the main one along the Mures River from Micia, through Partiscum, to Lugio.
The Romans used also the rivers for transports, as the Danube, the Mures, Olt and Somes. There is recorded at Apulum a collegium nautarum (organization of sailors) and also a collegium utriclariorum (they were transporting wine and other goods).
Taxes on trade were collected by clerks named conductors and later procurators. Dacia belonged to the custom of Illyricum (publicum portorium Illyrici). After AD 168, the three provinces of Dacia as well as Lower Moesia were gathered in the same custom district. A lot of custom points are known from inscriptions (stationes portorii): Dierna, Micia, Drobeta, Sucidava, Partiscum, Porolissum.
Dacian Kingdom was conquered by the Roman Empire after the two expeditions of Trajan (Ad 101/102; 105/106). In Trajan’s time was organized as single province with an important military presence (three legions). In AD 119 Hadrian reorganized Dacia, after leaving some territories in the plain, creating three Dacias: Upper, Lower and Porolissensis (one legion for all three). During the Marcomannic wars, Marcus Aurelius changed the names: Apulensis, Malvensis, Porolissensis and put them under a unique military command of a higher rank governor (two legions). In AD 271 Aurelianus withdrew the Roman army and administration from Dacia.
The natives, the Dacians, are not very well recorded in the Latin written sources during the period of the province they did not play an important social role. The local civitates and the native elite are totally missing in the records. The newcomers, the Roman colonists arrived from all the provinces of the Empire, will inhabit all the new settlements, towns and villas. Dacia was a province with a strong Latin speaking community, as prove the approximately 4000 inscription and little minority speaking Greek, or Oriental languages, being strongly linked with the civilization of the Western provinces.
Dacia had always during its existence a strong military character. In Trajan’s time its destination was to separate the barbarians from the Tisza River plain from their brothers from the Northern of the Black Sea plain, having three legions. Later, even the legions were reduced, the military importance continued to be kept. It was Aurelianus strategic decision to shorten the defense line and to reinforce the traditional frontier from the 1st century AD, behind the Danube.
The urbanization was the most spectacular and the most important change in the evolution of the civilization in Dacia. Trajan founded in Dacia only one veteran colony, Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa. Later, Dacia will have 11 Roman towns, at the beginning having the status of municipium, later some of them becoming colonies.
Roads on land, using the stone bridge at Drobeta, built in AD 103 by Trajan’s architect Apollodorus from Damascus and across the barbarian lands, as well as water road on the Danube and Mures, linked Dacia with Upper Moesia, Lower Pannonia and Lower Moesia. The main Roman road was crossing the main towns and legionary bases, from the Danube to the Northern point at Porolissum.
Text: Coriolan Opreanu
Maps and illustration: Mihaela Mihalachi and Coriolan Opreanu