Editing Dacians (section)

==Name and etymology==

===Name===
{{Main|Getae#Getae and Dacians}}
The Dacians were known as ''Geta'' (plural ''Getae'') in [[Ancient Greek]] writings,{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} and as ''Dacus'' (plural ''Daci'') or ''Getae'' in [[Roman Empire|Roman]] documents,{{sfn|Appian|165 AD|loc=Praef. 4/14-15|ps=, quoted in {{harvtxt|Millar|2004|p=189|ps=: "the Getae over the Danube, whom they call Dacians"}}}} but also as ''Dagae'' and ''Gaete'' as depicted on the late Roman map ''[[Tabula Peutingeriana]]''. It was [[Herodotus]] who first used the [[ethnonym]] ''Getae'' in his ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]''.{{sfn|Herodotus|440 BC|loc=4.93–4.97}} In Greek and Latin, in the writings of [[Julius Caesar]], [[Strabo]], and [[Pliny the Elder]], the people became known as 'the Dacians'.{{sfn|Fol|1996|p=223}} Getae and Dacians were interchangeable terms, or used with some confusion by the Greeks.{{sfn|Nandris|1976|p=730|ps=: Strabo and [[Trogus Pompeius]] "Daci quoque suboles Getarum sunt"}}{{sfn|Crossland|Boardman|1982|p=837}} Latin poets often used the name ''Getae''.{{sfn|Roesler|1864|p=89}} [[Vergil]] called them ''Getae'' four times, and ''Daci'' once, [[Lucian]] ''Getae'' three times and ''Daci'' twice, [[Horace]] named them ''Getae'' twice and ''Daci'' five times, while [[Juvenal]] one time ''Getae'' and two times ''Daci''.{{sfn|Zumpt|Zumpt|1852|pp=140 & 175}}{{sfn|Van Den Gheyn|1886|p=170}}{{sfn|Roesler|1864|p=89}} In AD 113, [[Hadrian]] used the poetic term ''Getae'' for the Dacians.{{sfn|Everitt|2010|p=151}} Modern historians prefer to use the name ''Geto-Dacians''.{{sfn|Fol|1996|p=223}} [[Strabo]] describes the Getae and Dacians as distinct but cognate tribes. This distinction refers to the regions they occupied.{{sfn|Bunbury|1979|p=150}} Strabo and Pliny the Elder also state that Getae and Dacians spoke the same language.{{sfn|Bunbury|1979|p=150}}{{sfn|Oltean|2007|p=44}}

By contrast, the name of ''Dacians'', whatever the origin of the name, was used by the more western tribes who adjoined the [[Pannonians]] and therefore first became known to the Romans.{{sfn|Bunbury|1979|p=151}} According to Strabo's ''[[Geographica]]'', the original name of the Dacians was {{lang|grc|Δάοι}} "''Daoi''".{{sfn|Strabo|20 AD|loc=VII 3,12}} The name Daoi (one of the ancient Geto-Dacian tribes) was certainly adopted by foreign observers to designate all the inhabitants of the countries north of [[Danube]] that had not yet been conquered by [[Ancient Greece|Greece]] or Rome.{{sfn|Fol|1996|p=223}}{{sfn|Fol|1996|p=223}}

The ethnographic name ''Daci'' is found under various forms within ancient sources. Greeks used the forms {{lang|grc|Δάκοι}} "''Dakoi''" ([[Strabo]], [[Dio Cassius]], and [[Dioscorides]]) and {{lang|grc|Δάοι}} "Daoi" (singular Daos).<ref name="Garašanin, Benac 1973 243">Garašanin, Benac (1973) 243</ref>{{sfn|Strabo|20 AD|loc=VII 3,12}}{{sfn|Parvan|Vulpe|Vulpe|2002|p=158}}{{efn|1=Dioscorides's book (known in English by its Latin title ''De Materia Medica'' 'Regarding Medical Materials') has all the Dacian names of the plants preceded by {{lang|grc|Δάκοι}} ''Dakoi'' i.e. {{lang|grc|Δάκοι}} ''Dakoi'' προποδιλα Latin Daci [[wikt:propodila|propodila]] "Dacians propodila"}}{{sfn|Tomaschek|1883|p=397}} The form {{lang|grc|Δάοι}} "Daoi" was frequently used according to [[Stephan of Byzantium]].{{sfn|Van Den Gheyn|1886|p=170}}

Latins used the forms ''Davus'', ''Dacus'', and a derived form ''Dacisci'' (Vopiscus and inscriptions).{{sfn|Mulvin| 2002|p=59|ps=: "...A tombstone inscription from Aquincum reads M. Secundi Genalis domo Cl. Agrip /pina/ negotiat. Dacisco. This is of a second century date and suggests the presence of some Dacian traders in Pannonia..."}}{{sfn|Petolescu|2000|p=163|ps=: "...patri incom[pa-] rabili, decep [to] a Daciscis in bel- loproclio ..."}}{{sfn|Gibbon| 2008|p= 313|ps=: "...Aurelian calls these soldiers Hiberi, Riparienses, Castriani, and Dacisci " conform to "Vopiscus in Historia Augusta XXVI 38"}}{{sfn|Van Den Gheyn|1886|p=170}}

There are similarities between the ethnonyms of the Dacians and those of [[Dahae]] (Greek {{lang|grc|Δάσαι Δάοι, Δάαι, Δαι, Δάσαι}} ''Dáoi'', ''Dáai'', ''Dai'', ''Dasai''; Latin ''Dahae'', ''Daci''), an Indo-European people located east of the [[Caspian Sea]], until the 1st millennium BC. Scholars have suggested that there were links between the two peoples since ancient times.{{sfn| Kephart|1949|loc=p. 28: The Persians knew that the Dahae and the other Massagetae were kin of the inhabitants of Scythia west of the Caspian Sea}}{{sfn| Chakraberty|1948 |p=34 |ps=: "Dasas or Dasyu of the RigVeda are the Dahae of Avesta, Daci of the Romans, Dakaoi (Hindi Dakku) of the Greeks"}}{{sfn|Pliny (the Elder)| Rackham|1971|p=375}}{{sfn|Van Den Gheyn|1886|p=170}} The historian [[David Gordon White]] has, moreover, stated that the "Dacians ... appear to be related to the Dahae".{{sfn|White|1991|p=239}} (Likewise White and other scholars also believe that the names Dacii and Dahae may also have a shared etymology – see the section following for further details.)

By the end of the first century AD, all the inhabitants of the lands which now form Romania were known to the Romans as Daci, with the exception of some [[Celts|Celtic]] and [[Germanic tribes]] who infiltrated from the west, and [[Sarmatian]] and related people from the east.{{sfn|Crossland|Boardman|1982|p=837}}

===Etymology===
The name ''Daci'', or "Dacians" is a collective [[ethnonym]].{{sfn|Grumeza|2009}} Dio Cassius reported that the Dacians themselves used that name, and the Romans so called them, while the Greeks called them Getae.{{sfn| Sidebottom |2007|p = 6}}{{sfn|Florov|2001|p = 66}}{{sfn|Papazoglu|1978|p = 434}} Opinions on the origins of the name ''Daci'' are divided. Some scholars consider it to originate in the Indo-European *''dha-k''-, with the stem *''dhe''- 'to put, to place', while others think that the name ''Daci'' originates in *''daca'' 'knife, dagger' or in a word similar to ''dáos,'' meaning 'wolf' in the related language of the [[Phrygians]].{{sfn| Barbulescu| Nagler |2005|p=68}}''<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sergent |first=Bernard |author-link=Bernard Sergent |date=1991 |title=Ethnozoonymes indo-européens |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/dha_0755-7256_1991_num_17_2_1932 |journal=Dialogues d'histoire ancienne |volume=17 |issue=2 |pages=19 |doi=10.3406/dha.1991.1932}}</ref>''

One hypothesis is that the name ''Getae'' originates in Indo-European *''guet-'' 'to utter, to talk'.{{sfn|Vraciu|1980|p=45}}{{sfn| Barbulescu| Nagler |2005|p=68}} Another hypothesis is that ''Getae'' and ''Daci'' are the Iranian names of two Iranian-speaking [[Scythians|Scythian]] groups that had been assimilated into the larger Thracian-speaking population of the later "Dacia."{{sfn|Lemny|Iorga|1984|p=210}}{{sfn| Toynbee |1961|p=435}}

====Early history of etymological approaches====
In the 1st century AD, Strabo suggested that its stem formed a name previously borne by slaves: Greek Daos, Latin Davus (-k- is a known suffix in Indo-European ethnic names).{{sfn| Crossland|Boardman|1982|p=8375}} In the 18th century, Grimm proposed the [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''dags'' or "day" that would give the meaning of "light, brilliant". Yet ''dags'' belongs to the Sanskrit word-root ''dah-'', and a derivation from ''Dah'' to {{lang|grc|Δάσαι}} "Daci" is difficult.{{sfn|Van Den Gheyn|1886|p=170}} In the 19th century, Tomaschek (1883) proposed the form "Dak", meaning ''those who understand and can speak'', by considering "Dak" as a derivation of the root ''da'' ("k" being a suffix); cf. [[Sanskrit]] ''dasa'', Bactrian ''daonha''.{{sfn|Tomaschek|1883|p=404}} Tomaschek also proposed the form "Davus", meaning "members of the clan/countryman" cf. [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] ''daqyu'', ''danhu'' "canton".{{sfn|Tomaschek|1883|p=404}}

====Modern theories====
Since the 19th century, many scholars have proposed an [[etymology|etymological]] link between the [[endonym]] of the Dacians and wolves.
* A possible connection with the [[Phrygians]] was proposed by [[Dimitar Dechev]] (in a work not published until 1957).{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} The [[Phrygian language]] word ''daos'' meant "wolf",{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} and ''Daos'' was also a Phrygian deity.{{sfn|Paliga|1999|p=77}} In later times, [[Roman auxiliaries]] recruited from the Dacian area were also known as ''Phrygi''.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} Such a connection was supported by material from [[Hesychius of Alexandria]] (5th/6th century),{{sfn|Eisler|1951|p=136}}{{sfn|Parvan|Vulpe|Vulpe|2002|p=149}} as well as by the 20th century historian [[Mircea Eliade]].{{sfn|Paliga|1999|p=77}} 
* The German linguist [[Paul Kretschmer]] linked ''daos'' to wolves via the root ''dhau'', meaning to press, to gather, or to strangle – i.e. it was believed that wolves would often use a neck bite to kill their prey.{{sfn|White|1991|p=239}}{{sfn|Alecu-Călușiță|1992|p=19}}
* Endonyms linked to wolves have been demonstrated or proposed for other [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European tribes]], including the [[Luvians]], [[Lycians]], [[Lucanians]], [[Hyrcanians]] and, in particular, the [[Dahae]] (of the south-east Caspian region),{{sfn|Eisler|1951|p=33}}{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=12}} who were known in Old Persian as ''Daos''.{{sfn|Paliga|1999|p=77}} Scholars such as [[David Gordon White]] have explicitly linked the endonyms of the Dacians and the Dahae.{{sfn|White|1991|p=239}}
* Hungarian linguist and historian Dr. Viktor Padányi writes "By all indications their name comes from the [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] "dag, tag" word meaning two handed axe, battle axe."<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Padányi |first=Viktor |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N95HAAAAMAAJ |title=Dentumagyaria |date=1963 |publisher=Editorial Transsylvania |language=hu}}</ref>
* The ''[[Dacian Draco|Draco]]'', a standard flown by the Dacians, also prominently featured a wolf head. 
However, according to Romanian historian and archaeologist [[Alexandru Vulpe]], the Dacian etymology explained by ''daos'' ("wolf") has little plausibility, as the transformation of ''daos'' into ''dakos'' is phonetically unlikely and the ''Draco'' standard was not unique to Dacians. He thus dismisses it as [[folk etymology]].{{sfn|Vulpe|2001|pp=420–421}}

Another etymology, linked to the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] roots ''*dhe-'' meaning "to set, place" and ''dheua'' → ''dava'' ("settlement") and ''dhe-k'' → ''daci'' is supported by Romanian historian [[Ioan I. Russu]] (1967).{{sfn|Russu |1967|p=133}}

===Mythological theories===
[[File:Dacian Draco on Trajan's Column 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Dacian Draco from Trajan's Column]]

[[Mircea Eliade]] attempted, in his book ''From Zalmoxis to Genghis Khan'', to give a mythological foundation to an alleged special relation between Dacians and the wolves:{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=11}}
* Dacians might have called themselves "wolves" or "ones the same with wolves",{{sfn|Eisler|1951|p=137}}{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=11}} suggesting religious significance.{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=13}}
* Dacians draw their name from a god or a legendary ancestor who appeared as a wolf.{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=13}}
* Dacians had taken their name from a group of fugitive immigrants arrived from other regions or from their own young outlaws, who acted similarly to the wolves circling villages and living from looting. As was the case in other societies, those young members of the community went through an initiation, perhaps up to a year, during which they lived as a "wolf".{{sfn|Jeanmaire|1975|p=540}}{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=13}} Comparatively, [[Hittites|Hittite]] laws referred to fugitive outlaws as "wolves".{{sfn|Eisler|1951|p=144}}
* The existence of a ritual that provides one with the ability to turn into a wolf.{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=15}} Such a transformation may be related either to [[lycanthropy]] itself, a widespread phenomenon, but attested especially in the [[Balkans]]-[[Carpathian]] region,{{sfn|Eisler|1951|p=144}} or a ritual imitation of the behavior and appearance of the wolf.{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=15}} Such a ritual was presumably a military initiation, potentially reserved to a secret brotherhood of warriors (or [[Männerbünde]]).{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=15}} To become formidable warriors they would assimilate behavior of the wolf, wearing wolf skins during the ritual.{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=13}} Traces related to wolves as a cult or as totems were found in this area since the [[Neolithic]] period, including the [[Vinča culture]] artifacts: wolf statues and fairly rudimentary figurines representing dancers with a wolf mask.{{sfn|Zambotti|1954|loc=p. 184, fig. 13–14, 16}}{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=23}} The items could indicate warrior initiation rites, or ceremonies in which young people put on their seasonal wolf masks.{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=23}} The element of unity of beliefs about [[werewolves]] and lycanthropy exists in the magical-religious experience of mystical solidarity with the wolf by whatever means used to obtain it. But all have one original myth, a primary event.{{sfn|Eliade|1995|p=27}}{{sfn|Eliade|1986}}