Editing Dacia (section)

== Roman conquest ==
[[File:032 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel XXXII.jpg|thumb|308x308px|Fiery battle scene between the Roman and Dacian armies, [[Trajan's Column]], Rome]]
{{Main|Domitian's Dacian War|Trajan's Dacian Wars|Roman Dacia}}

When [[Trajan]] turned his attention to Dacia, it had been on the Roman agenda since before the days of [[Julius Caesar]] when a Roman army had been beaten at the [[Battle of Histria]].{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2004|p=322}}{{sfn|Matyszak|2004|p=213}}{{sfn|Matyszak|2004|p=215}}

From AD 85 to 89, the Dacians under [[Decebalus]] were engaged in two wars with the Romans.

In AD 85, the Dacians had swarmed over the Danube and pillaged Moesia.{{sfn|Matyszak|2004|p=216}}{{sfn|Luttwak|1976|p=53}} In AD 87, the Roman troops sent by the Emperor Domitian against them under [[Cornelius Fuscus]], were defeated and Cornelius Fuscus was killed by the Dacians by authority of their ruler, Diurpaneus.{{sfn|Matyszak|2004|p=217}} After this victory, Diurpaneus took the name of ''Decebalus'', but the Romans were victorious in the [[Battle of Tapae (88)|Battle of Tapae]] in AD 88 and a truce was drawn up.<ref name="Romanis REquote01">{{cite encyclopedia
|access-date=2007-11-08
|url=http://www.roman-emperors.org/assobd.htm#t-inx
|title=De Imperatoribus Romanis
|encyclopedia=An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
|format=Assorted Imperial Battle Descriptions
|quote= Battle of Sarmizegetusa (Sarmizegetuza), AD 105. During Trajan's reign Rome achieved victory over the Dacians. The first important confrontation between the Romans and the Dacians took place in the year AD 87 and was initiated by Domitian. The [[praetorian prefect]] [[Cornelius Fuscus|Cornelius]] led five or six legions across the Danube on a bridge of ships and advanced towards [[Banat]] (in Romania). The Romans were surprised by a Dacian attack at Tapae (near the village of [[Băuțar|Bucova]], in Romania). Legion V Alaude was crushed and Cornelius Fuscus was killed. The victorious general was originally known as [[Diurpaneus]] (see Manea, p. 109), but after this victory he was called Decebalus (the brave one).}}</ref> The next year, AD 88, new Roman troops under [[Tettius Julianus]], gained a significant advantage, but were obligated to make peace following the defeat of [[Domitian]] by the [[Marcomanni]], leaving the Dacians effectively independent. Decebalus was given the status of "king client to Rome", receiving military instructors, craftsmen and money from Rome. To Rome, Domitian brought Italian peasants in Dacian clothing because he couldn't take slaves in the war.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Koch |first=Nándor |url=https://adt.arcanum.com/hu/collection/MTA_TolnaiVilagtortenelme/ |title=Tolnai Világtörténelme |editor-last=Mangold |editor-first=Lajos |location=[[Budapest]] |page=180 |language=hu |trans-title=World history of Tolnai |editor-last2=Horváth |editor-first2=Cirill |editor-last3=Ballagi |editor-first3=Aladár}}</ref>

To increase the glory of his reign, restore the finances of Rome, and end a treaty perceived as humiliating, Trajan resolved on the conquest of Dacia, the capture of the famous Treasure of Decebalus, and control over the Dacian gold mines of [[Transylvania]]. The result of his first campaign (101–102) was the siege of the Dacian capital Sarmizegethusa and the occupation of part of the country. Emperor Trajan recommenced hostilities against Dacia and, following an uncertain number of battles,{{sfn|Matyszak|2004|p=219}} and with Trajan's troops pressing towards the Dacian capital [[Sarmizegethusa]], Decebalus once more sought terms.{{sfn|Goldsworthy|2004|p=329}}

[[File:Roman province of Dacia (106 - 271 AD).svg|thumb|[[Roman Dacia]] and [[Moesia Inferior]]]]
Decebalus rebuilt his power over the following years and attacked Roman garrisons again in AD 105. In response Trajan again marched into Dacia,{{sfn|Matyszak|2004|p=222}} attacking the Dacian capital in the [[Siege of Sarmizegethusa]], and razing it to the ground;{{sfn|Matyszak|2004|p=223}} the defeated Dacian king [[Decebalus]] committed suicide to avoid capture.{{sfn|Luttwak|1976|p=54}} With part of Dacia quelled as the [[Roman province]] [[Roman Dacia|Dacia Traiana]].{{sfn|Stoica|1919|p=52}} Trajan subsequently [[Trajan's Parthian War|invaded the Parthian empire]] to the east. His conquests brought the Roman Empire to its greatest extent. Rome's borders in the east were governed indirectly in this period, through a system of [[client states]], which led to less direct campaigning than in the west.{{sfn|Luttwak|1976|p=39}}

Some of the history of the war is given by [[Cassius Dio]].<ref>J. Bennett. ''Trajan Optimus Princips'', Routledge, London and New York, 1997, pp. xii–xiii</ref> Trajan erected the [[Trajan's Column|Column of Trajan]] in [[Rome]] to commemorate his victory.<ref>Sinnegen & Boak. ''A History of Rome to A.D. 565'', 6th ed. MacMillan Publishing Co., New York, 1977 p. 312</ref>

===Provincial history===
Although the Romans conquered and destroyed the ancient Kingdom of Dacia, a large remainder of the land remained outside of Roman Imperial authority. Additionally, the conquest changed the balance of power in the region and was the catalyst for a renewed alliance of Germanic and Celtic tribes and kingdoms against the Roman Empire. However, the material advantages of the Roman Imperial system was attractive to the surviving aristocracy. Afterwards, many of the Dacians became Romanised (see also [[Origin of Romanians]]). In AD 183, war broke out in Dacia: few details are available, but it appears two future contenders for the throne of emperor [[Commodus]], [[Clodius Albinus]] and [[Pescennius Niger]], both distinguished themselves in the campaign.

According to [[Lactantius]],<ref>"Of the Manner in which the persecutors died" by [[Lactantius]] (early Christian author AD 240–320)</ref> the Roman emperor [[Decius]] (AD 249–251) had to restore Roman Dacia from the [[Carpo-Dacians]] of [[Zosimus (historian)|Zosimus]] "having undertaken an expedition against the Carpi, who had then possessed themselves of Dacia and Moesia".

[[File:Rome-JA1.jpg|thumb|200px|Tarabostes on the [[Arch of Constantine]]]]
Even so, the Germanic and Celtic kingdoms, particularly the [[Gothic tribes]], slowly moved toward the Dacian borders, and within a generation were making assaults on the province. Ultimately, the [[Goths]] succeeded in dislodging the Romans and restoring the "independence" of Dacia following Emperor [[Aurelian]]'s withdrawal, in 275.

In AD 268–269, at [[Naissus]], [[Claudius II]] (Gothicus Maximus) obtained a decisive victory over the Goths. Since at that time Romans were still occupying [[Roman Dacia]] it is assumed that the Goths didn't cross the Danube from the Roman province. The Goths who survived their defeat didn't even attempt to escape through Dacia, but through [[Thrace]].<ref>[[Battle of Naissus]] and [[Cladius Gothicus]]. Beside Zosimuss account there is also Historia Augusta, The Life of Claudius.</ref> At the boundaries of [[Roman Dacia]], [[Carpi (people)|Carpi]] ([[Free Dacians]]) were still strong enough to sustain five battles in eight years against the Romans from AD 301–308. Roman Dacia was left in AD 275 by the Romans, to the Carpi again, and not to the Goths. There were still Dacians in AD 336, against whom [[Constantine the Great]] fought.

The province was abandoned by Roman troops, and, according to the ''Breviarium historiae Romanae'' by [[Eutropius (historian)|Eutropius]], Roman citizens "from the towns and lands of Dacia" were resettled to the interior of Moesia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org/p/pearse/morefathers/eutropius_breviarium_2_text.htm|title=Eutropius, Abridgment of Roman History (Historiae Romanae Breviarium)|last=Eutropious |website=www.ccel.org|access-date=2008-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090220200338/http://www.ccel.org/p/pearse/morefathers/eutropius_breviarium_2_text.htm|archive-date=2009-02-20|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Under [[Diocletian]], c. AD 296, in order to defend the Roman border, fortifications were erected by the Romans on both banks of the [[Danube]].{{sfn|Odahl|2003}}

=== Late Roman Age (''c.''&nbsp;270&ndash;''c.''&nbsp;700)===

==== Constantinian reconquest ====
[[File:Dacia 337 AD.png|thumb|Gothic, Sarmatian and Dacian conquests of [[Constantine the Great]]]]
In 328 the emperor [[Constantine the Great]] inaugurated the [[Constantine's Bridge (Danube)]] at Sucidava, (today Corabia in Romania){{sfn|Madgearu|2008|pp=64–126}} in hopes of reconquering [[Roman Dacia|Dacia]], a province that had been abandoned under Aurelian. In the late winter of 332, Constantine campaigned with the [[Sarmatian]]s against the [[Goths]]. The weather and lack of food cost the Goths dearly: reportedly, nearly one hundred thousand died before they submitted to Rome. In celebration of this victory Constantine took the title ''Gothicus Maximus'' and claimed the subjugated territory as the new province of Gothia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Heather |first1=Peter |title=The Goths |date=1996 |publisher=Blackwell Publishers |pages=62, 63 }}</ref> In 334, after Sarmatian commoners had overthrown their leaders, Constantine led a campaign against the tribe. He won a victory in the war and extended his control over the region, as remains of camps and fortifications in the region indicate.<ref>Barnes, Timothy D. (1981). ''Constantine and Eusebius''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-674-16531-1}}. p. 250.</ref> Constantine resettled some Sarmatian exiles as farmers in Illyrian and Roman districts, and conscripted the rest into the army. The new frontier in Dacia was along the [[Brazda lui Novac]] line supported by [[Castra of Hinova]], [[Rusidava]] and [[Castra of Pietroasele]].{{sfn|Madgearu|2008|pp=64–126}} The [[Limes (Roman Empire)|limes]] passed to the north of [[Castra of Tirighina-Bărboși]] and ended at [[Sasyk Lagoon]] near the [[Dniester|Dniester River]].<ref>Costin Croitoru, (Romanian) Sudul Moldovei în cadrul sistemului defensiv roman. Contribuții la cunoașterea valurilor de pământ. Acta terrae septencastrensis, Editura Economica, Sibiu, 2002, {{ISSN|1583-1817}}, p. 111.</ref> Constantine took the title ''Dacicus maximus'' in 336.<ref>Odahl, Charles Matson. Constantine and the Christian Empire. New York: [[Routledge]], 2004. Hardcover {{ISBN|0-415-17485-6}} Paperback {{ISBN|0-415-38655-1}}, p. 261.</ref> 

Before 300, the Romans erected small forts at [[Dierna (castra)|Dierna]] and in other places on the northern bank of the Danube in modern-day Banat.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=185}}{{sfn|Curta|2005|p=178}} In their wider region, Roman coins from the period{{mdash}}mostly of bronze{{mdash}}have been found.{{sfn|Ellis|1998|pp=231-232}} The Huns destroyed Drobeta and Sucidava in the 440s, but the forts were restored under Emperor [[Justinian I]] (527&ndash;565).{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=165-166, 222}} [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Roman]] coins from the first half of the 6th&nbsp;century suggest a significant military presence in [[Oltenia]]{{mdash}}a region also characterized by the predominance of pottery with shapes of Roman tradition.{{sfn|Teodor|2005|pp=216, 223-224}}

==== Scythia Minor ====

[[File:Scythia Minor map.jpg|190px|thumb|right|alt=Map of Scythia Minor|[[Scythia Minor (Roman province)|Scythia Minor]]: a [[List of Late Roman provinces|Late Roman province]] formed through the division of the former province of [[Lower Moesia]] around 293]]

The territory between the Lower Danube and the Black Sea (today [[Dobrogea]] in Romania) remained a fully integrated part of the Roman Empire, even after the abandonment of Trajan's Dacia.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|pp=110-111}} It was transformed into a separate province under the name of [[Scythia Minor (Roman province)|Scythia Minor]]{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=55-56, 221}} around 293.{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|pp=17-18}} 

The existence of Christian communities in Scythia Minor became evident under Emperor [[Diocletian]] (284&ndash;305).{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=115}} He and [[Tetrarchs|his co-emperors]] ordered the persecution of Christians throughout the empire, causing the death of many between 303 and 313.{{sfn|Opreanu|2005|p=115}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=33}} Under Emperor [[Constantine the Great]] (306&ndash;337), a [[Constantine's Bridge (Danube)|bridge across the Danube]] was constructed at [[Sucidava]], a new fort ([[Constantiana Daphne]]) was built, and ancient roads were repaired in [[Oltenia]].{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=165, 221}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=61}} The Lower Danube again became the empire's northern boundary in 369 at the latest, when Emperor [[Valens]] met [[Athanaric]]{{mdash}}the head of the Goths{{mdash}}in a boat in the middle of the river because the latter had taken an oath "never to set foot on Roman soil".{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=72, 75}}<ref>''Ammianus Marcellinus: The Later Roman Empire'' (27.5.), p. 337.</ref>

Although [[Eastern Roman emperors]] made annual payments to the neighboring peoples in an attempt to keep the peace in the Balkans, the Avars regularly invaded Scythia Minor from the 580s.{{sfn|Curta|2006|pp=54-55, 64-65}} The Romans abandoned Sucidava in 596 or 597,{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|p=166, 222}} but [[Constanța|Tomis]], which was the last town in Scythia Minor to resist the invaders, only fell in 704.{{sfn|MacKendrick|1975|pp=178, 222}}

====North of the ''limes'' (c.&nbsp;270 – c.&nbsp;330) ====
[[Transylvania]] and northern Banat, which belonged to Dacia before Trajan conquest, had no direct contact with the Roman Empire from the 270s.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=181}} There is no evidence that they were invaded in the following decades.{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|p=24}} Towns, including [[Apulum (castra)|Apulum]] and [[Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa]], and the surrounding areas{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|p=24}} continued to be inhabited but the urban areas diminished.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=183}} The existence of local Christian communities can be assumed in [[Porolissum]], [[Potaissa]] and other settlements.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|pp=186-187}} On the other hand, evidence{{spaced ndash}}mainly pottery with "[[Chi (letter)|Chi]]-[[rho]]" ''(Χ-Ρ)''  signs and other Christian symbols{{spaced ndash}}is "shadowy and poorly understood", according to archaeologists Haynes and Hanson.{{sfn|Haynes|Hanson|2004|pp=22-24}}

Urns found in late 3rd-century cemeteries at [[Bezid]], [[Mediaş]], and in other Transylvanian settlements had clear analogies in sites east of the Carpathians, suggesting that the [[Carpians]] were the first new arrivals in the former province from the neighboring regions.{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=185}}{{sfn|Bóna|1994|p=65}} Other Carpian groups, pressured by the Goths, also departed from their homeland and sought refuge in the Roman Empire around 300.{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|pp=56-57}} Nevertheless, "[[Carpo-Dacians]]" were listed among the peoples "mixed with the Huns"<ref>{{Citation|last = Zosimus|title = The History |year = 2002 |url = http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/zosimus04_book4.htm | access-date = 18 July 2012}}</ref> as late as 379.{{sfn|Heather|2010|pp=166, 660}}{{sfn|Thompson|2001|p=30}} The [[Sarmatians]] of the Banat{{sfn|Bărbulescu|2005|p=185}} were allies of the empire, demonstrated by a Roman invasion in 332 against the Goths, their enemies.{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=168}}{{sfn|Wolfram|1988|p=61}} Sarmatians were admitted into the empire in 379, but other Sarmatian groups remained in the Tisa plains up until the 460s.{{sfn|Heather|2006|p=330}}{{sfn|Heather|2010|p=151}}