Editing Sarmizegetusa Regia (section)

== History ==

=== Variants of the name of the city===
[[File:Ptolemy Geographia - Dacia - Central Section.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Zarmizegethusa Regia on [[Dacia]]'s map from a medieval book made after [[Ptolemy]]'s [[Geographia]] (ca. 140 AD).]]

Historical records show considerable variation in the spelling of the name of the Dacian capital:<ref>Ptolemy's maps of northern Europe: a reconstruction of the prototypes, Gudmund Schütte , H. Hagerup, 1917</ref>

* Zarmigethusa, Sarmisegethusa ([[Ptolemy]], Geography, 2nd century AD)
* Zermizegethusa ([[Dio Cassius]] 2nd-3rd century)
* Sarmazege ([[Anonymous Geographer from Ravenna]], around 700 AD)
* Sarmategte ([[Tabula Peutingeriana]], 13th century)
* Zarmizegetusa and Sarmizegetusa (from inscriptions)
* Sargetia (name of the river nearby)

=== Pre-Roman era ===
Towards the end of his reign, [[Burebista]] transferred the Geto-Dacian capital from [[Argedava]] to Sarmizegetusa.{{sfn| MacKendrick |1975|p=48}}{{sfn| Goodman | Sherwood |2002|p=227}} Serving as the Dacian capital for at least one and a half centuries, Sarmizegethusa reached its zenith under [[King]] [[Decebalus|Decebal]]. Archeological findings suggest that the Dacian god [[Zalmoxis]] and his chief priest had an important role in Dacian society at this time.{{sfn| Matyszak |2009|p=222}} They have also shed new light on the political, economic and scientific development of the Dacians and their successful assimilation of technical and scientific knowledge from the Greek and Romans.

The site has yielded two especially notable finds:
* A medical kit, in a brassbound wooden box with an iron handle, containing a scalpel, tweezers, powdered pumice and miniature pots for pharmaceuticals{{sfn| MacKendrick |1975|p=65}}
*  A huge vase, 24 in (0.6 m) high and 41 in (1.04 m) across, bearing an inscription in the Roman alphabet: DECEBAL PER SCORILO, i.e. ‘Decebalus, son (cf. Latin ''puer'') of Scorilus’ {{sfn| MacKendrick |1975|p=65}}
[[File:Roman province of Dacia (106 - 271 AD).svg|300px|thumb|right|[[Roman Dacia]] and [[Moesia Inferior]].]]

The smithies north of the sanctuary also provide evidence of the Dacians' skill in metalworking: findings include tools such as metre-long tongs, hammers and anvils which were used to make some 400 metallic artefacts — scythes, sickles, hoes, rakes, picks, pruning hooks, knives, plowshares, and carpenters' tools {{sfn| MacKendrick |1975|p=66}} — as well as weapons such as daggers, curved Dacian scimitars, spearpoints, and shields.{{sfn| MacKendrick |1975|p=66}}

Nevertheless, the flowering of Dacian civilization apparently underway during the reign of Decebalus came to an abrupt end when Trajan's legions destroyed the city and deported its population.{{sfn| MacKendrick |1975|p=66}}

=== The defensive system ===

The Dacian capital’s defensive system includes [[Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains|six Dacian fortresses]] — Sarmizegetusa, [[Costești-Blidaru Dacian fortress|Costești-Blidaru]], [[Piatra Roșie Dacian fortress|Piatra Roșie]], [[Costești-Cetățuie Dacian fortress|Costești-Cetățuie]], [[Dacian fortress of Căpâlna|Căpâlna]] and [[Dacian fortress of Bănița|Bănița]].
All six have been named [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site|World heritage]] sites.

=== Roman era ===
Sarmizegetusa's walls were partly dismantled at the end of the First Dacian War in AD 102, when Dacia was invaded by the Emperor [[Trajan]] of the [[Roman Empire]] and rebuilt as Roman fortifications. The latter were subsequently destroyed, possibly by the Dacians, and then rebuilt again following the successful siege of the site in AD 105–6.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Oltean|first1=I. A.|last2=Hanson|first2=W. S.|date=2017|title=Conquest strategy and political discourse: new evidence for the conquest of Dacia from LiDAR analysis at Sarmizegetusa Regia|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-archaeology/article/abs/conquest-strategy-and-political-discourse-new-evidence-for-the-conquest-of-dacia-from-lidar-analysis-at-sarmizegetusa-regia/76800DF0CD58534752334C83D6EC5A16|journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology|language=en|volume=30|pages=429–446|doi=10.1017/S1047759400074195|s2cid=158784696|issn=1047-7594}}</ref>

The Roman conquerors established a military garrison at Sarmizegetusa Regia. Later, the capital of [[Dacia (Roman province)|Roman Dacia]] was  established 40&nbsp;km from the ruined Dacian capital, and was named after it - [[Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa|Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa]].