Editing Decebalus (section)

==Conflicts with Trajan==
[[File:Traianus Glyptothek Munich 336.jpg|thumb|Trajan]]

===First Dacian war===
When [[Trajan]] came to power in 98, he immediately toured the Danube area and ordered the strengthening of fortifications along the Dacian frontier.  Three years later, Trajan decided to launch an offensive against Dacia. According to [[Cassius Dio]] this was because "he had taken stock of [their] previous record, resented the annual sums of money they were getting, and saw that their powers and their pride were on the increase."<ref>Julian Bennett, ''Trajan: Optimus Princeps: A Life and Times'': Routledge, London, 1997, p.87.</ref> Trajan's force crossed the Danube in 101 and advanced into Dacia, pushing back Dacian forces. According to Dio, Decebalus sent envoys asking for negotiations, but Trajan refused a personal meeting.

At the [[Second Battle of Tapae]], Decebalus was defeated, but he inflicted serious losses on the Romans.<ref>Julian Bennett, ''Trajan: Optimus Princeps: A Life and Times'': Routledge, London, 1997, p.93.</ref> Trajan chose not to pursue the war until the spring. Decebalus tried to wrongfoot Trajan by launching a surprise attack on Moesia, but he suffered a major defeat at the [[Battle of Adamclisi]]. Despite stiff resistance, the Romans closed on the Dacian capital by early 102. Decebalus was forced to concede defeat and accept Trajan's terms, which included the loss of some territories in the vicinity of the Danube and the dismantling of his fortresses.  However, Decebalus retained his throne.

=== Second Dacian war ===
{{main|Battle of Sarmisegetusa}}
Decebalus had no intention of remaining subject to Rome, or giving up his lost territory. As soon as he was able to, he took revenge on those who had supported Rome. He annexed territory from the Jazyges and violated the peace treaty by re-arming and receiving refugees and deserters from Roman territory.<ref name="benn">Julian Bennett, ''Trajan: Optimus Princeps: A Life and Times'': Routledge, London, 1997, p.98-100.</ref> He also restored his fortifications. This time, Decebalus did not wait for Trajan to strike. In 105 he authorised a direct attack on the newly occupied Roman territory, probably the fortress at [[Banat]]. The attack seems to have taken Trajan and the Senate by surprise. Trajan immediately travelled north to review fortifications.

Meanwhile, Decebalus continued to disrupt Roman positions with guerrilla attacks.<ref name="benn" /> He also developed a plan to assassinate Trajan by using Roman auxiliaries who had defected to the Dacians to infiltrate the emperor's camp. The plot failed. However he succeeded in capturing one of Trajan's senior officers, Pompeius Longinus, whom he tried to use as a [[hostage]] to bargain with Trajan. Longinus took [[poison]] to avoid being so used.<ref name="benn" />

Trajan, meanwhile, was building a large force for a full-scale invasion. Decebalus tried to negotiate a peace settlement, but Trajan demanded that Decebalus surrender himself, which he refused to do.<ref name="benn" /> Decebalus' allies among the surrounding tribes seem to have deserted him at this point. Trajan launched a direct attack on the Dacian capital, Sarmizegetusa. After a long [[Battle of Sarmisegetusa|siege of Sarmizegetusa]] and a few skirmishes in the nearby region, the Romans conquered the Dacian capital. Decebalus managed to escape with his family. He and his remaining supporters continued a [[guerrilla]] campaign in the Carpathian mountains.<ref name="benn" /> [[File:Roman_Dacia_and_Free_Dacians.png|thumb|right|alt=Roman Dacia and Free Dacians|Dacia after the war with Trajan]]


=== Death ===
[[File:108 Conrad Cichorius, Die Reliefs der Traianssäule, Tafel CVIII.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Plaster cast (Cichorius 108) of panel on  [[Trajan's Column]]. The head of the defeated Dacian king Decebalus (left background) is displayed on a shield to Roman  troops (AD 106). The head was then taken to Rome to form the central exhibit in the emperor [[Trajan]]'s official Triumph ]]
[[File:Macedonian Museums-26--482.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Tiberius Claudius Maximus memorial]]

Decebalus was hunted down and finally cornered by Roman detachments seeking his head.  Rather than being captured only to be exhibited and humiliated at Rome, Decebalus committed suicide by slashing his own throat, as depicted on [[Trajan's Column]] (spiral 22, panel b).

It is likely that he killed himself as a Roman cavalry scout named [[Tiberius Claudius Maximus]] from [[Legio VII Claudia]] was approaching. He was probably still alive when Maximus reached him, as is claimed on Maximus' [[funerary stele]] discovered at Gramini in Greece. Maximus is presumably the figure seen on Trajan's column reaching out to Decebalus from his horse.

Decebalus' head and right hand were then taken to Trajan in "Ranisstorum" (an unidentified Dacian village, perhaps [[Piatra Craivii]]) by Maximus, who was decorated by the emperor. The trophy was sent to Rome where it was thrown down the [[Gemonian stairs]].<ref>M Spiedel - JRS 60 page 142-153</ref> Tiberius Claudius Maximus' tomb cites two occasions where the [[legionary]] was decorated for his part in the Dacian wars, one of which being the acquisition of Decebalus' head.<ref>"Julian Bennett -Traian</ref>