Editing Sarmizegetusa Regia

{{Short description|Dacian capital until 2nd century AD}}
{{for multi|the former Roman Dacia capital|Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa|the modern-day commune|Sarmizegetusa (commune)}}
{{Expand Romanian|Sarmizegetusa Regia|date=December 2010}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name           = Sarmizegetusa Regia
| native_name    = 
| native_name_lang =
| alternate_name = Dacian capital, Sarmisegetusa, Sarmizegethusa,<ref name="ddana">{{cite web | url=https://www.academia.edu/6548491 | title=Ptolémée et la toponymie de la Dacie (II-V) | work=Classica et Christiana | date=2014-01-09 | access-date=2014-03-30 |author1=Dana, Dan |author2=Nemeti, Sorin | pages=18}}</ref> Sarmisegethusa, Sarmisegethuza, Sarmageze,<ref name="ddana"/> Sarmategte,<ref name="ddana"/> Sermizegetusa,<ref name="ddana"/> Zarmizegethusa,<ref name="ddana"/> Zarmizegethousa,<ref name="ddana"/> Zarmizegetusa,<ref name="ddana"/> Zermizegethouse
| image          = Sarmisegetusa Regia - Templele patrulatere mici - Zona sacra – Gradistea Muntelui, Muntii Sureanu, Hunedoara, Romania 19.JPG
| image_size     = 
| alt            = 
| caption        = Ruins of Dacian temples
| map_type       = Romania
| map_alt        = 
| map_caption    = 
| map_size       = 
| altitude_m     = 1030
| altitude_ref   = 
| relief         =
| coordinates    = {{coord|45.6219|23.3093|display=inline,title}}
| map_dot_label  =
| location       = [[Grădiștea de Munte, Hunedoara|Grădiștea de Munte]], [[Hunedoara County]], [[Romania]]
| region         = 
| type           = 
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| volume         =  
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| builder        = 
| material       = 
| built          = 
| abandoned      = 2nd century AD
| epochs         = <!-- actually displays as "Periods" -->
| cultures       = 
| dependency_of  = 
| occupants      = 
| event          = [[Trajan's Dacian Wars]], [[Battle of Sarmizegetusa]]
| excavations    = 
| archaeologists = * A. Rusu
* A. Sion
* [[Eugen Iaroslavschi]]
* [[H. G. Seiwerth]]
* [[Ioan Andrițoiu]]
* [[Ioan Glodariu]]
* [[Ștefan Ferenczi]]
* [[Gelu Florea]]
* [[Gabriela Gheorghiu]]
* [[Darius Sima]]
* [[Adriana Pescaru Rusu]]
* [[Liliana Dana Suciu]]
| condition      = Partially reconstructed
| designation1   = World Heritage Site
| designation1_number = 906
| designation2   = Monument istoric
| designation2_number = HD-I-s-A-03190 <ref name="lmi">{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Monuments in Romania, Hunedoara County|url=http://www.inmi.ro/lmi/HUNEDOARA.pdf|publisher=www.inmi.ro|access-date=18 October 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227080850/http://www.inmi.ro/lmi/HUNEDOARA.pdf|archive-date=27 February 2012}}</ref>
| ownership      = 
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| website        = 
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| notes          = 
}}

'''Sarmizegetusa Regia''' (also known as ''Sarmisegetusa'', ''Sarmisegethusa'', ''Sarmisegethuza''; {{Langx|grc|Ζαρμιζεγεθούσα|Zarmizegethoúsa}}) was the [[Capital city|capital]] and the most important military, religious and political centre of the [[Dacians]] before the [[Trajan's Dacian Wars|wars with the Roman Empire]]. Built on top of a 1200 m high mountain, the fortress, consisting of six citadels, was the core of a strategic and defensive system in the [[Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains|Orăștie Mountains]] (in present-day [[Romania]]).

Sarmizegetusa Regia should not be confused with [[Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa]], the Roman capital of Dacia built by Roman Emperor [[Trajan]] some 40&nbsp;km away, which was not the Dacian capital. Sarmizegetusa Ulpia was discovered earlier, was known already in the early 1900s, and was initially mistaken for the Dacian capital, a confusion which led to incorrect conclusions being made regarding the military history and organization of the Dacians.<ref>Schmitz (2005) 3</ref>

== Etymology ==
Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain the origin of the name ''Sarmizegetusa''. The most important of these ascribe the following possible meanings to the city's name:

* 'Center where horse-mounted archers meet' from ''sar'' 'horse' (Getian and Sarmatian) combined with ''gethusa'' 'arrow' (cognate with Sarmatian ''sageta'') and ''gethate'' 'center' (cognate Sarmatian ''cetate''){{Sfn|Grumeza|2009|p=87}}
* ‘Citadel built of palisades on a mountain peak’ from ''zermi'' (*gher-mi ‘mountain peak, top’, cf. *gher ‘stone; high’) and ''zeget'' (*geg(H)t){{sfn|Russu|1944|p=376-399}}
* ‘City of the warm river’ from ''zarmi'' ‘warm’ (cognate with Sanskrit ''gharma''  ‘warm’) and  ''zeget'' ‘flow’ (cognate with Sanskrit ''sarj-'' in  ''sarjana-'' ‘flow’ and [[Bactrian language|Bactrian]] ''harez-'' in ''harezâna'' ‘id.’), the city being named after the nearby river Sargetia{{sfn| Van Den Gheyn |1885|p=176}}
* ‘Palace illuminating the world of life’ from ''zaryma'' ‘palace’ (cf. Sanskrit ''harmya'' ‘palace’), ''zegeth'' ‘world of life’ (cf. Sanskrit ''jagat''- ‘go’,  and ''jigat''- ‘mobility; world of life’) and ''usa'' ‘illuminating, enlightening; burning’){{sfn|Tomaschek|1883|p=410}}
* 'SARMIS.E[T].GETUSA REGIA' is an alternate spelling of the full Latin name of the location. It translates to, the capital city/royal court of the Sarmatian and Getae/Gets. Getae and Dacians were interchangeable terms. The -A after GETUS is part of the genitive case in Latin, indicating ownership. This is plausible as the Dacians were allied with the Sarmatians (e.g., Roxolani) during the Dacian Wars in the early first century CE.

== Layout ==
[[File:Sarmizegetusa map.svg|thumb|300px|Map of the site]]

Sarmizegetusa Regia contained a citadel and residential areas with dwellings and workshops as well as a sacred zone.<ref>{{cite book|first1=I. A.|last1=Oltean|first2=J.|last2=Fonte|chapter=Microtopographies of Dacian upland settlement strategies and community aggregation trends in the Orăştie Mountains, Romania|editor-last1=Cowley|editor-first1=Dave C.|url=https://www.sidestone.com/books/rural-settlement|title=Rural Settlement. Relating buildings, landscape, and people in the European Iron Age|editor-last2=Fernández-Götz|editor-first2=Manuel|editor-last3=Romankiewicz|editor-first3=Tanja|editor-last4=Wendling|editor-first4=Holger|date=2019-11-27|publisher=Sidestone Press |isbn=978-90-8890-818-7|language=en}}</ref>
* The fortress, a [[quadrilateral]] formed by massive stone blocks ([[murus dacicus]]), was constructed on five terraces, on an area of almost 30,000 m².
* The sacred zone — among the most important and largest circular and rectangular Dacian sanctuaries – includes a number of rectangular temples, the bases of their supporting columns still visible in regular arrays. Perhaps the most enigmatic construction at the site is the large circular sanctuary. It consisted of a setting of timber posts in the shape of a D, surrounded by a timber circle which in turn was surrounded by a low stone kerb. The layout of the timber settings bears some resemblance to the stone monument at [[Stonehenge]] in England.{{sfn| Ruggles |2005|p=370}}
* An artifact referred to as the “Andesite Sun" seems to have been used as a sundial. Since it is known that Dacian culture was influenced by contact with Hellenisitic Greece, the sundial may have resulted from the Dacians' exposure to Hellenistic learning in geometry and astronomy.{{sfn| Ruggles |2005|p=370}}
* Civilians lived below the citadel itself in settlements built on artificial terraces, such as the one at [[Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains#Feţele Albe|Feţele Albe]].{{sfn| MacKendrick |1975|p=60-61}} A system of ceramic pipes channeled running water into the residences of the nobility.

The archaeological inventory found at the site demonstrates that Dacian society had a relatively high standard of living.

== 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]].

== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center">
File:Sarmizegetusa_Regia_-_Sanctuarul_mare_circular._(Zona_sacra).jpg| Sarmizegetusa Regia ''the great circular sanctuary (sacred area)''
File:Sarmizegetusa Regia.JPG|[[Sanctuary|Sanctuaries]]
File:Sanctuarele de andezit.JPG|[[Andesite]] [[sanctuary|sanctuaries]]
File:Sarmizegetusa Regia 2011 2.jpg
File:Sarmizegetusa Regia 2011 1.jpg|Large [[limestone]] [[sanctuary]]
File:Sanctuarul mare de calcar.JPG|Large [[limestone]] [[sanctuary]]
File:Sanctuarul mic de calcar.JPG|Small limestone sanctuary
File:Solar disc.JPG|[[Sun|Solar]] disk
File:Murus Dacicus.JPG|[[Murus dacicus]]
File:Sarmizegetusa Regia Wall 1.jpg
File:Sarmizegetusa Regia Wall 2.jpg
File:Paved Dacian road.JPG|Paved [[Dacian language|Dacian]] road
File:Sarmizegetusa Regia - panoramă.jpg|Panoramic view of the sanctuaries
File:Dacian Water Pipe.JPG|Dacian Water Pipe
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa]]
* [[List of Dacian towns]]
* [[Decebalus]]
* [[Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains]] 
* [[Seven Wonders of Romania]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book
|last       = Schmitz
|first      = Michael
|title      = The Dacian threat, 101-106 AD
|year       = 2005
|publisher  = Armidale, N.S.W. : Caeros Publishing
|isbn  = 978-0-9758445-0-2
}}
* {{cite book
|last       = Tomaschek
|first      = Wilhelm
|title      = "Les Restes de la langue dace" in "Le Muséon, Volume 2"
|year       = 1883
|publisher  = "Société des lettres et des sciences" Louvain, Belgium
|location   = [[Belgium]]
}}
* {{cite book
|last       = Ruggles
|first      = Clive L. N
|title      = Ancient astronomy: an encyclopedia of cosmologies and myth
|year       = 2005
|publisher  = ABC-CLIO
|location   = Greenwood
|isbn  = 978-1-85109-477-6
}}
* {{cite book 
 |last1=MacKendrick 
 |first1=Paul Lachlan 
 |title=The Dacian stones speak 
 |date=1975 
 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press 
 |location=Chapel Hill 
 |isbn=978-0-8078-1226-6
}}
* {{cite book
|last       = Van Den Gheyn
|first      = Joseph
|title      = "Populations Danubiennes" in "Revue des questions scientifiques"
|year       = 1885
|work  = Société scientifique de Bruxelles
|location   = [[Belgium]]
}}
* {{cite book
|last1       = Goodman
|first1      = Martin
|last2      = Sherwood
|first2     = Jane
|title      = The Roman World 44 BC–AD 180
|year       = 2002
|publisher  = Routledge
|isbn     = 978-0-203-40861-2
}}
* {{cite book
|last       = Russu
|first      = I.I.
|title      = Sarmizegetusa, capitala Geto-Dacilor
|year       = 1944
}}.
* {{cite book
|last       = Daicoviciu
|first      = Hadrian
|title      = "Dacia de la Burebista la cucerirea romană"
|year       = 1972
|publisher  = Editura Dacia
}}
* {{cite book
|last       = Matyszak
|first      = Philip
|title      = The Enemies of Rome: From Hannibal to Attila the Hun
|year       = 2009
|publisher  = Thames and Hudson
|isbn  = 978-0-500-28772-9
}}
* {{cite book
|last       = Grumeza
|first      = Ion
|title      = Land of Transylvania, Cornerstone of Ancient Eastern Europe
|year       = 2009
|publisher  = Thames and Hudson
|isbn  = 978-0-7618-4465-5
}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Sarmizegetusa Regia}}
* [http://www.cetati-dacice.ro/en/sites/sarmizegetusa-regia/history-of-research Cetățile dacice din Munții Orăștiei - Sarmizegetusa Regia]
* [http://www.cimec.ro/Monumente/UNESCO/UNESCOen/indexC61.htm The Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5cB3qXmCsM Virtual 3D Reconstruction of Sarmizegetusa Regia]
* [http://www.romaniadevis.ro/dacia/zona-geto-daca/reconstituiri-3d/item/sanctuarul-mare-circular-sarmizegetusa-regia-reconstituire-virtuala-3d „Large circular sanctuary" from Sarmizegetusa Regia], 3D reconstruction (v.1)
* [https://vimeo.com/52953687 3D Reconstruction of Sarmizegetusa from Documentary "Decoding Dacia" by Kogainon Films]
* {{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150320-romanian-dacian-sarmizegetusa-gold-looted-recovered|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210405223359/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150320-romanian-dacian-sarmizegetusa-gold-looted-recovered|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 5, 2021|title=Gold Looted From Ancient Empire Returned to Romania|first=Andrew|last=Curry|magazine=[[National Geographic]]|date=March 20, 2015|access-date=December 12, 2021}}

'''''Plans, surveys'''''
* [http://www.romaniadevis.ro/dacia/zona-geto-daca/reconstituiri-3d/item/plan-topo-2d-situl-arheologic-sarmizegetusa-regia?category_id=285 „Plan TOPO 2D"], 2D topographical plan of the archaeological site of Sarmizegetusa  Regia (v.1), ''source files .DWG, .PDF''
* [http://www.romaniadevis.ro/dacia/zona-geto-daca/reconstituiri-3d/item/plan-topo-3d-situl-arheologic-sarmizegetusa-regia-cetatea „Plan TOPO 3D"], 3D topographical plan of the archaeological site of Sarmizegetusa Regia (v.2), ''source files .DWG, .PDF''

'''''3D reconstructions'''''
* [http://www.romaniadevis.ro/dacia/zona-geto-daca/reconstituiri-3d/item/drumul-pavat-de-la-sarmizegetusa-regia-reconstituire-3d "Paved road" from Sarmizegetusa Regia], 3D reconstruction (v.1)
* [http://www.romaniadevis.ro/dacia/zona-geto-daca/reconstituiri-3d/item/marele-templu-rotund-de-la-sarmizegetusa-regia "Great Round Temple" from Sarmizegetusa Regia], 3D reconstruction  (v.2), "Large circular sanctuary" from Sacred Area

{{Dacian cities}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Dacian towns]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Eastern Europe]]
[[Category:Dacian fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains]]
[[Category:Dacian fortresses in Hunedoara County]]
[[Category:Historic monuments in Hunedoara County]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Hunedoara County]]
[[Category:Ancient history of Transylvania]]