Dacia

Romania, 60 BCE–106 CE. Draft, not yet reviewed

Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians, with its core in Transylvania and stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east and the Tisza in the west. A Dacian kingdom that united the Dacians and the Getae was formed under the rule of Burebista and lasted until the Roman conquest in AD 106. The Romans destroyed the capital city, Sarmizegetusa Regia, and built a settlement bearing the same name, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetuza, 40 km away.

Seat of power: Sarmizegetusa Regia

No rulers documented for this era yet.

Culture

• The fortress, built on top of a 1200 m high mountain, consisted of six citadels and was the core of a strategic and defensive system in the Orăștie Mountains.
• Sarmizegetusa Regia contained a citadel, the largest of the Dacian fortifications, and residential areas with dwellings and workshops as well as a sacred zone.
• Perhaps the most enigmatic construction at the site is the large circular sanctuary or calendar.
• The smithies north of the sanctuary provide evidence of the Dacians' skill in metalworking.

Picture

Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and the most important military, religious and political centre of the Dacians before the wars with the Roman Empire.

Image: Cosmin Stefanescu, CC BY-SA 3.0 ro, file

Sources

• Dacia (Wikipedia)
• Dacia (Wikidata)
• About the picture (Wikipedia)

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.