Conquest of Dacia Trajan

trajan s column, rome

it military commander trajan best known history, particularly conquests in near east, 2 wars against dacia – the reduction client kingdom (101–102), followed actual incorporation empire of trans-danube border group of dacia – an area had troubled roman thought on decade unstable peace negotiated domitian s ministers powerful dacian king decebalus. according provisions of treaty, decebalus acknowledged rex amicus, is, client king; nevertheless, in exchange accepting client status, received generous stipend rome, being supplied technical experts. treaty seems have allowed roman troops right of passage through dacian kingdom in order attack marcomanni, quadi , sarmatians. however, senatorial opinion never forgave domitian paying seen tribute barbarian king. in addition, unlike germanic tribes, dacian kingdom organized state capable of developing alliances of own, making strategic threat , giving trajan strong motive attack it.

in may of 101, trajan launched first campaign dacian kingdom, crossing northern bank of danube , defeating dacian army @ tapae (see second battle of tapae), near iron gates of transylvania. not decisive victory, however. trajan s troops mauled in encounter, , put off further campaigning year in order regroup , reinforce army.

the following winter, king decebalus took initiative launching counter-attack across danube further downstream, supported sarmatian cavalry, forcing trajan come aid of troops in rearguard. dacians , allies repulsed after 2 battles in moesia, @ nicopolis ad istrum , adamclisi. trajan s army advanced further dacian territory, and, year later, forced decebalus submit. had renounce claim regions of kingdom, return roman runaways (most of them technical experts), , surrender war machines.

trajan returned rome in triumph , granted title dacicus.

the peace of 102 had returned decebalus condition of more or less harmless client king; however, began rearm, again harbor roman runaways, , pressure western neighbors, iazyges sarmatians, allying him. trying develop anti-roman bloc, decebalus left trajan without alternative of treating dacia protectorate, rather outright conquest. in 104 decebalus devised failed attempt on trajan s life means of roman deserters, , held prisoner trajan s legate longinus, poisoned himself while in custody. finally, in 105, decebalus undertook invasion of roman-occupied territory north of danube.

prior campaign, trajan had raised 2 entirely new legions: ii traiana – which, however, may have been posted in east, @ syrian port of laodicea – and xxx ulpia victrix, posted brigetio, in pannonia. 105, concentration of roman troops assembled in middle , lower danube amounted fourteen legions (up 9 in 101) – about half of entire roman army. after dacian wars, danube frontier permanently replace rhine main military axis of roman empire. including auxiliaries, number of roman troops engaged on both campaigns between 150,000 , 175,000, while decebalus dispose of 200,000.

following design of apollodorus of damascus, trajan ordered building of massive bridge on danube, on roman army able cross river swiftly , in numbers, send in reinforcements, in winter when river not frozen enough bear passage of party of soldiers. trajan reformed infrastructure of iron gates region of danube. commissioned either creation or enlargement of road along iron gates, carved side of gorge. additionally, trajan commissioned canal built around rapids of iron gates. evidence of comes marble slab discovered near caput bovis, site of roman fort. slab, dated year 101, commemorates building of @ least 1 canal went kasajna tributary @ least ducis pratum, embankments still visible until recently. however, placement of slab @ caput bovis suggests canal extended point or there second canal downriver of kasajna-ducis pratum one.

statue of trajan, posing in military garb, in front of amphitheater of colonia ulpia traiana in xanten archaeological park

these costly projects completed, in 105 trajan again took field. in fierce campaign seems have consisted of static warfare: dacians, devoid of maneuvering room, kept network of fortresses, romans sought systematically storm (see second dacian war). romans gradually tightened grip around decebalus stronghold in sarmizegetusa regia, took , destroyed. decebalus fled, but, when cornered roman cavalry, committed suicide. severed head, brought trajan cavalryman tiberius claudius maximus, later exhibited in rome on steps leading capitol , thrown on gemonian stairs.

trajan built new city, colonia ulpia traiana augusta dacica sarmizegetusa, on site (north of hill citadel holding previous dacian capital) although bearing same full name, sarmizegetusa. capital city conceived purely civilian administrative center , provided usual romanized administrative apparatus (decurions, aediles, etc.). urban life in roman dacia seems have been restricted roman colonists, military veterans; there no extant evidence existence in province of peregrine cities. native dacians continued live in scattered rural settlements, according own ways. in arrangement no parallels in other roman province, existing quasi-urban dacian settlements disappeared after roman conquest. number of unorganized urban settlements (vici) developed around military encampments in dacia proper - important being apulum - acknowledged cities proper after trajan s reign.

the main regional effort of urbanization concentrated trajan @ rearguard, in moesia, created new cities of nicopolis ad istrum , marcianopolis. vicus created around tropaeum traianum. garrison city of oescus received status of roman colony after legionary garrison redeployed. fact these former danubian outposts had ceased frontier basis , in deep rear acted inducement urbanization , development.

not of dacia permanently occupied. permanently included in province, after post-trajanic evacuation of land across lower danube, lands extending danube inner arch of carpathian mountains, including transylvania, metaliferi mountains , oltenia.the roman province took form of excrescence north of danube, ill-defined limits, stretching danube northwards carpathians, , intended perhaps basis further expansion in eastern europe – which romans conceived more flattened , , closer ocean, was. defense of province entrusted single legion, xiii gemina, stationed @ apulum, functioned advanced guard could, in case of need, strike either west or east @ sarmatians living @ borders. therefore, indefensible character of province did not appear problem trajan, province conceived more sally-base further attacks. in absence of further roman expansion, value of province depended on roman overall strength: while rome strong, dacian salient instrument of military , diplomatic control on danubian lands; when rome weak, during crisis of third century, province became liability , abandoned.

trajan resettled dacia romans , annexed province of roman empire. aside enormous booty (over half million slaves, according john lydus), trajan s dacian campaigns benefited empire s finances through acquisition of dacia s gold mines, managed imperial procurator of equestrian rank (procurator aurariarum). on other hand, commercial agricultural exploitation on villa model, based on centralized management of huge landed estate single owner (fundus) poorly developed. therefore, use of slave labor in province seems have been relatively undeveloped, , epigraphic evidence points work in gold mines being conducted means of labor contracts (locatio conductio rei) , seasonal wage-earning.

the victory commemorated construction both of 102 cenotaph known tropaeum traiani in moesia, of later (113) trajan s column in rome, latter depicting in stone carved bas-reliefs dacian wars important moments.