Europe in the Roman age (1st–5th c.)Wars and battles

Trajan’s Dacian Wars

In two wars (101–102 and 105–106) Trajan defeated the Dacian king Decebalus, destroyed his capital Sarmizegetusa and made Dacia a Roman province — the empire’s last great conquest in Europe.

Date: 101–106year known · duration: ≈ 5 years
Place: Sarmizegetusa Regiaapproximate locationtoday: Grădiștea de Munte, Hunedoara County, Romania · Balkans and Anatolia
Participants: Roman Empire, Trajan, Decebalus, Dacians
Threads: Europe in the Roman age (1st–5th c.)
Also known as: Dacian Wars; Дакийские войны

Decebalus had fought Domitian to a peace under which Rome even paid him subsidies. Trajan invaded in 101, won at Tapae and in 102 forced the king to accept harsh terms; when Decebalus rebuilt his power, a second war followed. Apollodorus of Damascus built a great stone bridge across the Danube at Drobeta, and in the summer of 106 Sarmizegetusa fell; Decebalus killed himself rather than be taken.

The gold of Dacia paid for Trajan’s building in Rome, including his forum and the column whose spiral frieze tells the story of the wars. The province, settled with colonists from across the empire, was held until the 270s; Romanian descends from the Latin of the Danubian provinces.

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