Trajan's Dacian Wars

Dacian Wars

Roman soldiers defending a fort against attack by the Dacians.

(detail from Trajan's Column)

Date
Location
Result
Territorial
changes

101102 and 105106

Ancient Dacia
Decisive Roman victory
Part of Dacia annexed by Roman Empire

Belligerents
Kingdom of Dacia

Roman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Decebalus

Trajan

Strength
Around 40,000 in the first war - 150,000 in the first war 15,000 in the second war

200,000 in the second war

(based on population estimate)

Casualties and losses

Unknown

Unknown

[show]

Domitian's and Trajan'sDacian Wars

The Dacian Wars (101102, 105106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman
Empire and Dacia during Roman EmperorTrajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat

on the Danubian Roman Province of Moesia and also by the increasing need for resources of the economy of
the Roman Empire.
Trajan turned his attention to Dacia, an area north of Macedon and Greece and east of the Danube that had been
on the Roman agenda since before the days of Caesar [1][2] when they defeated a Roman army at the Battle of
Histria.[3] In AD 85, the Dacians swarmed over the Danube and pillaged Moesia[4][5] and initially defeated the army
that Emperor Domitian sent against them,[6] but the Romans were victorious in the Battle of Tapae in 88 and a truce
was established.[6]
Emperor Trajan recommenced hostilities against Dacia and, following an uncertain number of battles, [7] defeated the
Dacian King[8]Decebalus in the Second Battle of Tapae in 101.[9] With Trajan's troops pressing towards the Dacian
capital Sarmizegetusa Regia, Decebalus once more sought terms.[10] Decebalus rebuilt his power over the following
years and attacked Roman garrisons again in 105. In response Trajan again marched into Dacia, [11] besieging the
Dacian capital in the Siege of Sarmisegetusa, and razing it.[12] With Dacia quelled, Trajan subsequently invaded the
Parthian empire to the east, his conquests expanding the Roman Empire to its greatest extent. Rome's borders in
the east were indirectly governed through a system of client states for some time, leading to less direct campaigning
than in the west in this period.[13]

Early clashes
Since the reign of Burebista, widely considered to be the greatest Dacian kingwho ruled between 82 BC and 44
BCthe Dacians had represented a threat for the Roman Empire. Caesar himself had drawn up a plan to launch a
campaign against Dacia. The threat was reduced when dynastic struggles in Dacia lead to a division into four (or
five, depending on the source) separately governed tribal states after Burebista's death in 44 BC. Augustus later
came into conflict with Dacia after they sent envoys offering their support against Mark Antony in exchange for
"requests", the nature of which have not been recorded. Augustus rejected the offer and Dacia gave their support to
Antony. In 29 BC, Augustus sent several punitive expeditions into Dacia led by Marcus Licinius Crassus (Marcus
Licinius Crassus the Younger, also known as Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives, grandson of the famed Marcus Licinius
Crassus who put down the Spartacus slave rebellion, and of the 1st Triumvirate with Julius Caesarand Gnaeus
Pompey) that inflicted heavy casualties and apparently killed three of their five kings. Although Dacian raids
into Pannonia and Moesia continued for several years despite the defeat, the threat of Dacia had effectively ended.
[14]

Then, after 116 years of relative peace along the Roman frontier, in the winter of 85 AD to 86 AD the army of
King Duras led by general Diurpaneus attacked the Roman province of Moesia, killing the Moesian governor Oppius
Sabinus, a former consul.

Domitian's humiliation
Main article: Domitian's Dacian War
The Roman emperor Domitian led legions into the ravaged province and reorganized the possession into Moesia
Inferior and Moesia Superior, planning an attack into Dacia for the next campaign season. The next year, with the
arrival of fresh legions in 87 AD, Domitian began what became the First Dacian War. General Diurpaneus sent an
envoy to Domitian offering peace. He was rejected and the praetorian prefect Cornelius Fuscus crossed
the Danube into Dacia with 5 or 6 legions on a bridge built on boats. The Roman army was ambushed and defeated
at the First Battle of Tapae by Diurpaneus who was subsequently renamed Decebalus (Dacian for "the Brave") and
who, as a consequence, was chosen to be the new king. Fuscus was killed and the legions lost their standards,
adding to the humiliation.[15] In 88, the Roman offensive continued, and the Roman army, this time under the

command of Tettius Julianus defeated the Dacians at the outlying Dacian fortress of Sarmizegetusa, also at Tapae,
near the current village of Bucova. After this battle Decebalus, now the king of the four reunited arms of the Dacians
asked for peace which was again refused. Domitian later accepted the offer, mainly because his legions were
needed along the Rhine to put down the revolt of Lucius Antonius Saturninus, the Roman governor ofGermania
Superior who had allied with the Marcomanni, Quadi and Sarmatian Yazgulyams against Domitian.[16]

Causes of the first war

Dacian Gold

Throughout the 1st century, Roman policy dictated that threats from neighbouring nations and provinces were to be
contained promptly. The peace treaty following the First Battles of Tapae, followed by an indecisive and costly
Roman victory on the same ground a year later, was unfavorable for the Empire. Following the peace of 89
AD, Decebalus became a client of Rome, with acceptance of Decebalus as king (Rex Amicas). He received a lump
sum of money, annual financial stipends, craftsmen in trades devoted to both peace and war, and war machines to
defend the empire's borders. The craftsman were used by the Dacians to upgrade their own defences. Some
historians believe this was an unfavorable peace and that it might have led to Domitian's assassination in
September 96. Despite some co-operation on the diplomatic front with Domitian, Decebalus continued to oppose
Rome.[17]
At the time, Rome was suffering from economic difficulties largely brought on by military campaigns throughout
Europe and in part due to a low gold content in Roman money as directed by Emperor Nero. Confirmed rumors of
Dacian gold and other valuable trade resources inflamed the conflict, as did the Dacian's defiant behavior, as they
were "bowed and unbroken".
However other pressing reasons motivated them to action. Researchers estimate that only ten percent of barbarians
such as Spanish and Gallic warriors had access to swords, usually the nobility. By contrast Dacia had rich resources
of iron and copper and were prolific metal workers. A large percentage of Dacians owned swords, greatly reducing
Rome's military advantage.[18] Dacia sported 250,000 potential combatants, enough to enable an invasion. It was
allied to several of its neighbors and on friendly terms with others that Rome considered enemies. Rome had no
concrete defense policy and would not have been able to sustain a war of defense. As such, the new
Emperor Trajan, himself an experienced soldier and tactician, began preparing for war. That Dacia was considered a
substantial threat can be seen by the fact that Trajan withdrew troops from other borders leaving them dangerously
undermanned.[19]