The Dacians - People of Ancient Times
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DACIA - ROMAN PROVINCE. THE BIRTH OF A NEW PEOPLE, THE ROMANIANS
1. The province of Dacia
- The province of Dacia existed from 106-2771 AD. It didn't include all the territories inhabited by the Dacians. Crisana, Maramures, Northern and Central Moldova are still inhabited by the free Dacians.
- Trajan stayed in Dacia until 107, to orgaanize the new territory.
- In 108 is founded the capital of the provvince, Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa.
- Other important cities in Dacia were: Apuulum, Napoca, Potaissa, Drobeta, Dierna, Tibiscum.
2. The continuity of the Dacians
- Some ancient writers affirmed that the Daacian people had been completely destroyed after the two wars. This is not true.
- These are the proofs that in Dacia continnued to exist a numerous local population:
- Most of the ancient historians didn't afffirm that all the Dacians died. For example, Dio Cassius says that a lot of Dacians submitted to the Romans during the wars. Scenes from Trajan's Column show how the Dacians returned to their homes, after the war.
- Inscriptions and written documents mentioon units formed with Dacian soldiers, which are placed all over the empire. 12 such military units are known.
- The Dacian names of the cities are kept dduring the Roman administration (Apulum, Napoca, Drobeta, Dierna, Potaissa). Because of the presence of the local population in the province, at the the new capital is added the name Sarmizegetusa.
- Also, the Dacian names of the rivers are used by the Romans (Maris, Alutus, Samus, Pyretus).
- The archaeological discoveries are the moost important proves for the continuity of the Dacians: settlements and houses, burial places, objects of home use, pottery, tools, all of them of Dacian provenance.
3. The free Dacians
- The free Dacians are the inhabitants of MMaramures, Crisana, Moldova, territories that weren't included in the province of Dacia.
- They had kept a permanent contact with thhe Dacians from the province.
- The most important among the free Dacianss were:
a. the Costoboci
b. the Carpi
c. the Great Dacians.
- The free Dacians had a number of raids inn the territories occupied by the Romans. The most significant was that of the Carpi in 245.
4. The withdrawal of Aurelianus
- The emperor Aurelianus decided in 271 to abandon the province of Dacia; he took this decision because Dacia was getting more and more difficult to defend.
- The army and the administration left the province but the greatest part of the population stayed.
- Dobruja was part of the Roman Empire untiil 602.
5. The Romanization of the Dacians
- The Romanization is a process specific too the Roman Empire. It represents:
a. the penetration of the Roman culture and civilization in the provinces;
b. the assimilation of the elements of culture and civilization by the local population.
- The most important element of Romanizatioon was the Latin language. The Dacians learned the Latin language from the colonists that came from all over the empire. In Dacia were brought colonists from the provinces: Pannonia, Gallia, Asia Minor, Hispania.
- The factors of the Romanization of Dacia were: the administration, military organization, the veterans, the colonists, the cities, the economy and the Roman laws.
- The Romanization continued after the withhdrawal of the Romans from the province.
- The result of the Romanization was the poopulation that spoke Latin, the Daco-Romans. From the Daco-Romans, after an evolution of centuries, was formed the Romanian people.