Dacian warfare
Encyclopedia
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
and Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
historians as Dacia
Dacia
In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...
. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Dacian tribes and their kingdoms in the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
. Apart from conflicts between Dacians and neighboring nations and tribes, numerous wars were recorded among Dacians too.
Mythological
Tribal wars
The Dacians fought amongst each other but were later united first under BurebistaBurebista
Burebista was a king of the Getae and Dacians, who unified for the first time their tribes and ruled them between 82 BC and 44 BC. He led plunder and conquest raids across Central and Southeastern Europe, subjugating most of the neighbouring tribes...
and later under Decebalus
Decebalus
Decebalus or "The Brave" was a king of Dacia and is famous for fighting three wars and negotiating two interregnums of peace without being eliminated against the Roman Empire under two emperors...
. Despite this after the death of Burebista
Burebista
Burebista was a king of the Getae and Dacians, who unified for the first time their tribes and ruled them between 82 BC and 44 BC. He led plunder and conquest raids across Central and Southeastern Europe, subjugating most of the neighbouring tribes...
at 44 BC they had been split by a civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
.
Domitian's Dacian War
The two punitive expeditions mounted as a border defense against raids of Moesia from Dacia in 8686
Year 86 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Petronianus...
-87 AD ordered by the Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
(Domitian) in 87 AD, and 88 AD. The first expedition was an unmitigated disaster, and the second achieved a peace, seen as unfavorable and shameful by many in Rome.
Trajan's Dacian Wars
Trajan's Dacian Wars.The two campaigns of conquestWar of Conquest
War of Conquest is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game created by Rhode Island based IronZog in April 2002. The current version, Beta Version 3, has been online since October 23, 2002. The game is a two-dimensional Java-based landscape in which each user is a member of a nation...
ordered or led by the Emperor Trajan in 101
101
Year 101 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Paetus...
-102 AD, and 105
105
Year 105 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Candidus and Iulius...
-106 AD from Moesia across the Danube north into Dacia. Trajan's forces were successful in both cases, reducing Dacia to client state
Client state
Client state is one of several terms used to describe the economic, political and/or military subordination of one state to a more powerful state in international affairs...
status in the first, and taking the territory over in the second.These wars involved no less than 13 legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
s.
Infantry and cavalry
The Dacian tribes, were part of the greater ThracianThracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
family of peoples. They established a highly militarized society and, during the periods when the tribes were united under one king (82 BC
82 BC
Year 82 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marius and Carbo...
-44 BC
44 BC
Year 44 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday or Monday or a leap year starting on Friday or Saturday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
, 86
86
Year 86 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Petronianus...
-106
106
Year 106 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Civica...
) posed a major threat to the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
s of Lower Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. Dacia was conquered (except for the Free Dacians
Free Dacians
The "Free Dacians" is the name given by some modern historians to Dacians who putatively remained outside the Roman empire after the emperor Trajan's Dacian wars...
) and transformed into a Roman province in 106
106
Year 106 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Civica...
after a long, hard war.
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
of the Dacian arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
was the falx
Falx
Falx is a Latin word originally meaning sickle, but was later used to mean any of a number of tools that had a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge such as a scythe...
. This dreaded weapon, similar to a large sickle
Sickle
A sickle is a hand-held agricultural tool with a variously curved blade typically used for harvesting grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock . Sickles have also been used as weapons, either in their original form or in various derivations.The diversity of sickles that...
came in two variants: a shorter, one-handed falx called a sica
Sica
The sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as...
, and a longer two-handed version. The shorter falx was called sica (sickle) in the Dacian language
Dacian language
The extinct Dacian language may have developed from proto-Indo-European in the Carpathian region around 2,500 BC and probably died out by AD 600. In the 1st century AD, it was the predominant language of the ancient regions of Dacia and Moesia and, possibly, of some surrounding regions.It belonged...
. The two-handed falx was a polearm. It consisted of a three-feet long wooden shaft with a long curved iron blade
Blade
A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...
of nearly-equal length attached to the end. The blade was sharpened only on the inside, and was reputed to be devastatingly effective. However, it left its user vulnerable because, being a two-handed weapon, the warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
could not also make use of a shield
Shield
A shield is a type of personal armor, meant to intercept attacks, either by stopping projectiles such as arrows or redirecting a hit from a sword, mace or battle axe to the side of the shield-bearer....
. Alternatively, it might used as a hook, pulling away shields and cutting at vulnerable limbs.
Using the falx, the Dacian warriors were able to counter the power of the compact, massed Roman formations. During the time of the Roman conquest of Dacia (101
101
Year 101 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Paetus...
- 102
102
Year 102 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ursus and Sura...
, 105
105
Year 105 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Candidus and Iulius...
- 106
106
Year 106 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Civica...
), legionaries had reinforcing iron straps applied to their helmets. The Romans also introduced the use of leg and arm protectors (greave
Greave
A greave is a piece of armour that protects the leg.-Description:...
s and manica) as further protection against the falxes.
Decebalus
Decebalus or "The Brave" was a king of Dacia and is famous for fighting three wars and negotiating two interregnums of peace without being eliminated against the Roman Empire under two emperors...
(87-106), the Dacians almost crushed the Roman garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
s South of the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
in a surprise attack launched over the frozen river ( winter of 101
101
Year 101 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Paetus...
-102
102
Year 102 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ursus and Sura...
). Only the intervention of Emperor Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
with the main army saved the Romans from a major defeat. But, by 106 the Dacians were surrounded in their capital Sarmizegetusa. The city was taken after the Romans discovered and destroyed the capital's water supply
Water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavours or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes...
line.
Dacians decorated their bodies with tattoos like the Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
and the Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
. The Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
ns north of the Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
had accepted Roman rule out of fear of the Dacians.
Dacia remained a Roman province until 271.
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus , better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, born in Corduba , in the Hispania Baetica. Despite his short life, he is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period...
39
39
Year 39 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Corbulo...
- 65
65
Year 65 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Nerva and Vestinus...
wrote of Dacian hordes;
Have poured her captains, and the troops who guard the northern frontier from the Dacian hordes
Dacians that could afford armor wore customised Phrygian type helmet
Phrygian type helmet
The Phrygian type helmet was a type of helmet that was originated in Classical Greece and was widely used in Thrace, Dacia, Italy and the Hellenistic world until well into the Roman Empire. It received its name due to its resemblance to the Phrygian cap....
s with solid crests(intricately decorated), domed helmets and Sarmatian helmets. They fought with spears, javelins, falxes, one sided battle axes and used "Draco" Carnyxe's as standards. Most used only shields as a form of defense.Cavalry would be armed with a spear, a long bronze La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
sword and an oval shield.
Most of the infantry would wield a falx and perhaps a sica and would wear no armor at all even shunning shields.
Mercenaries
Dacian mercenaries were uncommon in contrast to the ThraciansThracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
and the Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
but they could be found in the service of the Greek Diadochi
Diadochi
The Diadochi were the rival generals, family and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for the control of Alexander's empire after his death in 323 BC...
and of the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
.
Nobility
A 2nd century chieftain would wear a bronze Phrygian type helmetPhrygian type helmet
The Phrygian type helmet was a type of helmet that was originated in Classical Greece and was widely used in Thrace, Dacia, Italy and the Hellenistic world until well into the Roman Empire. It received its name due to its resemblance to the Phrygian cap....
,a corselet of iron scale armor,an oval wooden shield with motifs and wield a sword.
Navy
There was no Dacian navy except perhaps boats to cross the DanubeDanube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
.
Fortifications
Dacians had built fortresses all around Dacia with most of them being on the DanubeDanube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
. A scene from Trajan's column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
shows Romans attacking a Dacian fortification using the "testudo
Testudo formation
In Ancient Roman warfare, the testudo or tortoise formation was a formation used commonly by the Roman Legions during battles, particularly sieges. Testudo is the Latin word for "tortoise"...
".
The Dacians constructed stone strongholds, dava
Dava
Dava may refer to:*Dava , a fictional martial artist appearing in comics published by DC Comics*Dava Bazaar, an area in South Mumbai noted for producing medical and scientific instruments as well as lab chemicals...
s, in the Carpathian Mountains
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...
in order to protect their capital Sarmizegetusa. The fortifications were built on a system of circular belts. This allowed the defenders, after a stronghold was lost, to retreat to the next one using hidden escape gates.
Scythian and Sarmatian
The Dacian Draco was the standard of the ancient DaciaDacia
In ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...
n military. It served as a standard for the Dacians of the La Tene period and its origin must clearly be sought in the art of Asia Minor sometime during the second millennium BC.
Sarmatians were part of the Dacian army as allies.The Roxolani became part of the Dacians while the Iazyges
Iazyges
The Iazyges were an ancient nomadic tribe. Known also as Jaxamatae, Ixibatai, Iazygite, Jászok, Ászi, they were a branch of the Sarmatian people who, c. 200 BC, swept westward from central Asia onto the steppes of what is now Ukraine...
fought against them trying to claim their own land.
Celtic and Germanic
CeltCelt
The Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age and Roman-era Europe who spoke Celtic languages.The earliest archaeological culture commonly accepted as Celtic, or rather Proto-Celtic, was the central European Hallstatt culture , named for the rich grave finds in Hallstatt, Austria....
ic iron spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
heads and swords from La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
. Many types of Hallstatt culture
Hallstatt culture
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Central European culture from the 8th to 6th centuries BC , developing out of the Urnfield culture of the 12th century BC and followed in much of Central Europe by the La Tène culture.By the 6th century BC, the Hallstatt culture extended for some...
and Celtic swords. Wooden shields, sax knives. The Germanic
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Bastarnae
Bastarnae
The Bastarnae or Basternae were an ancient Germanic tribe,, who between 200 BC and 300 AD inhabited the region between the eastern Carpathian mountains and the Dnieper river...
and Germans were an important part of the Dacian army.Celtic weapons were used like long swords and round shields. The Celts played a very active role in Dacia. The Scordisci
Scordisci
The Scordisci were an Iron Age tribe centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus , Dravus and Danube rivers. They were historically notable from the beginning of the third century BC until the turn of the common era...
were among the allies used by the Dacians.
Greek and Hellenistic
CothelasCothelas
Cothelas, also known as Gudila, was a Getae king, who ruled an area near the Black Sea, between northern Thrace and the Danube. His polity also included the important port of Odessos. Around 341 BC he concluded a treaty with Macedonian king Philip II, becoming his vassal...
had become a vassal to ancient Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
.Some Kings of the Getae
Getae
The Getae was the name given by the Greeks to several Thracian tribes that occupied the regions south of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria, and north of the Lower Danube, in Romania...
had been Hellenized
Roman
Dacia became a Roman province at 106 AD, and Dacians were eventually Romanized. After their defeat from the Roman a coin called DacicusDacicus
Dacicus was a gold coin issued from Domitian, in the honor of his claimed victory against the Dacians. The terms of peace with Decebalus, the Dacian king, were severely criticised by the contemporary authors, which considered this treaty shameful to the Romans, because the treaty granted Decebalus...
was minted by Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
.
Barbarians
DaciansDacians
The Dacians were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians. Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia...
were shown by Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
as dignified and heroic but still dangerous and unable to stand against the might of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. 1st century BC poet Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
writes of them in one of his works and mentions them along with the Scythians as tyrants and fierce barbarians. Later historian Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
writes that they are a people that can never be trusted
The Ancient Greeks expressed admiration and respect for Burebista
Burebista
Burebista was a king of the Getae and Dacians, who unified for the first time their tribes and ruled them between 82 BC and 44 BC. He led plunder and conquest raids across Central and Southeastern Europe, subjugating most of the neighbouring tribes...
.
List of Dacian battles
This is a list of battles or conflicts that Dacians had a leading or crucial role in, rarely as mercenaries. They were involved in massive battles against Roman legions.- Unknown date. Celtic BoiiBoiiThe Boii were one of the most prominent ancient Celtic tribes of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul , Pannonia , in and around Bohemia, and Transalpine Gaul...
in BohemiaBohemiaBohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
against Dacian tribes from the lower DanubeDanubeThe Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, Dacian victory - 1st century BC DaciansDaciansThe Dacians were an Indo-European people, very close or part of the Thracians. Dacians were the ancient inhabitants of Dacia...
against ScordisciScordisciThe Scordisci were an Iron Age tribe centered in the territory of present-day Serbia, at the confluence of the Savus , Dravus and Danube rivers. They were historically notable from the beginning of the third century BC until the turn of the common era...
,Dacian victory - 8686Year 86 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Petronianus...
- 8787Year 87 was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Saturninus...
, First Battle of TapaeFirst Battle of TapaeThe first battle of Tapae were fought in 87 between the Roman army and the Dacians. They were a consequence of Roman Emperor Domitian's campaign to protect the Roman province of Moesia, nearly two decades before the regional conquest during the Dacian Wars in Trajan's reign.-Background:In 86, the...
,Dacian victory - 8888Year 88 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Rufus...
- 101101Year 101 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Paetus...
, Second Battle of TapaeSecond Battle of TapaeThe Battle of Tapae was the decisive battle of the first Dacian War, in which Roman Emperor Trajan defeated the Dacian King Decebalus's army. Other setbacks in the campaign delayed its completion until 102.-Background:...
,Indecisive Roman victory - 102102Year 102 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ursus and Sura...
, Battle of AdamclisiBattle of AdamclisiThe Battle of Adamclisi was a major battle in the Dacian Wars, fought in the winter of 101 to 102 between the Roman Empire and the Dacians near Adamclisi, in modern Romania.-Background:...
,Roman victory - 103103Year 103 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Maximus...
, Battle of GataeBattle of GataeThe Battle of Gatae was an engagement fought in roughly 103 AD during the Roman Emperor Trajan's war with the kingdom of Dacia.There is no serious historical evidence giving an exact place or time to the battle, nor any troop positions, numerical statistics, casualties, or much of anything of that...
,Roman victory - 105105Year 105 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Candidus and Iulius...
- 106106Year 106 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Civica...
, Battle of SarmisegetusaBattle of SarmisegetusaThe Battle of Sarmisegetusa was a siege of Sarmizegetusa, the capital of Dacia, fought in 106 between the army of the Roman Emperor Trajan, and the Dacians led by King Decebalus.-Background:...
,Roman victory
See also
- List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia
- List of ancient tribes in Thrace and Dacia
- List of rulers of Thrace and Dacia
- Thracian warfareThracian warfareThe history of Thracian warfare spans from ca. 10th century BC up to the 1st century AD in the region defined by Ancient Greek and Latin historians as Thrace. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Thracian tribes and their kingdoms in the Balkans...
- Illyrian warfareIllyrian warfareThe history of Illyrian warfare spans from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC up to the 1st century AD in the region of Illyria and in southern Italy where the Iapygian civilization flourished....
- Celtic warfareCeltic warfareThe history of Celtic warfare spans from c. 10th century BC up to the first few centuries AD and it concerns the distinct styles of warfare of the peoples known as Celts. It concerns the armed conflicts of the Celtic tribes and their kingdoms...
- FalxFalxFalx is a Latin word originally meaning sickle, but was later used to mean any of a number of tools that had a curved blade that was sharp on the inside edge such as a scythe...
- SicaSicaThe sica was a short sword or large dagger of ancient Thracians/Dacians peoples, used in Ancient Rome too. It was originally depicted as a curved sword, with a blade about 16-18 inches long and many examples have been found in what are today Romania, Bosnia, Bulgaria and Serbia, as well as...