The land of the Dacians, who inhabited the ancient territories in the Carpathians between the Danube and Tisza rivers, was rich. On fertile fields grew wheat, barley, flax, and hemp; numerous herds grazed on the meadows; gold was extracted from the mountains and rivers. But little of these riches fell to the lot of ordinary peasants. From generation to generation, they lived in small villages fenced with palisades, in cramped wooden or reed huts built on stilts and covered with straw or reeds. Here they kept coarse clay utensils, simple wooden plows, and other tools; here they also buried the ashes of their cremated ancestors...
The tribal chiefs and nobility of the Dacians were rich and powerful, wearing tall felt hats, unlike the common people. Their castles stood on impregnable rocks—tall square towers made of stone slabs fastened with wooden beams, surrounded by battlement walls and ramparts. Inside these castles were stored precious weapons, glass and bronze vessels, and jewelry acquired from Greek and Roman traders in exchange for bread, hides, and slaves.
At the end of the 1st century AD, a talented general named Decebalus appeared in Dacia. Relying on a people dissatisfied with the rule of the nobility, he attempted to create a strong, united state. Only by uniting could the Dacians resist the Romans, who had already seized all the lands on the left bank of the Danube. More and more Roman merchants penetrated into Dacia. And usually, Roman legions followed the merchants into the country. It was necessary to gather all forces to defend freedom.
The war with the Romans began during Decebalus’s predecessor, King Diurpaneus. Battles between the Romans and Dacians lasted a whole year. Finally, the Roman army pushed the Dacians back across the Danube and began crossing into enemy territory.
At that point, Diurpaneus, lacking the strength to continue the fight, transferred his power to Decebalus. The new leader, starting negotiations to buy time, simultaneously began energetically preparing for war. He managed to temporarily compel the nobility to obedience and raise discipline in the army. At the same time, he convinced neighboring tribes—the Bastarnae and Roxolani—to form an alliance with him. They came with wagons, families, herds, and household goods to settle on lands Decebalus promised to reclaim from the Romans. He sent envoys to many tribes dependent on Rome. Under the influence of negotiations with Decebalus, these tribes refused to provide auxiliary cavalry to the Romans and later revolted against Roman rule.
At the very first clash with the Roman army, the Dacians won a brilliant victory. The Roman commander was killed in battle; the camp with war machines was captured; nearly an entire legion and some auxiliary units were wiped out, and—what was considered the greatest disgrace for Rome—the legion’s standard fell into enemy hands. In southern Dobruja, at Adamclisi, a monument erected by the Romans in memory of those fallen in this battle still stands, with their names inscribed on it.
But Decebalus could not fully capitalize on the victory. The Dacian nobility weakened his army through disobedience. In the next battle, at Tapae, the Dacians were routed. The Roman victory opened the way to the Dacian capital—Sarmizegetusa. Fearing for its fate, Decebalus began to ask for peace. His brother arrived in Rome, bringing captured Roman weapons and prisoners, and, kneeling before the emperor, received a crown from his hands. Thus, Decebalus acknowledged his dependence on the Roman state. At the price of humiliation, he bought time and even bargained for annual financial aid from Domitian. Rome also needed a respite: it had been waging war for nearly eight years against rebellious Germanic tribes.
Decebalus closely followed events, preparing for a new war. His agents operated within the Roman army, provinces, and neighboring tribes. They skillfully sought out the discontented, promising them refuge in Dacia and the protection of the Dacian king. He especially welcomed deserting Roman soldiers, craftsmen, builders, and mechanics skilled in constructing war machines and fortresses. Secretly, Decebalus negotiated alliances with neighboring tribes, arguing that if they did not support him, sooner or later they themselves would become victims of insatiable Rome. Some Slavic tribes also joined Decebalus. He even tried to negotiate with distant Parthia, Rome’s eternal rival.
These actions of Decebalus were known in Rome. The government could not tolerate the emergence of a power next to the empire ready to ally with all who were dissatisfied with Roman rule. War became inevitable. It broke out when Trajan, a zealous defender of Roman slaveholders’ interests, became emperor.
Proclaimed emperor, Trajan immediately went to the Danube. He stayed there for almost a year, personally overseeing the construction of new fortresses, bridges, and roads in the mountainous regions of Moesia. To the nine legions stationed on the Danube, he added troops summoned from Germany and the East. Additionally, two new legions were raised. In total, including auxiliary units, about 200,000 soldiers were assembled.
Finally, in the spring of 101 AD, the Roman army, divided into two columns, crossed the Danube. The western column was commanded by the emperor himself. He marched toward Tapae, the approaches to Sarmizegetusa.
Not yet reaching Tapae, the Romans heard the sounds of Dacian curved trumpets and saw their military standards—huge dragons with wolf heads.
Before the battle began, one of the Dacian allied tribes sent Trajan a huge mushroom with a message written on it, stating that the Romans should maintain peace and therefore should retreat. But this peculiar letter did not stop Trajan. A bloody battle ensued. The Dacians, armed not only with bows but also with curved sickle-shaped swords, were especially fearsome in hand-to-hand combat. They fought with unwavering courage, despising death. Many Romans fell in this battle.
After the battle, the Roman troops had to halt their advance. Gathering their strength, the Romans at the same time sought to instill fear in the Dacians: on captured land, they destroyed villages and took inhabitants into slavery.
The Romans were always known not only as ruthless conquerors but also as skillful diplomats. Now they tried harder to inflame discord among the Dacian nobility and turn them against Decebalus. From time to time, men in tall felt hats appeared in Trajan’s camp and, kneeling, assured him of their loyalty and readiness to serve him.
Recovering from the previous battle, the Romans launched a new offensive on Tapae. The Dacians bravely defended every peak, slowly retreating amid stubborn fighting. They withdrew further into the mountains, taking Roman prisoners with them.
The Dacians’ situation sharply worsened when the Roman auxiliary cavalry unexpectedly struck their rear and rushed toward Sarmizegetusa. Decebalus, trying to buy time, began peace negotiations. But the Romans continued advancing, destroying fortress after fortress. More and more noble Dacians abandoned Decebalus and defected to Trajan.
The last hope of the Dacian leader was the troops stationed at the fortress of Apulum, but here too he suffered defeat. The path to the capital was open. Decebalus had to agree to any peace terms.
He himself came to Trajan’s tent. Casting aside his long straight sword—a symbol of royal power—he fell to his knees. Decebalus acknowledged his defeat and begged for mercy. In his presence, the garrison of Sarmizegetusa, where the Roman camp was now established, laid down their arms. According to the peace treaty, the Dacians were obliged to surrender weapons and war machines, dismantle fortifications, hand over craftsmen and soldiers who had fled to them, no longer accept defectors, and always share common friends and enemies with the Roman people. Roman troops remained temporarily in the country to oversee compliance with these conditions.
To be able to quickly send reinforcements to Dacia, Trajan ordered the construction of a stone bridge over the Danube near the fortress of Drobeta. However, Decebalus did not consider himself finally defeated. He fulfilled all the peace treaty conditions to quickly get rid of the Roman troops. But as soon as they left the country, Decebalus again ordered the rebuilding of fortresses and the construction of war machines. He planned to launch a surprise attack on the Romans, catching them off guard.
Gathering significant forces, Decebalus began the assault on Roman fortifications in June 105 AD. Simultaneously, the Roman camp in Sarmizegetusa was captured and the garrison wiped out. However, this decisive onslaught did not succeed. The Dacians failed to break into Roman territory. Trajan hurriedly arrived with reinforcements. He was respectfully greeted by envoys from his Dacian supporters. Decebalus understood that this first defeat predetermined the outcome of the war. He knew that this time Trajan would not stop until Dacia was turned into a Roman province.
Again, the Roman army moved toward Sarmizegetusa in two columns. Along the way, it met almost no resistance. Hastily built fortresses could not hold out long. The population, taking their belongings, retreated further into the mountains. But this time the capital was well prepared for defense. Bastions, towers, and moats stretched all the way to Tapae. The Dacians turned every rock and elevation into a fortress. Huge supplies of food and gold were stockpiled in the city. Decebalus buried his own immense treasures in the riverbed right by the palace walls.
The siege of Sarmizegetusa lasted a long time. The Roman army besieged it from the west and east, gradually tightening the ring. Siege works were built, trenches dug. The Dacians made sorties, and the Romans attempted to storm the city. Both sides suffered heavy losses. More and more enemy heads were displayed on poles in the Roman camp and in the Dacian capital.
Decebalus hoped to hold out until the winter cold, expecting the frost to force the Romans to lift the siege. But treason penetrated his ranks. Several noble Dacians secretly promised Trajan to open the eastern gates of the capital. To distract attention, Trajan ordered the western army to begin the assault on the city at the agreed hour. After fierce fighting, it captured the forward fortifications. Simultaneously, the traitors let the Romans into the city from the opposite side.
Anger and despair seized the Dacians when they saw the enemy in their capital. They decided not to surrender the city to the victors and not to give up alive. A burning torch was thrown into the royal palace building. Wooden houses of Sarmizegetusa caught fire. In the main square, the Dacians placed a large cauldron filled with poison. Hundreds of the city’s inhabitants extended their cups for the deadly drink. Many corpses lay near the cauldron, but new crowds approached, preferring death to slavery. Fathers supported dying sons, ready to follow them immediately. Mothers gave cups of poison to their children and then drank themselves.
To the sound of solemn music, Trajan led his army into the deserted city. Here, among the smoking ruins and the bodies of their compatriots, the noble traitors fell to their knees before him and were mercifully received by the victor. One of Decebalus’s closest associates revealed where his treasures were hidden. They were extracted from the riverbed and brought to Trajan’s tent. This gold enriched the Roman treasury for a long time. Trajan donated 50 million sesterces to the temple of Jupiter alone.
But the war was not yet over. Decebalus managed to lead part of the Dacians into the mountain forests. From there, they continued to attack Roman detachments. Step by step, the Romans pushed them back. The Dacians’ situation became almost hopeless when the Romans captured the fortress of Apulum, which protected access to the northeastern, wildest part of the country. Dacian partisans still held out there.
In a remote forest, the remnants of the defeated detachments gathered. Decebalus gave his last speech to them. He said farewell to his loyal comrades and released them. There was no longer hope, and many turned to the last refuge—death. Some threw themselves on their swords, others asked friends to spare them the shame of slavery with a dagger’s blow. Some sought refuge with neighboring tribes to begin there a difficult, harsh, but free life.
After the fall of the Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa under Decebalus’s leadership, the remaining Dacians regrouped in the northern mountains, which forced the Roman emperor Trajan to send several legions there. The Dacian king made a last attempt to attack the Roman marching camp, but due to the attackers’ small numbers, the attack was repelled, and the Dacians scattered in the mountains. Decebalus’s situation became hopeless when his northern capital—Apulum—fell. But Decebalus still had numerous allies: the Getae, Bastarnae, Sarmatians, and Roxolani, whose leaders he secured military support from in the struggle against Rome. Apparently, the king tried to hide in the territory of allied Sarmatian tribes but was tracked down in late winter 106 by a Roman cavalry detachment accompanied by his closest associates, children, and bodyguards. In a brief skirmish, Decebalus was killed. This happened near Porolissum, close to the place where the borders of Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine meet today. Some scholars believe that the death of the Dacian king occurred in the interfluve of the Prut and Dniester rivers, but according to Roman chroniclers, he died in the foothills of the Carpathians.
Dion Cassius writes: “When Decebalus saw that his throne and the whole country were in the hands of the enemy, and that he himself faced the danger of capture, he ended his days.” That is, the chronicler implies the king’s death was by suicide. There are three versions of Decebalus’s death. In Romania and Moldova, the folk oral tradition about the king’s death in the Carpathians has been passed down from generation to generation. According to it, after the last fortress in the Carpathian foothills was taken, the Romans lost the trail of the retreating Dacian convoy. Legate Gaius Suzius Senecio ordered the convoy to be found, and the Roman cavalry scattered throughout the area. (Quintus Sosius Senecio was ordinary consul in 99 and 107, participant in two Dacian wars, distinguished himself in the conquest of Dacia, was awarded by Trajan, and served as propraetor of Upper Moesia—my note). Soon the Romans found the convoy and engaged the Dacians in battle. The next day, legionaries inspected the battlefield and accidentally discovered Decebalus’s body. The king lay face down, struck by several arrows in the back and a spear-javelin in the left side of his chest. Decebalus died from blood loss. The Romans quartered Decebalus’s body and brought his head and hands to Emperor Trajan. The details of Decebalus’s death were learned by the Dacians from a wounded warrior and were told in legends to their children. The surviving warrior then passed Decebalus’s sword to King Sabatius (king of the Costoboci, relative of Decebalus—my note).
According to Latin sources, surrounded by Roman cavalry and unwilling to be captured by the enemy, Decebalus dismounted and slit his own throat with a curved knife. The commander of the Roman cavalry, Maximus, approached the bloodied Decebalus lying in the snow and cut off his head and right hand with a long blade. The bloody trophies were brought to Trajan at Ranistorum (an unidentified Dacian village, possibly Piatra Craiului), where the Roman army’s headquarters were during the final stage of the war. Then Decebalus’s head and hand were sent to Rome, where, in the presence of a large crowd, they were demonstratively thrown down the steps of the Gemonian Stairs at the foot of the Capitoline Hill. On one of the reliefs of Trajan’s Column in Rome, the emperor shows the legionaries Decebalus’s head as a sign of the end of the Dacian War. The column also depicts that Decebalus ended his life by suicide, slitting his throat with a curved knife.
The third version of Decebalus’s death emerged in 1965 when archaeologists in Macedonia discovered the tombstone of a Roman soldier, which contains a description of his military career. From the inscription on the stone, we learn that decurion Tiberius Claudius Maximus from the city of Philippi served in the 7th Claudian Legion as commander of the auxiliary Roman cavalry and personally captured the Dacian king. The inscription states that Roman horsemen from the 2nd Ala of Pannonians caught up with Decebalus’s detachment and Maximus captured the king, delivering his head to Trajan. At the top of the inscription is an image of a galloping Roman horseman, presumably Maximus himself, raising a blade over the figure of a man lying on the ground. The inscription is dated to 107, the year of the triumph over the Dacians. Decebalus’s family and possibly his grandchildren were captured by the Romans. One of the reliefs on Trajan’s Column depicts a scene where Roman horsemen lead two resisting and looking back boys through forested mountains.
Historians note a significant difference between the relief on Maximus’s tombstone and the scene of Decebalus’s death on Trajan’s Column, where the Roman commander reaches out to the Dacian king as if trying to stop him from committing suicide. Naturally, the Romans hoped to capture Decebalus alive so he could appear in the triumphal procession of his emperor in Rome. On the tombstone, Maximus is depicted galloping on horseback with a sword raised, creating the impression that King Decebalus humbly begged the Roman for mercy and surrendered.
The war ended. Dacia, turned into a province, was incorporated into the Roman Empire.
From the vast Dacian spoils, rich rewards were distributed to the army. On the occasion of the Dacian triumph, Trajan held a 123-day festival in Rome. The games featured 11,000 beasts and 10,000 gladiators. The Senate decreed that a monument—a column—be erected in honor of the victor with funds taken from the spoils. It was built over five years under the direction of the Greek Apollodorus and has survived to this day. It reaches 40 meters in height. The entire column is covered with relief images of military events and topped with a statue of Trajan. The emperor’s ashes were later buried at the base of this column.
The conquered Dacians, like all provincials, were taxed. Part of their land passed to Roman colonists and veterans. Soldiers stationed in camps and fortresses throughout the country were tasked with maintaining order and suppressing unrest. But the people did not forget their former freedom nor Decebalus, who fought for it. From time to time, free Dacians expelled beyond the borders invaded the country. They always met sympathy and support from their tribesmen. When in the 3rd century the Roman state began to weaken, a liberation movement started in Dacia. Other tribes joined the Dacians...
Powerless to fight them, the Romans were forced to abandon Dacia in the mid-3rd century. It was the first province to throw off the hated Roman yoke.
It is difficult to establish the exact date of Decebalus’s suicide and whether he ended his life before Trajan established the province of Dacia or afterward. Historians suggest it could have happened between December 2 and 20, 106. This year is officially recognized by the Romanian government as the date of death of the king of Dacia, their national hero.
In the late 1990s, a group of Romanian sculptors carved a 40-meter rock sculpture of Decebalus from a stone outcrop overlooking the Danube near the city of Orșova. In 2006, Bucharest celebrated the 1900th anniversary of Decebalus’s death, one of the greatest rulers of ancient times and an implacable enemy of Rome for 21 years.
Sources:
https://animalworld.com.ua/news/Statuja-Decebala-samoje-bolshoje-lico-Jevropy
https://dzen.ru/a/ZR0SqLRp0Af9rS4C
