Ancient
ruins of Dacian- Romans Emporium
Built in the 1st centuries B.C. and A.D.
under Dacian rule, these fortresses show an unusual fusion
of military and religious architectural techniques and concepts
from the classical world and the late European Iron Age. The
six defensive works, the nucleus of the Dacian Kingdom, were
conquered by the Romans at the beginning of the 2nd century
A.D.; their extensive and well-preserved remains stand in spectacular
natural surroundings and give a dramatic picture of a vigorous
and innovative civilization
1. Sarmizegetusa Regia - the capital of the Dacian kingdom
- Gradistea de Munte
village.
2. The Dacian citadel of Costesti - Cetatuie - Costesti village.
3. The Dacian citadel of Costesti - Blidaru - Costesti village.
4. The Dacian citadel of Luncani- Piatra Rosie - Luncani village.
5. The Dacian citadel of Banita - Banita village.
6. The Dacian citadel of Capâlna - Capâlna village.
History
The civilisation of the Dacians was created by the north
branch of the Thracians, the people known in history under
the name of Getae, given by the ancient Greeks, or of Dacians,
given by the Latin authors (to be compared with Keltoi
and Galli).
From the middle of the 2nd century BC the economic and cultural flourishing,
whose most authentic characterisation can be found in the concise formula of
Trogus Pompeius incrementa Dacorum per Rubobostem regem, can be illustrated
above all by the emergence and development of fortified places and the construction
of citadels defended by stone ramparts (the Dacian fortresses of the Orastie
Mountains).
While refraining from giving an even short account of the Dacian history, still
two events of major importance should be pointed out:
- Firstly, the creation of the Dacian kingdom under King Burebista (82-44 BC)
and the territorial expansion of the Geto-Dacian ethnos had a strong impact
upon the way Dacia was to emerge in the Graeco-Roman historical conscience.
Although divided by his successors, at first in four and then in five parts,
the state of Burebista marked the decline of the tribal power, the crystallisation
of the Geto-Dacian world under new coherent forms, within a geographical area;
a new centre of barbarian power, based on a significant economic force and
an important demographical potential took shape (Strabon, Geogr., VII, 3, 13).
- The second event is the restoration of the Dacian kingdom in the second half
of the first century BC, under the last king, Decebalus (87-106); smaller,
but better organised, it ceased to exist after the Roman conquest (106), when
Dacia became a province of the empire.
During the time between Burebista's reign and that of Decebalus was created
the defensive system of the Orastie Mountains strongholds, unique in European
architecture. Around them and in other dwellings sanctuaries relatively similar
in form were raised, that are the expression of a strong and prestigious religion,
well established and fully crystallised.
The overwhelming aesthetic emotions aroused by the military and sacred architecture
of the Dacians, above all in the Orastie Mountains sites, overcome the virtual
interest in everyday life in the small settlements, that used to differ only
in details from other barbarian sites.
The sanctuaries, witnesses to the ceremonies of the past, as well as the defensive
system, reveal the Dacian type of spirituality, an intermingling of a warrior's
spirit and religion, and the close ties between religion and the state (Strabon,
VII, 3, 5, Jordanes 71-72).
In the time of Burebista and of Decebalus, the Dacians began to build fortresses
(citadels or strongholds). While the fortified acropoles can be found in many
settlements, fortified or not (davae), the Orastie Mountains stand out as true
landmarks of a defensive system unique in its complexity. A vast region (about
500 km2) is pervaded by fortresses, small forts, watch towers. The Dacians
favoured the decoration in cut stone, especially as far as military decoration
was concerned, but also in the constructive works inside the site, (sustaining
walls of dozens of anthropogenetic terraces), sanctuaries, roads, water pipes,
maybe the sacred mountain of the Dacians - Kogaionon. The site of Sarmizegetusa
can be singled out for its scale and proportions, graceful sculptural pattern,
and the sacred atmosphere, impregnated by a spirituality marked by the belief
in immortality.
The strongholds with purely military function are the object of our study and
reflect the classic phase of the Dacian civilisation, its "golden age".
The wide range of military architecture of the Geto-Dacians
is proved by the ingenious fortification system and the materials
used to build it.
While the fortifying techniques took shape in the first Iron Age, in the course
of their historical evolution, the Geto-Dacians took over other models or foreign
patterns, and they adjusted them to their conceptions or necessities. First
of all there is this equilibrium between the tradition and innovation that
confirms the cultural and ethnic continuity.
The Geto-Dacians civilisation was connected to the cultural paradigms of the
southern Thracians, the Illyrians, the Celts (inside the Carpathian arch),
and above all to the Greeks and the Romans.
A comparison between the classic and Celtic Dacian civilisations of the Oppidan
phase reveals a few common elements.
The relationships between the two civilisations during the period of Celtic
dominance in Transylvania (4th - 2nd centuries BC), but also during the period
of Geto-Dacian expansion in the Pannonic Danube basin (1st century BC) emerged
as a tight cohabitation. They used to share cultural concepts and practices:
the iron metallurgy, the remarkable proliferation of local coin issues from
the 3rd - 2nd centuries BC, the burial practices.
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