Battle of Sarmizegetusa

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Battle of Sarmizegetusa
Part of the Dacian Wars
The sanctuaries at Sarmizegetusa Regia, the capital of ancient Dacia (modern Romania)
Date 106 Location Orăștioara de Sus, Transylvania, Romania 45°37′18.840″N 23°18′33.480″E / 45.62190000°N 23.30930000°E / 45.62190000; 23.30930000 Result Roman victory Most of Dacia annexed to the Roman Empire
Belligerents
Dacia	Roman Empire
Commanders and leaders
Decebalus	Trajan
Strength
18,000–20,800	12 legions
class=notpageimage| Location within Romania Show map of Romania Battle of Sarmizegetusa (Europe without the extreme north) Show map of Europe without the extreme north

The Battle of Sarmizegetusa (also spelled Sarmizegethuza) was a siege of

.

Background

After Trajan's First Dacian War (101-2), Decebalus did not respect the peace conditions imposed by Trajan, and in retaliation the Emperor prepared to annihilate the Dacian kingdom and finally conquer Sarmizegetusa in Trajan's Second Dacian War.

It is estimated that the Dacians most likely had fewer than 20,000 men capable of fighting the invasion.^{[citation needed]}

Advance

The Roman forces approached Sarmizegetuza in three main

]

The second column of the army is believed to have crossed the Danube somewhere near ancient

]

The combined forces of the two columns then began attacking the area of the

]

The third Roman column, most likely led by Trajan himself, advanced through eastern Muntenia, crossed the Carpathians at a location close to what is now Bran, and marched westwards through southern Transylvania.^{[citation needed]}

The rest of the troops left from

.

The Roman forces then enveloped Sarmizegetusa.

Other Roman units are believed to have attacked other Dacian settlements and rally points, as far as the river

, located in modern-day northern Romania, were never part of the Roman province of Dacia and would remain free from Roman rule.

Siege

The only historical record of the siege is Trajan's Column, which is a controversial source. There is debate as to whether the Romans did actually fight for Sarmizegetusa, or whether the Dacians destroyed their capital while fleeing ahead of the advancing legions. Most historians agree that a siege of Sarmizegetusa actually took place.^{[citation needed]}

The first assault was repelled by the Dacian defenders. The Romans bombarded the city with their siege weapons and, at the same time, built a platform to more easily breach the fortress. They also encircled the city with a circumvallatio wall.

Finally, the Romans destroyed the water pipes of Sarmizegetusa and obliged the defenders to surrender before they set fire to the city. Roman forces succeeded in entering the Dacian sacred enclosure, hailed Trajan as emperor, and then levelled the whole fortress. Legio IV Flavia Felix was stationed there to guard the ruins of Sarmizegetusa.

See also

• Dacian warfare
• List of Roman battles

References

• Mihai Manea, Adrian Pascu, and Bogdan Teodorescu, Istoria romanilor (Bucharest, 1997), pages 107-122.
• Roman History
  , books 67-68.
• Jerome Carcopino, Points de vue sur l'ìmpérialisme romain (Paris, 1924).

External links

• Legions of the Dacian Wars