Who were the Geto-Dacians and where did they live?
The Geto-Dacians were closely related peoples. The Greeks called those near the Black Sea and the lower Danube Getae. The Romans called those inside the Carpathian arc Dacians. They spoke a related language and had similar customs.
Their land had mountains (the Carpathians), hill forts, fertile valleys and a great river, the Danube, with the Black Sea at the coast. Mountains gave safety, rivers gave trade, soil gave farms, and the hills gave iron and gold.
They farmed, kept animals, mined metals and made pottery and jewellery. They built hill forts with strong stone walls.
How do we know? Written sources and a case study of Histria
The Dacians left almost no writing of their own. So we depend on other people's writing and on archaeology (digging up ruins and objects).
- Herodotus (Greek, about 440 BCE) wrote about the Getae and their belief in life after death.
- Strabo (Greek, about 20 CE) described the Getae and Dacians, their land and their king Burebista.
- Cassius Dio (about 220 CE) wrote about the wars between Trajan and Decebalus, long after the events.
Remember: these writers were outsiders. They may praise, blame or make mistakes. A good historian checks the writing against ruins.
Case study: Histria
Around 657 BCE, Greek settlers founded Histria on the Black Sea coast. It was a trading port: Greeks sold wine and pottery, and local people sold grain, fish and animals. Histria shows that Dacian lands were linked to the wider Mediterranean world long before Rome came.
Burebista: the king who united the tribes
Burebista ruled from about 82 BCE to 44 BCE. Before him there were many separate tribes. He joined them into one large kingdom, helped by a priest-advisor and by strong hill forts. His power was so great that the Roman leader Julius Caesar planned to deal with him. Burebista was killed around the same time as Caesar (44 BCE), and his kingdom broke into smaller parts.
Lesson: a kingdom held together by one strong leader can fall apart when that leader dies.
Decebalus and the two wars with Rome
Decebalus became king in 87 CE and made the Dacians strong again. Rome saw him as a danger near its Danube border. The Roman emperor Trajan fought two wars:
- First war, 101-102 CE: Roman legions crossed the Danube. Decebalus had to accept peace on Rome's terms.
- Second war, 105-106 CE: Decebalus broke the peace. Trajan returned with a bigger force. The Dacian capital Sarmizegetusa fell in 106 CE. Decebalus chose death rather than capture.
After the victory, Rome made part of the land the province of Dacia. Rome wanted its gold and silver mines and a safer border.
Case studies: Sarmizegetusa, the Drobeta bridge, Trajan's Column, Adamclisi
- Sarmizegetusa: the Dacian mountain capital, with walls, round and rectangular temples and a famous round sanctuary. It shows skill in building stone terraces on steep hills.
- The Drobeta bridge: a huge stone-pillar bridge over the Danube, planned by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus and finished around 105 CE. It let Roman soldiers and supplies cross fast.
- Trajan's Column: a tall column in Rome (113 CE). A stone ribbon winds up it showing scenes of the wars: marches, camps, bridges and battles. It is a Roman view of the story.
- The Adamclisi monument: a large victory monument (about 109 CE) on the Dacian plain near the Danube, decorated with carved scenes.
All four are sources: two built by Dacians and Romans in the land itself, two made by Romans to celebrate victory. Always ask: who made this, and why?
Try it: build your own timeline
Take a long strip of paper. Mark 800 BCE on the left and 230 CE on the right. Put these marks: Histria (657 BCE), Herodotus (440 BCE), Burebista (82-44 BCE), Decebalus (87 CE), wars (101-102, 105-106 CE), province (106 CE), Column (113 CE). Colour BCE years blue and CE years red. Remember: in BCE the numbers count down towards 1.
Key formulas and definitions
- Getae = the Greek name; Dacians = the Roman name; together: Geto-Dacians
- Burebista: about 82-44 BCE, united the tribes
- Decebalus: king from 87 CE; wars 101-102 and 105-106 CE
- 106 CE: Dacia becomes a Roman province
- Sources: Herodotus (about 440 BCE), Strabo (about 20 CE), Cassius Dio (about 220 CE)
Worked examples
1. Why do we call Herodotus, Strabo and Cassius Dio 'outside sources'?
None of them was a Dacian. They were Greek or Roman writers. They may have been told by others, or they may have disliked the Dacians, so we check their words against ruins and finds.
2. How many years passed between Burebista's death (44 BCE) and the Roman conquest (106 CE)?
There is no year 0. From 44 BCE to 1 BCE is 43 years, then 1 CE to 106 CE is 106 years, so the gap is about 44 + 106 - 1 = 149 years. Roughly 150 years.
3. Why did the Romans build a bridge at Drobeta?
The Danube is wide and hard to cross with an army. A bridge let soldiers, horses and food cross quickly and safely into Dacia, which helped Trajan win the second war.
4. Trajan's Column was made in Rome. Is it a fair source about the Dacians?
It is useful but one-sided. It shows the war as the winner wanted it remembered. We must compare it with Dacian ruins and with other writers.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up Burebista and Decebalus. Burebista = 1st century BCE, builds the kingdom; Decebalus = 1st century CE, fights Rome.
- Thinking there was only one war. There were two: 101-102 CE and 105-106 CE.
- Counting BCE years upwards. 82 BCE is earlier than 44 BCE.
- Treating Roman monuments as neutral. The winner tells the story in its own way.