The Dacians. The Dacians have the dubious honor of serving as one of the last great conquests of Rome by none other than Emperor Trajan.

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1 The Dacians A Look at the last great conquest of Rome By Paul Leach The Dacians have the dubious honor of serving as one of the last great conquests of Rome by none other than Emperor Trajan. His campaign memoirs are lost to us, but his famous column gives us a glimpse of the Dacians as they struggled against the might of the empire: siege weapons defend their forts, some warriors use scythe-bladed weapons, and their capped leaders would not look out of place in Persian steles. Greco-Roman writers shed limited light on this barbarian people who don t quite fit the classical barbarian mold. Who were these Balkan tribes that doggedly fought against the Romans at the turn of the 2nd Century? ORIGINS The Dacians were an ancient people of the Balkans region, concentrated in the northern and western areas of modern Romania. They, along with their Getae cousins, descended from the Gáva- Holihrad culture that emerged around the Carpathians after 1,000 BC. Celtic tribes proved a dominant influence upon the Dacians, especially during their zenith of the 4th through 2nd Centuries BC, and so did the Sarmatians that migrated to the European limits of the eastern Greco- Roman world. Of course, other ethnic groups left their marks, including Greek and Thracian merchants and adventurers. The Hellenistic kingdom of Pontus, followed by the Roman Empire, brought about significant alterations to Dacian society, at least in regards to how the elite lived and governed in the two centuries before the complete demise of the Dacian kingdom in 106 AD. The Dacians were long believed to share deep roots with the Thracians, according to the earliest classical sources. Some modern studies wholeheartedly disagree with this assertion, even disputing that the Dacians spoke a Thracian dialect. Iranian elements appear in some place names and other words, but as the Dacians left no written records and the ancient ethnographers lack complete credibility in this matter, this issue remains unresolved. MATERIAL CULTURE The Dacians lived as agriculturists, raising animals and growing crops. Their economy benefited from extracting mineral wealth such as iron, salt, silver, and gold. While little gold has been found in archeological finds, Trajan reportedly captured an unbelievable amount of it upon the final conquest of the Dacian kingdom. Their villages were little different from other contemporary European barbarian tribes, mostly consisting of wood-framed huts. Local sources manufactured the typical domestic accessories, such as pottery, utensils, and tools. Above: Dacians rush forward, falxes swinging overhead, to crash into the disciplined ranks of Roman Legionaires.

2 The Tropaeum Traiani is a monument built in 109 in then Moesia Inferior, to commemorate Roman Emperor Trajan s victory over the Dacians, in 101, in the Battle of Tapae. The monument was erected on the place where legio XXI Rapax had previously been crushed (92 AD). On the monument there were 54 metopes (two pictured above) depicting Roman legions fighting against enemies; 48 of these metopes are now preserved in the museum nearby. The monument was erected as a warning to the tribes outside this newly conquered province. The power centers of the Dacian elite reflected strong relationships with the great states of their day. Most visibly this took shape in the form of stonework citadels and temples, erected in strategic river valleys and built in Hellenstic styles. Imported Greek goods and coins (likely from Black Sea tributary cities) circulated to these strongholds during the reign of the 1st Century BC Dacian king Burebista, and noticeable trade with Rome began around that time as well. The last half of the next century witnessed an increased influx of Roman coins, tools, and craftsmen, especially when the Dacians fell solidly within the orbit of the empire as a client state. SOCIETY AND RELIGION Two classes ruled the Dacians: the Tarabostes and the Capillati (also known as Pileati and Comati, respectively). The higher-ranked Tarabostes derived their name from the headpieces they wore, presumably both ornate helms and Phrygian caps. The Capillati name means long hair. As the ancient sources only mention the two elite strata, it has been argued that they may be the only true Dacians. The Tarabostes exercised control from the wealthy regional/tribal centers and populated the limited ranks of royalty and priests. They closely linked temporal and religious power. The high priests maintained some measure of independent authority from (if not over) the nobility, including kings. They worshipped Zamolxis, a resurrected earth (or earthly) deity and believed in the immortal soul. The religion s tenets espoused a purified lifestyle that allegedly proscribed the consumption of meat and wine. While the greater Dacian population might not have been monotheistic adherents of Zamolxis, documentary and archaeological evidence suggests his cult enjoyed state sponsorship and the uppermost classes set themselves apart spiritually as well as materially. The Capillati supervised those who work with oxen, according to Trajan s physician, Kriton. Most likely these lesser Dacian elite were village chieftains, and possibly professional warriors. THE DACIANS AT WAR The Dacian arsenal is best known for the falx, a curved blade set into a wooden handle. Some were small enough to be wielded in one hand, but the intimidating monsters were large blades with 3 handles, akin to some kind of polearm. The terrible falx could understandably deliver vicious blows against even well-armored legionaries. It has long been believed that Trajan s soldiers attempted to better defend themselves against this weapon by attaching ad hoc reinforcements to their helmets and adapting gladiator manicae (overlapping metal bands protecting the length of the arm) for military use. Recent reinterpretation of archaeological evidence in other parts of Europe suggests its use was not limited to Rome s last wars with Dacia. The Dacians also used draco standards, most likely inspired by their Sarmatian neighbors. Open-mouthed metal-headed beasts (such as wolves and dragons) rested upon wooden poles, with windsocks attached to their backs. The Roman army utilized similar devices in later centuries. The Dacians defended their forts with bolt-throwing scorpions, captured or otherwise, during Trajan s campaigns (and possibly earlier). Other Roman arms and equipment made their way into Dacian hands as well.

3 Above: Dacia and some of the surrounding Roman provinces, circa 100 AD. THE AGE OF BUREBISTA The Dacian kingdom reached its height just prior to the middle of the 1st Century BC, coinciding with collapse of Mithradates Eupator s Pontic realm and the ascension of its greatest ruler, Burebista. Positioned at the edge of Greco-Roman world, the Dacian king took advantage of the power vacuum left by the Pontic state and assumed control of Greek cities on the western coasts of the Black Sea. Based on the archeological evidence mentioned previously, he assumed the role of Asian Hellenistic royalty - a King of Kings. To be sure, Burebista aggressively pursued all that such a title implied, engaging in diplomatic and martial conquests well beyond the Dacian heartland during his reign. His rule stretched as far east as the Dnieper River in southern Russia, as far west as Moravia, and - just possibly - as far north as the Vistula River in southern Poland. Burebista s aggressive policies touched the Roman world on several occasions. Through the subject Bastarnae tribe of the northeast Balkans, he successfully competed against Roman attempts to grab Histria, one of the Mithradates orphaned cities, in 61 BC. He also warred against the Celtic tribes on his northwestern reaches. Most he conquered, but the Boii joined the Helvetians in their exodus to Gaul, which initiated Caesar s Gallic Wars. Burebista wielded enough strength that Pompey sought his friendship during the Civil Wars and Caesar planned an expedition against the fractured Dacian kingdom after Burebista s death during an uprising in 45 BC. DACIA AND THE EARLY ROMAN PRINCIPATE The rebellion that claimed Burebista s life broke the core of the Dacian kingdom into four or five smaller kingdoms and the farthest reaches of the old kingdom slipped away. This did not mean that the Dacians and Romans ended their mutual Balkan affairs. Octavius sought an alliance with the Dacian king Cotiso prior to his assumption of the imperial title, but declared a more adversarial attitude towards the Dacians off and on during his 40-year reign. The Dacians and Bastarnae suffered defeat at the hands of Crassus the Younger, one of Augustus political rivals, in 29 BC. The Romans victoriously fought against them again in the Pannonian War (13-11 BC), and reportedly settled 50,000 Dacians within Roman territory after a major campaign in AD. Above: The Dacians fought hard against the Roman invaders in 101 AD, staving off Trajan and his desire for personal glory.

4 The Dacians enjoyed mostly peaceful relations with the empire for the next 70 years, benefiting from an increase in imported Roman goods. The Sarmatian Iazyges complicated things for all parties, warring against and allying with both the Romans and Dacians at different times. The Dacian kingdom retrenched in Transylvania before the middle of the century, about 40 AD. To Rome s relief, they declined to interfere in the imperial wars of succession that originated in Nero s death in the Year of Four Emperors (69 AD), although they couldn t but help themselves to minor raiding in Moesia. THE AGE OF DECEBAL Decebal was the last great Dacian king. He came to power at the beginning of Domitian s Dacian wars in the mid/late 80s and he fell with his kingdom 20 years later to Trajan. Roman historian Cassius Dio lauded Decebal for his diplomatic and strategic talents. The wily king managed to keep his power despite long odds and refused to let Rome humiliate him in its final triumph. Emperor Domitian began his war against King Duras and the Dacians in response to their spectacular plundering of Moesia in 86 AD (they even slew the provincial governor in battle). Cornelius Fuscus, the Praetorian Guard commander, successfully led the Roman army in its restorative operations in the devastated province, completely repelling the raiding warbands. In the wake of their reverses in Moesia, Duras stepped down and Decebal took the Dacian kingship and prepared for the inevitable punitive campaign even as he dispatched embassies to negotiate peace. The Romans invaded Dacia nevertheless, and the armies decisively clashed at a mountain pass in 87 AD. Decabal s showdown with Fuscus ended disastrously for the Romans. The Dacians inflicted massive casualties (including Fuscus) on their enemy, and captured many prisoners, standards, and weapons. The following year Tettius Julianus waged a promising campaign, defeating the Dacians at Tapae (in Transylvania). The Romans stopped short of absolutely conquering Dacia and turned their attention to the troublesome Sarmatians, Marcomanni, and Quadi. Rome accepted Dacia as a client state, re-establishing peace and a flow of gifts, goods, and skilled craftsmen. Despite his submission to Domitian, Decebal still stood in a position of power. Friendship with Rome rarely failed to elevate one s status, and surely he benefited from his client status. Cassius Dio advises us that his onerous pride and receipt of Roman stipends provoked Top: The Dacians were one of the few barbarian tribes that employed war machines. Above: As the Second Dacian War drew to a close only small pockets of resistance held out. Trajan to war at the turn of the century. Considering the lack of threatening Dacian activity, the roots of Trajan s wars against Decebal sprang more from his desire for personal glory and than a necessary defense of the empire. Trajan waged his first bloody war with Dacia in , and the second in Despite the harsh terrain and foes, the massive Roman army (and its many auxiliaries and mercenaries) fought until much of Dacia accepted Trajan s authority and Decebal surrendered short of his removal and the destruction of his capital, Sarmizegethusa. The short-lived peace witnessed both side preparing for war again, and the following campaign saw the destruction of the Dacian capital and the transformation of the kingdom into another Roman province. Decebal committed suicide before his capture and Trajan displayed his head in the triumphal march in Rome. GAMING ROME S DACIAN WARS The Dacians offer a lot of interesting options to players who enjoy games that match Roman armies against barbarian opponents. Seriously, how many of Rome s tribal enemies normally employed siege artillery in their own defense? Any attempts to replicate Rome s Dacian campaigns should include challenging elements such as rough/ wooded terrain and fortifications, plus contingents of Sarmatian cavalry and other auxiliaries.

5 DACIAN ARMY LISTS A number of rulesets place the Dacians in some kind of other category when it comes to interpreting how they should work on the tabletop. Essentially, most games focus on one or more of these attributes when it comes to differentiating them from other contemporary barbarians: weaponry, discipline, and adaptability. The famous Dacian falx sometimes assumes the role of a significant combat factor, usually meaning that players field at least one superior unit of warriors armed with the weapon. De Bellis Antiquitatis, Warmaster Ancients, and Warhammer Ancient Battles both note the falx in their army lists. The existence of large Dacian formations strictly armed with falxes remains debatable, leaving the weapon s impact on rules mechanics open to interpretation. The bow features prominently in many rules lists as well, usually in the hands of skirmishers. Warmaster Ancients and Warhammer Ancient Battles (WAB) both allow sizeable bodies of archers. Dacian army lists lack siege artillery in most game systems, with the notable exception of Warmaster Ancients. Consider amending the unit rosters for scenarios in which the Dacians defend their homeland, and especially if they garrison fortifications. The most commonly addressed characteristic regards the Dacians compatibility with the given game system s warband rules, which typically give massed barbarian infantry an advantageous hard-charging shock value sometimes paired with tendencies toward compulsive moves and attacks. More often than not, the Dacians play the same as other barbarians in this respect for most miniature wargames. Some rulesets do not require the Dacians to make uncontrolled charges, differentiating them from other warband types. The Dacians fought well against the Roman armies that invaded their mountainous kingdom despite their eventual capitulation. Some rules handle them no differently from any other barbarian warband in rough ground and woods, while others treat them as light infantry types well-suited to such limiting ground. Above: The Dacians were very familiar with fighting in rough, forested terrain, the kind of terrain that broke up Roman formations. Warhammer Ancient Battles VARIANT DACIAN LISTS The Dacians appear as variant Barbarian armies in WAB, first under Mountain Tribesmen in the core rules, and in the Barbarian Tribes appendix of Armies of Antiquity. Units of these light infantry warbands may be armed with falxes, which the rules equate with two-handed weapons or halberds. Neither list allows the purchase of siege artillery. With a few tweaks, players may create other playable versions of the Dacian army. For example: Players do not have to build entire units of falx-armed warriors, but may combine them with groups of infantry equipped with mixed weapons. Purchase shields, heavy throwing spears, and javelins (+2 points per model). Note that no actual heavy throwing spears enter play, but their rules give the Dacians that extra punch. Players may use up to 25% of the Dacian army points to purchase artillery, such as bolt throwers and catapults, in a siege scenario. This is WAB canon, per Siege & Conquest (p. 22). Finally, players may use the Early Slavs list from the supplement Byzantium: Beyond the Golden Gate as a viable substitute. The Leadership values seem a bit low for the Dacians reputation, but the cavalry-to-infantry ratios, equipment options, and the Balkan Ruse special rule do much to commend its use.

6 COLLECTING A DACIAN ARMY Gamers and modelers do not need too look very hard to find miniature Dacians in a healthy range of scales, molded in metal and plastic (both soft and hard). Foundry, Old Glory, and Warlord Games all market Dacian figures in 25mm/28mm. Foundry and Warlord Games also include actual Dacian artillerists in their ranges, negating the need to supply stand-in or converted figures. Old Glory and Essex produce Dacian figures in 15mm. Magister Militum, Old Glory, and Pendraken mold them in 10mm, and Baccus 6mm has a Dacian range. HaT Industries manufacture soft plastic 1/72 scale Dacian figures. Collectors may obtain Sarmatian allies and foes as easily as they can purchase Dacian miniatures. Ancient Celt figures make great additions for a Dacian army. Their tribes not only existed at the edge of the Dacian kingdom, but within it as well. Many tribal German miniatures pass can for rank and file Dacians so long as one avoids things that seem out of place (Suebian knots and fur jackets especially). A few Sarmatian infantry won t spoil the look, either (Old Glory make them in 25mm/28mm scale). A good mix of appropriate miniatures stands to turn any Dacian army into a horde of barbarians that really sticks out on the table. CONVERSIONS Hard plastic miniatures brim with potential for easily creating awesome 25mm/28mm Dacian characters equipped with Roman armor, shields, and weapons. It could not be any easier to plunder bits and pieces (including a helmeted head or two) for cherished leaders and champions. With a little work, one may draft Roman miniatures into their Dacian army. A suitably dynamic Roman officer figure only needs a piece of barbarian equipment to turn him into a chieftain or king: a Dacian head, possibly wearing a native cap or helmet; a falx or longsword; or a Dacian oval shield. Roman arms could make their way into Dacian hands through gifts, battle trophies, and deserters. Warlord Games manufactures hard plastic Dacians, Celts, Early Imperial legionaries (some of the Veteran figures have manicae) and auxiliaries. Wargames Factory offer Caesarian legionaries, Early Imperial auxiliary cavalry, and Celts. These are some of Magister Militum s 10mm Dacian range. Even at this small scale, the characteristic falx and soft caps are clearly evident. In addition to their hard plastic Dacian Warband, Warlord Games also produces these great, metal Celtic Archers, perfect to use as Dacian allies. PRIMARY SOURCES Cassius Dio (trans. Earnest Cary), Roman History (books 67 & 68), Loeb Classical Library Harvard University Press, Online public domain work: Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html MODERN REFERENCES Gábor Vékony, Dacians-Romans-Romanians, Matthias Corvinus Publishing, Toronto-Buffalo, 2000 (Originally published by Akadémiai Kiadó/Budapest, 1989) Online English translation: lib/chk/index.htm This book critically sifts through ancient sources and modern studies of the Dacians, and presents some interesting thoughts on Berobista s kingdom and its relation to the great Mithradates Eupator s Pontic realm. It helps readers understand why the Dacian kingdom was much more than an exotic tribal confederation. Kimberly Kagan, Redefining Roman Grand Strategy, The Journal of Military History, Vol. 70, No. 2 (Apr., 2006), pp , Society for Military History. Available online through JSTOR: This article reviews and measures numerous military policies and actions of the Roman emperor, army, and state from a high-level perspective. It recommends that readers view Trajan s campaigns against Dacia (as well as Mesopotamia) as wars of conquest and personal/imperial glory, as opposed to anything like a proactive defense against aggression or improved (easily guarded) boundaries. The Deva Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization: This interesting Romanian museum has a lot of online content for students of the period and wargamers. Of special interest is the virtual photographic and topographical map tour of Dacian fortresses: sarmi/contents.htm