The Wolf Warriors

The first to mention the “Getae” or the “Dacians” was Herodotus, the “father of history”, in the fifth century BC. They belonged to the Thracian sphere of influence, but they clearly distinguished themselves by particularities of religion and custom. The Dacians were known as Geta (plural Getae) in Ancient Greek writings, and as Dacus (plural Daci) or Getae in Roman documents. The historian Strabo specified that the Daci are the Getae who lived in the area towards the Pannonian plain (Transylvania), while the Getae proper gravitated towards the Black Sea coast.

After the unification of the Dacian tribes by Burebista, the Kingdom of Dacia was spread on a territory encompassing today’s Romania and the lands adjacent to it. The Dacians are one of Europe’s few indigenous peoples who have never left their inherited lands.

The history of the Dacians is little known, and the historical records are sometimes contradictory and confusing. Fortunately, though, part of this history is written in stone. One of Rome’s most famous tourist attraction is Trajan’s Column, built to celebrate the most fruitful invasion in the history of the Roman Empire. The column is adorned with figures representing the Dacians’ defiant and heroic spirit in battle.

Trajan’s Column, Rome
Source – Wikipedia

Prior to 100 AD, Dacia was a wealthy kingdom, with natural resources of gold, silver, copper and salt, fact that attracted Rome’s envy. It was only a matter of time until the powerful empire of Rome would send its legions to subdue this rich and independent kingdom. It took three major campaigns, almost 2 centuries, and its most capable generals to finally defeat the Dacians, in 106 AD.

The Roman people celebrated Trajan’s triumph in Dacia with the longest and most expensive celebration in their history; it’s said that the celebrations lasted 123 days. The Dacian goldmines helped Rome finance its future military campaigns and continuous expansion, so the Dacian Wars marked the beginning of a period of sustained growth and relative peace in Rome. A year after the victory in Dacia, the people in Rome didn’t pay any taxes, such was the wealth that the empire found in Dacia.

Today, you can still see the powerful impact the Dacians had on the Roman Empire when you visit Rome. Besides Trajan’s Column and Trajan’s Forum, statues of proud Dacian war captives can be found  in museums such as Musei Capitolini, Museo dei Conservatori, Musei Vaticani, but also in some of Rome’s most iconic places, like the Villa Borghese, Piazza del Popolo, Arch of Constantine and many others. Almost all the statues had two words written on them: ”Captivus Dacus”. The intriguiding fact is that these statues are portaying proud and strong figures, not what you’d expected of a captive. Most of them are also larger than those of the Roman Emperor Trajan’s and some are made of granite red-porphyry, a material which at the time was under royal monopoly. Why would the Romans put so many statues of captive Dacians even 200 years (the Arch or Constantine is build after 300AD) after their victory in Dacia?

Dacian Prisoners, Boboli Gardens
Source – Digital Images

Another interesting fact we can see on Trajan’s Column is the Dacian “draco”, or the troops’ standard ensign. It’s the head of a wolf attached to a dragon tail, metal tongues coming out of its open jaws. The dragon’s head was hollow, and mounted on a pole with a fabric tube affixed at the rear. When held up into the wind, it filled with air and gave the impression it was alive while making a shrill sound as the wind passed through it. The draco shows a religious syncretism between the wolf and the dragon as well as the serpent.

Dacian Draco on Trajan’s Column
Source – Wikipedia

The wolf is the symbolic animal of the Dacians, who also called themselves “wolves”. The legend says they could turn into wolves. Some legends say that a big white wolf fought next to the Dacians when their capital Sarmizegetusa fell to the Romans.

Even if the history of the Dacians is quite evasive and we mostly rely on legends and myths to decipher as much as we can of this intriguing civilization, the truth is they were fierce warriors, but also a diligent people, who thrived in the lands in and around the Carpathian Mountains.

Dacians gold bracelet from Sarmizegetusa Regia, dated the 1st century BC or 1st century AD
Source – Wikipedia