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SARMIZEGETUSA - ROMANIA
Sarmizegetusa was the most important Dacian
military, religious and political center. Erected on top of a crag 1200
meters high, the fortress was the core of the strategic defensive system
in the Orastie Mountains, in Romania, comprising six citadels.
The fortress, a quadrilateral formed by massive stone blocks (murus
dacicus), was constructed on five terraces, on an area of almost 30,000
m˛. Sarmizegetusa also had a sacred precinct -- among the most important
and largest circular and rectangular Dacian sanctuaries the famous
Circular Calendar Sanctuary is included.
The civilians lived around the fortress, down the mountain on man-made
terraces. Dacian nobility had flowing water, brought through ceramic pipes,
in their residences. The archeological inventory found at the site shows
that Dacian society had a high standard of living.
The Dacian capital reached its acme under Decebalus, the Dacian king
defeated by the Roman Empire after two wars (101-102 and 105-106), led by
Emperor Trajan. After the defeat of the Dacians, the conquerors established
a military garrison there. Later, the capital of Roman Dacia was named after
the Dacian capital - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa,
established 40 km far from the ruined Dacian capital.
All the six fortresses - Sarmizegetusa, Blidaru, Piatra Rosie, Costesti,
Capalna and Banita - that formed the defensive system of Decebalus are part
of a UNESCO World heritage site.
Sarmizegetusa is also the name of a commune in modern day Romania, in the
Tara Hategului depression, Hunedoara county, where the ruins of Colonia
Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa are located.
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