Trajan's Dacian Wars

Uncommon card · No. 184668

Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and the Dacians under King Decebalus during the reign of Emperor Trajan. The conflicts stemmed from repeated Dacian incursions into the province of Moesia and from Rome's growing need for resources. Discontent with the treaty Domitian had concluded with Decebalus in 89 AD persisted, and Trajan, keen to assert himself as a soldier-emperor, took the opportunity to reassert Roman authority. Trajan's First Dacian War began in 101 AD, when the emperor led a major offensive across the Danube using a pontoon bridge constructed by his engineer Apollodorus of Damascus, who also cut a road through the river cliffs. The Romans won a series of victories, including at Tapae and Adamclisi. Before Trajan could capture the Dacian capital, Sarmizegetusa, Decebalus sought peace. The treaty forced him to surrender territory and engineers provided by Domitian, return equipment, accept Roman garrisons, and refrain...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Carole Raddato, CC BY-SA 2.0