079 - The Dacian Wars

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Hello and welcome to the history of Rome episode 79 the Dacian Wars When Nerva died in January of 98 AD the news of his death generated as much relief as it did sadness We know from last time that Nerva was no Egomaniacal despotic monster whose death was eagerly anticipated by a friend and foe alike But neither was he seen as the best man for a very difficult job The best man everyone agreed was Trajan and from the minute he had been adopted the death watch began on Nerva The sooner the old emperor died the sooner Imperial Authority would be back in the hands of a man who would know how to use it properly So when Nerva slipped his mortal coil just months after naming Trajan heir Everyone agreed how nice it was that the old man had not dragged things out Rome would again be ruled by a proper Emperor not a political fixer in over his head

The crazy thing about Trajan is that in his almost 20 years in office He actually managed to exceed the high expectations Everyone had for him and after his death every subsequent Emperor would ascend to the throne blessed by the ceremonial prayer May he be luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan There was no drama surrounding the succession as he had already been entrusted with most of the important powers that collectively made up official Imperial Authority in the few months between his adoption and Nerva's death The two men resembled colleagues far more than they resembled present ruler and future heir as I mentioned last time There is even some speculation that Nerva was planning to abdicate the throne as soon as Trajan was settled into his new position but died before he had the chance to

Some wanted Trajan to take over completely right away But the general declined to even return to Rome during the brief time he and Nerva shared power Perhaps it was just that he was too busy monitoring the situation on the Rhine But it could also be that he understood all too well that he would utterly Overshadow Nerva should he return to the capital and out of professional courtesy He stayed away to let Nerva serve out his term with honor. I would believe either explanation But his well-documented political humility and respect for the pride of proud men makes the latter an enticing conclusion But then again, he would be Emperor in his own right for more than a year before he finally did make his way to Rome So it could be that he really was just too busy ensuring the security of the northern border to come back to the capital for some speeches and religious ceremonies

Careful attention to the real responsibilities of office as opposed to the lavish trappings of power Was another of Trajan's character traits that endear him to everyone ancient medieval and modern alike Like I said Trajan spent most of his first year in office traveling the Empire's frontier first along the Rhine and then the Danube mostly satisfied with the defensive fortifications the mission had put in place Trajan eventually arrived in Moesia the province opposite the kingdom of Dacia where he paused Studied and concluded that war north of the Danube was inevitable

As a career military man He was well aware of the fury among his peers at the peace treaty to mission had signed with the Kebel is and now the new Emperor was witnessing firsthand the fruits of that poison tree The money and material to mission had sent to Decebalus was supposed to be used to bolster the Dacian border facing away from Rome To help the new client King fulfill his responsibility as a buffer against the uncivilized tribes beyond the frontier But Trajan's scouts reported back to him that Decebalus had actually built a substantial fortification network facing south towards the Roman provinces The implication of this fortification network was all too clear Decebalus was clearly anticipating future hostilities with Rome. The only question was when the next war would break out

But Trajan was a patient man While he immediately apprehended that he was at some point going to invade Dacia. He knew that he couldn't just go flying off half-cocked While the situation in Dacia was going to come to a head eventually it did not look ready to explode just yet Undertaking an invasion on the scale he envisioned it was going to take careful planning But most of all it was going to take a solidified political position at home He was popular now the new car smell still lingering in the air, but Trajan understood how quickly novelty can wear off Without the support of the people and the Senate back home. It was pure folly to go off conquering abroad

So bidding an until next time to the Dacian kingdom he made his way back to Rome in 99 AD His arrival in the capital was as magnificent as any triumphal procession His return to Rome had been anticipated since Nerva had named him heir and the whole population of the city turned out to cheer their new Emperor Setting the tone for his reign Trajan did not ride in on a splendid chariot or a top a great steed Instead he entered the city on foot and walked down the streets greeting his adoring subjects He continued in this vein as he met with the Senate Adopting a deferential tone and vowing to continue nervous policy that left men of senatorial rank free from the fear of imperial persecution

The Senate had been unhappy that they had had no say in the adoption of Trajan and even more unhappy that he was a mere Spanish provincial But the new Emperor's demeanor disarmed even his most pessimistic critics in Both word and deed Trajan signaled that he was returning to the old Augustan model of the Emperor's princeps merely the first among equals This went a long way towards assuaging the doubts of the aristocracy Who quickly came to view Trajan as not only a man they could work with but also a man who would work with them? Indeed Trajan wound up as a sort of ironic flipside to demission Demission had sought to emulate all of Augustus's ends while ignoring the first Emperor's means Trajan meanwhile emulated Augustus's means while as we will soon see pursuing his own very different ends

Trajan spent the next two years in Rome solidifying his position always with one eye on Dacia But otherwise focused on ensuring political and economic peace across the Empire. He now commanded To gain the support of the Senate he freed more of Demission's old political prisoners and returned more confiscated property to the aristocratic victims of the last Flavian's regime To gain the support of the people he announced his intention to continue and extend Nerva's Alimentary system and then ensure that his stepfather would receive proper deification from the Senate for the good work He had done in service to the Empire

He then set about systematically reducing the size and scope of the Imperial Court Demission had built an executive branch that commanded and controlled the goings-on of the whole Empire Trajan had no interest in acting as an omniscient central authority and let it be known that in the future He would rely on the sound judgment of his provincial governors to decide for themselves how to handle their territories He would issue orders on the most important or dangerous issues But other than that requests for instructions were usually returned with a note telling the governor politely to figure it out for himself Trajan's bottom line was that you know, the people and specific circumstances of your province best and I have no intention of micromanaging you from Rome

Of course Trajan had no intention of micromanaging from Rome because he planned to be busy with other more important things Like for example the conquest of Dacia The whole time he was busy solidifying his political position He was simultaneously focused on redeploying the legions to ensure the success of his planned campaign In addition to raising two new legions He reorganized who was stationed where to ensure that when he marched across the Danube Border security would not suffer because of the troops. He had pulled away from their previous posts He also put his men to work expanding and strengthening the road network south of the Danube to ensure the stability of his supply lines

There's an old maxim that amateurs think about strategy while professionals think about logistics If this is true, then Trajan was a consummate professional His wars in Dacia would become legendary not for the battle plans He drew up but for the engineering feats he employed to make the campaigns possible Not since Caesar has built his bridges across the Rhine had the ancient world seen military engineering the likes of which Trajan demanded

Leading the Emperor's Corps of Engineers was a key lieutenant who would eventually go down as one of the greatest architects in history Apollodorus of Damascus The Greek-born native of Syria at some point came to the attention of Trajan and when the latter became Emperor He brought Apollodorus in as his chief architect builder and sculptor over the course of his reign if Trajan needed something built a bridge a road a Triumphal arch a new forum for Rome another triumphal arch He always turned to Apollodorus who fulfilled his Emperor's requests with what would eventually become world-famous vision and skill

The stone bridge he would soon build across the Danube would not only be the first permanent bridge across that great river But also stand as the longest bridge ever built by humans for over a thousand years But before he could display his skills He needed the opportunity to use them and in 101 Trajan was ready to create the opportunity They both needed to achieve everlasting fame

Satisfied that the Empire was in good working order and the legions were in place to prosecute and support his invasion of Dacia Trajan went to the Senate and asked for their permission to invade He didn't need to do this obviously, but he thought it prudent and beneficial to let the Senate give their seal of approval to his plans Gratified by the deference they had been shown thus far and the respect they were being shown now The Senate overwhelmingly supported Trajan and gave him their firm blessing to go out a conquer and The Emperor traveled to Moesia to take personal command of the four legion strong invasion force and in March 101 Crossing a temporary, but still impressive bridge Apollodorus had built across the Danube. He led his legions into Dacia

Fully cognizant of the trap Cornelius Fuscus had blundered into by advancing too quickly Trajan took his time moving north fully scouting and securing each territory before moving in The Kebalus had been waiting for years for the Romans to invade and was eager to test out his new defensive network If he could repel Trajan his renown would grow and he would be able to possibly cobble together a kingdom Strong enough to stand against the Romans not just temporarily but forever Trajan though was an altogether different animal from the mediocre generals demission had sent previously and rather than eternal renown The Kebalus would go down in history as just another barbarian king bested by the might of Rome

The first phase of the war though went well for the Dacians and that it resulted in something of a stalemate Once again, a battle was fought at the fortress guarding the pass at Tappy a hard-fought affair that saw Trajan Endure losses far in excess of anything. He was expecting The Romans technically won the battle But only because the Dacians withdrew from the field after a sudden storm kicked up rather than because they were beaten militarily Somewhat shocked at the cost of his Pyrrhic victory Trajan came down out of the mountains before winter began and withdrew to the Roman side of the Danube to regroup This was going to be harder than he thought Still doable, but his men needed to rest and recuperate before they could be expected to finish the job

Over the winter of 101 102 though, the Romans were unexpectedly called back into action Believing that he had the Romans on his side Believing that he had the Romans on the run Decebalus decided to go on the offensive and he led his army across the frozen Danube to raid Moesia and further demoralized the battered legions But Decebalus his offensive got off to a rocky start When cracks in the ice swallowed a portion of his army before they had a chance to inflict any damage on the Romans at all Now themselves demoralized the Dacians were easily driven home by the quickly mobilized Roman response

In the spring of 102 Trajan was determined to press all the way to the Dacian capital and remind Decebalus that he was no equal of the Roman Empire But after the previous winter's folly and the pretty obvious reality that Trajan meant serious business Decebalus decided to take the wind out of Trajan's invasion by offering his surrender This year's fighting had only seen a few brief skirmishes But these were bloody and difficult affairs and Trajan decided it may be in everyone's best interest for the Romans to accept Decebalus's surrender and renegotiate the terms of the peace After all, it was not the fact that Dacia remained independent. That was the problem It was the fact that Decebalus had remained hostile after officially accepting an alliance with Rome

So Trajan imposed far harsher terms than Demission had outlined Ordering Decebalus to cede a portion of his kingdom to Rome tear down the walls of his various fortresses and Dismantle the defensive war machines that line the mountain passes Decebalus made a great show of accepting the terms and it seemed at least for the moment that the Dacian question had been answered It was enough of an answer for Trajan. Anyway, the Emperor returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph

But After his experience with Demission Decebalus viewed surrendering to the Romans as little more than a way to buy time and possibly scam money and material out of the Empire The Romans had left him alone to siphon funds for a decade before they caught wise to him before and the Dacian king saw No reason why this latest surrender should be any different So he once again pledged to fortify the borders of Dacia facing away from the Romans if Trajan directed appropriate funds his way Perhaps convinced that the chastised King had learned his lesson Trajan sent along money and men to help cement the renewed alliance between Rome and Dacia

But the Emperor was not totally oblivious to the duplicity of Decebalus and in the years after his first campaign in Dacia He had Apollodorus build a permanent bridge across the Danube in case the Romans needed to reinvade over 1100 meters long 15 meters wide and 19 meters tall Trajan's bridge as it would come to be known was one of the most impressive engineering marvels of the ancient world Guarded on both sides by fortified guardhouses and perched atop 20 stone columns sunk into the riverbed The bridge would stand as a monument to Roman power for almost 200 years Until the Emperor Aurelian demolished it as he attempted to re solidify the Empire during the dark days of the 3rd century

Trajan no doubt hoped the bridge would help deter some of Decebalus's hostility in a you know We can come at you whenever we want. So why don't you just chill out sort of way? But the Dacian King proved as obstinate as ever and in 105 Trajan once again was preparing for war this time the problem was that Decebalus was inciting local tribes to invade Roman territory and promising to support their efforts to undermine the Romans south of the Danube Fed up completely with the unrepentant King Trajan readied the legions for a second invasion this time he was not aiming for anything less than the complete destruction of Decebalus and the annexation of Dacia into the Empire as a conquered province

In the spring of 106 Trajan ordered three columns into Dacia to overwhelm the kingdom The bulk of each of the three columns drove from different directions straight at the Dacian capital But small detachments were fanned out across the country to secure key points and generally smother any resistance that might pop up in the eventually occupied country Trajan led one of the columns to the capital himself and once everyone arrived he ordered a full frontal assault on the city However, even though Decebalus was facing down the Romans with a skeleton defense force The Dacians held off the assault and the Romans were forced to break off the attack

Seeing the brute force would not work Trajan turned to cunning Noticing that the capital received all of its clean water from a network of aqueduct pipes He sent his men around to destroy them all and cut the Dacians off from their water As soon as the water stopped flowing it was only a matter of time before the Dacians surrendered and soon enough They raised the white flag and allowed the Romans to enter the gates

Decebalus and his family fled before his capital surrendered, but were soon tracked by a Roman cavalry unit and pinned down Knowing what happened to captured enemies of Rome, especially captured leaders Decebalus committed suicide rather than fall into Roman hands His head was delivered to Trajan and the Emperor sent it back to Rome to be put on display He then ordered the Dacian capital demolished and a new capital a Roman provincial capital Built some 40 kilometers away Dacia was formally annexed by the Romans and it became the last major province added to the Empire

Trajan would of course add much more territory to the Empire before his death in 117 AD But Hadrian would immediately abandon his predecessor's eastern conquest Dacia though would remain the Empire until Aurelian abandoned the territory in the 270s AD The conquest of Dacia was not just a military feather in Trajan's cap It would also prove to be a huge boon to the Roman economy Dacia contained some of the best gold mines in the ancient world and for years the Romans would be able to rely on the steady stream Of precious metal coming in from Dacia to fund all of their dreams

Trajan received a down payment on future riches when a deal was made with the Romans to give him a share of the gold Trajan received a down payment on future riches when a Dacian general betrayed the location of Decebalus's well-stocked treasure house When the Emperor returned to Rome he carted back with him riches not seen since the day Pompey returned from the east some 170 years before And in a stroke the financial problems Nerva had wrestled with were slayed There was now more than enough money not only to pay for all previously incurred expenses and promises But also to fund a whole host of new projects And with the help of Apollodorus Trajan would see that the money was put to good use

The most famous product of the Dacian treasure trove was the new forum complex Apollodorus designed and built To help alleviate the burden of Rome's overcrowded public spaces Built just north the main forum the massive new space which would become known as Trajan's forum Required the leveling of parts of the Quirinial and Capitoline hills A huge undertaking in its own right that had been on the imperial to-do list since the days of Augustus Trajan's new forum would be formally inaugurated in 112 AD greatly enhancing the day-to-day economic life of Rome

The next year Apollodorus would complete the most famous part of the most famous product of the Dacian treasure trove and in 113 Trajan's column the triumphal sculpture commemorating Trajan's victory was unveiled Rising over a hundred feet off the ground the freestanding column is wrapped 23 times by 600 feet of frieze sculpture Telling the story of Trajan's campaigns The column stands today in Rome and in addition to simply being a marvel to behold It also serves as a living record of Trajan's activities in Dacia Indeed much of what we know about these wars and much of what you have just heard is directly sourced to the column With all the attendant caveats about the danger of relying too much on imperial propaganda, which the column most assuredly was

Had he simply stopped there Dacia conquered and the infrastructure of the empire receiving a much-needed upgrade Trajan would already be going down as one of the most successful emperors in history But he was not done yet Next week Trajan will turn his attention to the east and really flip Augustus's injunction against further expansion on its head Though in the end his conquest would prove fleeting Trajan's campaigns in the east would give the romans one last glorious adventure to cheer on Before they settled in to their nice long slow decline