Dacia recovers from the crisis that had defined Marcus Aurelius’ reign and becomes more urban than ever before. At the same time, the province strengthens its defenses, and its soldiers grow more attached to the local communities they defend. Here is a look at Dacia in 198 CE after emperor Septimius Severus elevated several settlements…

Plague decimates the population, the frontiers are breached, and barbarians ravage Dacia as emperor Marcus Aurelius fights to overcome the empire’s direst crisis in living memory. ​For extra content that didn’t make it into the episode, head to A history of Romania‘s Facebook page. Transcript Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode…

The diverse society of the Dacian provinces flourishes during the reign of Antoninus Pius as colonists from across the empire bring their local beliefs to the region and blend them with Roman ones. Meanwhile, the identity of the Dacians living inside the empire begins to change in relation to their ancestors as well as to…

Hadrian’s defense of Dacia is followed by fifty years of peace and growth, but the prosperity of the region is founded on the labour of tens of thousands of enslaved people. Transcript Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode 10: The silenced masses In the previous chapter of our story, Hadrian…

The peoples beyond the frontier threaten to overrun the provinces of Dacia and Moesia Inferior, and the new Roman emperor must race to the Danube to secure the region. This is what Roman domains looked liked north of the Danube in 124 CE after the reorganization of the region. The empire relinquished the territory it…

Having dismantled the Dacian kingdom, Trajan creates a new province out of its territory and encourages colonists from across the empire to make the land their own. Here is what the Carpathian region looked like in 109 CE following Trajan’s expansion of the empire and the founding of the first Roman city north of the…

Trajan leads an invasion of Dacia to annex the kingdom, and the Dacians fight with everything they have to maintain their independence. The map below shows the main sites of the war. The Romans launched their attack from Viminacium and Drobeta, two forts on either side of the Iron Gates. The pass at Tapae protected…

War erupts between the Dacians and Romans, and after a series of setbacks, the Dacians elect a new king to lead them to victory. Transcript Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode 6: Decebal Last episode, we explored Dacian civilization and the economic and cultural exchanges it had with the Roman…

The Dacians prosper and develop a vibrant civilization centred around their capital of Sarmizegetusa. Transcript  Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode 5: The people of the mountains The previous episode left the Dacian people divided. Burebista had forged the most formidable kingdom in Europe outside of the Roman empire, but…

Burebista unites the Dacian tribes and forges the most powerful kingdom in Europe, leading to both collaboration and conflict with the Roman Republic. The map below shows Buresbista’s kingdom as well as the extent of Roman expansion in the region in 44 BCE. Keep in mind that the centre of Burebista’s power was in the southwestern…