The Getae or Getai ( / ˈ ɡ ɛ t iː / or / ˈ dʒ iː t iː / , singular Getan ) were a large nation who inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania , throughout much of Classical Antiquity . Historians' main source of information about the Getae are Greek and Roman writers, at least some of whom believed that the Getae were closely related to the neighbouring Thracians to the south, and Dacians to the north. Modern scholars continue to debate the details of these relationships, including the question of whether these three peoples spoke the same language.
76-509: 44°29′37″N 28°5′25″E / 44.49361°N 28.09028°E / 44.49361; 28.09028 Capidava ( Kapidaua , Cappidava , Capidapa , Calidava , Calidaua ) was originally an important Geto - Dacian centre on the right bank of the Danube . After the Roman conquest, it became a civil and military centre in the province of Moesia Inferior (later Scythia Minor ) and part of
152-662: A Roman History ( Ῥωμαϊκὴ Ἱστορία , Rhōmaïkḕ Historía ) in 80 books in Greek , later translated into Latin as the Historia Romana . On the matter of its composition, he writes the following: "I spent ten years in collecting all the achievements of the Romans from the beginning down to the death of Severus [211 AD], and twelve years more in composing my work. As for subsequent events, they also shall be recorded, down to whatever point it shall be permitted me". The books cover
228-487: A suffect consul in approximately the year 205. Dio was also proconsul in Africa and Pannonia . Severus Alexander held Dio in the highest esteem and reappointed him to the position of consul in 229. Following his second consulship, while in his later years, Dio returned to his native Bithynia, where he eventually died. Dio was either the grandfather or great-grandfather of Cassius Dio , consul in 291. Dio published
304-483: A vexillatio Capidabesium and on the measurements made on the ground, following the distance indicated in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The fort is rectangular with NW-SE sides of 105 x 127 m (1.33 ha ) with walls over 2 m thick and 5–6 m high. It had 7 towers over 10 m, 3 of which are rectangular, 2 shaped as a quarter of a circle and 2 intermediate towers in the shape of a horseshoe (U). The fort also had
380-607: A Byzantine monk of the 11th century, and Zonaras , a Byzantine chronicler of the 12th century. Lucius Cassius Dio was the son of Cassius Apronianus , a Roman senator and member of the Cassia gens , who was born and raised at Nicaea in Bithynia . Byzantine tradition maintains that Dio's mother was the daughter or sister of the Greek orator and philosopher, Dio Chrysostom ; however, this relationship has been disputed. Although Dio
456-548: A cavalry unit or detachment of units under the command of the Duke of Scythia : Cuneus equitum Solensium, Capidaua . The Cuneus equitum Solensium might well be the cavalry component of the old Legio XX Valeria Victrix , renamed the Solenses. Capidava took its name from the old Getic dava "settlement". "Capidava" has the characteristic Dacian ending, the suffix –dava meaning "settlement, village, town". This Getic toponym, means
532-519: A concise plan of the ruins. Right after the war, Pârvan intended to undertake a vast project of archaeological research in Dobrudja likely to be joined by all his pupils in Bucharest and Iași . Starting from 1924 and continuing in 1926 and 1927 they initiated here archaeological excavations, led by one of Vasile Parvan's assistants, Grigore Florescu, later a lecturer in epigraphy and antiquities with
608-539: A fortress at Tirizis (modern Kaliakra ). The Getae flourished especially in the first half of the 3rd century BC. By about 200 BC, the authority of the Getic prince, Zalmodegicus , stretched as far as Histria , as a contemporary inscription shows. Other strong princes included Zoltes and Rhemaxos (about 180 BC). Also, several Getic rulers minted their own coins. The ancient authors Strabo and Cassius Dio say that Getae practiced ruler cult , and this
684-557: A gate 2.5 m wide on the SE side that was the link to the rest of the territory, and a strategic outlet on the SW side of the tower towards the Danube, where the port used to be. The fort was also provided with a port including a wharf below the water, and storage and other annexes on the upper terrace, as well as with thermae (public bath house) outside the precinct walls, to the south-east. The port
760-482: A leg, a serpent, an eagle. In 1969, in the ancient Geto-Dacian settlement of Capidava that subsequently become a Roman fortress, it was discovered a pitcher (of local make, in the Roman-Byzantine tradition) which – beside the sign of the cross and the Greek alphabet – carries the name Petre (a common name in the Danube valley, interpreted as Romanian by some Romanian historians). Capidava fortified settlement
836-566: A period of approximately 1,400 years, beginning with the tales from Roman mythology of the arrival of the legendary Aeneas in Italy ( c. 1200 BC ) and the founding of Rome by his descendant Romulus (753 BC); as well as the historic events of the republican and imperial eras through 229 AD. The work is one of only three written Roman sources that document the British revolt of 60–61 AD led by Boudica . Until
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#1732780949367912-574: A unity of Getae and Dacians". Lucian Boia took a sceptical position, arguing the ancient writers distinguished among the two people, treating them as two distinct groups of the Thracian ethnos. Boia contended that it would be naive to assume Strabo knew the Thracian dialects so well, alleging that Strabo had "no competence in the field of Thracian dialects". The latter claim is contested, some studies attesting Strabo's reliability and sources. There
988-478: Is a tourist attraction in Dobruja area, next to Hârșova and Histria . It can be reached through the road from Hârșova ( E61 ), or the road from Cernavodă (Fetești-Cernavodă). Visitors can see the impressive precinct wall, the fortified settlement gate with a tower, the trajectory of the tower foundations in the shape of horseshoes. In the south part of the fortified settlement along 1/3 of its length one can see
1064-643: Is any god but their own. Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia mentions a tribe called the Tyragetae , apparently a Daco-Thracian tribe who dwelt by the river Tyras (the Dniester ). Their tribal name appears to be a combination of Tyras and Getae ; see also the names Thyssagetae and Massagetae . The Roman poet Ovid , during his long exile in Tomis , is asserted to have written poetry (now lost) in
1140-459: Is confirmed by archaeological remains. In 72–71 BC Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus became the first Roman commander to march against the Getae. This was done to strike at the western Pontic allies of Mithridates VI , but he had limited success. A decade later, a coalition of Scythians , Getae, Bastarnae and Greek colonists defeated C. Antonius Hybrida at Histria . This victory over
1216-559: Is generally considered that the two groups were related to a certain degree; the exact relation is a matter of controversy. Strabo, as well as other ancient sources, led some modern historians to consider that, if the Thracian ethnic group should be divided, one of this divisions should be the " Daco-Getae ". The linguist Ivan Duridanov also identified a " Dacian linguistic area " in Dacia , Scythia Minor , Lower Moesia , and Upper Moesia . Romanian scholars generally went further with
1292-581: Is no reason to disregard Strabo's belief that the Daci and the Getae spoke the same language. Boia also stressed that some Romanian authors cited Strabo indiscriminately. A similar position was adopted by Romanian historian and archaeologist G. A. Niculescu , who also criticized the Romanian historiography and the archaeological interpretation, particularly on the "Geto-Dacian" culture. In his opinion, Alexandru Vulpe saw ancient people as modern nations, leading
1368-408: Is one of the few Roman-era settlements with indigenous names in the area where no significant pre-Roman settlement was found. Based on the literary evidence that confirms both the existence and the importance of Capidava and also based on the archaeological pre-Roman evidence, some take into consideration the hypothesis that the Getic fortress might have been razed to the ground through the building of
1444-599: Is the same C. Veturius Tertius known from a funerary inscription discovered at Capidava Nonetheless, Pârvan admitted a "vicus canabarum" beside the old "Dacian" pagus of Capidava. At the time of Hadrian and even earlier at the time of Trajan, Roman farmers already dwelt in isolated settlements, in the so-called Roman villa and vicus . Separated from them, South Thracian colonists, Bessians, inhabited also isolated villages. The population of its district ( pagus ) consisted of Dacians and Bessi and of Roman citizens (CIL., iii, 14214, 26). According to Pârvan, by 130-150 AD Capidava
1520-516: The Zaths , may have been the Getae and/or Jats. More recent authors, like Tadeusz Sulimirski , Weer Rajendra Rishi , and Chandra Chakraberty, have also linked the Getae and Jats. Less credible, however, are parallel claims by Alexander Cunningham that the Xanthii (or Zanthi ) and Iatioi – mentioned by Strabo, Ptolemy and Pliny – may have been synonymous with
1596-614: The Celts over the Rhine and the Getae over the Danube , whom they call Dacians". Justin , the 3rd century AD Latin historian, wrote in his Epitome of Pompeius Trogus that Dacians are spoken of as descendants of the Getae: "Daci quoque suboles Getarum sunt" (The Dacians as well are a scion of the Getae). In his Roman History (c. 200 AD), Cassius Dio added: "I call
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#17327809493671672-549: The Danube is an island that only comes to surface for a few summer months when the Danube river dries. The 2 kilometers wide island is not present on any map, therefore this interesting phenomenon attracted science fiction fans who started organizing every year an ecological summer camp: the Atlantykron Summer academy gathers people who are passionate about astronomy and science fiction. Getae The Getae first appear in historical records as fierce opponents of
1748-692: The Getic language . In his Epistulae ex Ponto , written from the northern coast of the Black Sea, he asserts that two major, distinct languages were spoken by the sundry tribes of Scythia, which he referred to as Getic, and Sarmatian. Jerome (Letter CVII to Laeta. II) described the Getae as red and yellow-haired, though he may be referring to the Goths, with whom the Getae were sometimes confused in Late Antiquity. The Getae are sometimes confused with
1824-668: The Goths in works of early medieval authors. This confusion is notably expanded on in works of Jordanes , himself of Gothic background, who transferred earlier historical narratives about the Getae to the Goths. At the close of the 4th century AD, Claudian , court poet to the emperor Honorius and the patrician Stilicho , uses the ethnonym Getae to refer to the Visigoths . During 5th and 6th centuries, several historians and ethnographers ( Marcellinus Comes , Orosius , John Lydus , Isidore of Seville , Procopius of Caesarea ) used
1900-622: The Ister . Two of the many tribes found among them are those formerly called the Triballi , and the Dardani , who still retain their old name. There is a dispute among scholars about the relations between the Getae and Dacians , and this dispute also covers the interpretation of ancient sources. Some historians such as Ronald Arthur Crossland state that even Ancient Greeks used the two designations "interchangeable or with some confusion". Thus, it
1976-514: The Persian invasion in 513 BC, as described by the early Greek historian Herodotus . They faded out of historical records during the Roman empire , when many appear to have become Romans while others north of the Danube where gradually overwhelmed by other peoples moving from the north and east towards the Roman frontier. The ethnonym Getae was first used by Herodotus . The root was also used for
2052-660: The Sarmatae invaded the Getic territory and were driven back by Roman troops. The Getae were placed under the control of the Roman vassal king in Thrace, Rhoemetalces I . In 6 AD, the province of Moesia was founded, incorporating the Getae south of the Danube River . The Getae north of the Danube continued tribal autonomy outside the Roman Empire. According to Herodotus , the Getae were "the noblest as well as
2128-636: The Sarmatians . But the legions deployed their troops only up to Durostorum , as northern Dobruja was left to the forces of the kings of the Sapaei , the allies of the Romans, helped by the forces commanded by a Praefectus orae maritimae (commander of the seashore). In 46 AD, when the Kingdom of the Sapaei ceased to exist, it is likely that small Roman garrisons were stationed in the old Dacian settlements on
2204-470: The Scythian campaign of Darius I in 513 BC, during which the latter conquered the Getae. According to Herodotus, the Getae differed from other Thracian tribes in their religion, centered around the god ( daimon ) Zalmoxis whom some of the Getae called Gebeleizis . Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, the Getae were mostly under the rule of the flourishing Odrysian kingdom . During this time,
2280-684: The Turkish village (a military colony) founded in the 18th century under the name of Kale-koy , that is "the village of the fortified settlement". The first scientific explorers of the Dobruja's land, from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were captain Mihai Ionescu-Dobrogeanu and archaeologist Grigore Tocilescu who mentioned the fortification and gathered antiquities from its area. In an archaeological survey conducted before World War I, Vasile Pârvan identified it and asked Pamfil Polonic Sr. to create
2356-540: The Tyragetae , Thyssagetae , Massagetae , and others. Strabo stated in his Geographica ( c. 7 BC – 20 AD) that the Dacians lived in the western parts of Dacia , "towards Germania and the sources of the Danube", while the Getae lived in the eastern parts, towards the Black Sea , both south and north of the Danube. He also wrote that the Dacians and Getae spoke the same language, after stating
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2432-583: The "curve fortified settlement". The Getic name had been preserved by the Romans under the form Capidava in the Antonine Itinerary (224, 3), Calidava in the Tabula Peutingeriana (VIII, 3) and Cappidava or Capidapa in the Geography of Ravenna (179, 3 and 186). The entire territory took the name "territorium capidavense". Petculescu noted that in the zone of the Danubian frontier zone the names of
2508-526: The 12th-century epitome of Joannes Zonaras who used Dio's Roman History as a main source. Scholarship on this part of Dio's work is scarce but the importance of the Early Republic and Regal period to Dio's overall work has recently been underlined. Books 22 through 35, which are only sparsely covered by fragments, were already lost by the times of Zonaras. The books that follow, Books 36 through 54, are all nearly complete; they cover
2584-542: The Bastarnae across the Danube as a pretext to devastate the Getae and Thracians. He put Marcus Licinius Crassus in charge of the plan. In 29 BC, Crassus defeated the Bastarnae with the help of the Getic prince Rholes . Crassus promised him help for his support against the Getic ruler Dapyx . After Crassus had reached as far the Danube Delta , Rholes was appointed king and returned to Rome. In 16 BC,
2660-475: The Cocceius family from Capidava, dated Roman epoch, has a relief of the Thracian rider . Representation of the ox drawn plow of Getians had been preserved on the so-called "Quadratus grave" discovered at Capidava. The Roman Empire had reached the Danube as early as 14 AD, when the commander Aelius Catus conducted an expedition beyond the river in order to keep away the restless Dacians and their new allies,
2736-511: The Dacians are "Getae or Thracians of Dacian race": In ancient times, it is true, Moesians and Getae occupied all the land between Haemus and the Ister; but as time went on some of them changed their names, and since then there have been included under the name of Moesia all the tribes living above Dalmatia , Macedonia , and Thrace , and separated from Pannonia by the Savus , a tributary of
2812-534: The Danube provided a large surveillance area. The massif also had a natural moat starting from the Danube, turning around it on the NE side, almost up to the east corner of the fortified settlement. The fort played an important role as part of the Moesian Limes and was connected by road to Carsium , Ulmetum , Basarabi-Murfatlar and Cernavodă . The location of Capidava is verified by an inscription mentioning
2888-475: The Danube. Trajan , as part of his preparations for Trajan's Dacian Wars , built a castellum on the cliff at Capidava to control the ford with a garrison probably of Cohors I Ubiorum . After the Roman conquest of Dacia , the strategic importance of Capidava made the Romans establish a military station as well as to settle and develop a civil centre. The settlement was probably a vicus , if Veturius Tertius who put an altar at Galbiori as magister vici
2964-651: The Faculty of Letters of the University of Bucharest . Grigore Florescu led the researches at Capidava until 1960, when he died on the archaeological site of Drobeta . Until 1954 he worked alone, helped from time to time by his students. Between 1949 and 1954, the excavations at Capidava as well as other field research on the Roman period were interrupted. The most important monuments uncovered at Capidava include epigraphical and sculptural ones, and also pottery: vessels, amphorae , clay buckets, jars, bowls, lamps. At
3040-725: The Getae and Massagetae to the Jats of South Asia. Likewise, the Dacians have been linked to the Dahae of Central Asia (and the Dahae to the Dasas of South Asia). W. W. Hunter claimed in 1886, suggested that the Jats were an Iranian people – most likely Scythian / Saka in origin, Alexander Cunningham (1888) believed that references in classical European sources – like Strabo , Ptolemy and Pliny – to peoples such as
3116-796: The Getae and/or Jats. The Xanthii were later established to be a subgroup (tribe or clan) of the Dahae. Subsequent scholars, such as Edwin Pulleyblank , Josef Markwart (also known as Joseph Marquart) and László Torday , suggest that Iatioi may be another name for a people known in classical Chinese sources as the Yuezhi and in South Asian contexts as the Kuṣānas (or Kushans). Historia Romana Lucius Cassius Dio ( c. 165 – c. 235 ), also known as Dio Cassius ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Δίων Κάσσιος Dion Kassios ),
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3192-425: The Getae he was defeated by them. The Getae king, Dromichaetes , took him prisoner but he treated him well and convinced Lysimachus there is more to gain as an ally than as an enemy of the Getae and released him. According to Diodorus, Dromichaetes entertained Lysimachus at his palace at Helis, where food was served on gold and silver plates. The discovery of the celebrated tomb at Sveshtari (1982) suggests that Helis
3268-567: The Getae provided military services and became famous for their cavalry. After the disintegration of the Odrysian kingdom, smaller Getic principalities began to consolidate themselves. Before setting out on his Persian expedition, Alexander the Great defeated the Getae and razed one of their settlements. In 313 BC, the Getae formed an alliance with Callatis , Odessos , and other western Pontic Greek colonies against Lysimachus , who held
3344-476: The Roman castra itself Historians such as Suceveanu, Miclea and Florescu consider that the pre-Roman indigenous Getic settlement of Capidava, located at some distance from the future Roman fortress gave the name Capidava. On the site of modern Capidava village, there is a La Tène settlement of Geto-Dacian culture, dated to 5th century - 2nd century BC. At 4 km south of Capidava, on the bank of Zaval Valley , there are strong Geto-Dacian traces, dating back to
3420-493: The Romanian historiography that considered the two people the same. Nevertheless, he chose to use the term "Geto-Dacians" as a conventional concept for the Thracian tribes inhabiting the future territory of Romania, not necessarily meaning an "absolute ethnic, linguistic or historical unity". Crossland suggested the two designations may refer to two groups of a "linguistically homogeneous people" that had come to historical prominence at two distinct periods of time. He also compared
3496-483: The Romans allowed Burebista , the leader of this coalition, to dominate the region for a short period (60–50 BC). In the mid-first century BC Burebista organized a kingdom consisting of descendants of those whom the Greeks had called Getae , as well as Dacians , or Daci , the name applied to people of the region by the Romans. Augustus aimed at subjugating the entire Balkan peninsula , and used an incursion of
3572-485: The Romans. Some scholars consider the Getae and Dacians to be the same people at different stages of their history and discuss their culture as Geto-Dacian . Historian and archaeologist Alexandru Vulpe found a remarkable uniformity of the Geto-Dacian culture; however, he is one of the few Romanian archaeologists to make a clear distinction between the Getae and Dacians, arguing against the traditional position of
3648-465: The bank of the Danube, including in Capidava. Later Domitian realised the strategic importance of the land between the Danube and the Black Sea , as he used this part of Moesia as a starting point of his expeditions over the Danube against the Dacians. The changing fate of these expeditions and the chaotic effect of two successive defeats hindered systematic strengthening and garrisoning the bank of
3724-460: The change in the garrison troops, after 243 AD when Cohors I Ubiorum was replaced by Cohors I Germanorum civium romanorum until the end of the 3rd century. The fort was restored in the second half of the 3rd century after the destruction by the Goths. The Constantinian and post-Constantinian phase had rectangular and U-shaped towers. After the Slavo-Avar attacks of 580-581 the curtain wall
3800-543: The defensive frontier system of the Moesian Limes along the Danube. It is located in the village with the same name in Constanța County , Romania . Capidava is depicted in the form Calidava / Calidaua in Segmentum VIII of Tabula Peutingeriana (1st–4th century) on a Roman road between Axiopolis and Carsium . The map provides distances between Axiopolis, Capidava and Carsium which coincide with
3876-526: The distances between the sites. This is also verified by the discovery of a milestone at Seimenii Mici that indicates the distance of 18,000 feet (27 km) from Axiopolis to Capidava. Capidava appears on an illustration from Notitia Dignitatum imperii romani between the forts standing on the Lower Danube limes and found under the authority of the military commander of the province ( dux Scythiae ). Notitia also mentions at Capidava (form Capidaua )
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#17327809493673952-480: The first century BC, Dio provides only a summary of events; after that period, his accounts become more detailed. Dio's work has often been deprecated as unreliable and lacking any overall political aim. Recently, however, some scholars have re-evaluated his work and have highlighted his complexity and sophisticated political and historical interpretations. The first 21 books have been partially reconstructed based on fragments from other works, as well as
4028-505: The foundation of the defensive wall and late fort, as well as the trajectory of the ditch protecting it. In this sector was uncovered the building of the guards. Inside the fortified settlement one can look at several buildings raised around a private square, fitted with porches, as well as access paths and sewerage canals. Out of 8 dolia ( doliare opus ) - a general term for rough pottery artifacts, brick ones, tile ones, sewerage pipes - 3 were left. The Stone Ring Island Next to Capidava on
4104-435: The hand of Marcus Licinius Crassus . Pârvan identified the fort mentioned by Dio with future Roman fort Capidava, stating the locations described in the ancient source fit well with the modern location. Pârvan identified the administrative form of Capidava as an old Dacian pagus , based on a local inscription. The archaeological material of the 2nd century AD is mixed in character: Geto-Dacian and Roman. The funeral stone of
4180-503: The identification, historian Constantin C. Giurescu claiming the two were identical. The archaeologist Mircea Babeș spoke of a "veritable ethno-cultural unity" between the Getae and the Dacians. According to Glanville Price , the account of the Greek geographer Strabo shows that the Getae and the Dacians were one and the same people. Others who support the identity between Getae and Dacians with ancient sources include freelance writer James Minahan and Catherine B Avery , who claim
4256-522: The latter to interpret the common language as a sign of a common people, despite Strabo making a distinction between the two. From the 7th century BC onwards, the Getae came into economic and cultural contact with the Greeks , who were establishing colonies on the western side of Pontus Euxinus, nowadays the Black Sea. The Getae are mentioned for the first time together in Herodotus in his narrative of
4332-584: The most just of all the Thracian tribes". Herodotus. Histories , 4.93.</ref> When the Persians , led by Darius the Great , campaigned against the Scythians , the Thracian tribes in the Balkans surrendered to Darius on his way to Scythia , and only the Getae offered resistance. One episode from the history of the Getae is attested by several ancient writers. When Lysimachus tried to subdue
4408-569: The name of the Dacian tribe to refer to all the unconquered inhabitants north of the Danube . Also, Edward Bunbury believed the name of Getae, by which they were originally known to the Greeks on the Euxine , was always retained by the latter in common usage: while that of Dacians, whatever be its origin, was that by which the more western tribes, adjoining the Pannonians , first became known to
4484-441: The people Dacians, the name used by the natives themselves as well as by the Romans , though I am not ignorant that some Greek writers refer to them as Getae , whether that is the right term or not...". He also said the Dacians lived on both sides of the Lower Danube ; the ones south of the river (today's northern Bulgaria ), in Moesia , were called Moesians , while the ones north of the river were called Dacians. He argued that
4560-404: The people whom the Greek called Getae were called Daci by the Romans. This same belief is stated by some British historians such as David Sandler Berkowitz and Philip Matyszak . The Bulgarian historian and thracologist Alexander Fol considers that the Getae became known as "Dacians" in Greek and Latin in the writings of Caesar , Strabo and Pliny the Elder , as Roman observers adopted
4636-408: The period from 65 BC to 12 BC, or from the eastern campaign of Pompey and the death of Mithridates to the death of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa . Book 55 contains a considerable gap, while Books 56 through 60 (which cover the period from 9–54 AD) are complete and contain events from the defeat of Varus in Germany to the death of Claudius . Of the 20 subsequent books in
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#17327809493674712-404: The probable linguistic situation with the relation between modern Norwegian and Danish languages. Paul Lachlan MacKendrick considered the two as "branches" of the same tribe, speaking two dialects of a common language. The Romanian historian of ideas and historiographer Lucian Boia stated: "At a certain point, the phrase Geto-Dacian was coined in the Romanian historiography to suggest
4788-481: The same about Getae and Thracians. Strabo's account of the lands inhabited by the Getae: Pliny the Elder , in his Naturalis Historia (Natural History), c. 77–79 AD: "... though various races have occupied the adjacent shores; at one spot the Getae , by the Romans called Daci ". Appian , who began writing his Roman History under Antoninus Pius , Roman Emperor from 138 to 161, noted: "[B]ut going beyond these rivers in places they rule some of
4864-535: The same ethnonym Getae to name populations invading the Eastern Roman Empire ( Goths , Gepids , Kutrigurs , Slavs ). For instance, in the third book of the History of the Wars Procopius details: "There were many Gothic nations in earlier times, just as also at the present, but the greatest and most important of all are the Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, and Gepaedes. In ancient times, however, they were named Sauromatae and Melanchlaeni; and there were some too who called these nations Getic." The Getae were considered
4940-514: The same people as the Goths by Jordanes in his Getica written at the middle of the 6th century. He also claims that at one point the "Getae" migrated out of Scandza , while identifying their deity Zalmoxis as a Gothic king. Jordanes assumed the earlier testimony of Orosius. The 9th-century work De Universo of Rabanus Maurus states, "The Massagetae are in origin from the tribe of the Scythians, and are called Massagetae, as if heavy, that is, strong Getae. There have long been attempts to link
5016-408: The same time, they uncovered metal, bone, glass, stone, earth artifacts and coins. The coins date from the time of John I Tzimiskes , Basil II , Constantine VIII , and Theodora . Of the total of almost 50 epigraphic monuments uncovered 25 are funerary steles , and the rest are altars, honorary or simple votives . The sculptural monuments uncovered number 15 and are capitals, a hand, a shaft-column,
5092-437: The second period of Iron Age . Beside the Geto-Dacian ceramic, fragments of Roman vases are scattered here and there. The early 20th century Romanian archaeologist and historian Vasile Pârvan identified the Geto-Dacian Capidava as the center of power for the Getic king Dapyx , within a territorium Capidavense . Cassius Dio 's Historia Romana makes mention of the retreat of Dapyx into his fort after his defeat in 28 BC at
5168-419: The series, there remain only fragments and the meager abridgement of John Xiphilinus , a Byzantine monk from the 11th century sponsored by emperor Michael VII Doukas . The abridgment of Xiphilinus, as now extant, commences with Book 35 and continues to the end of Book 80. The last book covers the period from 222 to 229 AD (the first half of the reign of Alexander Severus ). The fragments of
5244-405: The sites of the forts and the civilian settlements related to them were overwhelmingly of pre-Roman origin, mostly Geto-Dacian. In the southern part of the frontier there was a concentration of names ending in dava , characteristic of the Geto-Dacian hill-forts, indicating that the Roman army found a lot of local tribes dwelling in fortified sites according to their traditions. Nevertheless, Capidava
5320-419: The spring of 1036, an invasion of the Pechenegs devastated large parts of the region, destroying the forts at Capidava and Dervent and burning the settlement in Dinogetia . In 1046 the Byzantines accepted the settling of Pechenegs under Kegen in Paristrion as foederati . They established some form of domination until 1059, when Isaac I Komnenos reconquered Dobruja. The site on a massive rock standing on
5396-433: Was a Roman citizen , he wrote in Greek. Dio always maintained a love for his hometown of Nicaea, calling it "my home", as opposed to his description of his villa in Capua , Italy ("the place where I spend my time whenever I am in Italy"). For the greater part of his life, Dio was a member of the public service . He was a senator under Commodus and governor of Smyrna following the death of Septimius Severus ; he became
5472-751: Was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome , beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the subsequent founding of Rome (753 BC), the formation of the Republic (509 BC), and the creation of the Empire (27 BC) up until 229 AD, during the reign of Severus Alexander . Written in Ancient Greek over 22 years, Dio's work covers approximately 1,000 years of history. Many of his books have survived intact, alongside summaries edited by later authors such as Xiphilinus ,
5548-455: Was a station of the fleet Classis Flavia Moesica whose main base was at Noviodunum. To the E and NE of the fortified settlement stretched the tumulus cemetery with rich incineration graves and further to the south with more modest graves. Human remains in the necropolis have been studied by geneticists. The vexillations and cohorts stationed at the Capidava fort were: The ruins at Capidava were known by word of mouth from long ago, as
5624-452: Was already Romanized. Roman veterans settled in the canabae (civilian settlement attached to military base) or maybe also in the old Getic village that was not far away. Inscriptions with Dacian names like Tsinna ( Zinnas , Sinna ) and Tsiru dating to 2nd century have been discovered at the site: "Tsiru son of Bassus in ISM V 27". The fort continued to function without many problems, except for
5700-422: Was located perhaps in its vicinity, where remains of a large antique city are found along with dozens of other Thracian mound tombs. As stated earlier, just like the Dacians, the principal god of the Getae was Zalmoxis whom they sometimes called Gebeleizis . This same people, when it lightens and thunders , aim their arrows at the sky , uttering threats against the god; and they do not believe that there
5776-640: Was restored. The late fort was built in the southern quarter of the citadel after 594/595, whose occupation did not go far beyond the dates of the last coins (follis de la Heraclius, 612/613). After the official withdrawal from Dobrudja of the Eastern Roman Empire (ca. 600), the city was rebuilt by the Byzantines in the 10th century, also hosting the local population. Fire caused by the Pechenegs in 1036 led to its final abandonment. In
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