The Dacian War
THE DACIAN WAR The author of the commentary is unknown, we only know his dedication: “nunc spernitur lux, nuper gloriam Romae vidi” Now the days are wasted, once the glory of Rome I saw. PREAMBLE I - When (in 44 BC) Burebista, first king of the Dacians, was assassinated, the kingdom that he established (the present Romania and part of Hungary), fell apart, splitting into four parts. Burebista in the Roman civil war had supported Pompey against Caesar, after the victory of the Divine Julius at Pharsalus (48 BC.), and shortly after the death of Pompey, his position was weakened to the point that his enemies killed him. However as weakened by internal divisions, already at the time of the Divine Augustus, when the Danube froze, Dacian most warlike tribes often attempted to penetrate into Moesia and Pannonia, to make raids into Roman provinces. Every time they were driven back, nevertheless they continued to be a constant threat, forcing us to maintain armed garrisons along the Danube, to defend the “limes” (border) of the Empire. With the passage of time, encouraged by our lack of decisive response, they began to design more daring attacks. It so happened that Diurpaneo, one of the Dacian kings, assailed (69 AD), the Roman “castra” (encampment) of Viminacium (today Kostolac in Serbia), in Moesia Superior, but, rejected by our legionnaires, he was forced to retreat. This defeat persuaded Diurpaneo that first he had to strengthen himself inside Dacia. To this purpose he committed all forces to reunite the kingdom. When the bold enterprise succeeded (75 AD), it became clear that the danger he represented could not be long ignored.
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