We chose to write this script in a different way to Part 1; in a way that puts you in the shoes of Emperor Trajan, and makes you understand the same fear and responsibility for the lives of thousands under his command while dealing with problems concerning communications, steady logistics, water supply, and even terrible news that demand his immediate attention; all under limited time! I think this is the best way to understand why Trajan marched along rivers, took specific detours, and made the mistakes that they did. Part 3 will retain this style, and Trajan’s biggest mistake is still to come! If you're interested in how Rome was able to outfit the largest army of antiquity, check out our video on their genius system: ua-cam.com/video/DSdztU469Vs/v-deo.html
@@richardcharitat Google Earth is amazing for visualising just how mountainous the terrain is. I first wanted to track the entire video on Google Maps, but they have a pretty strict copyright policy and I couldn’t risk it!
As romanian history student in Cluj-Napoca i have to say that this is a very beautiful summary, also my guy you had this things in the history book when you were like 13 i think
It’s because it’s it’s the creators theories on Dacian war with Trajan. Only surviving record of battles creators considers it only Roman propaganda so it’s clear the rest is just his guess
After studying Roman military history intensively for 60 plus years I must say that these documentaries of Trajans Dacian war is are the most detailed and interesting that I have seen so far. Thank you the great work. Looking forward to more!
I second David's compliment regarding the detail and interest. I think the biggest caveat for me learning about Ancient Rome from a friend of mine a decade ago were his choice of 2+ hour-long documentaries, which were detailed, but most were lack-luster and from the 80s or earlier. This channel helps alleviate that issue by breaking down historical events into more digestible parts (shorter vids), while also providing stark and relevant imagery to compliment accurate historical descriptions. Providing Total War Rome II music puts glorious golden icing on the delicious red-velvet Ancient Roman cake 🍰I have since subscribed to your channel, and ready to begin my legionary education 😄 So I thank you, Historia Militium, for re-igniting my interest in Ancient Rome! ROMA INVICTA!
As someone who was born and raised in Deva, I'm glad to see that one of the few mentions of my hometown by a foreign youtuber is in such an interesting video series. As someone in the comments also said it, we do not even learn about this in such detail in schools. Thanks for the videos!
It was the most masterpiece YT video about Roman times I've ever seen. And the topic is rare indeed so it's even more precious. Huge plus for covering the Dacians in detail. You just have won a new patreon - good luck with future projects.
What an incredible video. I think the tactics used by Decebalus say a lot about his mentality, the invasion being his sword while the stronghold in the mountains was his shield. The opportunistic attack in the weak spot of the Romans almost like striking between the armor plates of the opponent where he least expects it.
And both remarkable. The stronghold in the mountains was formed by multiple layers of stronghold; the capital city was defended by other fortresses withing few miles (for 20 km the passage was defended by 6 fortresses and some other methods like towers, walls).
@@octaviantimisoreanu5810imbecil de ultimul rege al Atenei ai auzit se chema Codruț de regina Geților Mari Tomița nu tomiris care la ucis pe Cirus în 529 ien în Kazahstan+ Uzbekistan Turkmenistan, erau pământurile noastre
Immigration, not continuation. Every your own historians do not believe in continuation any more. Let me quote you from Nemeti Sorin and Dana, Dan. ‘Introduction. The Dacian paradox.’ In The Roman Empire Provincial. Constructions (2019, Cluj Napoca) Ed’s. Nemeti, Sorin et al. ‘By the end of the 1980s the syntagm “Daco-Roman” was mandatory for all things related to the provincial environment in Dacia. The Dacians were envisaged as forming the largest population in the province and having spread to the last hamlet. Through Romanization they presumably represented the main ethnic component of the future Romanian people. This teleological vision that extends the complete Romanization of the Dacians even to the considerable territories inhabited by the Dacians outside the province was dominant for centuries in Romanian historiography. It was also illustrated by C. C. Petolescu’s recent synthesis works, titles which are relevant for the matter at hand. As the Dacians were autochthons, they did not abandon their homes in the face of the migration waves of the Dark Millennium. Even if they ended up speaking a different language (Latin), the Dacians remained the undying offshoot of Romanianism. Naturally, this entire construction of Romanian ethnogenesis in the vision of the Daco-Romanianists contains a strong imaginary component, the fruit of scholarly mythologies. This is a form of collective memory, of bookish origin, created by the Romanian intellectuals and artificially sustained through literary and historical productions, through public education and, more recently, through the media’ (pp. 8-9). If you don’t understand hedging, in plain English it means that the Deco-Roman continuity is a hoax. And it is not written by me but by historians Sorin Nemeti (Bolyai-Babes University) and Dan Dana (French National Centre of Scientific Research), your compatriots. They are no slouch mate, with dozens of publications about Roman Dacia.
it's amazing how much this war gets overlooked by those showing Rome's history and might. And when it does it's in a manner simmilar to a show I saw on discovery channel once: Rome was invincible, the dacians were small and unimportant and the conclusion of the war was a done deal from the start. When in reality Rome used its largest army fielded up until that point, led by one of it's greatest emperors at hight of it's imperial might and won a phyric victory. Some geologists in Romania analized the soil and apparently the summer of 106 was one of the hottest and driest in a century and this led to a reinterpretation of the scene on the column with dacians surrendering a fort and coming out with bowls of water as offerings to the Romans - it's now believed that they were begging for water and the siege wouldn't have been won without the weather annomaly. SO the dacians were probably one of the most formidable adversaries the romans had encountered. Not to mention the importance of the war in terms of spoils with the dacian gold and silver revitalising the roman economy. Truly makes this conflict criminally underrated.
The greatest enemy Romans ever met were Iberians. It took over 2 centuries to subdue Iberian peninsula. Roman military were tested against Iberians all the time. He was a good military commander, who returned from Iberia with minor losses. And if you scored a couple of victories over there - you got to be a second Alexander. Dacians were destroyed in less than a decade. Their wise and powerful Decebalus ended up with his head on a tray brought to Trajan. His armies were annihilated, fortresses taken and people enslaved . Result is everything and judging by result Decebalus was not very smart, to put it mildly
@@nicolafiliber3062 Iberian peninsula does not equal a specific kingdom. by your metric, dacian lands were never entirely cocquered and the dacians constantly raided roman lands, even after the fall of the dacian kingdom. So already, iberians are lower on the chart for being completely occupied. Also, iberians got ocupied only partialy through military means, with a lot of it being through diplomacy and colonising(so they didn't put thatmuch of a fight. Second, the whole point of my initial comment was the moment when the 2 civilisations met, Rome was at its hight with one of its greatest rulers in command of a + 100k army and all its resources focused on the dacians. While the iberians were a side quest with campaigns of 6k to 15k from the romans. Had the iberians ever faced trajan and his army they would have probably been occupied at marching speed.
@@olmaned3795 You do not sound too convincing, my lord. We can name a couple of Roman commanders, who suffered setbacks at Dacia. If we start to list the Roman commanders who suffered defeats in Spain, the list will be long. Lusitanian Viriatus was much more successful than Decebalus ever was. It does not matter whether Spain was a kingdom, or not . A loose confederation of small Iberian principalities proved to be more effective than Dacian kingdom, which did not survive a century. It was wiped out completely. The head of Decebalus was brought to Trajan, his armies were annihilated, fortresses taken, people enslaved . Modern day Romanians are descendents of Roman settlers, not Dacians, and speak the language which derives from Latin
@@nicolafiliber3062 it doesn’t matter how I sound, my point stands and you’ve said nothing to counter it. Beating back some commanders with with a few troops does not equal beating Trajan at the head of a 100k army, which was my initial point… that you keep dodging.
Im Romanian and this is a fine description of the war even learned a few new things. The presentation is excelent and i can tell you the propaganda in Romania is to bash the Dacians because it doesnt seem so impressive but it is. My relatives are from the region Trajan besieged near the Orastie and i can tell you even now people there are tough. it wasnt a cakewalk at all this war but a battle in the mud. Trajan was a very good tactician and made all the correct steps. He even constructed very good positional fortresess but this was at stage 2 in the years 105. In Romania for example the history is not studied like this but your clip should be presented. We, meaning me and a few passionate heroes learned from many sources of the Dacian Roman wars. Dacians obviously had the positional advantage and Decebalus was also a good tactician but yeah it was nearly impossible to defeat the whole roman empire, he was close though. The Dacians just had less men, less armour less of everything material, the Roman empire was just 20x bigger. Its impossible to fight and win against a determined Roman army at its peak. The Romans also behaved brutally because the war was very brutal the Dacians were not willing to give up. In the end the Dacian Campaign was the last major campaign of Rome and sealed the deal of the Roman Empire. What is unique about the Dacians is yes they had very good military equipment, an advanced society, a developed state and even some inventions the romans didnt have. They also had all sorts of fortifications and yes knew some siege war. The fortifications were many with all sorts of walls and contraptions and sarmisegetusa fell also because the romans conquered wells to the city. The walls were quite big they were on a hill and it was not easy. And yes the Dacians had helmets too, they had everything in equal quality as the romans as the Dacians were very good metal workers. Of course and you are correct not every Dacian had good armour in fact many didnt have armour or they had light armour, because Dacia just didn't have enaugh men to make armours for everyone in the army. Imagine making 100.000 shields, 100k chainmails, swords...Dacia just didnt have enaugh population to make armour for everyone. And yes its good that you said that Dacians had helmets. Of course they did. Its crazy to think you can just fight the roman legionares in their prime with no armour, its suicide:) Sure, the problem was ultimately that the Roman Army just had more of everything including armour which made a big difference in the field. When it comes to fighting the Dacians were equal to romans in courage, discipline, skill with the falx (its btw called Sica in Dacian) but i do think the romans were better in open fields with large armies having more experience while the dacians were fighting an ambush type of war with strikes and retreats, positional war. The changing of the roman armour i do think its real because tests were done and with the standard roman armour the Sica Falx was just too deadly in blunt force. The Romans were not good people but they kinda are presented in Romania as bringers of civilisation bla bla. The Dacians didnt really need it and they were open to new ideas, the Dacians could have advanced on their own. Although i do agree there were always skirmishes at the border and the Dacians were never happy of Romans in Moesia because that was before Dacian land too and the Dobrogea where the Sarmatians atacked
Yes! I’ve been patiently waiting for part 2 for months. Checking your channel twice a week even though I set notifications haha I love your content so much. I discovered you from part 1 and you deserve many more subscribers.
Love the detail again, hardly anyone speaks of the great raid into roman territory when discussing the dacian wars of Trajan. They sometimes mention the siege at novae, but that is all. Good stuff!
Nice, an ad that actually interested me. That's a rare one. I love me a random magazine. Just finished one over last month or two on American Revolutionary War.
Falx’s and Rhomphaia’s are my favorite swords. They’re like European katana’s bent outward instead of inward. And they absolutely horrified Romans. They’re the reason legionaries started using manica’s on their sword arm. A piece of armor only used by gladiators up until that point.
So I supose u've seen the videos on yt with the falxs tests on pig's carcasses. The physics aplied by that type of blade is ridiculous. You just need the swing and the reach...
After conquering Dacia, Trajan decreed 123 days of holydays throughout all the empire. The gold taken from Dacia fueled the Roman war machine for 160 years. Just to have an idea, the first gold shipment had the ships so filled with gold that 6 of them sink on the way to Rome. The Trajan's column, depicting the Dacian wars, is the biggest of all columns, and Constantin's arch has several. statues of Dacians, proudly looking down. Researchers first thought that they were tatues of Dacian prisoners but later realized they were no prisoners, and the statues were built as a homenage. Dacian wars were the most important wars to that date, at the peak of Roman Empire...
This is so good! Thanks, kind people for making this video. Always wanted to learn more about Trajan's wars and I get a lot more info about the Dacians as well
Massive respect to the Dacians and Decebalus. They were only narrowly beaten by the GOAT empire of the ancient world, with its military at its peak and led by the GOAT emperor, Trajan.
This is the best and truly the most detailed video about the Dacian Wars which is often very overlooked in most history channels for some reason! Many congratulations and i am awaiting more videos in the near future mostly of ancient history.
It's criminal that they have left Trajan's column out in the open air to get worn down to nothing by the weather. They should build an elegant glass structure over it to preserve it.
I visited Rome for the first time last year and saw Trajan’s column in person. Its much larger than I imagined, with stunning detail throughout. Standing there, I couldn’t help but wonder the same… I wish it remains standing for many generations to come!
@@HistoriaMilitum I had the chance to visit Rome in 2022 for the first time, and it really is breathtaking. Thanks for all the work you put into these series!
Shall I upset you? At the triumphal arch of Galerius from Thessalonica, where it is about the victory of the Dacians against the Persians, the faces of the Dacian soldiers can no longer be seen due to the weather conditions. Sad.
It is odd, I always though the Dacians were little more than barbarians. But I am gobsmacked at how carefully and expertly they built cities, infrastructure and art.
they all lived in the same world, and ideas and technology got around. you won't find stone age people in Europe in the Roman period... this concept of primitive people you have based on the misunderstanding of a word is a false one. something akin to the type of society you're thinking of only existed in the Americas, parts of South East Asia, Australasia, Polynesia and Subsaharn Africa at that time. certainly not in Europe. What's more these Dacians are essentially western Scythians or at least in part... the video creator is wrong to imply they adopted mail armour from surrounding people; Scythians invented mail when Rome was a small fishing village.
Barbarian is a catch all term used to denote a lesser like status or civility, compared to his counterparts aka Roman’s or perhaps China when viewing outsiders for example.
Have just suffered a mini heart attack when I realized that there will be a third part to the Dacian Wars. It's completely amazing really, even having researched and read all I could find on the Dacian wars I'm still watching your videos while forgetting to blink or breathe! 11/10 as always!
Haha, we are glad to hear it. We dont know ourselves how many parts this series will be. If part 3 turns out to be too jam-packed with info, we might split it with a part 4!
Hello HistoriaMilitum, 🤩 I would like to state that the largest edifice built by the Dacians is not the columna, maybe not even the Sarmizegetusa fortress, but the triumphal arch of Constantine the Great built after the battle of 312 on the Milvius bridge. Then and there the future fate of Christian teachings was decided. In the Ingressus scene when Constantine enters Rome, he is accompanied by the Dacian troops with their wolf banners. Troops who fought against the Persians under Galerius, the Roman emperor of Dacian origin. I consider that the arch is an edifice that primarily celebrates their heroism on the Milvius bridge. Kudos to your entire team for the educational information.😘
As a romanian historian with dacian era in my works I must say that is the most courageous description of the Trajan wars. Because a lot of your statements aren't directly confirmed but only supposed to be. The biggest one is the Mures river direction of attack which was almost totally rejected by the most romanian scholars. Not me, I'm still open to that option, but still not confirmed by any sources. Also the historic sources express mention Tapae as the place of both engagements, but you shift it to.....Deva. Also for the auxiliary directions of attack inside Dacia experts are still debating.....if. Moesia inferior roman forces crossing Danube and advance to mountains also suppositions....and a lot more. But, but.....all of yours description makes sense and was possible....maybe, as somebody note here, till De Bello Dacico will be found...
Bravo, awesome information! I am glad that finally the Dacians are presented as they were: brave, knowledgeable, and proper military equipment; rather than just barbarians without any skills, or qualifications to stand against the mighty Romans, as they are usually portraited throughout western history.
@@JonEtxebeberriaRodriguez Jon, there is such a difference between holding and reading a real journal and swiping pdf slides 😁 I am toooo old (30y) for this digital nonsense 😂
I dont know if this is true, but i read that Traian discovered the Dacian attack much early than he should have, because the roman garrisons used smoke signals to communicate and managed to get the word of the attack much faster than a Horse messenger. My source is spanish historian Santiago Posteguillo.
After 200 years, the Roman emperor Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus treated the Romans as Trajan treated the Dacians. Galerius affirmed his Dacian identity and avowed himself the enemy of the Roman name once made emperor, even proposing that the empire should be called, not the Roman, but the Dacian Empire, much to the horror of the patricians and senators. Galerius exhibited an anti-Roman attitude as soon as he had attained the highest power, treating the Roman citizens with ruthless cruelty, like the conquerors treated the conquered, all in the name of the same treatment that the victorious Trajan had applied to the conquered Dacians, forefathers of Galerius, two centuries before.
@@viocastorulcalator5664 E o sursă istorică. Nu e deloc poveste. Lactanius a menționat de două o ori referitor la acțiunile lui Galerius, că se considera dac. Ba chiar Lactaniusl îl considera barbar. "But the other Maximian (Galerius), chosen by Diocletian for his son-in-law, was worse, not only than those two princes whom our own times have experienced, but worse than all the bad princes of former days. In this wild beast there dwelt a native barbarity and a savageness foreign to Roman blood; and no wonder, for his mother was born beyond the Danube, and it was an inroad of the Carpi that obliged her to cross over and take refuge in New Dacia. The form of Galerius corresponded with his manners. "
@@viocastorulcalator5664 Referitor la taxele impuse Romei "Neither youth, nor old age, nor sickness, afforded any exemption. The diseased and the infirm were carried in; the age of each was estimated; and, that the capitation-tax might be enlarged, years were added to the young and struck off from the old. General lamentation and sorrow prevailed. Whatever, by the laws of war, conquerors had done to the conquered, the like did this man presume to perpetrate against Romans and the subjects of Rome, because his forefathers had been made liable to a like tax imposed by the victorious Trajan, as a penalty on the Dacians for their frequent rebellions."
@@dacusdaniel este un panegiric tot acest pasaj. Vroia să impună taxe, vroia sa schimbe numele imperiului și nimic nu a făcut. Sunt parte din propaganda mai târzie nu se confirmă de alte surse, numismatică, inscripții sau ceva măcar. E tare iubită această anecdotă de dacopații moderni, dar simplu nu se confirmă sau nu are sens. :)
Radu Olteanu is an ilustrator ( historical illustrations ) not a historian - but he manage produce , self fund , publish and draw all the watercolor and photoshop images and create all the text based on his vast research. He is also involved with local historian friends that have books and research papers and archeologist that are history enthusiasts. They have contributed to his personal research which he takes very serious.
It is thanks to his work and his colleagues that many in the english speaking world can access some information about the Dacian Wars. Because excluding romanian, the only languages with a bit of research in the topic are spanish and french 😂.
Guys you are the best..... Imagine that in our schools they are teaching us that our ancestors Dacians where weak and always lost....Our true history is deleted by some people with big interests.
Can you talk in part 3 about Sarmisegetusa Regia? About Dacian type walls? Dacian weapons? Dacian religion? The huge statues of Dacians made by the Romans?
Daci de pe arcul de triumf a lui Constantin sunt o recunoștintă a invingerii Romei cu cel mai mare ajutor al trupeleor dace, conduși de Constantin cel mare
@@dafinfeel7942 trupe "dacice" în sec.4)) nu, nu sint. E cunoscut de toți în temă că statuile de pe arca "lui Constantin" sunt de pe un monument a lui Traian din sec.2. Plus sunt în ipostază clară de captivi. Frescele sunt de pe un Monument a lui Marcus Aurelius. Posibil această amplasare târzie e legată de recucerirea(parțială) a Daciei la nord de Dunăre de către Constantin în anii 325-334
@@dafinfeel7942 trupe "dacice" în sec.4??)) Nu numai că nu existau așa trupe pe atunci, uzurpatorul Constantin vine din Britania, nu de la Dunăre. ;) Nu, nimic nu zice așa ceva . Statuile sunt magnifice dar sunt clar de captivi. Și cel mai important nu sunt din timpul lui Constantin, sunt din timpul lui Traian, plasate pe un arc. E cunosc de toți în temă că sau pus acolo lucrări de la Traian și Marcus Aurelius. Romanii din sec.4 deja nu făceau așa lucrări ideale. Posibil au legătură simbolistică mai târzie cu campania lui Constantin de recucerire a Daciei la nord de Dunăre în anii 325-334.
Trajan is largely regarded as one of the most successful Emperors of Rome. During his reign, Roman power was at it's absolute best, the peak of their Empire. This tells a hell of a lot about Decebalus and the Dacians and just how important of a treat they were for the Romans to need 2 separate wars to win. And to throw the biggest party ever after the wars. Many aquaducts, buildings, roads and sculptures were created in the immediate time after the war, with the amount of wealth seized. One of the most famous being Trajans Column. But the Dacians appear on other works as well, more so than other civilisations they conquered.
The biggest plunder in ancient history. 160 tonnes of gold and 300 of silver (some estimates are 1/3rd bigger) Pulled out the Roman Empire from bancruptcy.
That is very hard to digest for the most west scholars. Also, Trajan killed and enslaved almost half of the dacians (another phenomenal source of money for the bankrupt Rome) and with this plunder keep Colloseum to work for months non-stop.
We chose to write this script in a different way to Part 1; in a way that puts you in the shoes of Emperor Trajan, and makes you understand the same fear and responsibility for the lives of thousands under his command while dealing with problems concerning communications, steady logistics, water supply, and even terrible news that demand his immediate attention; all under limited time! I think this is the best way to understand why Trajan marched along rivers, took specific detours, and made the mistakes that they did. Part 3 will retain this style, and Trajan’s biggest mistake is still to come!
If you're interested in how Rome was able to outfit the largest army of antiquity, check out our video on their genius system: ua-cam.com/video/DSdztU469Vs/v-deo.html
In this chapter there are two parts VI and no part VII.
Excellent study in strategy & tactics. I follow the video along with Google Earth opened on the area in discussion.
@@richardcharitat Google Earth is amazing for visualising just how mountainous the terrain is. I first wanted to track the entire video on Google Maps, but they have a pretty strict copyright policy and I couldn’t risk it!
Ain’t seen first part… lies lies & logistics? Kidding.. the portion presented was first rate thank you 💛👍
By the way you are narrating Trajan's campaign, you made it sound as if the Romans were the losers.
As a Romanian, not even in school we learn it so detailed. Great job! 😍
As romanian history student in Cluj-Napoca i have to say that this is a very beautiful summary, also my guy you had this things in the history book when you were like 13 i think
visited Constanza.
It was quite the Roman settlement.
As an Italian from Rome I can say the same
It’s because it’s it’s the creators theories on Dacian war with Trajan. Only surviving record of battles creators considers it only Roman propaganda so it’s clear the rest is just his guess
Romans were not from Romania,just saying.😂
After studying Roman military history intensively for 60 plus years I must say that these documentaries of Trajans Dacian war is are the most detailed and interesting that I have seen so far.
Thank you the great work. Looking forward to more!
What a great experience for the Soldier general.. valuable lessons for the Parthian invasion. Made Crassus look like an amateur 🫡💛
Absolutely. Some just never learn.
Like that feinged retreat tactic in battle.
Thank you for the kind comment. It took a lot of hard-work and research to put it together, so we are glad you enjoyed!
I second David's compliment regarding the detail and interest. I think the biggest caveat for me learning about Ancient Rome from a friend of mine a decade ago were his choice of 2+ hour-long documentaries, which were detailed, but most were lack-luster and from the 80s or earlier.
This channel helps alleviate that issue by breaking down historical events into more digestible parts (shorter vids), while also providing stark and relevant imagery to compliment accurate historical descriptions. Providing Total War Rome II music puts glorious golden icing on the delicious red-velvet Ancient Roman cake 🍰I have since subscribed to your channel, and ready to begin my legionary education 😄
So I thank you, Historia Militium, for re-igniting my interest in Ancient Rome! ROMA INVICTA!
This has to be the most detailed video series on the Second Dacian War until we find De Bello Dacico. Seriously incredible work guys.
Would be discovery of the century. Probably only Vatican may hide it.
As someone who was born and raised in Deva, I'm glad to see that one of the few mentions of my hometown by a foreign youtuber is in such an interesting video series. As someone in the comments also said it, we do not even learn about this in such detail in schools. Thanks for the videos!
The best Dacian War docu Ive seen ever, so much detail and most importantly unbiased.
Finally, the Dacian wars covered 🙌 👌
It was the most masterpiece YT video about Roman times I've ever seen. And the topic is rare indeed so it's even more precious. Huge plus for covering the Dacians in detail. You just have won a new patreon - good luck with future projects.
Thank you so much for the high praise and support! The next part will hopefully be just as epic and detailed. We are writing it now!
This series on the Dacian Wars gave me a lot of inspiration for the book I am writing. Thank you for the awesome videos.
please do not rush, this material can last eternally, so why not take the needed time !!! we need QUALITY in this age, above all, forget speed.
What an incredible video. I think the tactics used by Decebalus say a lot about his mentality, the invasion being his sword while the stronghold in the mountains was his shield. The opportunistic attack in the weak spot of the Romans almost like striking between the armor plates of the opponent where he least expects it.
And both remarkable. The stronghold in the mountains was formed by multiple layers of stronghold; the capital city was defended by other fortresses withing few miles (for 20 km the passage was defended by 6 fortresses and some other methods like towers, walls).
Part 1 was amazing this was worth the wait, as a Romanian I have a vested interest in this series!
Yep! This is how our history began
@@octaviantimisoreanu5810 The 'cuiul lui Pepelea' in the Dacian defeat were the Iazyges, imho. Dacians should had them as allies...
@@octaviantimisoreanu5810imbecil de ultimul rege al Atenei ai auzit se chema Codruț de regina Geților Mari Tomița nu tomiris care la ucis pe Cirus în 529 ien în Kazahstan+ Uzbekistan Turkmenistan, erau pământurile noastre
Immigration, not continuation. Every your own historians do not believe in continuation any more.
Let me quote you from Nemeti Sorin and Dana, Dan. ‘Introduction. The Dacian paradox.’ In The Roman Empire Provincial. Constructions (2019, Cluj Napoca) Ed’s. Nemeti, Sorin et al.
‘By the end of the 1980s the syntagm “Daco-Roman” was mandatory for all things related to the provincial environment in Dacia. The Dacians were envisaged as forming the largest population in the province and having spread to the last hamlet. Through Romanization they presumably represented the main ethnic component of the future Romanian people. This teleological vision that extends the complete Romanization of the Dacians even to the considerable territories inhabited by the Dacians outside the province was dominant for centuries in Romanian historiography. It was also illustrated by C. C. Petolescu’s recent synthesis works, titles which are relevant for the matter at hand. As the Dacians were autochthons, they did not abandon their homes in the face of the migration waves of the Dark Millennium. Even if they ended up speaking a different language (Latin), the Dacians remained the undying offshoot of Romanianism. Naturally, this entire construction of Romanian ethnogenesis in the vision of the Daco-Romanianists contains a strong imaginary component, the fruit of scholarly mythologies. This is a form of collective memory, of bookish origin, created by the Romanian intellectuals and artificially sustained through literary and historical productions, through public education and, more recently, through the media’ (pp. 8-9).
If you don’t understand hedging, in plain English it means that the Deco-Roman continuity is a hoax.
And it is not written by me but by historians Sorin Nemeti (Bolyai-Babes University) and Dan Dana (French National Centre of Scientific Research), your compatriots. They are no slouch mate, with dozens of publications about Roman Dacia.
@@leonardusius1968 That happened 2000 years ago. The Dacians lost and they got colonized by the Romans, now we are Romanian.
Waiting a handful of months for these videos is totally worth it
it's amazing how much this war gets overlooked by those showing Rome's history and might. And when it does it's in a manner simmilar to a show I saw on discovery channel once: Rome was invincible, the dacians were small and unimportant and the conclusion of the war was a done deal from the start. When in reality Rome used its largest army fielded up until that point, led by one of it's greatest emperors at hight of it's imperial might and won a phyric victory. Some geologists in Romania analized the soil and apparently the summer of 106 was one of the hottest and driest in a century and this led to a reinterpretation of the scene on the column with dacians surrendering a fort and coming out with bowls of water as offerings to the Romans - it's now believed that they were begging for water and the siege wouldn't have been won without the weather annomaly. SO the dacians were probably one of the most formidable adversaries the romans had encountered. Not to mention the importance of the war in terms of spoils with the dacian gold and silver revitalising the roman economy. Truly makes this conflict criminally underrated.
interesting!!!
The greatest enemy Romans ever met were Iberians. It took over 2 centuries to subdue Iberian peninsula. Roman military were tested against Iberians all the time. He was a good military commander, who returned from Iberia with minor losses. And if you scored a couple of victories over there - you got to be a second Alexander. Dacians were destroyed in less than a decade. Their wise and powerful Decebalus ended up with his head on a tray brought to Trajan. His armies were annihilated, fortresses taken and people enslaved . Result is everything and judging by result Decebalus was not very smart, to put it mildly
@@nicolafiliber3062 Iberian peninsula does not equal a specific kingdom. by your metric, dacian lands were never entirely cocquered and the dacians constantly raided roman lands, even after the fall of the dacian kingdom. So already, iberians are lower on the chart for being completely occupied. Also, iberians got ocupied only partialy through military means, with a lot of it being through diplomacy and colonising(so they didn't put thatmuch of a fight. Second, the whole point of my initial comment was the moment when the 2 civilisations met, Rome was at its hight with one of its greatest rulers in command of a + 100k army and all its resources focused on the dacians. While the iberians were a side quest with campaigns of 6k to 15k from the romans. Had the iberians ever faced trajan and his army they would have probably been occupied at marching speed.
@@olmaned3795 You do not sound too convincing, my lord. We can name a couple of Roman commanders, who suffered setbacks at Dacia. If we start to list the Roman commanders who suffered defeats in Spain, the list will be long. Lusitanian Viriatus was much more successful than Decebalus ever was. It does not matter whether Spain was a kingdom, or not . A loose confederation of small Iberian principalities proved to be more effective than Dacian kingdom, which did not survive a century. It was wiped out completely. The head of Decebalus was brought to Trajan, his armies were annihilated, fortresses taken, people enslaved . Modern day Romanians are descendents of Roman settlers, not Dacians, and speak the language which derives from Latin
@@nicolafiliber3062 it doesn’t matter how I sound, my point stands and you’ve said nothing to counter it. Beating back some commanders with with a few troops does not equal beating Trajan at the head of a 100k army, which was my initial point… that you keep dodging.
As a romanian, thank you !
I've heard other ppl cover this, an it was described not much information was given. remarkable how detailed this campaign is
We put a great lot of time into research and archeological sources into this series. I think there wont be a better documentary for some time!
Im Romanian and this is a fine description of the war even learned a few new things. The presentation is excelent and i can tell you the propaganda in Romania is to bash the Dacians because it doesnt seem so impressive but it is. My relatives are from the region Trajan besieged near the Orastie and i can tell you even now people there are tough. it wasnt a cakewalk at all this war but a battle in the mud. Trajan was a very good tactician and made all the correct steps. He even constructed very good positional fortresess but this was at stage 2 in the years 105. In Romania for example the history is not studied like this but your clip should be presented. We, meaning me and a few passionate heroes learned from many sources of the Dacian Roman wars. Dacians obviously had the positional advantage and Decebalus was also a good tactician but yeah it was nearly impossible to defeat the whole roman empire, he was close though. The Dacians just had less men, less armour less of everything material, the Roman empire was just 20x bigger. Its impossible to fight and win against a determined Roman army at its peak. The Romans also behaved brutally because the war was very brutal the Dacians were not willing to give up. In the end the Dacian Campaign was the last major campaign of Rome and sealed the deal of the Roman Empire. What is unique about the Dacians is yes they had very good military equipment, an advanced society, a developed state and even some inventions the romans didnt have. They also had all sorts of fortifications and yes knew some siege war. The fortifications were many with all sorts of walls and contraptions and sarmisegetusa fell also because the romans conquered wells to the city. The walls were quite big they were on a hill and it was not easy.
And yes the Dacians had helmets too, they had everything in equal quality as the romans as the Dacians were very good metal workers. Of course and you are correct not every Dacian had good armour in fact many didnt have armour or they had light armour, because Dacia just didn't have enaugh men to make armours for everyone in the army. Imagine making 100.000 shields, 100k chainmails, swords...Dacia just didnt have enaugh population to make armour for everyone. And yes its good that you said that Dacians had helmets. Of course they did. Its crazy to think you can just fight the roman legionares in their prime with no armour, its suicide:) Sure, the problem was ultimately that the Roman Army just had more of everything including armour which made a big difference in the field. When it comes to fighting the Dacians were equal to romans in courage, discipline, skill with the falx (its btw called Sica in Dacian) but i do think the romans were better in open fields with large armies having more experience while the dacians were fighting an ambush type of war with strikes and retreats, positional war. The changing of the roman armour i do think its real because tests were done and with the standard roman armour the Sica Falx was just too deadly in blunt force.
The Romans were not good people but they kinda are presented in Romania as bringers of civilisation bla bla. The Dacians didnt really need it and they were open to new ideas, the Dacians could have advanced on their own. Although i do agree there were always skirmishes at the border and the Dacians were never happy of Romans in Moesia because that was before Dacian land too and the Dobrogea where the Sarmatians atacked
There is a lot of history content on UA-cam, but this is by far some of the best I have seen. I can't wait for part 3!!
Yes! I’ve been patiently waiting for part 2 for months. Checking your channel twice a week even though I set notifications haha I love your content so much. I discovered you from part 1 and you deserve many more subscribers.
Thanks for the kind comment. These videos always take a while to make, so the patience is appreciated!
@@HistoriaMilitumyou’re welcome man! The high quality is always appreciated and worth the wait. Which I now do for the next one :)
Same here. I regularly checked the channel for part 2
Love the detail again, hardly anyone speaks of the great raid into roman territory when discussing the dacian wars of Trajan. They sometimes mention the siege at novae, but that is all. Good stuff!
Greetings from Dacia Malvensis.
Nice, an ad that actually interested me. That's a rare one. I love me a random magazine. Just finished one over last month or two on American Revolutionary War.
i grew up in a town next to dacian capital and i remember people always finding roman/dacian swords/coins in the rivers
What a wonderful, careful and calculated general.
What a cliffhanger! Great video! Very informative and entertaining!
I was waiting for this video
Amazing can’t wait for part 3
Falx’s and Rhomphaia’s are my favorite swords. They’re like European katana’s bent outward instead of inward. And they absolutely horrified Romans.
They’re the reason legionaries started using manica’s on their sword arm. A piece of armor only used by gladiators up until that point.
So I supose u've seen the videos on yt with the falxs tests on pig's carcasses. The physics aplied by that type of blade is ridiculous. You just need the swing and the reach...
Once again, amazing video! Always makes my day when I see one of yours pop up :D Cant wait for Part III! Cheers!
Thank you, we will try to release videos faster this year :)
This is awesome. Can't wait for part 3!
simply amazing. I had no idea the dacian wars were this grand and that decabalus was that strong.
After conquering Dacia, Trajan decreed 123 days of holydays throughout all the empire. The gold taken from Dacia fueled the Roman war machine for 160 years. Just to have an idea, the first gold shipment had the ships so filled with gold that 6 of them sink on the way to Rome. The Trajan's column, depicting the Dacian wars, is the biggest of all columns, and Constantin's arch has several. statues of Dacians, proudly looking down. Researchers first thought that they were tatues of Dacian prisoners but later realized they were no prisoners, and the statues were built as a homenage. Dacian wars were the most important wars to that date, at the peak of Roman Empire...
Phenomenal video, can’t wait for part 3!
This is so good! Thanks, kind people for making this video. Always wanted to learn more about Trajan's wars and I get a lot more info about the Dacians as well
All of your videos are worth the wait. This one is full of details that a history lover... loves
Massive respect to the Dacians and Decebalus. They were only narrowly beaten by the GOAT empire of the ancient world, with its military at its peak and led by the GOAT emperor, Trajan.
The GOAT empire was beaten by muslims btw
This is the best and truly the most detailed video about the Dacian Wars which is often very overlooked in most history channels for some reason! Many congratulations and i am awaiting more videos in the near future mostly of ancient history.
It's criminal that they have left Trajan's column out in the open air to get worn down to nothing by the weather.
They should build an elegant glass structure over it to preserve it.
I visited Rome for the first time last year and saw Trajan’s column in person. Its much larger than I imagined, with stunning detail throughout. Standing there, I couldn’t help but wonder the same… I wish it remains standing for many generations to come!
@@HistoriaMilitum I had the chance to visit Rome in 2022 for the first time, and it really is breathtaking. Thanks for all the work you put into these series!
Shall I upset you? At the triumphal arch of Galerius from Thessalonica, where it is about the victory of the Dacians against the Persians, the faces of the Dacian soldiers can no longer be seen due to the weather conditions. Sad.
@@dafinfeel7942 Very sad.
Sorry to be repetitive my friend but I am seriously impressed!!!
These videos are gems.
Impressive work, appreciate all the small details you have discovered in your research.
Thanks!
It is odd, I always though the Dacians were little more than barbarians. But I am gobsmacked at how carefully and expertly they built cities, infrastructure and art.
Domitian gave them roman engineers and city builders due to his humiliating loss much earlier
wtf 😂
you know barbarian just means someone who doesn't speak the same language as you, right?
they all lived in the same world, and ideas and technology got around.
you won't find stone age people in Europe in the Roman period...
this concept of primitive people you have based on the misunderstanding of a word is a false one. something akin to the type of society you're thinking of only existed in the Americas, parts of South East Asia, Australasia, Polynesia and Subsaharn Africa at that time. certainly not in Europe.
What's more these Dacians are essentially western Scythians or at least in part... the video creator is wrong to imply they adopted mail armour from surrounding people; Scythians invented mail when Rome was a small fishing village.
There are those that say that the Roman empire stagnated the development of the western world.
Barbarian is a catch all term used to denote a lesser like status or civility, compared to his counterparts aka Roman’s or perhaps China when viewing outsiders for example.
The dacian last move is a interesting one for sure.
Absolutely loving this serie and this part 2 has been definitely worth the wait. Keep going the good job
SUPERB video! EXCELLENT narration ... FASCINATING history ... We all excited to see part 3! THANK YOU!
Have just suffered a mini heart attack when I realized that there will be a third part to the Dacian Wars.
It's completely amazing really, even having researched and read all I could find on the Dacian wars I'm still watching your videos while forgetting to blink or breathe! 11/10 as always!
Haha, we are glad to hear it. We dont know ourselves how many parts this series will be. If part 3 turns out to be too jam-packed with info, we might split it with a part 4!
really interesting video. i remember living in rome and seeing Trajan's column. very impressive!
I will leave this documentary for after i come home from my job today,so i can steer my mind away from the job a bit and relax.
Cannot wait for the next one! Amazing series!
Been waiting on this for 4 months now soooo happy its here great video keep it up
History made interesting!
that was great man. thank you
Thank you❤❤❤ great job!!!
Excellent video. Can't wait for part 3.
Great job so far!! Thank you for all the work you all put in this. Respect! Loving history
Amazing content!
Great content.cant wait for part 3. Decabulus was truly a great King.gotta give him credit.he was a clever tactician and had good troops
Another great video!
Thank you for your hard work and dedication!
Excellent videos!
Tack!
Thank you for the support!
Great stuffff!
Glad you liked it!
finally! Can’t wait for the next part 🥰
Amazing video! eagerly waiting for more
Thanks .
Great video! Looking forward to part 3
Hello HistoriaMilitum, 🤩 I would like to state that the largest edifice built by the Dacians is not the columna, maybe not even the Sarmizegetusa fortress, but the triumphal arch of Constantine the Great built after the battle of 312 on the Milvius bridge. Then and there the future fate of Christian teachings was decided. In the Ingressus scene when Constantine enters Rome, he is accompanied by the Dacian troops with their wolf banners. Troops who fought against the Persians under Galerius, the Roman emperor of Dacian origin. I consider that the arch is an edifice that primarily celebrates their heroism on the Milvius bridge. Kudos to your entire team for the educational information.😘
As a romanian historian with dacian era in my works I must say that is the most courageous description of the Trajan wars. Because a lot of your statements aren't directly confirmed but only supposed to be. The biggest one is the Mures river direction of attack which was almost totally rejected by the most romanian scholars. Not me, I'm still open to that option, but still not confirmed by any sources. Also the historic sources express mention Tapae as the place of both engagements, but you shift it to.....Deva. Also for the auxiliary directions of attack inside Dacia experts are still debating.....if. Moesia inferior roman forces crossing Danube and advance to mountains also suppositions....and a lot more. But, but.....all of yours description makes sense and was possible....maybe, as somebody note here, till De Bello Dacico will be found...
Bravo, awesome information! I am glad that finally the Dacians are presented as they were: brave, knowledgeable, and proper military equipment; rather than just barbarians without any skills, or qualifications to stand against the mighty Romans, as they are usually portraited throughout western history.
What a interesting video
Love it! Great work guys! Take your time and keep the quality up.
Part 3. Yes sir!
As a Romanian, i can confirm school never taught us the invasion of Dacia in such detail, truly thank you for bringing this great subject to light
Plz don't late for part 3
Loved it 😊 thank you
These videos are amazing
The sponsor of the video is superb! I wish I lived in the US just to buy the journal 😢
Actually the magazine sells online copies in PDF format 😊
@@JonEtxebeberriaRodriguez Jon, there is such a difference between holding and reading a real journal and swiping pdf slides 😁
I am toooo old (30y) for this digital nonsense 😂
@@markaurelius3119 I know 🤣. Nothing beats a good classical paperback journal. Only people in the thirties can understand it 🤣 (31 years old btw)
@@JonEtxebeberriaRodriguez my brother)) 30 years old and thinking about the Roman Empire 😂
Cheers for posting this well researched video 🦅+🐺=🇷🇴
I dont know if this is true, but i read that Traian discovered the Dacian attack much early than he should have, because the roman garrisons used smoke signals to communicate and managed to get the word of the attack much faster than a Horse messenger.
My source is spanish historian Santiago Posteguillo.
Pedazo de trilogía eh, de lo mejor que he leído. Mejor que muchas películas y series
@@oscarpitarch4304 Posteguillo es el 🐐. Como dices sus libros son mejores que películas tanto en la trama como realismo. Simplemente un grande
As someone who is from Deva, this was really interesting
Amazing! Whish you can add more visual battles and tactics.. Otherwise, very cool series, thanks!
ROMANIA 🇷🇴 🇷🇴 🇷🇴 🇷🇴 🇷🇴
This is how you earn yourself an instant sub
I wish youtube recommended me this after all parts were released
And be aware Dacians had also their own powerful God Zamolxe, they always asked him for when they should go to war or not.
Great Video! I can't find part 3, is it out yet?
After 200 years, the Roman emperor Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus treated the Romans as Trajan treated the Dacians. Galerius affirmed his Dacian identity and avowed himself the enemy of the Roman name once made emperor, even proposing that the empire should be called, not the Roman, but the Dacian Empire, much to the horror of the patricians and senators. Galerius exhibited an anti-Roman attitude as soon as he had attained the highest power, treating the Roman citizens with ruthless cruelty, like the conquerors treated the conquered, all in the name of the same treatment that the victorious Trajan had applied to the conquered Dacians, forefathers of Galerius, two centuries before.
E o poveste faza, bazată pe o singură sursă))
Nimic nu arată că acest împărat roman era mai puțin roman decât restul dacilor.
@@viocastorulcalator5664 E o sursă istorică. Nu e deloc poveste. Lactanius a menționat de două o ori referitor la acțiunile lui Galerius, că se considera dac. Ba chiar Lactaniusl îl considera barbar. "But the other Maximian (Galerius), chosen by Diocletian for his son-in-law, was worse, not only than those two princes whom our own times have experienced, but worse than all the bad princes of former days. In this wild beast there dwelt a native barbarity and a savageness foreign to Roman blood; and no wonder, for his mother was born beyond the Danube, and it was an inroad of the Carpi that obliged her to cross over and take refuge in New Dacia. The form of Galerius corresponded with his manners. "
@@viocastorulcalator5664 Referitor la taxele impuse Romei "Neither youth, nor old age, nor sickness, afforded any exemption. The diseased and the infirm were carried in; the age of each was estimated; and, that the capitation-tax might be enlarged, years were added to the young and struck off from the old. General lamentation and sorrow prevailed. Whatever, by the laws of war, conquerors had done to the conquered, the like did this man presume to perpetrate against Romans and the subjects of Rome, because his forefathers had been made liable to a like tax imposed by the victorious Trajan, as a penalty on the Dacians for their frequent rebellions."
@@dacusdaniel este un panegiric tot acest pasaj.
Vroia să impună taxe, vroia sa schimbe numele imperiului și nimic nu a făcut.
Sunt parte din propaganda mai târzie nu se confirmă de alte surse, numismatică, inscripții sau ceva măcar.
E tare iubită această anecdotă de dacopații moderni, dar simplu nu se confirmă sau nu are sens. :)
Utter nonsense, Galerius was a roman to the core, under Diocletian he was the one who imposed the harshest persecutions on Christians.
Thats So cool! I live in Deva But never knew about this🤩
mai mai pui de dac! :)
@@dafinfeel7942 😂😂
Rome:how do you have such large army?
Dacia:magic
Radu Olteanu is an ilustrator ( historical illustrations ) not a historian - but he manage produce , self fund , publish and draw all the watercolor and photoshop images and create all the text based on his vast research. He is also involved with local historian friends that have books and research papers and archeologist that are history enthusiasts. They have contributed to his personal research which he takes very serious.
It is thanks to his work and his colleagues that many in the english speaking world can access some information about the Dacian Wars. Because excluding romanian, the only languages with a bit of research in the topic are spanish and french 😂.
Guys you are the best..... Imagine that in our schools they are teaching us that our ancestors Dacians where weak and always lost....Our true history is deleted by some people with big interests.
Can you talk in part 3 about Sarmisegetusa Regia? About Dacian type walls? Dacian weapons? Dacian religion? The huge statues of Dacians made by the Romans?
Statues of dacian captivs
Daci de pe arcul de triumf a lui Constantin sunt o recunoștintă a invingerii Romei cu cel mai mare ajutor al trupeleor dace, conduși de Constantin cel mare
@@dafinfeel7942 trupe "dacice" în sec.4)) nu, nu sint. E cunoscut de toți în temă că statuile de pe arca "lui Constantin" sunt de pe un monument a lui Traian din sec.2. Plus sunt în ipostază clară de captivi. Frescele sunt de pe un Monument a lui Marcus Aurelius.
Posibil această amplasare târzie e legată de recucerirea(parțială) a Daciei la nord de Dunăre de către Constantin în anii 325-334
@@dafinfeel7942 trupe "dacice" în sec.4??)) Nu numai că nu existau așa trupe pe atunci, uzurpatorul Constantin vine din Britania, nu de la Dunăre. ;)
Nu, nimic nu zice așa ceva .
Statuile sunt magnifice dar sunt clar de captivi. Și cel mai important nu sunt din timpul lui Constantin, sunt din timpul lui Traian, plasate pe un arc. E cunosc de toți în temă că sau pus acolo lucrări de la Traian și Marcus Aurelius. Romanii din sec.4 deja nu făceau așa lucrări ideale.
Posibil au legătură simbolistică mai târzie cu campania lui Constantin de recucerire a Daciei la nord de Dunăre în anii 325-334.
Trajan is largely regarded as one of the most successful Emperors of Rome. During his reign, Roman power was at it's absolute best, the peak of their Empire. This tells a hell of a lot about Decebalus and the Dacians and just how important of a treat they were for the Romans to need 2 separate wars to win. And to throw the biggest party ever after the wars. Many aquaducts, buildings, roads and sculptures were created in the immediate time after the war, with the amount of wealth seized. One of the most famous being Trajans Column. But the Dacians appear on other works as well, more so than other civilisations they conquered.
Nice video
Amazing videos
The legion got pulled over for speeding along the way. This angered the emperor. He was heard screaming," give me back my license!"
Great vid. I can also recommend EUROPA THE LAST BATTLE.
like the look of the magazines.
The biggest plunder in ancient history.
160 tonnes of gold and 300 of silver (some estimates are 1/3rd bigger)
Pulled out the Roman Empire from bancruptcy.
That is very hard to digest for the most west scholars. Also, Trajan killed and enslaved almost half of the dacians (another phenomenal source of money for the bankrupt Rome) and with this plunder keep Colloseum to work for months non-stop.
Waiting for the 3rd part