Argedava (''Argedauon'', ''Sargedava'', ''Sargedauon'', ''Zargedava'', ''Zargedauon'', grc, Αργεδαυον, Σαργεδαυον) was an important Dacian town mentioned in the

Decree of Dionysopolis The Decree of Dionysopolis was written around 48 BC by the citizens of Dionysupolis, Dionysopolis (today's Balchik, on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria) to Akornion, who traveled far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's farther in ''Argeda ...

(48 BC), and potentially located at Popești, a district in the town of

Mihăilești Mihăilești is a town located in Giurgiu County, Muntenia, Romania. It administers three villages: Drăgănescu, Novaci and Popești. It officially became a town in 1989, as a result of the Romanian rural systematization program. The town sta ...

, Giurgiu County, Muntenia,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

Decree of Dionysopolis

This decree was written by the citizens of Dionysopolis to Akornion, who traveled far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's father in Argedauon. The inscription also refers to the Dacian king

Burebista Burebista ( grc, Βυρεβίστας, Βοιρεβίστας) was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area loca ...

, and one interpretation is that Akornion was his chief adviser ( grc, πρῶτοσφίλος, literally "first friend") in Dionysopolis. Other sources indicate that Akornion was sent as an ambassador of Burebista to

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, to discuss an alliance against

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

. This leads to the assumption that the mentioned ''Argedava'' was Burebista's capital of the Dacian kingdom. This source unfortunately doesn't mention the location of Argedava and historians opinions are split in two groups. One school of thought, led by historians

Constantin Daicoviciu Constantin Daicoviciu (; March 1, 1898 – May 27, 1973) was a Romanian historian and Archaeology, archaeologist, professor at the Babeș-Bolyai University, University of Cluj, and titular member of the Romanian Academy. He was born in Constant ...

and Hadrian Daicoviciu, assumes that the inscription talks about Argidava and place the potential capital of Burebista at

Vărădia Vărădia ( hu, Varadia) is a commune in Caraș-Severin County, Banat, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Mercina (''Mercsény'') and Vărădia. It is located near the border with Serbia, on the river Caraș, at a distance of from Oravi ...

Caraș-Severin County Caraș-Severin () is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Serbia. The majority of its territory lies within the historical region of Banat, with a few northeastern villages considered part of Transylvania. The county seat is Reșița ...

. The forms ''Argidava'' and ''Arcidava'' found in other ancient sources like

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

Geographia The ''Geography'' ( grc-gre, Γεωγραφικὴ Ὑφήγησις, ''Geōgraphikḕ Hyphḗgēsis'', "Geographical Guidance"), also known by its Latin names as the ' and the ', is a gazetteer, an atlas, and a treatise on cartography, com ...

(c. 150 AD) and

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

(2nd century AD), clearly place a Dacian town with those names at this geographical location. The site is also close to Sarmizegetusa, a later Dacian capital. Others, led by historian

Vasile Pârvan Vasile Pârvan (; 28 September 1882, Perchiu, Huruiești, Bacău County – 26 June 1927, Bucharest) was a Romanian historian and archaeologist. Biography Vasile Pârvan came from a modest family, being the first child of the teacher Andrei P ...

and professor

Radu Vulpe Radu may refer to: People * Radu (given name), Romanian masculine given name * Radu (surname), Romanian surname * Rulers of Wallachia, see * Prince Radu of Romania (born 1960), disputed pretender to the former Romanian throne Other uses * Radu ( ...

place ''Argedava'' at Popești, Giurgiu County, Romania. Arguments include the name connection with the river Argeș, geographical position on a potential road to Dionysopolis which Akornion followed, and most importantly the size of the archaeological discovery at Popești that hints to a royal palace. However no other sources seem to name the dava discovered at Popești, so no exact assumptions can be made about its Dacian name. It is possible that the two different davae are

homonyms In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones ( equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition ...

. The marble inscription is damaged in many areas, including right before the word ''Argedauon'', and it is possible the original word could have been Sargedauon ( grc, Σαργεδαυον) or Zargedauon. This form could be linked to ''Zargidaua'' mentioned by

at a different geographical location. Or, they could be homonyms. The decree, a fragmentary marble inscription, is located in the

National Museum in Sofia The National Historical Museum (''Национален исторически музей'', Natsionalen istoricheski muzey) in Sofia is Bulgaria's largest museum. It was founded on 5 May 1973. A new representative exhibition was opened in the bu ...

Literary reference

Mihai Eminescu Mihai Eminescu (; born Mihail Eminovici; 15 January 1850 – 15 June 1889) was a Romanian Romantic poet from Moldavia, novelist, and journalist, generally regarded as the most famous and influential Romanian poet. Eminescu was an active memb ...

made a reference to Sarmiszegetuza in the "Third Letter Poem" to the hills of Argedava when he described the Battle at the Rovine from 17 May 1395.

Notes

Sources

* * * * *

External links

A fost Argedava (Popesti) resedinta statului geto-dac condus de Burebista?
– Article in ''Informatia de Giurgiu'' (Romanian)
Searchable Greek Inscriptions at The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI)
– ''Argedava'' segment from ''Decree of Dionysopolis'' reviewed in ''Inscriptiones graecae in Bulgaria repertae'' by Georgi Mihailov

(Romanian)

(English translation, incomplete) * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110716103139/http://soltdm.com/geo/arts/categs/categs.htm Sorin Olteanu's Project: Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum – Toponyms Section {{Dacian cities Archaeological sites in Romania Dacian towns History of Muntenia Ruins in Romania

Decree of Dionysopolis

Literary reference

See also

Notes

Sources

External links