Argidava (''Argidaua'', ''Arcidava'', ''Arcidaua'', ''Argedava'', ''Argedauon'', ''Argedabon'', ''Sargedava'', ''Sargedauon'', ''Zargedava'', ''Zargedauon'', grc, Ἀργίδαυα, Αργεδαυον, Αργεδαβον, Σαργεδαυον) was a
Dacian fortress town close to the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, inhabited and governed by the
Albocense
The Albocenses ( la, Albocenses/Albocensii) were a Dacian tribe that inhabited the area of Banat (Serbia, Romania) with the towns of Kovin (''Contra Margum''), ''Trans Tierna'', ''Ad Medias II'', Kladovo (''Ad Pontes''), ''Apu'', '' Arcidava'', '' ...
. Located in today's
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 Karaš, Caraș, at a distance of from ...
,
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 ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
.
After the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
conquest of
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
, it became a military and a civilian center, with a ''
castrum
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
'' (Roman fort) (see
Castra Arcidava
Castra Arcidava was a castrum, fort in the Roman province of Roman Dacia, Dacia in the area of the town of Arcidava (now Vărădia, Romania) in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
See also
*List of castra#Dacia, List of castra
External linksRoman ...
) built in the area. The fort was used to monitor the shores of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
.
[Grumeza, Ion]
''Dacia: Land of Transylvania, Cornerstone of Ancient Eastern Europe''
Lanham: Hamilton Books, 2009, p. 13, .
Ancient sources
The oldest found potential reference to ''Argidava'' is in the form Argedauon or Argedabon ( grc, Αργεδαυον, Αργεδαβον), written in stone, 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). However, it is unclear as to whether this refers to Argidava or a distinct town
Argedava
Argedava (''Argedauon'', ''Sargedava'', ''Sargedauon'', ''Zargedava'', ''Zargedauon'', grc, Αργεδαυον, Σαργεδαυον) was an important Dacian town mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis (48 BC), and potentially located ...
.
Decree of Dionysopolis
Ptolemy's Geographia
Argidava is mentioned in Ptolemy's
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) in the form Argidaua ( grc, Ἀργίδαυα) as an important Dacian town, at latitude 46° 30' N and longitude 45° 15' E (note that he used a different
meridian
Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to
Science
* Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon
* ...
and some of his calculations were off).
Tabula Peutingeriana
Argidava is also depicted in the
Tabula Peutingeriana
' (Latin Language, 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 m ...
(2nd century AD) in the form Arcidaua, on a Roman road network, between
Apo Fl. and
Centum Putea
Languages of the Indo-European family are classified as either centum languages or satem languages according to how the dorsal consonants (sounds of "K", "G" and "Y" type) of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) developed. An ...
. The location corresponds to the one mentioned by Ptolemy and the different form is most likely caused by the G/C graphical confusion commonly found in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
documents.
See also
*
Argedava
Argedava (''Argedauon'', ''Sargedava'', ''Sargedauon'', ''Zargedava'', ''Zargedauon'', grc, Αργεδαυον, Σαργεδαυον) was an important Dacian town mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis (48 BC), and potentially located ...
*
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...
*
Roman Dacia
Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today ...
*
List of ancient cities in Thrace and Dacia
This is a list of ancient cities, towns, villages, and fortresses in and around Thrace and Dacia. A number of these settlements were Dacian and Thracian, but some were Celtic, Greek, Roman, Paeonian, or Persian.
A number of cities in Dacia and ...
*
Dacian davae
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Ptolemy's Geography at LacusCurtius – Book III, Chapter 8 Location of Dacia (from the Ninth Map of Europe)(English translation, incomplete)
*
ttp://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.informatiadegiurgiu.ro/503/informatia_php/educatie.php 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
{{Dacian cities
Dacian towns
Archaeological sites in Romania
Ruins in Romania
Historic monuments in Caraș-Severin County
History of Banat