Dinogetia was an ancient Geto-

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 ro ...

n settlement and later Roman fort located not far from the right (southern) bank of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

near the junction of the

Siret River The Siret or Sireth (, , , ) is a river that rises from the Carpathians in the Northern Bukovina region of Ukraine, and flows southward into Romania before it joins the Danube. It is long,Northern Dobruja Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria. ...

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

, 8 km east of

Galați Galați ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the river Danube. and the sixth-larges ...

and 2 km north of Garvăn, a village in Jijila commune. It was in 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

province of

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; ) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River. As a Roman domain Moesia was administered at first by the governor of Noricum as 'Civitates of Moesia and Triballi ...

(later Scythia Minor) and was part of the defensive frontier system of the

Moesian Limes The Moesian Limes () is the modern term given to a linked series of Roman forts on the northern frontier of the Roman province of Moesia along the Danube between the Black Sea shore and Pannonia (present-day Hungary) and dating from the 1st cent ...

along the Danube, although the Danube now lies 2 km distant.

History

Roman and Byzantine period

The Geto-Dacian settlement was conquered by the Romans and transformed into a frontier fort mentioned by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

. Located in the centre of an arc made by the Danube the fort had initially been a

castellum A ''castellum'' in Latin is usually: * a small Roman fortlet or tower,C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War; 2,30 a diminutive of (' military camp'), often used as a watchtower or signal station like on Hadrian's Wall. It is distinct from a , which ...

(a small fortress) playing a role in the Moesian Limes defensive system on the Lower Danube. Nearby Roman forts were Barboşi (Galați County) and

Troesmis Troesmis was an ancient Dacian town and later ancient Roman city and legionary fortress, a major site situated on the Danube and forming a key part of the Limes Moesiae frontier system. Around the fortress the Geto-Dacian town developed. It is ...

(Tulcea County). Numerous ceramic fragments and coins from the 1st-3rd centuries discovered here confirm the existence of an earlier Roman fort at "Bisericuta" but its site has not been identified. After a period of rebuilding during the Severan period, in the 3rd century Dinogetia was again a target for the barbarian invaders. After the abandonment of the Dacian province by the Romans, its strategic position in the north-western corner of Dobrudja gave the fort an important role in the frontier defensive system.

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

Probus Probus may refer to: People * Marcus Valerius Probus (c. 20/30–105 AD), Roman grammarian * Marcus Pomponius Maecius Probus, consul in 228 * Probus (emperor), Roman Emperor (276–282) * Probus of Byzantium (–306), Bishop of Byzantium from 293 t ...

and

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

initiated a policy of fortification of the entire Danubian lines, Dinogetia included. It was largely rebuilt in the time of

(r. 284–305). In the 4th century several buildings were erected inside the fort including a supposed "praetorium", a basilica, the house ("domus") of an aristocrat. 100 m NE of the site, on the edge of the Lațimea gorge, are the ruins of thermal baths. The citadel, together with the basilica and other buildings within, were rebuilt during the reigns of Anastasius and Justinian. The garrison included Milites Scythici Notitia Dignitatum, NDOr, XXXIX, 24 confirming the archaeological evidence. Other army units that were stationed at Dinogetia include: Legio V Macedonica, Cohors I Cilicum, Cohors II Mattiacorum, cl. fl. Moesica (2nd century), Legio I Iovia (4th century). In the ecclesiastical sources are registered Christian martyrs dated in the reign of Licinius, especially from the army, thus certifying the Christianisation of the area. During

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

Dinogetia had a key role in the defensive system of the Roman province. First Anastasius, then

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

reinforced the fortress's walls. The attack of the Avars/

Kutrigurs The Kutrigurs were a Turkic nomadic equestrian tribe who flourished on the Pontic–Caspian steppe in the 6th century AD. To their east were the similar Utigurs and both possibly were closely related to the Bulgars. They warred with the Byzan ...

under

Zabergan Zabergan () was the chieftain of the Kutrigurs, a Turkic nomadic tribe of the Pontic–Caspian steppe, after Sinnion. His name is Iranian, meaning full moon. Either under pressure from incoming Avars,; or in revolt against the Byzantine Empir ...

's command in 559 had disastrous consequences for the stronghold. Dinogetia Garvani- layout.svg Kastell Dinogetia Kastellbad.png, baths Kastell Dinogetia spätantike Principia.png, Principia Ziduri Romane si bizantine 4-7-2006 9-52-14 AM 360x640

Ziduri Romane si bizantine 4-7-2006 9-52-14 AM 360x640

Amfore Dinogetia 4-7-2006 9-52-29 AM 360x640

Middle Ages

The fort had been inhabited until the end of the 6th or the beginning of the 7th century when, in the context of Phokas's rebellion, the entire lines of Lower Danube had collapsed under the pressure of Slav tribes. In this context, Dinogetia also was abandoned as a military strongpoint. The fort was rebuilt and became the siege of a Byzantine garrison after the successful campaigns of the emperor Ioannes Tzimiskes (969–976) against the Kievian Russians, when Dobruja was again incorporated to the Empire. The presence of

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

troops is certified until the 12th century, when Dinogetia was gradually deserted and finally abandoned perhaps in 1186.

The site

The Diocletian constructed wall (c. 3 m wide) has fourteen horseshoe-shaped towers. Buildings on the Dinogetia Site: *''praetorium'' *a large ''domus'' *4 c basilica *4 c Roman bath *9 C church From the Later

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

are bricks stamped with the mark of Legio I Iovia (Scythica) and the presence of Gothic federates. Written sources, such as Notitia Dignitatum, certify some Milites Scythici (NDOr, XXXIX, 24), thus confirming the archaeological evidence. In the ecclesiastical sources there are registered Christian martyrs dated in the reign of Licinius, especially from the army, thus certifying the Christianization of the area. Other army units that were stationed at Dinogetia include: Legio V Macedonica, Cohors I Cilicum, Cohors II Mattiacorum, cl. fl. Moesica (2nd century), Legio I Iovia (4th century) Dinogetia Public Baths Garvani 4-7-2006 9-52-52 AM 640x3601.JPG, Public Baths Dinogetia Turn decopertat.1.JPG, tower Dinogetia Panorama.jpg, Site Panoramic View BisericaBizantinaSecolulIXDinogetia 4-7-2006 9-52-21 AM 640x3601.JPG, Byzantine Church Turnul Consolidat al cetatii Dinogetia 4-7-2006 9-52-44 AM 640x3601.JPG, Tower

References

{{Authority control Castles in Romania Byzantine sites in Romania Former populated places in Eastern Europe Dacian towns Buildings and structures in Tulcea County Tourist attractions in Tulcea County Historic monuments in Tulcea County Roman auxiliary forts in Romania

History

Roman and Byzantine period

Middle Ages

The site

See also

References