Tapae was a fortified settlement, guarding Sarmizegetusa, the main political centre of Dacia. Its location was on the Iron Gates of Transylvania, a natural passage breaking between Țarcului and

Poiana Ruscă Mountains The Poiana Ruscă Mountains (part of the Western Carpathians) are a Carpathian mountain range in western Romania. The mountains are situated roughly south of the Mureș River, northeast of the Timiș River, and west of the Strei River. The Bega R ...

and connecting

Banat Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of T ...

Țara Hațegului Țara Hațegului ("Hațeg Land"; german: Wallenthal, hu, Hátszegvidék, la, terra Harszoc) is a historical and ethnographical area in Hunedoara County, Romania, in the south-western corner of Transylvania. It is centered in the town of Hațeg. � ...

. This made it one of the very few points through which invaders could enter Transylvania from the south. Moreover, 8 kilometres down the passage into Țara Hațegului, there is

Sarmizegetusa Regia Sarmizegetusa Regia, also Sarmisegetusa, Sarmisegethusa, Sarmisegethuza, Ζαρμιζεγεθούσα (''Zarmizegethoúsa'') or Ζερμιζεγεθούση (''Zermizegethoúsē''), was the capital and the most important military, religious an ...

. Dio Cassius notes the existence of a military camp thereCassius Dio, ''Roman History'
68:8
/ref> during the Dacian Wars. The place is the site of four battles between Dacians and Romans. Nowadays there is a small village on this site named Zeicani, located within Sarmizegetusa commune.

References

Dacian fortresses in Romania {{Dacia-stub