Athanaric's Wall, also called Lower Trajan's Wall or Southern Trajan's Wall, was a fortification line probably erected by

Athanaric Athanaric or Atanaric ( la, Athanaricus; died 381) was king of several branches of the Thervingian Goths () for at least two decades in the 4th century. Throughout his reign, Athanaric was faced with invasions by the Roman Empire, the Huns and a c ...

(the king of the

Thervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a Goths, Gothic people of the plains north of the Lower Danube and west of the Dniester River in the 3rd and the 4th centuries. They had close contacts with ...

), between the banks of river Gerasius (modern

Prut The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

) and 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 ...

to the land of

Taifali The Taifals or Tayfals ( la, Taifali, Taifalae or ''Theifali''; french: Taïfales) were a people group of Germanic or Sarmatian origin, first documented north of the lower Danube in the mid third century AD. They experienced an unsettled and fra ...

(modern

Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...

). Most probably, Athanaric's Wall has reused the old Roman ''

limes Limes may refer to: * the plural form of lime (disambiguation) * the Latin word for ''limit'' which refers to: ** Limes (Roman Empire) (Latin, singular; plural: ) is a modern term used primarily for the Germanic border defence or delimiting ...

'' called

Limes Transalutanus ''Limes Transalutanus''Technological challenges on the Limes Transalutanus, Eugen S. Teodor, Dan Ştefan, https://www.antiquity.ac.uk/projgall/teodor342 is the modern name given to a fortified frontier system of the Roman Empire, built on the west ...

Structure

Historian

Theodore Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th century ...

wrote that

Romans 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 ...

built a defensive wall from the Danube delta to

Tyras Tyras ( grc, Τύρας) was an ancient Greek city on the northern coast of the Black Sea. It was founded by colonists from Miletus, probably about 600 BC. The city was situated some 10 km from the mouth of the Tyras River, which is no ...

. He wrote: Cahul Ismail si Bolgrad

The structure is made of earthen walls and

palisade A palisade, sometimes called a stakewall or a paling, is typically a fence or defensive wall made from iron or wooden stakes, or tree trunks, and used as a defensive structure or enclosure. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymology ''Palisade' ...

s, with an elevation of only three meters (which is mostly eroded away). It stretches from Romania Buciumeni-Tiganesti-Tapu to

Stoicani Stoicani is a commune in Soroca District, Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukrain ...

and after that it enters Moldova. In southern Moldova, it stretches another 126 km from the village of

Vadul lui Isac Vadul lui Isac is a village in Cahul District, Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and U ...

in the

Cahul District Cahul () is a district ( ro, raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cahul. As of January 2014 estimates, Cahul District had a population of 124,700. History The district has been inhabited since the Stone Age (50-45,00 ...

by the

Prut River The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , uk, Прут) is a long river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates ...

, and then goes into Ukraine ending at Lake Sasyk by Tatarbunar. Some historians think that the southern Trajan Wall reached the city of Tyras, when was annexed by emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. Indeed, a Roman bronze coin was found during excavations that discovered evidences of the original construction in the first century In the 19th century the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

of the

Cahul Cahul (; also known by other alternative names) is a city and municipality in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 2014 census, the city has had a populatio ...

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd; rus, уе́зд, p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context ( uk, повіт), or Kreis in Baltic-German context, was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Russian Empire, and the ea ...

'' of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, incorporated the image of "Trajan's Wall".

Historical debate

Some academics such as Dorel Bondoc think that the wall was built by the

, because it required a great deal of knowledge and a workforce that barbarians like Athanaric did not have. Bondoc wrote that "'' he Wall'shuge size means the need of considerable material and human resources, a condition that could be met only by the Roman Empire ... the period of time when it was built stretched from

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

Valentinian I Valentinian I ( la, Valentinianus; 32117 November 375), sometimes called Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor, he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces. Vale ...

and

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

"''. Some scholars, like Vasile Nedelciuc, argue that the turf Wall was built initially by the Romans during

rule from the Prut river to Tyras, even because it has a ditch facing north. He argues that later it was enlarged by Athanaric, but only until Sasyk lagoon.

References

Bibliography

* Emanuel Constantin Antoche, Marcel Tanasache, (1990) ''Le Vallum (Troian) de la Moldavie centrale'' in "Etudes Roumaines et Aroumaines". Sociétés européennes, no. 8, Paris ; Bucharest : .n pp. 130-133, * * Rădulescu Adrian, Bitoleanu Ion. ''Istoria românilor dintre Dunăre și Mare: Dobrogea''. Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, București, 1979 * Heather, Peter. ''The Goths. The Peoples of Europe'. Publisher Wiley. London, 1998 * Mommsen, Theodore. ''The Provinces of the Roman Empire''. Barnes & Noble Books. New York, 1996 * Wacher, J.S. ''The Roman world''. Routledge Publisher. New York, 2002. {{ISBN, 041526314X

External links

Roman castra and walls from Romania/Moldovia – Google Maps

Earth

Roman frontiers Roman walls in Romania Goths Roman Dacia Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Romania Moesia Roman fortifications in Ukraine Roman fortifications in Moldova Roman fortifications in Romania Linear earthworks

Structure

Historical debate

See also

References

Bibliography

External links