The Second Battle of Tapae (101) was the decisive battle of the first Dacian War, in which Roman Emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

defeated the

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 ...

n King

Decebalus Decebalus (), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a Roman invas ...

's army. Other setbacks in the campaign delayed its completion until 102. The battle is most likely the battle-scene depicted on Plate 22 of Trajan's column.

Background

As soon as Trajan became Roman emperor, he planned a campaign against

. This campaign resulted in the first Dacian war fought between 101 and 102. The reason used for this campaign was Decebalus' lack of respect for the

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 lette ...

, and the fact that he failed to respect the agreements of the peace reached following the

First Battle of Tapae Domitian's Dacian War was a conflict between the Roman Empire and the Dacian Kingdom, which had invaded the province of Moesia. The war occurred during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, in the years 86–88 AD. Dacian attack and def ...

from 87/88. Beside the nine

Roman legions The Roman legion ( la, legiō, ) was the largest military unit of the Roman army, composed of 5,200 infantry and 300 equites (cavalry) in the period of the Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and of 5,600 infantry and 200 auxilia in the period of ...

that were already stationed on the Danube frontier, Trajan brought two more,

Legio X Gemina Legio X ''Gemina'' ("The Twins' Tenth Legion"), was a Roman legion, legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was one of the four legions used by Julius Caesar in 58 BC, for his invasion of Gaul. There are still records of the X ''Gemina'' in Vien ...

and

Legio XI Claudia Legio XI Claudia ("Claudius' Eleventh Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was levied by Julius Caesar for his campaign against the Nervii. XI ''Claudia'' dates back to the two legions (the other was the XIIth) recruit ...

, and created two new legions,

Legio II Traiana Fortis Legio II Traiana, ( Second Legion "Trajan") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army raised by emperor Trajan, along with XXX ''Ulpia Victrix'', for the campaigns in Dacia. Records of the II ''Traiana Fortis'' have been recovered from Egypt da ...

and

Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix ("Trajan's Victorious Thirtieth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. Their emblems were the gods Neptune and Jupiter and the Capricorn. ''Ulpia'' is Trajan's own '' gens'' ('' Ulpia''), while the cognomen "''V ...

The battle

The

Roman army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

crossed the Danube at

Viminacium Viminacium () or ''Viminatium'', was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman province of Moesia (today's Serbia), and the capital of ''Moesia Superior'' (hence once a metropolitan archbishopric, now a Latin titular see). ...

, slowly making its way into Dacia. Just like in 87/88, the battle took place at

Tapae 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 and connecting Banat to � ...

. The Dacians resisted the Roman offensive, but as a storm broke out, the Dacians believing it is a sign from the gods, decided to withdraw.

Aftermath

Because the winter was near, Trajan decided to wait until spring to continue his offensive on Sarmizegetusa. Decebalus took advantage of the new situation, and in the winter of 101 to 102, he attacked the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

of Moesia, a major clash taking place at the Battle of Adamclisi.

References

{{Dacia topics Tapae 101 101

Ancient history of Transylvania

Background

The battle

Aftermath

See also

References