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 (; 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 civil war with C ...

(the king of the

Thervingi The Thervingi, Tervingi, or Teruingi (sometimes pluralised Tervings or Thervings) were a 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 the Gre ...

), between the banks of river Gerasius (modern

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

) and 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 ...

to the land of

Taifali The Taifals or Tayfals ( or ''Theifali''; ) were a people of Germanic or Sarmatian origin, first documented north of the lower Danube in the mid third century AD. They experienced an unsettled and fragmented history, for the most part in associ ...

(modern

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

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

limes Limes may refer to: * ''Limes'' (Roman Empire), a border marker and defense system of the Roman Empire * ''Limes'' (Italian magazine), an Italian geopolitical magazine * ''Limes'' (Romanian magazine), a Romanian literary and political quarterly ma ...

'' called

Limes Transalutanus Limes Transalutanus is the modern name given to a fortified frontier system of the Roman Empire, built on the western edge of Teleorman County, Teleorman's forests as part of the Dacian Limes in the Roman province of Roman Dacia, Dacia, moder ...

Structure

Historian

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

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

built a defensive wall from the Danube delta to

Tyras Tyras () 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 now called the Dn ...

. 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 row of closely placed, high vertical standing tree trunks or wooden or iron stakes used as a fence for enclosure or as a defensive wall. Palisades can form a stockade. Etymo ...

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, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to ...

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, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Roman ...

in the

Cahul District Cahul () is a district () 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 (50-45,000 BC). Two ...

by the

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

, 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 a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

. 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 last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the

Cahul Cahul (; also known by 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 a population of 30,0 ...

uyezd An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the R ...

'' of

Bessarabia Bessarabia () 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 Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, 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 (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

and

Valens Valens (; ; 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 Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...

"''. 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.

External links

Roman castra and walls from Romania/Moldovia – Google Maps

Earth
{{Webarchive, url=https://archive.today/20121205025930/http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1274893/Main/1274893 , date=2012-12-05

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