Definition: King Decebalus came to power in 85 A.D., unified Dacian tribes in modern Romania, organized an army, and attacked the Roman troops in Moesia [see map of Moesia, Thrace, and Dacia], while Domitian was Roman emperor. He defeated the Romans there under Oppius Sabinus and then again, in 85 or 86, when Domitian came, Decebalus defeated the Romans under Cornelius Fuscus. In 88, Tettius Julianus, governor of Moesia Superior (Upper Moesia), defeated Decebalus at Tapae, but Rome couldn't take advantage of the victory because of disturbances by the Marcomanni [see glossary entry on the Marcomanni] and Quadi along the Danube, and settled with Decebalus, making him a client king. Emperor Trajan led the first Dacian War against Decebalus in 101 when he captured the city of Sarmizegethusa. Decebalus accepted Roman occupation in 102, but then, in 105, Decebalus beat the Roman troops. After Trajan attacked again in 105, Decebalus committed suicide. Dacia then became a Roman province.
Sources:
- John Brian Campbell "Domitian" The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization. Ed. Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford University Press, 1998.
- John Brian Campbell "Decebalus" The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Simon Hornblower and Anthony Spawforth. © Oxford University Press 1949, 1970, 1996, 2005.
