The Dacian Threat AD 101-106

Abstract

Trajan engaged in two Dacian Wars, 101 - 102 and 105 - 106 AD. Almost immediately Trajan's accession was proclaimed, he travelled to Moesia and spent the better part of a year preparing for the first of these. The new emperor gathered a huge force and spent immense sums of money to defeat Decebalus, the Dacian king, as a result he claimed Dacia as the newest Roman province. The purpose of this work is to examine the Dacian Wars in an effort to determine what significant threat the Dacians under the leadership of Decebalus posed to the Roman Empire. To quantify this threat, three aspects of the Dacian wars will be examined: Trajan's reasons for invading Dacia, Decebalus' strategy during these wars, and Dacian military technology.