Sarmisegetuza was the most important Dacian military, religious and political center. Erected on top of a crag 1200 meters high, the fortress was the core of the strategic defensive system in the Orăştie Mountains, in Romania, comprising six citadels. Dacia, in ancient geography the land of the Daci, a subtribe of the Getae, was a large district of Central Europe, bounded on the north by the Carpathians, on the south by the Danube, on the west by the Tisa (Tisza river, in Hungary), on the east by the Tyras... The Abbey Craig, a crag with tail near The University of Stirling. ...

The fortress, a quadrilateral formed by massive stone blocks (murus dacicus), was constructed on five terraces, on an area of almost 30,000 m². Sarmizegetusa also had a sacred precinct -- among the most important and largest circular and rectangular Dacian sanctuaries the famous Circular Calendar Sanctuary is included.

The civilians lived around the fortress, down the mountain on man-made terraces. Dacian nobility had flowing water, brought through ceramic pipes, in their residences. The archaeological inventory found at the site shows that Dacian society had a high standard of living.

The Dacian capital reached its acme under Decebalus, the Dacian king defeated by the Roman Empire after two wars (101-102 and 105-106), led by Emperor Trajan. After the defeat of the Dacians, the conquerors established a military garrison there. Later, the capital of Roman Dacia was named after the Dacian capital - Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa, established 40 km from the ruined Dacian capital. Decebalus, from Trajans Column Decebalus (ruled 87-106 CE) (Decebal in Romanian) was a Dacian king. ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ... For other uses, see number 101. ... For other uses, see number 102. ... Events The Chinese refine papermaking. ... For other uses, see number 106. ... Emperor Trajan Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (September 18, 53-August 9, 117), Roman Emperor (98-117), commonly called Trajan, was the second of the so-called Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire. ...

All the six fortresses - Sarmizegetusa, Blidaru, Piatra Roşie, Costeşti, Căpâlna and Baniţa - that formed the defensive system of Decebalus are part of a UNESCO World heritage site. Built in murus dacicus style, the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains, in Romania, were created in the 1st centuries BC and AD as protection against Roman conquest. ... CosteÅŸti is a village in Hunedoara county, Transylvania, Romania, near the city Orăştie. ... UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1946. ... Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...

• Sarmizegetusa is also the name of a commune in modern day Romania, in the Ţara Haţegului depression, Hunedoara county, where the ruins of Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa are located.

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External links

• The Dacian Fortresses of the Orastie Mountains
• The Dacians - pictures of the fortresses in the Orastie Mountains
• Journey to the Land of the Cloud Rovers - slideshow of Dacian fortresses and the Getae - Requires Macromedia Shockwave.