Some remarks on the depopulation of Dacia during the reign of Trajan and the reliability of written sources

Volume 5, Issue 4, August 2021     |     PP. 266-276      |     PDF (192 K)    |     Pub. Date: July 28, 2021
DOI: 10.54647/sociology84608    61 Downloads     5127 Views  

Author(s)

Mateusz Żmudziński, Institut of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Poland

Abstract
Some remarks on the depopulation of Dacia during the reign of Trajan and the reliability of written sources.
At the end of the fourth century C.E. Eutropius wrote that during the Dacian wars, under the reign of Trajan, Dacia had been completely depopulated. The article confronts his opinion with archaeological sources. They show that the ancient author drew a much simplified picture of the phenomena. The Dacians clashed the tribal elite and tens of thousands were killed and captured. Thousands of people were displaced. In some places there were emptiness settlements. Fortresses and sanctuaries were abandoned forever. However, this does not mean the complete disappearance of the native population. Dacians lived in the villages. Only some of them made careers and left behind written sources. Archaeological sources, however, indicate the massive presence of them as farmers and hired workers.

Keywords
Depopulation, Dacia, Trajan, Eutropius, Archaeology

Cite this paper
Mateusz Żmudziński, Some remarks on the depopulation of Dacia during the reign of Trajan and the reliability of written sources , SCIREA Journal of Sociology. Volume 5, Issue 4, August 2021 | PP. 266-276. 10.54647/sociology84608

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