History of the Dacians - Ancient Civilizations DOCUMENTARY

Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series on the Ancient Civilizations continues with an episode on the ancient Illyrians, as we discuss the primary sources talking about them, their geography, language, culture, religion history, who were the Dacians, Archaic, Ancient, Hellenistic and Roman era Dacia, as well as, Dacia in late Antiquity.

Artwork: Vyacheslav Sheo, Vadym Berkutenko
Script: Christos Nicolaou

0:00 Introduction
02:01 Origins
03:27 Iron Age Dacia
05:37 Hellenistic Dacia
07:37 Kingdoms of Dacia
11:12 Roman Dacia
13:43 Dacian Culture and Religion
16:30 Late Antique Dacia, Romans abandon Dacia

#documentary #Dacians #Ancient

[WRX]

If you are near Assen in the Netherlands, the Drents Museum currently has a large exposition of gold and silver items from Dacia before the Roman conquest. They are items on loan from various Romanian museums.

[gaiusmarcus]

The reason I like history is that every passing day the subject expands. Everything is new, yet nothing is new.

[thegreendragoninn]

Romania definitely remembers the Dacians considering they've been working on a giant stone monument to Decebalus.

[moizahmed]

Now i get where the car brand Dacia gets its name from

[Outlaw_Deadman]

You know your civilization is awesome when it has a weapon that scared the hell out of the Romans and force them to change their helmet

[daniel-zhnjyny]

Publius Ovidius Naso was exiled to Tomis, a coastal area of the Black Sea, located in modern day Romania. There, he wrote 'Epistulae ex Ponto', where he described the locals.

[Kapanol]

The Thracian culture emerged during the early Bronze Age, around 3500 BC. From it developed various regional groups, including the Getae, the Dacians, and others. These groups were consistently considered Thracian by ancient historians such as Dio Cassius, Trogus Pompeius, Appian, Strabo, Herodotus and Pliny the Elder, who noted that the Dacians and Getae spoke the same Thracian language.


Indo-Europeanization and Cultural Development:

By the beginning of the Bronze Age, the region had completed its Indo-Europeanization. The inhabitants, initially proto-Thracians, evolved into distinct groups such as the Danubian-Carpathian Geto-Dacians and the Thracians of the eastern Balkan Peninsula by the Iron Age.


Getae and Dacians: A Unified Identity:

Strabo, an ancient Greek geographer, and other classical authors argued that the Daci and the Getae were essentially the same people, distinguished mainly by their geographic locations. The Daci lived in the western region towards the Pannonian plain (Transylvania), while the Getae were situated further east towards the Black Sea coast (Scythia Minor). Strabo's view, widely supported by other sources, suggests that the distinction between Dacians and Getae is largely artificial, with both groups speaking the same language and sharing a common Thracian heritage.


Early Mentions and Historical Accounts:

Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, described the Getae as "the noblest as well as the most just of all the Thracian tribes." He highlighted their belief in the immortality of the soul and their practice of considering death merely a change of country. This early mention of the Getae establishes their Thracian roots and their cultural and religious beliefs.


Roman Accounts and Terminology:

In his Roman History (circa 200 AD), Cassius Dio noted the interchangeable use of the terms Dacians and Getae. He clarified that the Dacians, as referred to by the Romans, were the same people whom the Greeks called Getae. Dio pointed out that the Dacians lived on both sides of the Lower Danube, with those south of the river known as Moesians and those north as Dacians. He emphasized that these groups were essentially Thracians of Dacian race.


Classical and Poetic References:

The Dacians were variously referred to as Getae or Daci in ancient texts. Herodotus was the first to use the term Getae. Julius Caesar, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder also referred to these people, often interchangeably, as Dacians or Getae. Latin poets like Vergil, Lucian, Horace, and Juvenal used both terms in their works, reflecting interchangeability in naming. Modern historians prefer the term Geto-Dacians to encompass both groups.


Linguistic and Cultural Identity:

The Dacians and Getae spoke the Dacian language, which is debatedly related to the Thracian language, potentially as a subgroup. Many scholars, drawing from Strabo's accounts, agree that the Getae and Dacians were the same people. Notable modern historians and writers like James Minahan, Catherine B. Avery, David Sandler Berkowitz, and Philip Matyszak support this view. The Bulgarian historian Alexander Fol and the British historian Edward Bunbury also consider that the term "Dacians" was used by Roman observers to refer broadly to the unconquered inhabitants north of the Danube, originally known to the Greeks as Getae.


Conclusion:

The Getae and Dacians are best understood as closely related, if not identical, Thracian tribes. Ancient sources consistently treated them as such, and modern scholarship supports this unified identity, often using the term Geto-Dacians to describe their shared culture and language.

[Varangoi]

I'm starting my history bachelor. Thank's to K&G in sparking my interest!

[mariowalthen]

The withdrawal of Aurelian is given too much importance. Dacia was part of Rome until much later since Constantine the Great built a bridge over Danube and also multiple fortifications as far as 200 km north of Danube. Constantine took the title Gothicus Maximus and named the region of today south Romania as Gothia. Rome loses control of territory north of Danube at the time of Justinian (early sixth century).

[thehistoryguy]

Would love to see a video of Trajan and his wars in Dacia and Parthia!!

[eafstudios]

Would love to see a video on the origins of the Romanians and modern Romania, given that Dacia was in modern-day Romania and that the Romanian language is a geographical outlier due to being a Romance language and descended from Latin. The Roman presence there clearly left a much more lasting effect than in other areas.

[GustavoMaldonadoFidalgo]

I have always been intrigued by the history of the Dacians

[romanslavinsky]

Great video! I'm honored to be somewhat related to both Romans and Dacians, as I'm Romanian myself. The only correction from my side - it's "Sarmizegetusa", not "Sarmizetegusa" :D

[immortaljanus]

Perfect timing. Currently, I'm on vacation in Bucharest, went to visit the museum yesterday. 😁

[Yoo-Kang]

Whenever I think about the Dacians is how feared they were at combat, especially their long ass curved swords, which the Romans made a gladiator type arm/sleeve armor just to combat that weapon.

[Alex]

As a Romanian, I thank you for this video. We are proud of this part of our history having references to it in our national anthem and our own car brand is called Dacia which is quite popular in many European and Asian countries (though it may be exported under the Renault brand in some places)

[joaobarrosleal]

Fascinating!
This is the sort of think I was referring to in the Punic War video when suggesting a video or series about the Carthaginians

[ionutcocan]

Never clicked so fast on a video! Thank you so much for this fascinating video 🙏🏻 it makes us, Romanians, so proud of our history.

[almighty]

I’ve always wanted a video on Dacia it’s such a fascinating kingdom we don’t really know much on

[TyLarson]

The roman helmets were modified to be more resistant to dacian weapons as they were quite effective at puncturing the top of the helmets.