Decebalus
Decebalus (ruled
87-
106) (
Decebal in
Romanian) was a
Dacian king.
After the death of Great King
Burebista, Dacia split into four or five small states. The situation continued until
Diurpaneus managed to consolidate the core of Dacia around
Sarmizegetusa, in today's
Hunedoara county. He reorganized the Dacian army and in
85 the Dacians began raiding the heavily fortified Roman province of
Moesia, located south of the
Danube.
In
87,
Domitian decided to send his prefect of the Praetorian Guards, Cornelius Fuscus, to punish and conquer the Dacians with five or four legions. Two Roman legions (among which
V Alaudae) were ambushed and defeated at Tapae (near modern Bucova), and Fuscus killed. Diurpaneus changed his name into Decebalus
["Decebalus" means "strong as ten (men)" (cf. Sanskrit daśabala); Dece- being derived from Proto-Indo-European *dekm- ('ten') and -balus from PIE *bel-, 'strong'. Cf. Proto-Albanian *dek(a)t-, from PIE *dekm- (Demiraj, 1999).].
In
88,
Tettius Iulianus commanded another Roman army in a campaign against the Dacians, who were defeated at the
battle of Tapae; revolts of the Germans on the
Rhine required the military force of Moesia, and the Romans were forced to pay large sums of money in the form of tribute to the Dacians for maintaining peace in this region. The humiliating situation for the Romans lasted until
Trajan acceded as Emperor of the Roman Empire in
98. Immediately he engaged in a series of military campaigns which would expand the Roman Empire to its maximum extent.
Decebalus was defeated by the Romans when they invaded Dacia in
101, again in
Tapae, but he was left as a client king under a Roman protectorate. Three years later, Decebalus destroyed the Roman troops in Dacia, and the Romans were forced to send reinforcements.
After a long
siege of Sarmizegetusa and a long battle, the Romans conquered Dacia. After his army was defeated, rather than being captured as a prisoner by the Roman soldiers, Decebalus committed
suicide.
*
Dacian Wars*
Regalianus was, according to
Tyranni Triginta a descendant of Decebalus.
*
"Assorted Imperial Battle Descriptions",
De Imperatoribus Romanis.
