Evolution through time
From the first accounts of the Getae, in the 5th century BC, to the Roman withdrawal in 271 AD: the epochs, the reigns, the wars and their places, each with its source. Pick an epoch, filter by type or by place and drag the time axis.
~500–200 BC
The Geto-Dacian tribes unite against the Celts and the Scythians. Relations with the Greek world influence symbolism and culture.
5 events
26 events from the history of the Dacians
6th century BC
Philosopher, spiritual leader and divinity revered by the Geto-Dacians. According to Herodotus, he was a disciple of Pythagoras. He founded the Zalmoxian religion, centred on the immortality of the soul and spiritual initiation. It is said that he lived in isolation in a cave and was considered a god after his death.
The axis follows the filtered events: drag it or use the arrows. Years given as centuries are the middle of the century; “~” in the source marks approximate dates.
Event 6th century BC
Philosopher, spiritual leader and divinity revered by the Geto-Dacians. According to Herodotus, he was a disciple of Pythagoras. He founded the Zalmoxian religion, centred on the immortality of the soul and spiritual initiation. It is said that he lived in isolation in a cave and was considered a god after his death.
Event ~500–200 BC
The Geto-Dacian tribes unite against the Celts and the Scythians. Relations with the Greek world influence symbolism and culture.
Event Fifth century BC
Herodotus writes about the Getae, “the bravest and most just of the Thracians”, and about their belief in Zalmoxis.
Event Fifth century BC
The ring of Ezerovo (Bulgaria) bears a Thracian text written in the Greek alphabet.
Event ~300 BC
After capturing him, he freed him, showing nobility and wisdom.
Event ~82 BC
Burebista unifies Dacia under his own leadership and that of the priest Deceneus. Spiritual reforms and the ban on wine mark the sacred rebirth of the kingdom.
Reign 82–44 BC
The height of the Dacian kingdom comes with the reign of Burebista (82–44 BC), the great king who managed for the first time in history to unite the Dacian tribes under a single crown.
Event 1st century BC
High priest of the Dacians and adviser of Burebista. He organised religion into an initiatory system with moral rules and knowledge of astronomy. He was considered almost equal in power to the king and the supreme spiritual leader of the Dacian nation.
Event 44 BC
Caesar was planning a campaign against the Dacians (Suetonius); he is killed, and Burebista disappears from the sources at the same time.
Event ~44 BC
After his death the kingdom breaks up, but the sacred temples remain active. A period of religious and political reorganisation begins.
Reign 44–29 BC
Successor of Deceneus and priest-king. He ruled Dacia in a difficult period after the death of Burebista, keeping the spiritual and social unity of the Dacian state through law and religion.
War ~29 BC–70 AD
The Dacians defend their territories and sanctuaries against Roman pressure. The conflict also becomes a struggle between two spiritual worlds.
Reign 69–87 AD
A Dacian king who preceded Decebalus and began the military resistance against Roman expansion. He handed over the leadership peacefully to Decebalus in order to face the imperial threat better.
War 85–89
The war with Domitian; Cornelius Fuscus falls in 86 or 87 (the date is debated).
Reign 87–106 AD
The moment of greatest intensity of Dacian civilisation is the reign of the heroic king Decebalus (87–106 AD), the symbolic leader of the resistance against the Roman Empire.
War 88
The battle of Tapae, won by Tettius Julianus.
Event 89
The peace, with a Dacian kingdom recognised by Rome.
War 101–102 AD
Trajan launches the first campaign against Dacia. Decebalus accepts a peace on hard terms.
War ~101–106 AD
The fighting between Decebalus and Trajan takes place against the background of a sacred resistance. In 106 AD Dacia is defeated, but the spiritual legacy remains.
War 105–106 AD
Trajan conquers Dacia. Sarmizegetusa falls and Decebalus takes his own life to avoid capture.
Event 106 AD
Despite the heroic resistance of the Dacians, the Dacian fortresses in the Orăștie Mountains fell one after another, and in 106 AD Dacia was turned into a Roman province.
Event 106
Decebalus takes his own life, and Dacia becomes a Roman province.
Event 109
The monument at Adamclisi (Tropaeum Traiani) is inaugurated.
Event 113 AD
Trajan’s Column, which depicts the conquest of Dacia, is inaugurated in Rome.
Event ~117–250 AD
The tribes outside the province keep the ancient cult alive. The rituals mix with Thraco-Getic and Eastern influences.
Event ~250–271 AD
Aurelian withdraws the Roman administration, but the native population remains. The sacred centres are reactivated, and the initiatory tradition continues in secret.