Sarmizegetusa

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Sarmisegetuza (also Sarmisegetusa, Sarmisegethusa, Sarmisegethuza) was the most important Dacian military, religious and political centre. Erected on top of a crag 1200 metres high, the fortress was the core of the strategic defensive system in the Orăştie Mountains, in Romania, comprising six citadels.

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, culminating in the Battle of Sarmisegetusa.

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.

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.

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.