Dacia

Dacia, ancient land of eastern Europe, inhabited by the Daci or Getae, a people of Thracian stock. Dacia was roughly equivalent to modern Romania, extending from the Carpathian Mountains in the north to the Danube River in the south and from the Dniester River in the east to the Tisza River in the west. A kingdom of Dacia existed as early as the 2nd century bc. In the reign of Augustus, emperor of Rome, the Dacians, formidable warriors, began to provoke the Romans. From ad85 to 89 the Dacians fought two wars of Emperor Domitian, to purchase immunity from Dacian raids by payment of an annual tribute. In a series of campaigns ad101-107, Emperor Trajan conquered Dacia and converted it into a Roman province. The Goths drove the Romans out of most parts of Dacia in 256, and Emperor Aurelian finally evacuated Dacia entirely (270-75), removing the Roman colonies south of the Danube to Moesia.