Second Battle of Tapae
Battle between the Roman Empire and the Dacians (101)
Second Battle of Tapae | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Dacian Wars | ||||||
Battle scene. The Dacians (on the left) are attacking Trajan 's men. |
||||||
|
||||||
Belligerents | ||||||
Dacia | Roman Empire | |||||
Commanders and leaders | ||||||
Decebalus | Trajan | |||||
Strength | ||||||
Unknown for the battle. (possibly 20,000–30,000) |
Total:9–11 legions (70,000–80,000 (including auxiliaries) [1] 7 professional legions, 2–4 mixed legions [ citation needed ] |
|||||
Casualties and losses | ||||||
unknown | unknown | |||||
|
This article
needs additional citations for
verification
.
Please help
improve this article
by
adding citations to reliable sources
. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Second Battle of Tapae" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( January 2017 ) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message ) |
The Second Battle of Tapae (101) was the decisive battle of the first Dacian War , in which Roman Emperor Trajan defeated the Dacian King Decebalus 's army. Other setbacks in the campaign delayed its completion until 102. The battle is most likely the battle-scene depicted on Plate 22 of Trajan's column.
Background
As soon as Trajan became Roman emperor , he planned a campaign against Dacia . This campaign resulted in the first Dacian war fought between 101 and 102.
The reason used for this campaign was Decebalus' lack of respect for the Romans , and the fact that he failed to respect the agreements of the peace reached following the First Battle of Tapae from 87/88.
Beside the nine Roman legions that were already stationed on the Danube frontier, Trajan brought two more, Legio X Gemina and Legio XI Claudia , and created two new legions, Legio II Traiana Fortis and Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix .
The battle
The Roman army crossed the Danube at Viminacium , slowly making its way into Dacia. Just like in 87/88, the battle took place at Tapae . The Dacians resisted the Roman offensive, but as a storm broke out, the Dacians believing it is a sign from the gods, decided to withdraw.
Aftermath
Because the winter was near, Trajan decided to wait until spring to continue his offensive on Sarmizegetusa . Decebalus took advantage of the new situation, and in the winter of 101 to 102, he attacked the Roman province of Moesia , a major clash taking place at the Battle of Adamclisi .
See also
References
- ↑ UNRV History: Dacian Wars , Retrieved November 29, 2015.
Tribes ( List ) | ||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kings |
|
|||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
Wars with the
Roman Empire |
|
|||||||||||||||
Roman Dacia / Free Dacians |
|
|||||||||||||||
Research | ||||||||||||||||
|