Bucharest, 18.11.2023 – # rbj – I was very affected when a French publication did an “investigation” regarding the closest foreign languages in relation to the French language.
Of course, the Romanian language was not in the list of 10 languages close to French, on the contrary, in the footnote of the analysis it was mentioned that there is a language in Europe “at least strange”, that is, the Romanian language. Of course, many French people, with unfinished high school, did not want to read two words from the Romanian language that have their origins in the French language. And not even to hear the Romanians speak.
But that’s not what we’re talking about here.
We are taking from the publication adevarul.ro fragments about how significant elements of the appearance and customs of Dacian women, during the 1st-2nd centuries, are reproduced on Trajan’s column in Rome.
Trajan’s Column, the most famous ancient monument dedicated to the Dacian-Roman wars (101-102 and 105-106), has remained one of the most realistic testimonies of the port and appearance of the Dacians.
The most vivid evidence of the appearance and behavior of women in Dacia is illustrated on Trajan’s Column, the ancient monument erected in Rome to celebrate the triumph of the Roman armies over the Dacians, from the beginning of the second century.
Dacian beauties, on Trajan’s Column
Based on the artistic scenes on Trajan’s Column, literary sources from Antiquity and archaeological discoveries, some scientists have tried to reconstruct the portrait and way of life of women in Dacia.
Some historians, like Hadrian Daicoviciu, have concluded that Dacian women had an expressive beauty, idealized in the scenes on Trajan’s Column.
“The Trajan Column depicts them (the Dacian women -n.e.) perhaps idealizing them somewhat, slender, tall, apparently strong, wearing hair combed over the temples, parted in the middle and tied in a bun at the back. The women wore a wrinkled shirt, with short sleeves, and a skirt. The Trajan Column sometimes shows them wearing a long, richly draped mantle. A headscarf, probably colored, covered their hair,” wrote Hadrian Daicoviciu.
Trajan’s Column immortalized the two great wars of conquest of Dacia fought at the beginning of the second century by the Roman emperor
“On the Column we see very beautiful female types, also wearing a mantle richly draped over the long, classically styled coat…”, specified the historian Vasile Pârvan, in “Getica – Ο protoistorie a Dacia” (1926).
Over 150 scenes of the Daco-Roman wars are illustrated on Trajan’s Column. Emperor Trajan appears more than 60 times, and King Decebalus of the Dacians is portrayed eight times, according to historians. Dacian women also have leading roles in several of Column’s memorable scenes.
Decebalus’ sister, captured by the Romans
Scene XXX on Trajan’s Column has sparked controversy. The artists illustrated the emperor Trajan and two of his comrades, witnessing the boarding of a young prisoner on a ship on the Danube.
The woman with the appearance of a princess held a baby at her breast and looks towards a group of Dacian women, left behind, while the Roman emperor seems to pay special attention to her. The episode is rich in meanings, the researchers claim, most of them considering that the scene depicts the capture of Decebal’s sister by the Romans.
“All commentators have recognized in this scene the capture of a Dacian woman of high social rank: a princess, a priestess, or, equally, both. As a pledge of exceptional importance, she is treated in a different way than her companions from whom she separates and who are to take the path of common slavery. It is not guarded by soldiers and the emperor himself pays special attention to it. It is only very normal to think about her identity with Decebal’s sister, who was captured by Laberius Maximus”, pointed out historian Radu Vulpe.
The episode of the capture would have taken place in one of the Dacian fortresses in the Orăștiei Mountains and was recounted by the Latin historian Dio Cassius.
It showed the Roman emperor conquering mountain fortifications, where he recovered Roman war machines and flags, and one of his generals, Maximus, captured Decebalus’ sister, causing the Dacian king to accept peace.
“We assume that such an action took place in the Luncanilor valley, up where, on a hard-to-reach height, is the Piatra Roșie citadel. This must have been the fortress conquered by Maximus, in which the sister of the Dacian king was, perhaps as a priestess of a cult served by women”, said the author of the volume “Trajan’s Column”.
The Romanians found Decebalus’ sister and a name, Dochia, and remembered her in numerous folk legends.
“Thanks to the Column, the Romanian people have the chance to know the faces of their ancestors”, said historian Lucia Țeposu Marinescu.
