Argidava
 Arcidavaon theRoman Daciamap. | |
  Shown within Romania | |
| Alternative name | Argidaua,Arcidava,Arcidaua,Argedava,Argedauon,Argedabon,Sargedava,Sargedauon,Zargedava,Zargedauon |
|---|---|
| Location | Poiana Flămânda,[1]Vărădia,Caraș-Severin County,Romania |
| Coordinates | 45°05′N21°33′E/ 45.08°N 21.55°E |
| History | |
| Cultures | Albocense |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Reference no. | CS-I-s-B-10894[1] |
Argidava(Argidaua,Arcidava,Arcidaua,Argedava,Argedauon,Argedabon,Sargedava,Sargedauon,Zargedava,Zargedauon,Ancient Greek:Ἀργίδαυα, Αργεδαυον, Αργεδαβον, Σαργεδαυον) was aDacianfortress town close to theDanube,inhabited and governed by theAlbocense.Located in today'sVărădia,Caraș-Severin County,Romania.
After theRomanconquest ofDacia,it became a military and a civilian center, with acastrum(Roman fort) (seeCastra Arcidava) built in the area. The fort was used to monitor the shores of theDanube.[2]
Ancient sources
[edit]The oldest found potential reference toArgidavais in the formArgedauonorArgedabon(Ancient Greek:Αργεδαυον, Αργεδαβον), written in stone, in theDecree of Dionysopolis(48 BC).[3][4]However, it is unclear as to whether this refers to Argidava or a distinct townArgedava.
Decree of Dionysopolis
[edit]This decree was written by the citizens ofDionysopolistoAkornion,who traveled far away in a diplomatic mission to meet somebody's father inArgedauon.[5]
The inscription also refers to the Dacian kingBurebista,and one interpretation is that Akornion was his chief adviser (Ancient Greek:πρῶτοσφίλος,literally "first friend" ) in Dionysopolis.[6]Other sources indicate that Akornion was sent as an ambassador of Burebista toPompey,to discuss an alliance againstJulius Caesar.[7]
This leads to the assumption that the mentionedArgedavawas Burebista's capital of the Dacian kingdom. This source unfortunately doesn't mention the location of Argedava and historians opinions are split in two groups.
One school of thought, led by historiansConstantin DaicoviciuandHadrian Daicoviciu,assumes that the inscription talks aboutArgidavaand place the potential capital of Burebista atVărădia,Caraș-Severin County,Romania.The formsArgidavaandArcidavafound in other ancient sources likePtolemy'sGeographia(c. 150 AD) andTabula Peutingeriana(2nd century AD), clearly place a Dacian town with those names at this geographical location. The site is also close toSarmizegetusa,a later Dacian capital.
Others, led by historianVasile Pârvanand professorRadu VulpeplaceArgedavaatPopești,Giurgiu County,Romania. Arguments include the name connection with the riverArgeș,geographical position on a potential road to Dionysopolis which Akornion followed, and most importantly the size of the archaeological discovery at Popești that hints to a royal palace. However no other sources seem to name thedavadiscovered at Popești, so no exact assumptions can be made about its Dacian name.
It is possible that the two different davae arehomonyms.
The marble inscription is damaged in many areas, including right before the wordArgedauon,and it is possible the original word could have beenSargedauon(Ancient Greek:Σαργεδαυον) orZargedauon.This form could be linked toZargidauamentioned byPtolemyat a different geographical location. Or, they could be homonyms.
The decree, a fragmentary marble inscription, is located in theNational Museum in Sofia.
Ptolemy's Geographia
[edit]Argidava is mentioned in Ptolemy'sGeographia(c. 150 AD) in the formArgidaua(Ancient Greek:Ἀργίδαυα) as an important Dacian town, at latitude 46° 30' N and longitude 45° 15' E (note that he used a differentmeridianand some of his calculations were off).
Tabula Peutingeriana
[edit]Argidava is also depicted in theTabula Peutingeriana(2nd century AD) in the formArcidaua,on a Roman road network, betweenApo Fl.andCentum Putea.The location corresponds to the one mentioned by Ptolemy and the different form is most likely caused by the G/C graphical confusion commonly found inLatindocuments.[8]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ab"National Archaeological Record (RAN)".ran.cimec.ro. Archived fromthe originalon 19 September 2012.Retrieved13 November2012.
- ^Grumeza, Ion.Dacia: Land of Transylvania, Cornerstone of Ancient Eastern Europe.Lanham: Hamilton Books, 2009, p. 13,ISBN978-0-7618-4465-5.
- ^Mihailov 1970.
- ^Daicoviciu 1972,p. 90.
- ^Crișan 1978,p. 61.
- ^Daicoviciu 1972,p. 127.
- ^Oltean 2007,p. 47.
- ^Olteanu.
References
[edit]- Crișan, Ion Horatiu(1978).Burebista and His Time.Bucharest:Bibliotheca Historica Romaniae.
- Daicoviciu, Hadrian(1972).Dacii.Bucharest:Editura Enciclopedica Româna.
- Mihailov, Georgi(1970). "Inscriptiones graecae in Bulgaria repertae" (in Latin and Greek).1(2nd ed.). Sofia: In aedibus typographicis Academiae Litterarum Bulgaricae.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Oltean, Ioana Adina(2007).Dacia: landscape, colonisation and romanisation.Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-41252-0.
- Olteanu, Sorin."Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum - Toponyms Section".Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum(in Romanian and English). Archived fromthe originalon 16 July 2011.Retrieved8 December2010.
External links
[edit]
- Ptolemy's Geography at LacusCurtius – Book III, Chapter 8 Location of Dacia (from the Ninth Map of Europe)(English translation, incomplete)
- Sorin Olteanu's Project: Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum – Toponyms Section
- A fost Argedava (Popesti) resedinta statului geto-dac condus de Burebista?[permanent dead link]– Article inInformatia de Giurgiu(Romanian)
- Searchable Greek Inscriptions at The Packard Humanities Institute (PHI)–Argedavasegment fromDecree of Dionysopolisreviewed inInscriptiones graecae in Bulgaria repertaeby Georgi Mihailov
