Cumidava

Cumidava
	Shown within Romania
Alternative name	Comidava, Komidava
Location	Dealul Cetății, Grădiște,Roadeș,Brașov,Romania
Coordinates	45°35′26″N25°28′10″E/ 45.590524°N 25.469504°E
Site notes
Condition	Ruined
Monument istoric
Reference no.	BV-I-m-A-11284.02

Cumidava(also Comidava, Komidava,Ancient Greek:Κομίδαυα) was originally aDaciansettlement, and later aRomanmilitary camp on the site of the modern city ofRâșnov(15 km fromBrașov) inRomania.

Etymology

After the Roman conquest of Dacia, the Dacian name Comidava was modified by the Latin writers to Cumidava.^[2](It is common in the Late Latin inscriptions to express the letter "o" by "u", e.g. patrunus instead ofpatronus'protector', and Latin rumpia instead of Greek ρομφαια (Rhomphaia) 'Thracian claymore / sword'.^[3])

The name Comidava is a compound of dava 'town' and "comi". Scholars' opinions about the meaning of the Dacian word "Comi/Cumi" include:

'Desire, love'—a word explained by theancient IranianKamya, with an obscure pronunciation of the "a". The term "Comi" is also contained in the name of the Dacian prince and priestComo-sicus^[4]
'Lovely' (RomanianDrăgănești)^[5]

Another town named Comidava / Cumidava was situated in theRemesiana's territory^[6]

History

Early references

Early references to Cumidava are made by the geographerPtolemyin hisGeographia,in the formKomidava(Ancient Greek:Κομίδαυα).

An inscription on stone dedicated toJulia Avita Mamaea,the mother of the Roman EmperorAlexander Severus(dated 222-235 AD), allows the localization of the Dacian settlement Cumidava in the area of present-dayRâșnov.^[7]

The archaeological research at Râșnov was initiated in 1856 byJohann Michael Ackner^[8]and continued in 1939 by Macrea Mihail who also recorded the presence of Dacian pottery during the digs at the Rasnov Roman camp^[9]

The inscription found in 1939:^[10]^[11]

Iuliae Mameae augustae matri Domini nostri sanctissimi Imperatoris Caesaris Severi Alexandri augusti et castrorum senatusque cohors Vindelicorum Piae fidelisCumidavensisAlexandrianae ex quaestura sua dedicante la sdio Dominatio legato augusti III Daciarum

After Roman conquest, a part of the kingdom ofDaciawas included in theRoman Empire.Septimius Severus(Roman emperor from 193 to 211 AD) pushed Dacia's eastern frontier approximately 10 to 14 kilometers (6.2 to 8.7 miles) east of theOlt River(Limes Transalutanus), constructing a series of 14 camps, over a distance of cca. 225 kilometers (140 mi), beginning atFlămândaon theDanubeand stretching northward to Cumidava (now Râșnov).

Cumidava had a military road link withAngustia(nowBrețcu), the farthest east of the Roman campus in Dacia.^[12]

From a Dacian town to a Roman military castrum

The Roman militarycastrumCumidava was identified at 4 km northwest of the cityRâșnov,at the common border with the city ofVulcan.

Sinaia lead plates

Cumidava is mentioned also on the controversialSinaia lead platesin the formComidava,which is used as example to debunk the myth about them. According to the director of theRomanian Institute of Archaeology,Alexandru Vulpe,the tablets include only what was known before 1900, for example, the formComidavafrom Ptolemy, although now it's known that the correct spelling isCumidava,as found in 1942 in an inscription.^[which?]^[13]

Notes

^"National Register of Historic Monuments in Romania, Brașov County"(PDF).www.inmi.ro. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 October 2011.Retrieved18 October2012.
^Garbsch 1991,p. 285.
^The Latin Language: An Historical Account of Latin Sounds, Stems, and Flexions by W. M. Lindsay, Cambridge University Press, 1 edition, 2010,ISBN 1-108-01240-X,ISBN 978-1-108-01240-9,page 34
^Tomaschek, W,. "Les restes de la langue dace" in "Le Muséon, Volume 2" edited by "Société des lettres et des sciences", Louvain, Belgium, 1883
^Parvan, V., "Getica", page 398, "Cultura Nationala", Bucharest, Romania, 1926
^Ion I. Russu, Limba Traco-Dacilor: de I. I. Russu. Ediția a 2-a revăzută si adăugită, Editura Științifică, 1967
^L'Année épigraphique: revue des publications épigraphiques relatives a l'antiquité romaine, Académie des inscriptions & belles-lettres (France) Presses Universitaires de France., 1968,
^Johann Michael Ackner (1782-1862): Leben und Werk by Volker Wollmann, the University of Michigan, Dacia, 1982
^The native pottery of Roman Dacia by Mircea Negru, Archaeopress, 2003
^Ion I. Russu in "Inscriptiile Daciei Romane: Volume 3, Part 4", Editura Academiei de Stiinte Sociale si Politice a RSR, Romania
^Fasti archaeologici, Volumes 28-29, International Association for Classical Archaeology, Sansoni Editore., 1973, page 461,
^The Dacian Stones Speak by Paul Lachlan MacKendrick, Publisher: University of North Carolina Press,ISBN 9780807849392,2000,
^Din tainele istoriei - Misterul tablitelor de plumb,Formula As,n. 649; 2005

References

Treptow, Kurt W.; Bolovan, Ioan (1996).A history of Romania.East European Monographs; 3rd Revised edition.ISBN 978-0-88033-345-0.
Dapper, Morgan (2009).Ol' man river: geo-archaeological aspects of rivers and river plains.Academia Press in cooperation with Ghent University, Dept. of Archaeology and Ancient History of EuropeBelgium.ISBN 978-90-382-1404-7.
Garbsch, Jochen (1991). "The oldest military diploma for Dacia".Roman frontier studies 1989: proceedings of the XVth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies edited byValerie A. Maxfield,Michael J. Dobson.University of Exeter Press. pp. 281–285.ISBN 978-0-85989-364-0.

External links

History of Rasnov/Cumidava

[lmi-1] "National Register of Historic Monuments in Romania, Brașov County"(PDF).www.inmi.ro. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 October 2011.Retrieved18 October2012.

[FOOTNOTEGarbsch1991285-2] Garbsch 1991,p. 285.

[3] The Latin Language: An Historical Account of Latin Sounds, Stems, and Flexions by W. M. Lindsay, Cambridge University Press, 1 edition, 2010,ISBN 1-108-01240-X,ISBN 978-1-108-01240-9,page 34

[4] Tomaschek, W,. "Les restes de la langue dace" in "Le Muséon, Volume 2" edited by "Société des lettres et des sciences", Louvain, Belgium, 1883

[5] Parvan, V., "Getica", page 398, "Cultura Nationala", Bucharest, Romania, 1926

[6] Ion I. Russu, Limba Traco-Dacilor: de I. I. Russu. Ediția a 2-a revăzută si adăugită, Editura Științifică, 1967

[France._1968-7] L'Année épigraphique: revue des publications épigraphiques relatives a l'antiquité romaine, Académie des inscriptions & belles-lettres (France) Presses Universitaires de France., 1968,

[8] Johann Michael Ackner (1782-1862): Leben und Werk by Volker Wollmann, the University of Michigan, Dacia, 1982

[9] The native pottery of Roman Dacia by Mircea Negru, Archaeopress, 2003

[10] Ion I. Russu in "Inscriptiile Daciei Romane: Volume 3, Part 4", Editura Academiei de Stiinte Sociale si Politice a RSR, Romania

[11] Fasti archaeologici, Volumes 28-29, International Association for Classical Archaeology, Sansoni Editore., 1973, page 461,

[12] The Dacian Stones Speak by Paul Lachlan MacKendrick, Publisher: University of North Carolina Press,ISBN 9780807849392,2000,

[formulaas-13] Din tainele istoriei - Misterul tablitelor de plumb,Formula As,n. 649; 2005

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