Really good stuff.
So Trajan was born is Southern Spain of today. I've heard about a book written allegedly by him regarding some sort of testament. Interesting enough, about one third of Roman Emperors were born in the Balkans, none were Dacian tho.
Arguably, Trajan had had his disposal the best army in the history of the empire. The clash between the Romans and the Dacians had 2 major wars and a tricky stalemate disguised as peace in-between. First war was kind of won by the Dacians because of some exquisite weapon engineering. The second war tho was won by the Romans. Rumors are that King Decebal was betrayed, killing himself rather than get taken as prisoner.
The history of the "barbarians" is at least as interesting as the history of the Roman Empire for anyone wanting to understand the bigger picture. It was no accident that the barbarians were finally at the gates.
Yes, there are references to a lost book that may have contained information about the Roman conquest of Dacia. This is known as 'De Bello Dacico' (On the Dacian War) and is believed to have been written by the Roman historian Cassius Dio. Although part of his work has survived, it is thought that important details about Trajan's campaigns against the Dacians have been lost over time.
Additionally, there are other ancient sources, such as the writings of Tacitus and Pliny the Elder, which provide information about Dacia and the Roman wars, but there is no complete work that exhaustively details this subject.
True, there are no sources that directly state that there were Roman emperors from Dacia.
However, there are a few other figures who might be connected to Dacia.
Regalianus, an enigmatic figure, was proclaimed emperor by the troops in Moesia, a region neighboring Dacia. The Historia Augusta, a controversial collection of biographies, describes Regalianus as βgentis Daciaeβ β of the Dacian people, perhaps even a relative of the legendary King Decebal. But was he born in Dacia? The sources remain silent, shrouding his origins in mystery. Perhaps Dacian blood flowed through his veins, but his place of birth β Moesia, perhaps Dacia β remains an enigma. His reign was brief, yet his story ignites the imagination: a Dacian raised to the rank of emperor?
In the shadow of Dacia, other names emerge in this tale. Decius (249β251 AD) , dubbed the βrestorer of Dacia,β was born in Sirmium, in Illyricum, not far from the borders of Roman Dacia. His role in managing revolts in the region tied his name to Dacia, but his roots were more Illyrian than Dacian. Similarly, Aurelian (270β275 AD), renowned for the Roman withdrawal from Dacia, was also born in Sirmium. These emperors, hailing from the Balkans, were shaped by Daciaβs proximity, but there is no evidence they were born on the lands conquered by Trajan.
And then there is Trajan himself (98β117 AD), the conqueror of Dacia. Some modern legends, particularly those with a romantic flair, suggest that Trajan may have had Thracian or even Dacian origins, based on an alleged statement: βπ° ππππππ ππ πππ ππππ
ππ ππ πππππππππ.β But historians remain skeptical. Trajan was born in Italica, in Hispania, far from the Carpathians. Perhaps, in a way, Dacia βadoptedβ this emperor. The Dacia of old is todayβs Romania, and its name evokes shared origins with those of the Roman Empire, if you will, a tribute to Trajan. Remarkably, the name Traian remains a popular choice in modern Romania (we even had a president with that name), while in Spain, has become largely forgotten.
As a curiosity, little is known about the language of the ancient Dacians, but Trajanβs Column provides a clue that the Dacian and Latin languages were closely related, as Roman soldiers appear to communicate directly with the Dacians without interpreters. The Romanian language is a Romance language, but the brief Roman occupation does not seem to be the sole reason why Romanian is a Romance language today, especially since the Romans did not conquer all of Dacia, and beyond the occupied territory lived the free Dacians, who were not subjected to colonization. By way of comparison, Britannia was a Roman colony for approximately 400 years. This period was marked by Roman influence on the regionβs culture, economy, and infrastructure. Yet, the British do not speak a Romance language today... Food for thought.