Few people know the true significance of Trajan’s Column, a towering monument in Rome. The column commemorates Trajan’s conquest of Dacia, a powerful civilization in what is now Romania, which marked the defining achievement of his 19-year reign (98–117 AD).
This victory had far-reaching consequences, including what some historians consider the first major economic crisis in the ancient world. The Roman conquest of Dacia, finalized in 106 AD under the leadership of King Decebal, brought an extraordinary influx of wealth into the empire. The Romans plundered an estimated 166 tons of gold and vast quantities of silver, replenishing the imperial treasury. To celebrate, Emperor Trajan hosted 123 days of lavish games and gladiatorial battles in Rome, showcasing the empire’s triumph.
However, this influx of Dacian gold had an unintended consequence. The sudden flood of precious metals into the Roman economy caused a sharp decline in their value, triggering rampant inflation. This economic disruption, often described as the ancient world’s first inflationary crisis, destabilized markets across the empire and beyond, affecting trade and wealth in regions connected to Rome.
This phenomenon bears striking similarities to modern financial crises, such as the Great Depression of 1929–1933 or the 2008 global financial meltdown. Yet, nearly 2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire faced a comparable economic upheaval driven by the spoils of war.
The impact of Dacian gold on the Roman economy is thoroughly explored in „Geologia economica a aurului” (Economic Geology of Gold), a work authored by a team led by Prof. Dr. Gheorghe C. Popescu from the Faculty of Geology at the University of Bucharest, Romania.
After the victory over the Dacians, according to the historian Dio Cassius and Criton, Emperor Trajan’s personal physician, the Roman legions brought back from Dacia, as war booty, no less than 166 tons of gold and 331 tons of silver.
Today, the value of that gold alone would amount to nearly 10 billion euros, calculating the price of a gram of gold at an average of 60 euros, or 300 lei.
Initially, the impact of the plundered Dacian gold replenished the imperial treasury. Moreover, the emperor took unprecedented measures.
For instance, he organized 123 days of games and battles, involving no fewer than 10,000 gladiators, canceled all debts, and exempted all taxpayers from state taxes for one year.
Additionally, he gifted each Roman head of household 650 denarii, an amount equivalent to the price of several able-bodied slaves.
He also funded numerous monuments and buildings and drained the marshes around the capital of the empire.
Furthermore, he moved an entire hill to make way for the space where he later erected the famous Trajan’s Column.
However, the wealth of precious metal soon revealed its adverse effects, leading to the first collapse in the price of gold in human history.
Its value dropped by nearly a tenth across the vast Roman Empire.
The situation became so severe that, in 107 AD, Trajan was forced to implement a monetary reform, devaluing gold and silver coins.
At the same time, the Roman prefect of Egypt adjusted the exchange rate between the two metals.
Thus, nearly 2,000 years ago, the Dacian gold plundered by the Romans, in a way, took its revenge on its plunderers, triggering the first form of financial crisis in history.
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 “gentis Daciae” – 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 – Moesia, perhaps Dacia – 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 (249–251 AD) , dubbed the “restorer of Dacia,” 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 (270–275 AD), renowned for the Roman withdrawal from Dacia, was also born in Sirmium. These emperors, hailing from the Balkans, were shaped by Dacia’s proximity, but there is no evidence they were born on the lands conquered by Trajan.
And then there is Trajan himself (98–117 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: “𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔.” But historians remain skeptical. Trajan was born in Italica, in Hispania, far from the Carpathians. Perhaps, in a way, Dacia “adopted” this emperor. The Dacia of old is today’s 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 Trajan’s 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 region’s culture, economy, and infrastructure. Yet, the British do not speak a Romance language today... Food for thought.