Burebista (Ancient Greek: "Βοιρεβίστας") was a king of the Getae and Dacians, who unified for the first time their tribes and ruled them between 82 BC and 44 BC. He lead plunder and conquest raids across the Central and Southeastern Europe, subjugating most of the neighbouring tribes. After his assassination in an inside plot, the empire was divided into several smaller states.
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Development of Burebista's state
The development of a La Tène-based economy in 3rd-2nd century BC allowed the consolidation of political power through tribal unions. Such regional unions were found both among the Transylvanian Dacians (under the rule of Rubobostes) and the Moldavian and Wallachian Getae (with a center of power in Argedava). Burebista was the first to create a union of tribes of both Dacians and the Getae.[1]
This tribe alliance was probably a weakly-centralized state, with a military organization, similar to the one of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.[1] The exact degree of centralization is still under debate, with some archaeologists, such as K. Lockyear, denying the existence of a state, because the archaeological evidence shows much regional diversity, with only a few regional-wide trends. Other archaeologists, such as A. Diaconescu, dispute this and consider that there was a centralized political structure. Nevertheless, due to a number of archaeological factors, it's unlikely there'd be found a definite answer to this question.[2]
During Burebista, the society in the region is sometimes considered to have started developing a system of slavery similar to the one in Rome and Ancient Greece, but probably most of the production was still made by free people.[1]
Strabo wrote that Burebista was able to obtain the complete obedience of his tribe with the help of Decaeneus, a wizard and a diviner who learnt his craft in Egypt. The people's obedience to Burebista was so complete, that they were even persuaded to cut their vines and give up drinking wine.[3] Jordanes further claims that the high priest held "almost royal powers" and taught the Dacians a code of laws called the "belagines laws", but also ethics, philosophy and sciences, including physics and astronomy.[4]
In the heart of Burebista's empire, in the Orăştie Mountains, he built a a system of stone fortifications on higher ground, the most important of such hill forts are located today in the villages of Costeşti, Blidaru, Piatra Roşie and Băniţa.[1]
Conquests and external policy
Burebista lead a policy of conquest of new territories: in 60/59 BC, he attacked and vanquished the Celtic tribes of Boii and Taurisci, who dwelt along the Middle Danube and in what is now Slovakia. After 55 BC and probably before 48 BC, Burebista conquers the Black Sea shore, subjugating the Greek fortresses from Olbia to Apollonia, as well as the Danubian Plain all the way to the Balkans.[1] Strabo also mentions the expeditions against a group of Celts who lived among the Thracians and Illyrians (probably the Scordisci).[5]
The only Greek polis with which Burebista had good relations was Dionysopolis.[1] According to an inscription found in this city, Acornion, a citizen of the city was a chief adviser (πρῶτοσφίλος, literally "first friend") of Burebista.[6]
At its peak of power, the empire of Burebista streched from Slovakian Carpathians to the Balkans and from the Middle Danube to the Black Sea. Strabo claims that the Getae could raise up to 200,000 soldiers in wartime[1], a rather improbable number,[7] but which could represent the total number of able males, not the number of any army.[1] Burebista was a worthy adversary for the Romans, as his army would cross the Danube and plunder the Roman towns as far as in Thrace, Macedonia and Illyria.[3]
In 48 BC, Burebista sided with Pompey during his struggle against Julius Caesar in the Roman civil war,[1] sending Acornion as an ambassador and a military adviser. After Caesar emerged as victor, he planned on sending legions to punish Burebista[8], but he was assassinated in the Senate before he could do so, on March 15, 44 BC.
Death
Burebista was assassinated in a plot made by the tribal aristocracy, which felt that a consolidation towards a centralized state would reduce their power. After his death, the empire was dissolved, with the exception of the nucleus around the Orăştie Mountains,[1] while the rest being divided into various kindoms.[3] When Augustus Caesar sent an army against the Getae, the former state of Burebista was divided into four states.[8]
Legacy
There are only three ancient sources on Burebista: Strabo, Jordanes and a marble inscription found in Balchik, Bulgaria (now found at the National Museum in Sofia) which represents a decree by the citizens of Dionysopolis about Akornion.[9]
In Romania, starting with the 1970s, the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime used ancient history, seen from a nationalistic and questionable interpretation (Protochronism) as a way to legitimize its own rule.[10] For instance, Burebista, a great conqueror, was seen as merely a "unifier" of the Dacian tribes.[11]
Part of this tendency, in 1980, the Romanian government declared the celebration of the 2050th anniversary of the founding of the "unified and centralized" Dacian state of Burebista, drawing comparisons with Ceauşescu's Romania and claiming an uninterrupted existence of the state from Burebista to Ceauşescu.[12]
This commemoration lead the press to note "similarities" between Burebista and Ceauşescu, and even professional historians such as Ion Horaţiu Crişan used about Burebista words of omage similar to the ones used by party activists about Ceauşescu.[10]
In 1980, a movie based on the life of Burebista was made.[10]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Pippidi, D.M. (editor), Dicţionar de istorie veche a României, Editura ştiinţifică şi enciclopedică, Bucharest, 1976 pp.116-117
- ^ Jinyu Liu, "Review of Roman Dacia. The Making of a Provincial Society", Bryn Mawr Classical Review, March 12, 2005
- ^ a b c Strabo, Geography, VII:3.11
- ^ Jordanes, XI
- ^ John T. Koch, Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia, p.550, ABC-CLIO, 2006 ISBN 1851094407
- ^ H. Daicoviciu, p. 127
- ^ Boia, p.184
- ^ a b Strabo, Geography, VII:3.5
- ^ W. S. Hanson, Ian Haynes, Roman Dacia: the making of a provincial society, 2004, Journal of Roman Archaeology, ISBN 1887829563, p. 34
- ^ a b c Boia, p. 221
- ^ Boia, 177
- ^ Boia, p. 78; 125
References
Primary sources
- Strabo; H.L. Jones (Editor) (1924). "The Geography of Strabo". The Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University. pp. Books 6‑14. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Strab.+toc. Retrieved 2007-11-03. English text.
- Jordanes, Getica: The origin and deeds of the Goths, translated by Charles C. Mierow. (Chapter XI)
Secondary sources
- Lucian Boia, History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Budapest: Central European University Press, 2001;
- Hadrian Daicoviciu, Dacii, Editura Enciclopedică Română, Bucharest, 1972.
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