Sarmizegetusa (also Sarmisegetusa, Sarmisegethusa, Sarmisegethuza, Ζαρμιζεγεθούσα (Zarmizegethousa), Ζερμιζεγεθούση (Zermizegethouse)) was the most important Dacian military, religious and political centre. Erected on top of a crag 1,200 metres high, the fortress was the core of the strategic defensive system in the Orăştie Mountains (in present-day Romania), comprising six citadels.
The fortress, a quadrilateral formed by massive stone blocks (murus dacicus), was constructed on five terraces, on an area of almost 30,000 m². Sarmizegetusa also had a sacred precinct—among the most important and largest circular and rectangular Dacian sanctuaries the famous Circular Calendar Sanctuary is included.
The civilians lived around the fortress, down the mountain on man-made terraces. Dacian nobility had flowing water, brought through ceramic pipes, in their residences. The archaeological inventory found at the site shows that Dacian society had a high standard of living.
The Dacian capital reached its acme under KingDecebal who fought two wars against the EmperorTrajan of the Roman Empire in 101-102, the first successfully repelling the Roman invaders, and again in 105-106, the second culminating in the Battle of Sarmisegetusa, and the defeat of the Dacians. The Roman conquerors established a military garrison there. Later, the capital of Roman Dacia was named after the Dacian capital—Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa, established 40 km from the ruined Dacian capital.
Sarmizegetusa is also the name of a commune in modern-day Romania, in the Ţara Haţegului depression, Hunedoara County, where the ruins of Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa are located. This second city was the biggest city in Roman Dacia, with a partly conserved forum, an amphitheatre, and several temples. The city was destroyed by the Goths.
