| Diocese of Dacia Dioecesis Daciarum Διοίκησις Δακίας | |
|---|---|
| Diocese of theRoman Empire | |
| ca. 337 – ca. 602 | |
 Dioceses of Dacia andThrace in 400 AD | |
| Capital | Serdica (modernSofia) |
| Historical era | Late Antiquity |
• Split fromDiocese of Moesia | ca. 337 |
• Merged into the newly formedPraetorian prefecture of Illyricum | 357 |
• Merged into thePraetorian prefecture of Italy | 384 |
• Merged back into Illyricum after Theodosius' death | 395 |
| ca. 602 | |
TheDiocese of Dacia (Latin:Dioecesis Daciae) was adiocese of the laterRoman Empire, in the area of modern westernBulgaria, centralSerbia,Montenegro,Kosovo, northernAlbania and northernNorth Macedonia. It was subordinate to thePraetorian prefecture of Illyricum. Its capital was atSerdica (modernSofia).
Emperor Aurelian (270-275), confronted with the secession of Gallia and Hispania from the empire since 260, with the advance of theSassanids in Asia, and the devastations that the Carpians and theGoths had created inMoesia andIllyria, abandoned the province ofDacia created byTrajan and withdrew his troops altogether, fixing the Roman frontier at the Danube. A newDacia Aureliana was organised south of the Danube out of centralMoesia, with its capital at Serdica.
The abandonment ofDacia Traiana by the Romans is mentioned byEutropius in hisBreviarium historiae Romanae, book IX :
The province of Dacia, which Trajan had formed beyond the Danube, he gave up, despairing, after all Illyricum and Moesia had been depopulated, of being able to retain it. The Roman citizens, removed from the town and lands of Dacia, he settled in the interior of Moesia, calling that Dacia which now divides the two Moesiae, and which is on the right hand of the Danube as it runs to the sea, whereas Dacia was previously on the left.
During the administrative reforms ofDiocletian (284-305), theDiocese of Moesia was created, encompassing most of the central Balkans and the Greek peninsula. Later, however, probably in the time ofConstantine the Great (306-337) the diocese was split in two, forming theDiocese of Macedonia in the south and the Diocese of Dacia, in the north.
The Diocese of Dacia was composed of five provinces:Dacia Mediterranea (the southern, interior portion of Dacia Aureliana),Dacia Ripensis (the northern, Danubian portion of Dacia Aureliana),Moesia Prima (the northern portion ofMoesia Superior),Dardania (the southern portion of Moesia Superior) andPraevalitana (the eastern portion of Dalmatia).
The dioceses capital was atSerdica (modernSofia). Administration of diocese was headed by avicarius. According to theNotitia dignitatum (an early 5th century imperial chancery document), thevicarius had the rank ofvir spectabilis.
The diocese was transferred to theWestern Empire in 384 by Theodosius I, probably in partial compensation to the empressJustina for his recognition of the usurpation ofMagnus Maximus in theGallic Empire. However, upon his death in 395, it reverted to the Eastern Empire, forming, together with theDiocese of Macedonia to the south, thePraetorian prefecture of Illyricum.
In 535, under emperorJustinian I (527-565), ecclesiastical order on the territory of the diocese was reshaped, and newArchbishopric of Justiniana Prima was created, centered in emperor's birth city ofJustiniana Prima. Newly appointed archbishop was given metropolitan jurisdiction over all provinces of the Diocese of Dacia.[1]
The territory of diocese was devastated by theHuns in the middle of 5th century and finally overrun by theAvars andSlavs in late 6th and early 7th century.[2]