.svg) Arcidava on theRoman Dacia map. | |
  Shown within Romania | |
| Alternative name | Argidaua,Arcidava,Arcidaua,Argedava,Argedauon,Argedabon,Sargedava,Sargedauon,Zargedava,Zargedauon |
|---|---|
| Location | Poiana Flămânda,[1] Vărădia, Caraș-Severin County, Romania |
| Coordinates | 45°05′N21°33′E / 45.08°N 21.55°E /45.08; 21.55 |
| History | |
| Cultures | Albocense |
| Site notes | |
| Condition | Ruined |
| Reference no. | CS-I-s-B-10894[1] |
Argidava (Argidaua,Arcidava,Arcidaua,Argedava,Argedauon,Argedabon,Sargedava,Sargedauon,Zargedava,Zargedauon,Ancient Greek:Ἀργίδαυα, Αργεδαυον, Αργεδαβον, Σαργεδαυον) was aDacian fortress town close to theDanube, inhabited and governed by theAlbocense. Located in today'sVărădia,Caraș-Severin County,Romania.
After theRoman conquest ofDacia, it became a military and a civilian center, with acastrum (Roman fort) (seeCastra Arcidava) built in the area. The fort was used to monitor the shores of theDanube.[2]
The oldest found potential reference toArgidava is in the formArgedauon orArgedabon (Ancient Greek:Αργεδαυον, Αργεδαβον), written in stone, in theDecree of Dionysopolis (48 BC).[3][4] However, it is unclear as to whether this refers to Argidava or a distinct townArgedava.
The decree, a fragmentary marble inscription, is located in theNational Museum in Sofia. It was written by the citizens ofDionysopolis toAkornion, who is said in the text to have met somebody's father inArgedauon. In a later section, the inscription also refers to the Dacian kingBurebista and mentions that Akornion was his chief adviser (Ancient Greek:πρῶτοσφίλος, literally "first friend"). According to the text, Akornion was also sent as an ambassador of Burebista toPompey.[5]
This has led to the assumption that the mentionedArgedava was Burebista's capital of the Dacian kingdom. Regarding the location of Argedava and historians opinions are split in two groups. One school of thought, led by historiansConstantin Daicoviciu andHadrian Daicoviciu, assumes that the inscription talks aboutArgidava and place the potential capital of Burebista atVărădia,Caraș-Severin County,Romania. The formsArgidava andArcidava found in other ancient sources likePtolemy'sGeographia (c. 150 AD) andTabula Peutingeriana (2nd century AD), clearly place a town with those names at this geographical location. The site is also close toSarmizegetusa, a later Dacian capital. Others, led by historianVasile Pârvan andRadu Vulpe placeArgedava atPopești, Giurgiu. Arguments include the name connection with the riverArgeș, geographical position on a potential road to Dionysopolis which Akornion followed, and most importantly the size of the archaeological discovery at Popești that hints to a royal palace. However no other sources seem to name thedava discovered at Popești, so no exact assumptions can be made about its Dacian name. It is possible that the two different davae arehomonyms.
However, the connection between the place name Argedava and the later mention of Burebista in the inscription is by no means certain. Instead of a Dacian residence, the place name Argedava could also refer to any other place that Akornion visited at some point in his life. There was indeed an ancient place called Arcidava in the immediate vicinity of Dionysopolis. In this case, all speculations on a Dacian residence with this name would be obsolete.[6]
Furthermore, the marble inscription is damaged in many areas, including right before the wordArgedauon, and it is possible the original word could have beenSargedauon (Ancient Greek:Σαργεδαυον) orZargedauon. This form could be linked toZargidaua mentioned byPtolemy at a different geographical location. Or, they could be homonyms.
Argidava is mentioned in Ptolemy'sGeographia (c. 150 AD) in the formArgidaua (Ancient Greek:Ἀργίδαυα) as an important Dacian town, at latitude 46° 30' N and longitude 45° 15' E (note that he used a differentmeridian and some of his calculations were off).
Argidava is also depicted in theTabula Peutingeriana (2nd century AD) in the formArcidaua, on a Roman road network, betweenApo Fl. andCentum Putea. The location corresponds to the one mentioned by Ptolemy and the different form is most likely caused by the G/C graphical confusion commonly found inLatin documents.[7]
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