| Dacia Ripensis | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of Roman Empire | |||||||||
| c. 283 – 586 | |||||||||
 The northern Balkans, including Dacia Ripensis, in the 6th century | |||||||||
| Capital | Ratiaria(now inVidin Province,Bulgaria) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Evacuation ofDacia Traiana, creation ofDacia Aureliana | 271 | ||||||||
• Dacia Aureliana partitioned | 280s (before 285) | ||||||||
• Devastated byAvar invasion | 586 | ||||||||
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Dacia Ripensis (lit. 'riparianDacia') was the name of aRoman province in the northernBalkan peninsula, immediately south of theMiddle Danube.[1] Its capital wasRatiaria (modernArchar,Bulgaria).[2] It was a district less urban than neighbouringDacia Mediterranea and more militarized; "military camps and forts, rather than cities, were typical of the province".[3] Besides Ratiaria,Oescus was the major settlement.[3]
Dacia Ripensis was one of the "Two Dacias" established south of the Danube in the late 3rd century.[dubious –discuss][1] TheRoman emperorAurelian (r. 270–275) abandoned the province ofRoman Dacia established byTrajan (r. 98–117) in 106 AD on the northern bank of the river, and created the two new "Dacias" between the existing provinces ofMoesia Prima (upstream) andMoesia Secunda (downstream).[1][3] The northern part of Aurelian'sDacia Aureliana is attested as "Dacia Ripensis" in 343/4.[1] The southern part, with its capital at Serdica (modernSofia) was known as Dacia Mediterranea.[1]
According to theLaterculus Veronensis, both provinces were part of theDiocese of Moesiae after the empire was divided intodioeceses during the reign ofConstantine the Great (r. 306–337), but by the time of theNotitia Dignitatum they were part of theDiocese of Thrace. According to theNotitia, Dacia Ripensis was governed by apraeses, while the governor of Dacia Mediterranea was a more seniorconsularis. Dacia Ripensis was under the authority of thePraetorian prefecture of Illyricum.
Dacia Ripensis flourished in the mid-4th century, and some forts on the northern bank of the Danube were recovered by the Romans. In the 5th centuryPriscus described Ratiaria as large and densely populated. In the 6th century,Hierocles'sLate GreekSynecdemus identifies Ratiera as the principal city of the province, calling the provinceΔακία Παραποτάμια,Dakía Parapotámia,'Dacia-by-the-river', thoughProcopius referred to it asῬιπησία,Rhipēsía.[4]
In 535, emperorJustinian I (527-565) created theArchbishopric of Justiniana Prima as a regional primacy with ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all provinces of theDiocese of Dacia, including the province ofDacia Ripensis.[5]
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It is unclear whether Aurelian or the EmperorDiocletian replaced Dacia Aureliana with two provinces,[6][7] but by 285, there were two –Dacia Mediterranea with its capital at Serdica and Dacia Ripensis, with its capital at Ratiaria. Later, these two "Dacias" along withDardania,Lower Moesia, andPrevalitana constituted theDiocese of Dacia.
Ratiaria was established as the capital of Dacia Ripensis (it was previously a colony founded byTrajan located withinMoesia Superior) and served both as the seat of the military governor (ordux) and as the military base for theRoman legionXIIIGemina.[8]
According toPriscus, Dacia Ripensis was a flourishing province during the 4th and 5th centuries AD. During the early 440s, however, theHuns captured the province (prior to this, there were conflicts between the Romans and the Huns whereby the latter group capturedCastra Martis through treacherous means[9]). Even though the province recovered briefly from Hunnic rule, it was eventually decimated by theAvars in 586.[8] On a more specific note, Aurelian developed Dacia Ripensis on a stretch of the Danube specifically between Moesia Superior andMoesia Inferior.[10]
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link){{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)The date must be A.D. 283, and it is obvious that Aurelian set up the boundary stones, one of which Gaianus restored. There were, then, two Dacias when Diocletian came to the throne and, therefore, Mr. Fillow has inferred that we should read in our List: Dacia, that is presumably Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea. Aurelian's Dacia mediterranea might have included Dardania, and Dardania, Mr. Fillow thinks, was split off as a distinct province by Diocletian
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