Dava (Dacian)

Dava (Latinate plural davae) was a Geto-Dacian name for a city, town or fortress. Generally, the name indicated a tribal center or an important settlement, usually fortified. Some of the Dacian settlements and the fortresses employed the Murus Dacicus traditional construction technique.

Many davae on the Roman Dacia selection from Tabula Peutingeriana

Davae in Dacia during Burebista

Most of these towns are attested by Ptolemy, and therefore date from at least the 1st century CE.

The dava towns can be found as south as the cities of Sandanski and Plovdiv in present-day Bulgaria. Strabo specified that the Dacians ("Daci") are the Getae. The Dacians, Getae and their kings were always considered as Thracians by the ancients (Dio Cassius, Trogus Pompeius, Appian, Strabo, Herodotus and Pliny the Elder), and were both said to speak the same Thracian language.

Etymology

Many city names of the Dacians were composed of an initial lexical element (often the tribe name) affixed to -dava, -daua, -deva, -deba, -daba or -dova (<PIE *dʰeh₁-, "to set, place").[1] Therefore, dava 'town' derived from the reconstructed proto-Indo-European *dhewa 'settlement'.[2] A pre-Indo-European origin for the Dacian term is also suggested, e.g., see comparison with Kartvelian *daba, 'town, village'.[3]

List of davae

Below is a list of Dacian towns which include various forms of dava in their name:

Onomastic range of the Dacian towns with the -dava ending, covering Dacia, Moesia, Thrace and Dalmatia

Acidava[4] (Acidaua), a fortress town close to the Danube. Located in today's Enoșești, Olt County, Romania
Aedava[5] (Aedeva, Aedabe, Aedeba or Aedadeba), placed by Procopius on the Danubian road between Augustae and Variana,[1] in Moesia (the present Northern Bulgaria)
Aiadava[1] (Aiadaba or Aeadaba, Greek: Αἰάδαβα[6]), was a locality in the Remesiana region, present Bela Palanka, Serbia.[7]
Argedava[8] (Argedauon, Sargedava, Sargedauon, Zargedava, Zargedauon, Ancient Greek: Αργεδαυον, Σαργεδαυον), mentioned in the Decree of Dionysopolis, potentially the dava discovered at Popești, a district in the town of Mihăilești, Giurgiu County, Romania and maybe Burebista's court/capital
Argidava (Argidaua, Arcidava, Arcidaua, Argedava, Argedauon, Sargedava, Sargedauon, Zargedava, Zargedauon, Ancient Greek: Ἀργίδαυα, Αργεδαυον, Σαργεδαυον), potentially Burebista's court/capital, located in today's Vărădia, Caraș-Severin County, Romania
Bregedaba
Buricodava[4]
Buridava[9] or Burridava, today's Ocnele Mari, Romania
Buteridava[4]
Capidava[4] or Kapidaua, a fortress town on the southern side of the lower Danube
Carsidava or Karsidaua
Cumidava,[4] Comidava or Komidaua, ancient Râșnov, Romania
Dausdava, Dausadava or Dausdavua,[4] "The shrine of wolves", a fortress town close to the Danube
Desudaba
Docidava or Dokidaua
Gildova[10] or Gildoba, located alongside the Vistula river
Giridava[10]
Itadeba[10] or Itadava, in north eastern North Macedonia
Jidava,[4] near Câmpulung Muscel, Romania
Jidova[4]
Klepidaua
Kuimedaba
Marcodava or Markodaua
Murideba
Nentinava[9] or Netindaua, ancient Slobozia, Romania
Nentivava,[4] ancient Oltenița, Romania
Patridava or Patridaua
Pelendava[4] or Pelendova, ancient Craiova, Romania
Perburidava
Petrodava[9] or Petrodaua located in Piatra Neamţ
Piroboridava or Piroboridaua
Pulpudeva, originally named Eumolpias by the Dacians. Philip II of Macedon conquered the area in 342–341 BC and renamed the city Philippoupolis (Greek: Φιλιππούπολις), of which the later Dacian name for the city, Pulpu-deva, is a reconstructed translation. Today's city of Plovdiv in Bulgaria.
Quemedava, mentioned by Procopius in Dardania[11]
Ramidava or Rhamidaua
Recidava
Rusidava[4] or Rusidava
Sacidava or Sacidaba
Sagadava
Sandava
Sangidaua
Scaidava or Skedeba
Setidava[4] or Setidaua, mentioned by Ptolemy as a thriving settlement
Singidava or Singidaua
Sucidava,[4] Suvidava or Sukidaua located in Corabia, Olt County, Romania
Susudava,[4] mentioned by Ptolemy as a thriving settlement
Sykidaba
Tamasidava or Tamasidaua
Thermidava, placed by Ptolemy on the Lissus-Naissus route. The toponym is most probably a misreading of a settlement which most scholars in contemporary research locate near present-day Banat, Serbia.[12]
Utidava or Utidaua
Zargidava or Zargidaua
Ziridava or Ziridaua
Zisnedeva,[4] Zisnudeva or Zisnudeba, located in Dacian Moesia
Zucidaua
Zisnudeba
Zusidava

References

Citations

Olteanu.
Polome 1982, p. 886.
Berzovan 2020.
Grumeza 2009, p. 13.
Velkov 1977, p. 92.
- Procopii Caesariensis opera omnia. Edited by J. Haury; revised by G. Wirth. 3 vols. Leipzig: Teubner, 1976-64. Greek text.
TSR9, Proc. 123. 26
Grumeza 2009, p. 88.
Grumeza 2009, p. 12.
Grumeza 2009, p. 14.
Ethnic continuity in the Carpatho-Danubian area by Elemér Illyés,1988,ISBN 0-88033-146-1,page 223
Lepper, F. A. (1988). Trajan's Column: A New Edition of the Cichorius Plates. Alan Sutton. p. 138. ISBN 9780862994679. Stuart Jones noted the Dacian – sounding place – name ' Thermidava ' on the Lissus Naissus road : but see Miller col . 557 , for the evidence on this. The place was most probably called ' Theranda ' and there is no evidence for any settlement there of pro-Roman Dacians now, nor is it very likely. (..) Most scholars , however , have supposed , as did Cichorius , that we are now north of the Danube , somewhere in the Banat area where the local inhabitants are frightened that they may lose their recently acquired 'liberty'.

Bibliography

Berzovan, Alexandru (2020). "Considerations regarding the origin of Dacian Term dava / deva / daba. A Historical and Linguistic Journey from the Lower Danube to Anatolia and Transcaucasia". The Thracians and their neighbours in antiquity. Archaeology and history. Studies in honor of Valeriu Sîrbu at his 70th anniversary. Romania: Editura Istros , Brăila.
Grumeza, Ion (2009). Dacia: Land of Transylvania, Cornerstone of Ancient Eastern Europe. Hamilton Books. ISBN 978-0-7618-4465-5.
Olteanu, Sorin. "Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum – Toponyms Section". Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum (in Romanian and English). Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2010.
Polome, E. C. (1982). "20e". In Boardman, John (ed.). The Cambridge Ancient History. London: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-22496-3.
Van den Gheyn, Joseph (1885). "Les populations Danubiennes". Revue des questions scientifiques. Brussels: Société scientifique de Bruxelles. 17–18.
Velkov, Velizar Iv (1977). The cities in Thrace and Dacia in late antiquity: (studies and materials). Hakkert. ISBN 90-256-0723-3.
Tomaschek, Wilhelm (1883). "Les Restes de la langue dace". Le Muséon. Belgium: "Société des lettres et des sciences" Louvain, Belgium. 2.

External links

Dacian Davae in Enciclopedia Dacica (Romanian)
Dacian materials and construction techniques in Enciclopedia Dacica (Romanian)
Sorin Olteanu's Project: Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum – Toponyms Section (Romanian, partially English)
Lists of Dacian fortresses, towns and citadels Archived 20 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine

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[FOOTNOTEOlteanu-1] Olteanu.

[FOOTNOTEPolome1982886-2] Polome 1982, p. 886.

[FOOTNOTEBerzovan2020-3] Berzovan 2020.

[FOOTNOTEGrumeza200913-4] Grumeza 2009, p. 13.

[FOOTNOTEVelkov197792-5] Velkov 1977, p. 92.

[6] Procopii Caesariensis opera omnia. Edited by J. Haury; revised by G. Wirth. 3 vols. Leipzig: Teubner, 1976-64. Greek text.

[7] Procopii Caesariensis opera omnia. Edited by J. Haury; revised by G. Wirth. 3 vols. Leipzig: Teubner, 1976-64. Greek text.

[7] TSR9, Proc. 123. 26

[FOOTNOTEGrumeza200988-8] Grumeza 2009, p. 88.

[FOOTNOTEGrumeza200912-9] Grumeza 2009, p. 12.

[FOOTNOTEGrumeza200914-10] Grumeza 2009, p. 14.

[Elemér_Illyés_1988,_page_223-11] Ethnic continuity in the Carpatho-Danubian area by Elemér Illyés,1988,ISBN 0-88033-146-1,page 223

[12] Lepper, F. A. (1988). Trajan's Column: A New Edition of the Cichorius Plates. Alan Sutton. p. 138. ISBN 9780862994679. Stuart Jones noted the Dacian – sounding place – name ' Thermidava ' on the Lissus Naissus road : but see Miller col . 557 , for the evidence on this. The place was most probably called ' Theranda ' and there is no evidence for any settlement there of pro-Roman Dacians now, nor is it very likely. (..) Most scholars , however , have supposed , as did Cichorius , that we are now north of the Danube , somewhere in the Banat area where the local inhabitants are frightened that they may lose their recently acquired 'liberty'.