Getae

The area of land most often historically associated with the Getae people, shown in red dots at the mouth of the Danube River

File:Thomb-Sveshtari-2.jpg

The Thracian Tomb of Sveshtari, 3rd century BC

The Getae or Getai (Template:IPAc-en or Template:IPAc-en,<ref>“Getae.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Getae</ref> singular Getan) were a large nation who inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania, throughout much of Classical Antiquity. The main source of information about the Getae are Greek and Roman chroniclers, who write that the Getae were closely related to the neighbouring Thracians to the south and Dacians to the north. Cassius Dio writes that the Getae are the same people as the Dacians, Getae being the Greek name for the Dacians.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Modern scholars continue to debate the details of these relationships.

The Getae first appear in historical records as fierce opponents of the Persian invasion in 513 BC, as described by the early Greek historian Herodotus. They faded out of historical records during the Roman Empire, when many appear to have become Romans, and others north of the Danube were gradually overwhelmed by other peoples moving from the north and east towards the Roman frontier.

EthnonymEdit

The ethnonym Getae was first used by Herodotus. The root was also used for the Tyragetae, Thyssagetae, Massagetae and others.

Getae and DaciansEdit

Template:See also

Ancient sourcesEdit

File:Beaker birds animals Met 47.100.88.jpg

Beaker with birds and animals, Thraco-Getic, 4th century BC, silver, height: Template:Convert, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Strabo stated in his Geographica (Template:Circa 7Template:NbspBC – 20Template:NbspAD) wrote that the term "Dacian" was used by some people to refer to the western part of the Getae who lived north of the Danube "towards Germania and the sources of the Danube", and the other Getae lived in the eastern parts, towards the Black Sea, both south and north of the Danube.Template:Sfn According to him, the Dacians and Getae spoke the same language,Template:Sfn after stating the same about Getae and Thracians.<ref name="cah3">Template:Cite book</ref>

In his time, Strabo believed that the lands of these western Getae stretched north of the Danube to the boundary of Germania, embracing a part of the mountains of the Hercynian Forest where the Suevi lived. From here their lands stretched very far to east of the Carpathians, to the lands of the Tyragetae, who lived near the Dniester, although he cautioned that the precise boundaries were not known to him.Template:Sfn

Pliny the Elder, in his Naturalis Historia (Natural History), c.Template:Nbsp77–79Template:NbspAD, refers to "the Getae, by the Romans called Daci".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Appian, who began writing his Roman History under Antoninus Pius, Roman Emperor from 138 to 161, noted: "[B]ut going beyond these rivers in places they rule some of the Celts over the Rhine and the Getae over the Danube, whom they call Dacians".Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Justin, the 3rd century AD Latin historian, wrote in his Epitome of Pompeius Trogus that Dacians are spoken of as descendants of the Getae: "Daci quoque suboles Getarum sunt" (The Dacians as well are a scion of the Getae).Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In his Roman History (c.Template:Nbsp200Template:NbspAD), Cassius Dio added: "I call the people Dacians, the name used by the natives themselves as well as by the Romans, though I am not ignorant that some Greek writers refer to them as Getae, whether that is the right term or not...".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn He also said the Dacians lived on both sides of the Lower Danube; the ones south of the river (today's northern Bulgaria), in Moesia, were called Moesians, while the ones north of the river were called Dacians. He argued that the Dacians are "Getae or Thracians of Dacian race":<ref>Cassius Dio. Roman History, 55.22.6-55.22.7. "The Suebi, to be exact, dwell beyond the Rhine (though many people elsewhere claim their name), and the Dacians on both sides of the Ister; those of the latter, however, who live on this side of the river near the country of the Triballi are reckoned in with the district of Moesia and are called Moesians, except by those living in the immediate neighbourhood, while those on the other side are called Dacians and are either a branch of the Getae are Thracians belonging to the Dacian race that once inhabited Rhodope."</ref>

In ancient times, it is true, Moesians and Getae occupied all the land between Haemus and the Ister; but as time went on some of them changed their names, and since then there have been included under the name of Moesia all the tribes living above Dalmatia, Macedonia, and Thrace, and separated from Pannonia by the Savus, a tributary of the Ister. Two of the many tribes found among them are those formerly called the Triballi, and the Dardani, who still retain their old name.<ref>Cassius Dio LI 27</ref>{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
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Modern interpretationsEdit

There is a dispute among scholars about the relations between the Getae and Dacians, and this dispute also covers the interpretation of ancient sources. Some historians such as Ronald Arthur Crossland state that even Ancient Greeks used the two designations "interchangeable or with some confusion". Thus, it is generally considered that the two groups were related to a certain degree;<ref name="cah10">Template:Cite book J. J. Wilkes mentions "the Getae of the Dobrudja, who were akin to the Dacians"; (p. 562)</ref> the exact relation is a matter of controversy.

Same peopleEdit

File:Teritoriul onomastic al elementului dava - Sorin Olteanu.jpg

Onomastic range of the Dacian, Getae, and Moesian towns with the dava or deva ending, covering Dacia, Moesia, Thrace, and Dalmatia, and showcasing linguistic continuity

Strabo, as well as other ancient sources, led some modern historians to consider that, if the Thracian ethnic group should be divided, one of this divisions should be the "Daco-Getae".<ref name="mocsy">Template:Cite book See p. 364, n. 41: "If there is any justification for dividing the Thracian ethnic group, then, unlike V. Georgiev who suggests splitting it into the Thraco-Getae and the Daco-Mysi, I consider a division into the Thraco-Mysi and the Daco-Getae the more likely."</ref> The linguist Ivan Duridanov also identified a "Dacian linguistic area"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in Dacia, Scythia Minor, Lower Moesia, and Upper Moesia.

Romanian scholars generally went further with the identification, historian Constantin C. Giurescu claiming the two were identical.<ref>Template:Cite book "They (Dacians and Getae) are two names for the same people [...] divided in a large number of tribes". See also the hypothesis of a Daco-Moesian language / dialectal area supported by linguists like Vladimir Georgiev, Ivan Duridanov and Sorin Olteanu.</ref> The archaeologist Mircea Babeș spoke of a "veritable ethno-cultural unity" between the Getae and the Dacians.Template:Citation needed According to Glanville Price, the account of the Greek geographer Strabo shows that the Getae and the Dacians were one and the same people.<ref name="price">Template:Cite book, p. 120</ref> Others who support the identity between Getae and Dacians with ancient sources include freelance writer James Minahan and Catherine B Avery, who claim the people whom the Greek called Getae were called Daci by the Romans.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn This same belief is stated by some British historians such as David Sandler Berkowitz and Philip Matyszak.Template:Sfn Template:Sfn The Bulgarian historian and thracologist Alexander Fol considers that the Getae became known as "Dacians" in Greek and Latin in the writings of Caesar, Strabo and Pliny the Elder, as Roman observers adopted the name of the Dacian tribe to refer to all the unconquered inhabitants north of the Danube.Template:Sfn Also, Edward Bunbury believed the name of Getae, by which they were originally known to the Greeks on the Euxine, was always retained by the latter in common usage: while that of Dacians, whatever be its origin, was that by which the more western tribes, adjoining the Pannonians, first became known to the Romans.Template:Sfn Some scholars consider the Getae and Dacians to be the same people at different stages of their history and discuss their culture as Geto-Dacian.Template:Sfn

Same language, distinct peopleEdit

Historian and archaeologist Alexandru Vulpe found a remarkable uniformity of the Geto-Dacian culture;<ref>Template:Cite book Template:Page needed</ref> however, he is one of the few Romanian archaeologists to make a clear distinction between the Getae and Dacians, arguing against the traditional position of the Romanian historiography that considered the two people the same.<ref name="AGN2">Template:Cite book</ref> Nevertheless, he chose to use the term "Geto-Dacians" as a conventional concept for the Thracian tribes inhabiting the future territory of Romania, not necessarily meaning an "absolute ethnic, linguistic or historical unity".<ref name="AGN2"/>

Crossland suggested the two designations may refer to two groups of a "linguistically homogeneous people" that had come to historical prominence at two distinct periods of time. He also compared the probable linguistic situation with the relation between modern Norwegian and Danish languages.<ref name="cah3a">Template:Cite book In chapter "20c Linguistic problems of the Balkan area", at page 838, Ronald Crossland argues "it may be the distinction made by Greeks and Romans between the Getae and Daci, for example, reflected the importance of different sections of a linguistically homogenous people at different times". He furthermore recalls Strabo's testimony and Georgiev's hypothesis for a 'Thraco-Dacian' language.</ref> Paul Lachlan MacKendrick considered the two as "branches" of the same tribe, speaking two dialects of a common language.<ref name="mackendrick">Template:Cite book "The natives with whom we shall be concerned in this chapter are the Getae of Muntenia and Moldavia in the eastern steppes, and the Dacians of the Carpathian Mountains. Herodotus calls them 'the bravest and the justest of the Thracians,' and they were in fact two branches of the same tribe, speaking two dialects of the same Indo-European language." (p. 45)</ref>

The Romanian historian of ideas and historiographer Lucian Boia stated: "At a certain point, the phrase Geto-Dacian was coined in the Romanian historiography to suggest a unity of Getae and Dacians".<ref name="boia">Template:Cite book</ref> Lucian Boia took a sceptical position, arguing the ancient writers distinguished among the two people, treating them as two distinct groups of the Thracian ethnos.<ref name="boia"/><ref name="boiamyth">Template:Cite book</ref> Boia contended that it would be naive to assume Strabo knew the Thracian dialects so well,<ref name="boia"/> alleging that Strabo had "no competence in the field of Thracian dialects".<ref name="boiamyth"/> The latter claim is contested, some studies attesting Strabo's reliability and sources.<ref name="homoglottoi">Template:Cite journal The author concluded Strabo's claim sums an experience following of many centuries of neighbourhood and cultural interferences between the Greeks and the Thracian tribes</ref> There is no reason to disregard Strabo's belief that the Daci and the Getae spoke the same language.<ref name="price"/> Boia also stressed that some Romanian authors cited Strabo indiscriminately.<ref name="boiamyth"/>

A similar position was adopted by Romanian historian and archaeologist G. A. Niculescu, who also criticized the Romanian historiography and the archaeological interpretation, particularly on the "Geto-Dacian" culture.<ref>Template:Cite journal He dedicates a large part of his assessment to the archaeology of "Geto-Dacians" and he concludes that with few exceptions "the archaeological interpretations [...] are following G. Kossinna’s concepts of culture, archaeology and ethnicity".</ref> In his opinion, Alexandru Vulpe saw ancient people as modern nations, leading the latter to interpret the common language as a sign of a common people, despite Strabo making a distinction between the two.<ref name="AGN2"/>

HistoryEdit

File:Getae 200bc.jpg

Eastern Europe in 200Template:NbspBC showing the Getae north of the Danube river

7th – 4th centuries BCEdit

From the 7th century BC onwards, the Getae came into economic and cultural contact with the Greeks, who were establishing colonies on the western side of Pontus Euxinus, nowadays the Black Sea. The Getae are mentioned for the first time together in Herodotus in his narrative of the Scythian campaign of Darius I in 513Template:NbspBC, during which the latter conquered the Getae.<ref>The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 10 - Persia, Greece, and the Western Mediterranean Cambridge University Press, 1982. Template:ISBN p 494</ref> According to Herodotus, the Getae differed from other Thracian tribes in their religion, centered around the god (daimon) Zalmoxis whom some of the Getae called Gebeleizis.<ref>Herodotus, the Histories. Edited by Paul Cartledge. Translated by Tom Holland, Penguin Books, 2015. Page 296 - 297</ref>

But the Getans, who are the bravest of the Thracians, and most sensitive to the demands of justice as well, became obstinate, and were promptly enslaved. {{#if:Herodotus. the Histories, 4.93. trans. Tom Holland|{{#if:|}}
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Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, the Getae were mostly under the rule of the flourishing Odrysian kingdom. During this time, the Getae provided military services and became famous for their cavalry. After the disintegration of the Odrysian kingdom, smaller Getic principalities began to consolidate themselves.

ProsperityEdit

Before setting out on his Persian expedition, Alexander the Great defeated the Getae and razed one of their settlements.<ref>Arrian. Anabasis, Book IA. "The Getae did not sustain even the first charge of the cavalry; for Alexander’s audacity seemed incredible to them, in having thus easily crossed the Ister, the largest of rivers, in a single night, without throwing a bridge over the stream. Terrible to them also was the closely locked order of the phalanx, and violent the charge of the cavalry. At first they fled for refuge into their city, which was distant about a parasang from the Ister; but when they saw that Alexander was leading his phalanx carefully along the side of the river, to prevent his infantry being anywhere surrounded by the Getae lying in ambush, but that he was sending his cavalry straight on, they again abandoned the city, because it was badly fortified."</ref> In 313Template:NbspBC, the Getae formed an alliance with Callatis, Odessos, and other western Pontic Greek colonies against Lysimachus, who held a fortress at Tirizis (modern Kaliakra).<ref>Strabo. Geography, 7.6.1. "On this coast-line is Cape Tirizis, a stronghold, which Lysimachus once used as a treasury."</ref>

The Getae flourished especially in the first half of the 3rd century BC. By about 200Template:NbspBC, the authority of the Getic prince, Zalmodegicus, stretched as far as Histria, as a contemporary inscription shows.<ref>Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum 18.288</ref> Other strong princes included Zoltes and Rhemaxos (about 180Template:NbspBC). Also, several Getic rulers minted their own coins. The ancient authors Strabo<ref>Strabo. Geography, 16.2.38–16.2.39.</ref> and Cassius Dio<ref>Cassius Dio. Roman History, 68.9.</ref> say that Getae practiced ruler cult, and this is confirmed by archaeological remains.

Conflict with RomeEdit

In 72–71 BC Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus became the first Roman commander to march against the Getae. This was done to strike at the western Pontic allies of Mithridates VI, but he had limited success. A decade later, a coalition of Scythians, Getae, Bastarnae and Greek colonists defeated C.Template:Nbsp Antonius Hybrida at Histria.<ref>Livy. Ab urbe condita, 103.</ref><ref>Cassius Dio. Roman History, 38.10.1–38.10.3.</ref> This victory over the Romans allowed Burebista, the leader of this coalition, to dominate the region for a short period (60–50 BC).

In the mid-first century BC Burebista organized a kingdom consisting of descendants of those whom the Greeks had called Getae, as well as Dacians, or Daci, the name applied to people of the region by the Romans.Template:Sfn

Augustus aimed at subjugating the entire Balkan peninsula, and used an incursion of the Bastarnae across the Danube as a pretext to devastate the Getae and Thracians. He put Marcus Licinius Crassus in charge of the plan. In 29Template:NbspBC, Crassus defeated the Bastarnae with the help of the Getic prince Rholes.<ref>Cassius Dio. Roman History, 51.24.7; 26.1.</ref> Crassus promised him help for his support against the Getic ruler Dapyx.<ref>Cassius Dio. Roman History, 51.26.</ref> After Crassus had reached as far the Danube Delta, Rholes was appointed king and returned to Rome. In 16Template:NbspBC, the Sarmatae invaded the Getic territory and were driven back by Roman troops.<ref>Cassius Dio. Roman History, 54.20.1–54.20.3.</ref> The Getae were placed under the control of the Roman vassal king in Thrace, Rhoemetalces I. In 6Template:NbspAD, the province of Moesia was founded, incorporating the Getae south of the Danube River. The Getae north of the Danube continued tribal autonomy outside the Roman Empire.

CultureEdit

According to Herodotus, the Getae were "the noblest as well as the most just of all the Thracian tribes".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Herodotus. Histories, 4.93.</ref> When the Persians, led by Darius the Great, campaigned against the Scythians, the Thracian tribes in the Balkans surrendered to Darius on his way to Scythia, and only the Getae offered resistance.<ref name="Herodotus. Histories, 4.93">Herodotus. Histories, 4.93.</ref>

One episode from the history of the Getae is attested by several ancient writers.<ref>Strabo. Geography, 3.8.</ref><ref>Pausanias. Description of Greece, 1.9.5.</ref>

When Lysimachus tried to subdue the Getae he was defeated by them. The Getae king, Dromichaetes, took him prisoner but he treated him well and convinced Lysimachus there is more to gain as an ally than as an enemy of the Getae and released him. According to Diodorus, Dromichaetes entertained Lysimachus at his palace at Helis, where food was served on gold and silver plates. The discovery of the celebrated tomb at Sveshtari (1982) suggests that Helis was located perhaps in its vicinity,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> where remains of a large antique city are found along with dozens of other Thracian mound tombs.

As stated earlier, just like the Dacians, the principal god of the Getae was Zalmoxis whom they sometimes called Gebeleizis.

These same Thracians, whenever there is thunder or lightning, fire arrows up into the sky, and shake their fists at Zeus, in the belief that there is no god save their own.{{#if:Herodotus. the Histories, 4.94. trans. Tom Holland|{{#if:|}}
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Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia mentions a tribe called the Tyragetae,<ref>Pliny the Elder. Naturalis Historia, 4.26. "Leaving Taphræ, and going along the mainland, we find in the interior the Auchetæ, in whose country the Hypanis has its rise, as also the Neurœ, in whose district the Borysthenes has its source, the Geloni, the Thyssagetæ, the Budini, the Basilidæ, and the Agathyrsi with their azure-coloured hair."</ref> apparently a Daco-Thracian tribe who dwelt by the river Tyras (the Dniester). Their tribal name appears to be a combination of Tyras and Getae; see also the names Thyssagetae and Massagetae.

The Roman poet Ovid, during his long exile in Tomis, is asserted to have written poetry (now lost) in the Getic language. In his Epistulae ex Ponto, written from the northern coast of the Black Sea, he asserts that two major, distinct languages were spoken by the sundry tribes of Scythia, which he referred to as Getic, and Sarmatian.

Physical appearanceEdit

Jerome (Letter CVII to Laeta. II) described the Getae as red and yellow-haired though he may be referring to the Goths, with whom the Getae were sometimes confused in Late Antiquity.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>