Sarmizegetusa Regia in the context of "Decebalus"

Dacia (/ˈdeɪʃə/, DAY-shə; Latin: [ˈd̪aː.ki.a]; Ancient Greek: Δακία) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus roughly corresponds to present-day Romania, as well as parts of Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine.

A Dacian kingdom that united the Dacians and the Getae was formed under the rule of Burebista in 82 BC and lasted until the Roman conquest in AD 106. As a result of the wars with the Roman Empire, after the conquest of Dacia, the population was dispersed, and the capital city, Sarmizegetusa Regia, was destroyed by the Romans. However, the Romans built a settlement bearing the same name, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetuza, 40 km away, to serve as the capital of the newly established Roman province of Dacia. A group of "Free Dacians" may have remained outside the Roman Empire in the territory of modern-day Northern Romania until the start of the Migration Period.

Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and the Dacians under King Decebalus during the reign of Emperor Trajan. The conflicts stemmed from repeated Dacian incursions into the province of Moesia and from Rome's growing need for resources. Discontent with the treaty Domitian had concluded with Decebalus in 89 CE persisted, and Trajan, keen to assert himself as a soldier-emperor, took the opportunity to reassert Roman authority.

Trajan's First Dacian War began in 101 CE, when the emperor led a major offensive across the Danube using a pontoon bridge constructed by his engineer Apollodorus of Damascus, who also cut a road through the river cliffs. The Romans won a series of victories, including at Tapae and Adamclisi. Before Trajan could capture the Dacian capital, Sarmizegetusa, Decebalus sought peace. The treaty forced him to surrender territory and engineers provided by Domitian, return equipment, accept Roman garrisons, and refrain from crossing the Danube.

Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa was the capital, the first, and largest city of Roman Dacia, named after Sarmizegetusa the former Dacian capital, located some 30 km away. It was founded in 106 as a colonia deducta and elevated to metropolis during the reign of Severus Alexander.The present village of Sarmizegetusa has been built over parts of it.

It acted as the seat of the governor of Roman Dacia until it was moved to Apulum around 158 under Antoninus Pius.

Archaeological looting in Romania refers to illegal digging and removal of ancient artifacts from archaeological sites in Romania in order to be sold on the black market of antiquities in Western Europe and the United States.

Notable among the treasure looted are two dozen Dacian bracelets which were dug up and stolen around 1999–2001 from the archeological site at Sarmizegetusa Regia. Twelve of which were recovered by the Romanian state and at least another twelve are still missing.