Page 48 - Sălaj - Experiența Autentică a Transilvaniei

Top 10 tourist attractions

to link Porolissum, the capital of the Provinces of Dacia Porolissensis
of Napoca (Cluj-Napoca), Potaissa (Turda), Apulum (Alba-Iulia), Ulpia
Traiana Sarmizegetusa, Tibiscum (Caransebeş), Drobeta Turnu Seve-
rin and Rome, over the bridge in Drobeta.
Established as a military camp in 106 AD, at the end of the Dacian-
Roman wars, Porolissum developed rapidly through commerce and
became the capital of the Roman province Dacia Porolissensis after
its reorganization around 120 AD, during the reign of Emperor
Hadrian. The site is one of the largest and best kept in Romania.
In 105 AD, at the beginning of the Second War against the Dacians,
Roman Emperor Traian set up a fortified spot on the site of the settle- Porolissum - Moigrad Archaeological Complex
ment to defend the main passage through the Carpathian Mountains.
The fort, originally built of wood on stone foundations, housed around In the following decades, the fort was enlarged and rebuilt
5,000 soldiers from the auxiliary troops transferred from Spain, Gaul in stone and a civilian settlement developed around the
and Britain. military centre. When Hadrian created the new province
Porolissum - Moigrad Archaeological Complex of Dacia Porolissensis, named after the already relatively
large settlement, Porolissum became its administrative
centre. Under Emperor Septimius Severus the settlement
was given the standing of municipium, allowing its rulers
and merchants to work independently.
Although the Romans withdrew from Dacia in 271 AD un-
der the reign of Emperor Aurelian, and the city was aban-
doned by its founders, the archaeological evidence indi-
cates that it continued to be inhabited for many centuries
after that date.
The site was archaeologically identified at the end of the
19 century, with subsequent research identifying its main
th
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