How Did Latin Survived In Dacia? Paradox
Entry posted by Kosmo
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This is a question that aroused many hot debates and because of this question romanian and hungarian history science was born.
Roman rule in Dacia was brief and difficult. In other areas they had a much longer time and better conditions, but latin did not survive.
The area of Dacia was for more then a 1000 years after the roman retreat roamed by migrators and still the language was preserved.
Hungarians said that romanians are migrators from the Balkan peninsula that setlled today Romania during the Middle Ages. There are some serious proofs that this is not the case, but the question still remain.
Here is my view of the things.
Dacia was a rough country covered by forests, with mountains and rivers and this provide good cover against steppe nomads for a small population.
It had a strong ruling aristocracy that is atested by arheological finds and ancient writers. During the roman conquest some aristocrats surrendered to the romans as depicted on Trajan's column. There was some romanization even before roman conquest. This is what we know. I believe that because of the continous problems that the romans had with the neighbours the dacian aristcracy kept some power in distant areas while romans controlled cities, roads, forts and mines. This aristocracy became latinized, but unlike the aristocracy in other areas of the empire kept local power and real authority.Because of the state of war local levies, fortifications and survival tactics were kept.
When the romans were forced out, or left they had no reason to abandon their status and remained as intermediaries between the peasantry and the various migrators keeping their latin language (maybe a sign of status) and spreading it to the peasants. Maybe they also spread the language to the aristocracy of the free dacians that were surrounded from most parts by romans and were to some varying degree under roman authority.
This theory it's different from the mainstream romanian theory by placing the accent on the aristocracy in stead of peasantry that I dont think had the time to became latinized and by considering as the main agent of latinzation dacian aristocracy and not roman colonists.
So, the brief and weak control kept some local structures in power and this aloud for the survival of a latinized aristocracy. In turn, this arstocracy was able to use local resources to defend the popoulation.
In areas were Rome had a long, strong control local structures were destoyed and the population became more reliant on public authority. When this collapsed thay were not able to do much against invaders.
By aristocracy I don't mean large landowners but a ruling class that had rights to lavy taxes on trade, to a quota of all production and that held leadership of local armed force made from all able villagers and also had judicial authority. Romanian historians places the beginings of romanian aristocracy with this powers in the period of medieval state formation (X-XIV centuries) but I believe that it was continuous from dacian times.
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