Most of the important cities on the shore of the Black Sea, in the Dobrogea area were once mighty fortresses created by Greek colonists or stationing points for the Roman army. Before the Ottoman Empire expanded and before their influence left a mark on local culture, the left side of the Danube river was a prosperous and beautiful area, where many great cities and citadels were born.

Histria

Some historians compared Histria to the famous Pompey, only that it lacks the tragic fate and the hellish volcano. Histria was the first Greek colony on the Western Shore of the Black Sea and it’s considered the oldest city in the current Romanian territory.

Historian Eusebius claims that the city was founded back in 654 BC by colonists from Milet. This colony constantly evolved for about 1300 years, back from when Greece was the cradle of civilization and till the romano-bizantine era.

As the Slavish and Avar peoples invaded the area in the 6th and 7th century people started deserting the citadel. The ruins of the once beautiful Histria were discovered in 1914 by Vasile Parvan, local archaeologist.

One of the most important areas of the old city was the histrian acropolis, on top of which the newer section of the city was built. The acropolis was a sacred area, where religious activies took place and people gathered to worship Zeus and Afrodites.

Aristotel mentions in his works that Histria was under a democratic rule and part of the Athenian maritime league. The flourishing commerce allowed the city to have its own currency.

Eventually, Histria was swallowed by the Roman Empire, after a brief rule under king Burebista, the Dacian. The inclusion of the city in the Empire was done with the aid of the military campaign led by M. Licinus Crassus.

Archaeologists revealed a late roman part of the settlement that included the main gate and defense towers. Tourists can visit this segment, the two antique therme (baths) and a couple of public edifices from the roman–bizantine era.

Adamclisi – Tropaeum Traiani

The Tropaeum Traiani citadel is situated near the Adamclisi village, about 70 km south-west of Constanta. The famous triumphal monument is situated in the north side of Adamclisi on the Monument Hill, a 161 metres tall plateau, surrounded by three important locations: the altar preserved to this day in the shape of a "tumul" (50 metres north), the mausoleum and the Tropaeum Traiani citadel. The latter can be found on the Valley of Urluiei, 1.5 km south west of the monument, close to the Bucharest-Constanta national highway.

Just as you enter the Adamclisi village, you'll see the walls of the antique defensive structure and its towers, that have been renovated between 1971 and 1977. Tropaeum Traiani was built in 106-109 AC and it was meant to pay a tribute to Emperor Traian's victories over Dacians, their sarmatian allies and the germanic tribes in the first Dacian war. The beautiful monument is made of stone and it was created by Apollodor from Damascus.

The monument includes a trophy, shaped like a roman officer's armour, who is dressed in a Greek "lorica". The military funeral altar is shaped like a prism, but to the day only a couple of pieces were kept from it and fragments of the original inscriptions which mentioned the name of 3800 soldiers who had died on the battlefield.

In the year 170 AC the citadel was destroyed by the invasion of Costoboci, but the main wall was rebuilt during the rule or Constantine the Great and Licinius.

During the roman-bizantine period, Tropaeum Traiani developed economically thanks to the support of emperors Anastasius and Justin. All the edifices and remains you can visit today, dates from the roman-bizantine period (IV-VIth century a C). In order to access the inner citadel, you’ll have to enter through the eastern gate, using the via principalis.

Inside you’ll be able to visit numerous public edifices and religious ones, like the basilica forensic, basilica cisterna, houses, shops, aqueducts etc. The original parts of the triumphant monument, as well as important archaeological artefacts can now be found at the Adamclisi museum, where they are showcased.

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