Sarmizegetusa Regia

Sarmizegetusa Regia (also known as Sarmisegetusa, Sarmisegethusa, Sarmisegethuza; Ancient Greek: Ζαρμιζεγεθούσα, romanized: Zarmizegethoúsa) was the capital and the most important military, religious and political centre of the Dacians before the wars with the Roman Empire. Built on top of a 1200 m high mountain, the fortress, consisting of six citadels, was the core of a strategic and defensive system in the Orăștie Mountains (in present-day Romania). The archaeological site of Sarmizegetusa Regia is located in the village of Grădiștea de Munte in Hunedoara County.

Sarmizegetusa Regia should not be confused with Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, the Roman capital of Dacia built by Roman Emperor Trajan some 40 km away, which was not the Dacian capital. Sarmizegetusa Ulpia was discovered earlier, was known already in the early 1900s, and was initially mistaken for the Dacian capital, a confusion which led to incorrect conclusions being made regarding the military history and organization of the Dacians.

Text adapted from “Sarmizegetusa Regia” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sarmizegetusa Regia ranks #224 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #5 of the 115 mapped in Romania. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 17,619 times in the last 60 days, more than 96% of the atlas. 1 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Sibiu, 68 km away. It is one of the 75 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Transylvania. See how Romania compares in the castle statistics.

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