Domitian's Dacian War - The Dacian Attack in 86 and The Defeat of Oppius Sabinus

The Dacian Attack in 86 and The Defeat of Oppius Sabinus

At the end of 85 or the beginning of 86 AD, the Dacian king Duras ordered his troops to attack the Roman province of Moesia on the southern course of the Danube river. The Dacian army was led by Diurpaneus, the later king Decebalus. It seems that Romans were caught by surprise, since the governor Oppius Sabinus and a legion, probably the V Alaudae, were annihilated.

Following this attack, the Roman emperor Domitian, accompanied by Cornelius Fuscus, Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, personally arrived in Moesia, reorganized the province into Moesia Inferior and Moesia Superior, and planned a future attack into Dacia. To replace the lost legion and greatly strengthen the Roman army at this section, the IIII Flavia from Dalmatia and two more legions, the I and II Adiutrix, from western provinces were moved to Moesia. The region of Sirmium was attached to Moesia Superior, in order to have a single command over the endangered Dacian frontier.

Historians are divided as to what happened next. A. Mócsy suggests that after handing over the command to Fuscus, Domitian returned to Rome in the same year, while Fuscus cleared the Dacian invaders from the province. According to E. T. Salmon and M. Bunson, however, Domitian personally led the successful operations then he returned to Rome to celebrate a double triumph.