Carpi (people)

Map of the Roman empire in 125 AD, 20 years after the Roman conquest of Dacia. The Carpi are shown to the NE of the Roman province, here classified as Dacian-speaking, according to traditional historiography

The Carpi or Carpiani were an ancient people that resided, between not later than ca. AD 140 and until at least ca. AD 300, in the former Principality of Moldavia (modern eastern Romania). It is possible that the Carpi did not enter this region until (and maybe as a consequence of) the Dacian Wars (101-106), as they are not mentioned in the classical sources until the period following the Roman annexation of Dacia but in the same time if they was just one of Dacian tribes of Decebalus Kingdom (most likely situation) it was no reason to be mentioned (as they are not mentioned anywhere at all until this date).

The ethno-linguistic affiliation of the Carpi is uncertain due to lack of evidence. Their material culture appears to belong to the Chernyakhov culture common to much of the transdanubian region in the 3rd/4th centuries.

About a century after their earliest mention by Ptolemy, the Carpi emerged in ca. 240 as among Rome's most persistent enemies. In the period 240-70, the Carpi were an important component of a loose coalition of transdanubian barbarian tribes that included also Germanic and Sarmatian elements. These were responsible for a series of large and devastating invasions of the Balkan regions of the empire which nearly caused its disintegration.

In the period 270-318, the Roman "military emperors" acted to remove the Carpi threat to the empire's borders. Crushing defeats were inflicted on the Carpi in 273, 297 and 298-9 and by 318. After each, massive numbers of Carpi were forcibly transferred by the Roman military to the Roman province of Pannonia (modern western Hungary), as part of the emperors' policy of repopulating the devastated Danubian provinces with surrendered barbarian tribes. It is possible that the Carpi were largely removed from the Carpathian region by ca. 318. If any Carpi remained, they may have occupied, together with "free" Dacian elements, parts of the Roman province of Dacia, following its evacuation by the Romans in 272-5.

In the 4th century, the people of Dacia appear to have fallen under the hegemony, if not direct rule, of the Goths who occupied the Wallachian plain and at least part of Moldavia. After the collapse of the Gothic kingdoms in Dacia under Hunnic pressure in the late 4th century, the Carpi were possibly part of a coalition of Huns and Scirii who were defeated by the emperor Theodosius I (379-95). Their fate after that, despite extensive speculation, is impossible to determine on the currently available evidence.

Name etymology

The Romans called this people the Carpi. But the earliest mention of them, under the name Καρπιανοί (Carpiani in Latin) is in the Geographia of the celebrated Greek geographer Ptolemy, composed between AD 130 and 148.

The name Carpi or Carpiani may derive from the same root as the name of the Carpathian mountain range that they occupied, also first mentioned by Ptolemy under the name Καρπάτης - Karpátes. The root may be the Proto-Indo-European word *ker/sker, meaning "peak" or "cliff" (cf. Albanian karpë "rock", Romanian şcarpă and English "scarp"). Scholars who support this derivation are divided between those who believe the Carpi gave their name to the mountain range, and those who claim the opposite. In the latter case, Carpiani could mean simply "people of the Carpathians". But the similarity between the two names may be coincidence, and they may derive from different roots.

Some scholars consider that the following peoples recorded in ancient sources are the same as the Karpiani in Ptolemy: the Kallipidai mentioned in the Histories of Herodotus (composed around 430 BC) as residing in the region of the river Borysthenes (Dnieper); the Karpídai around the mouth of the river Tyras (Dniester) recorded in a fragment of Pseudo-Scymnus (composed ca. 90 BC); the Harpii, located near the Danube delta, mentioned by Ptolemy himself. If so, their locations could imply that the Carpi had very gradually migrated westwards in the period 400 BC - AD 140, a view championed by Kahrstedt. But there is no consensus that these groups are actually one and the same as the Carpi.

Territory

During the period when they are attested by classical sources (ca. AD 140-300), the Carpi are believed by many scholars, on the basis of Ptolemy, to have occupied a region between the river Hierasus (Siret) and the river Porata (Prut) (i.e. the eastern part of the former principality of Moldavia). This was just outside "Dacia proper", as defined by Ptolemy, whose eastern border was the Hierasus. Ptolemy does not include the Carpi in his list of tribes resident in Dacia proper, even though this region, according to his own definition, comprised the whole Carpathian range. East of this river lay Sarmatia Europaea, a vast region stretching as far as the Crimea, predominantly, but by no means exclusively, populated by Sarmatian tribes.

According to Ptolemy, the Carpi's neighbours were: to the North, the Costoboci; to the South, in the Wallachian plain, the Roxolani Sarmatians; and to the East of the Prut, the Bastarnae (a Celto-Germanic or possibly Sarmatian group) and other Sarmatian tribes. To the East, in the Carpathian mountains between the Siret and the border of the Roman province, probably existed the "free" Dacians i.e. those Dacians residing outside Roman Dacia. In reality, however, it is unlikely that these groups had clearly-defined territories. Most (the Sarmatians and Bastarnae at least) were semi-nomadic and the ancient geographical sources are too imprecise to be sure of their exact locations, especially as they were probably divided into widely-dispersed sub-groups. It is attested that the Carpi shared Moldavia with such groups.

It is uncertain whether the Carpi were themselves semi-nomadic, as were most of their neighbours, or sedentary, a question closely related to whether they possessed a clearly-defined territory. The Poieneşti archaeological site, if it belonged to the Carpi (as is a widely-held view), would suggest a sedentary lifestyle, as would the existence of a major fortified position at the time the emperor Philip's campaign against the Carpi (247, see below). Against this, Batty argues that the Carpi were a "mobile" people, who were constantly searching for new lands, especially to the South, due to the overcrowding of Moldavia and the Carpathian fringes by other groups.

Ethno-linguistic affiliation

The ethnic and linguistic affiliation of the Carpi remains uncertain, due to lack of evidence.

According to traditional Romanian historiography, the Carpi were a people of Dacian tongue and culture, as were the Getae of Wallachia. But, unlike for the Getae, whose Dacian ethnicity is strongly attested in contemporary sources (esp. by Strabo), the only evidence linking the Carpi with the Dacians is a single statement by a Byzantine chronicler. Zosimus, writing around AD 500, records an invasion of Rome's Danubian provinces in 381 by a barbarian coalition including what he terms the Carpo-Dacae ("Carpo-Dacians"). This term could indeed be interpreted as meaning that the Carpi were Dacians. But it is ambiguous. Scholars have also interpreted it as the "Carpi and the Dacians", "the Carpi nmixed with the Dacians" or, alternatively, the "Dacians of the Carpathian mountains". Kahrstedt argues that, in ancient Greek, the term could only have a geographical meaning: "the Dacians from Carpia" i.e. from the land of the Carpi, which, he argues, was occupied by Free Dacian elements after the Carpi were evacuated by the Romans. (Compare Tyragetae, meaning "the Getae from the Tyras region"). Zosimus uses only "Carpi" when describing this people's role in the invasions of 250-70, implying that Carpo-Dacae is not simply an alternative term for Carpi. Also, it is possible that the entire Carpi people were transferred to the Roman empire by 318, in which case, Zosimus' Carpo-Dacae could not be referring to the Carpi. In any case, Zosimus is widely regarded by modern scholars as an unreliable chronicler. One historian accords Zosimus "an unsurpassable claim to be regarded as the worst of all the extant Greek historians of the Roman Empire...it would be tedious to catalogue all the instances where this historian has falsely transcribed names, not to mention his confusion of events...". For these various reasons, Zosimus' quote cannot be regarded as conclusive evidence that the Carpi were ethnic-Dacians.

Sarmatia Europaea was a region of great ethnic diversity, including elements of Sarmatians, Germans (e.g. Goths, Taifali, Scirii, as well as the Celto-Germanic Bastarnae), Celts (e.g. Bastarnae, Anartes) and even proto-Slavs (e.g. Antes). Various scholars have linked the Carpi to all of these groups. For example, it has been suggested that the Carpi name may derive from a Slavic root, krepu, meaning "strong" or "brave".

A possible counter-argument to the Carpi's Dacian, Sarmatian or Germanic ethnicity is the existence of a separate imperial victory-title for victories over the Carpi: Carpicus Maximus ("Totally Victorious over the Carpi", first assumed by the emperor Philip the Arab in 247. Such titles always took the name of a broad ethno-linguistic group, not the names of individual tribes e.g. the contemporary Dacicus, Sarmaticus and Gothicus. As regards the Dacians, three contemporary emperors, Maximinus I (238), Decius (250) and Gallienus (257), assumed the title Dacicus Maximus. The emperor Aurelian carried both Dacicus and Carpicus titles, for victories in 272 and 273, respectively. Thus, the existence of the Carpicus title is an anomaly, which may indicate that the Carpi belonged to ethno-linguistic groups other than those above, or possibly constituted a cultural isolate, perhaps speaking a relic of the pre- Indo-European language of the Carpathians, in a similar way to the Basques of NE Spain.

Material culture

Attempts to reconstruct the archaeology of the Carpi have been excessively pre-conditioned by the tendency of traditional archaeologists (especially Romanian) to identify material remains, and individual sites, with particular ethnic groups, a methodology which is widely rejected in archaeology today. For example, the Lipiţa culture has been linked to the Costoboci, the Poieneşti remains to the Carpi and Poieneşti-Lukashevka to the Bastarnae, but all rest on a shaky foundation. Template:Hcref

Archaeologists have ascribed to the Carpi 3rd-century artefacts found on a site at Poieneşti (near Vaslui, Romania), a site which belongs to the so-called Chernyakhov culture. The basis of this attribution is the documented presence of the Carpi in this region (Moldavia) in this period. A major problem is that this region was at this time shared by other groups, including the Celto-Germanic Bastarnae, and Sarmatian elements such as the Costoboci and Roxolani. The available data does not permit a clear differentiation between the material remains of each group (even supposing that such differentiation is theoretically possible, which is doubtful).

Starting in about AD 200, the Chernyakhov culture was common to a wide region of SE Europe, extending from the Danube to the Crimea, which was populated by Germanic, Sarmatian and other ethnic groups. The culture is characterised by a high degree of sophistication in the production of metal and ceramic artefacts, as well as of uniformity over a vast area. One formerly popular "ethnic identification" of material culture is the hypothesis that the Chernyakhov culture originated with, and was spread by, the Goths by their southward migration and eventual hegemony over the northern Black Sea region. But this has been strongly challenged by more recent scholarship, which sees Chernyakhov as indigenous to the region and simply absorbed by the incoming Goths. Todd argues that its most important origin is Scytho-Sarmatian.

The Poieneşti artefacts display the typical Chernyakhov mix of influences. Funerary urns have lids which allegedly display pre-Roman Geto-Dacian La Tene features (although this classification has been challenged recently). Ceramics are largely Roman in style, while other artefacts, such as mirrors and animal-shaped handles, have characteristically Sarmatian designs.

Conflict with Rome

Although the Carpi are recorded as resident in the Dacian region from at least the 140's onwards, they are not mentioned in Roman accounts of several campaigns in the Dacian region in the 2nd century. For example, in Rome's vast and protracted conflict with the trans-danubian tribes, known as the Marcomannic Wars (166-80), during which Dacia province suffered at least two major invasions (167, 170), only their neighbours the Costoboci are mentioned specifically. Silence on the role of the Carpi in these conflicts may imply that they were Roman allies (or at least neutral) in this period.

Around AD 200 started a phase of major population movements in the European barbaricum (the region outside the borders of the empire. The cause of this dislocation is unknown, but an important factor may have been the Antonine plague (165-180), a devastating smallpox pandemic which may have killed 15-30% of the Roman empire's inhabitants. The impact on the barbarian regions would have resulted in many weakened tribes and empty regions that may have induced the stronger tribes to exploit opportunities for expansion. A well-known example of the trend are the Goths. These were probably recorded by the Roman historian Tacitus, under the name Gotones, as inhabiting the area East of the Vistula river in central Poland in AD 100. By 250, the Goths had moved South into western Ukraine and were frequently raiding the empire in conjunction with local tribes.

It was in this context of upheaval that, in mid-3rd century, the Carpi emerged as a major barbarian threat to Rome's lower Danubian provinces. They were described by Jordanes as "a race of men very eager to make war, and often hostile to the Romans". A series of major incursions into the empire by the Carpi are recorded, either alone or in alliance with their neighbouring Sarmatian and/or Germanic tribes (inc. Roxolani, Bastarnae, Goths). However, the precise role of the Carpi in the coalition's incursions is not always clear, as the most comprehensive account, that of the 6th-century chronicler Zosimus, is chronologically confused and often denotes the participants under the vague term "Scythians" (meaning inhabitants of the geographical region called Scythia (i.e. roughly modern Ukraine), not ethnic Scythians).

The involvement of the Carpi in attacks by the "Free Dacians" into Roman Dacia is also uncertain. Supporters of a Dacian ethnicity for the Carpi have tended to assume that they participated in campaigns where Roman emperors claimed the title Dacicus Maximus, in addition to those resulting in a Carpicus Maximus acclamation. But all incursions in which the Carpi are specifically reported by ancient sources were into Moesia Inferior, not Dacia. Following is a list of recorded Carpi actions.

Carpi attacks on the Danubian frontier (238-50)

Silver Antoninianus coin issued by the Roman emperor Philip the Arab to commemorate his victory over the Carpi in AD 247. Obverse: Head of Philip wearing diadem, with legend: IMP(erator) PHILIPPVS AVG(ustus); Reverse: Figure of winged goddess Victory bearing palm and laurel-wreath, with legend: VICTORIA CARPICA. Mint: Rome. Date: undated, but must have been issued in period 247-9

File:GothicInvasions250-251.jpg

Map showing the Carpi role in the barbarian invasion of 250-1 under the Gothic leader Kniva, which culminated in the defeat and death of emperor Decius (r. 249-51) at the Battle of Abrittus (251). The reconstruction is only tentative, however, as the ancient chroniclers' accounts are fragmentary and confused

238: The Carpi launched their first recorded major incursion into Roman territory South of the Danube, during the brief joint rule of the adolescent Gordian III and the senators Balbinus and Pupienus Maximus. This was apparently provoked by the refusal of the governor of Moesia Inferior, Tullius Menophilus, to grant the Carpi's demand for an annual subsidy to keep the peace, as was already paid to the Goths and other tribes on the lower Danube. This lends support to the possibility that until this time the Carpi had been long-term allies of the Romans and were aggrieved that they were in effect penalised for their loyalty. However, the governor succeeded in driving out the Carpi in 239.

245-7: During the rule of emperor Philip the Arab (244-9), the Carpi crossed the Danube and laid waste Moesia Inferior. After the theatre governors failed to repel the invasion, the emperor took personal command and launched a major counter-attack. After a prolonged struggle, the Carpi were driven back across the Danube. Pursued by the Romans into their Moldavian homeland, the main body of Carpi took refuge in a major stronghold (probably a hill-fort), where they were surrounded and besieged by Philip's forces. The Carpi outside the siege hastily gathered a force to rescue their comrades. The besieged staged a mass sortie to distract the Romans from the approoach of their relief-force. But the latter was ambushed and routed by Philip's equites Maurorum (Berber light cavalry from N. Africa). The breakout was contained, forcing the Carpi to sue for peace. This was granted to them on apparently lenient terms by Philip, who was eager to conclude the campaign in time for the forthcoming celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of the City of Rome's foundation (April 248). Philip was acclaimed Carpicus Maximus.

Sarmato-Gothic invasions of the Roman empire (250-270)

250-1: The Carpi reportedly participated in a massive transdanubian invasion of Moesia and Thrace under the leadership of the Gothic king Kniva. Kniva's invasion had apparently been provoked by the termination of the Goths' annual Roman subsidy by Decius' predecessor, Philip. Judging by their actions, the invaders' war aims were limited to pillage: the capture of as many slaves, horses, treasure and other goods as possible to take back to their homelands across the Danube.

Kniva's host apparently included Goths, Taifali and Vandals, as well as some renegade Roman army veterans. Given Zosimus' description of "Scythians", it almost certainly included Sarmatian elements such as the Roxolani. In addition, an apparently separate host of Goths and Bastarnae also entered Moesia Inferior, led by Kniva's two top lieutenants. Jordanes claims that the barbarians totaled 300,000 men, but Byzantine chroniclers often grossly inflate barbarian numbers, typically by a factor of ten (e.g. Zosimus' claim that 60,000 Alamanni fell at the Battle of Strasbourg in 357, against the 6,000 recorded by the contemporary and more reliable Ammianus Marcellinus). Thus, 30,000 is a more plausible, though still formidable, order of magnitude for Kniva's invasion, divided into two divisions. The Carpi contingent numbered 3,000 men, according to Jordanes. Thus, the Carpi probably constituted roughly 10% of the total invasion host.

After suffering several reverses in Moesia Inferior, Kniva's host moved South into Thrace. Here, Kniva inflicted a severe defeat on the Romans at Beroe, forcing the emperor Decius to withdraw his field army from Thrace and leave the province to be pillaged at will by the barbarians, who also stormed the city of Philippopolis (Plovdiv, Bulg.) and spent the winter of 250/1 in the province. In 251, as the barbarian host headed home towards the Danube laden with a vast quantity of plunder, they were intercepted by Decius' reconstituted field army at Abrittus in Moesia Inferior. After a hard-fought battle in which they routed Kniva's main host, the Roman army tried to cross an marsh in order to engage Kniva's reserve force. But the Romans became immobilised in the mire and reportedly every one of them perished, including the emperor, massacred at long range by Kniva's archers or drowned.

When news of this disaster reached the remaining legions on the Danube, they proclaimed their commander Gallus emperor. The latter concluded a peace with the Goths which permitted them to return home with their booty and guaranteed resumed subsidies. Although Zosimus denounces the terms as shameful, it was probably the only realistic option open to Gallus in the circumstances.

But Gallus' resumption of subsidies did not have the desired effect of sustaining peace on the Danube. Hard on the heels of military catastrophe, the Roman army was crippled by the outbreak of a devastating smallpox pandemic, the so-called Plague of Cyprian (251 - ca. 270). The effects of the Cyprianic pandemic are described by Zosimus as even worse than the earlier Antonine outbreak. The Roman army would have suffered casualties at the high end of the range as a result of its close concentration of personnel and frequent movements between provinces, probably losing about a third of its effectives. Taking advantage of Roman military disarray, the transdanubian barbarians launched repeated massive invasions of imperial territory. The exact number, dates and events of these invasions are uncertain due to the confused and fragmentary nature of the sources. It is possible that there were invasions every year and that parts of the Danubian provinces were occupied by marauding war-bands of barbarians year-round during the period 251-70. From Zosimus, the following major events may be discerned:

252-3: The Carpi joined Goths and 2 Sarmatian tribes (the Urugundi and the Borani) in an invasion of Roman territory, ravaging Moesia and Thrace. (Zosimus states that they then crossed into Asia Minor, but as this is inconsistent with the rest of the narrative, it is probably a confusion with the invasion of 256). Roman forces on the lower Danube were apparently unable to prevent them from marauding at will, probably due to their losses at Abrittus and the impact of the plague. Eventually, the barbarians were intercepted on their way home by the general Aemilianus, commander of the army of Pannonia. At first, his men were fearful of engaging the barbarians because of their aura of invincibility after Abrittus, but Aemilianus' leadership restored their confidence. At an unknown location near the Danube, the Romans launched a surprise attack and scored a crushing victory. They chased the barbarians over the river and deep into their homelands, recovering vast quantities of plunder and liberating thousands of Roman civilians who had been abducted . Possibly among the latter was a C. Valerius Serapio who dedicated an altar found at Apulum (Alba Iulia) in Dacia, as thanksgiving for his rescue from the Carpi (liberatus a Carpis)

Aemilianus was hailed as emperor by his victorious troops and marched on Rome, where Gallus' forces killed their leader rather than fight against the Danubian army. However, only 3 months later, Aemilianus was in his turn assassinated by the same troops, who defected to Valerian I (r. 253-60), the commander of forces on the Rhine, who had marched into Italy to rescue Gallus.

Valerian was proclaimed emperor and promptly elevated his son Gallienus (r. 253-68) as Augustus (co-emperor). This father-and-son team presided over the most chaotic period of Roman history (253-68) before the 5th century. The empire suffered multiple and massive barbarian invasions on the Rhine, Danube and in the East; at least 11 generals launched military coups; the empire was split into three autonomous pieces; and Valerian himself was captured by the Persians and died after several years in their captivity,, the first Roman emperor to suffer such a humiliation.

256-7: The Carpi, with the same allies as in 253, irrupted into Moesia, ravaged Thrace and lay siege to Thessalonica in Macedonia, although unsuccessfully. Valerian and Gallienus were obliged to leave the Balkan theatre to subordinates with inadequate forces, as they were fully occupied, the former in the East fighting the Persians, the latter on the Rhine trying to stem a massive Germanic incursion. The whole of Greece was placed on invasion alert: the Athenians rebuilt their city walls for the first time since they were demolished by the Republican general Sulla in 87 BC and the Peloponnesians re-fortified the Isthmus of Corinth. The barbarians were eventually routed by Gallienus' lieutenant Aureolus, who brought large numbers of prisoners to Rome.

259-60: The "Scythians, including every people of their country" (i.e. including the Carpi) launched a massive invasion over the Danube, taking advantage of the military and political chaos in the empire. It appears that the barbarians divided into 2 hosts. One invaded Greece and, despite its new walls, succeeded in storming and sacking Athens. The other group crossed Illyricum into Italy, and appeared before the walls of Rome, forcing the Roman Senate to arm the civilian population to man the ramparts, as Gallienus was fully occupied on the Rhine fighting Postumus' usurpation. Recognising that there was no possibility of taking the City and sacking it, the Gothic-led host proceeded to ravage the whole of Italy. They were finally driven out by Gallienus' lieutenant Marcianus, who brought the Rhine army into Italy.

Further major "Scythian" invasions took place in 265-6 and possibly the largest of all, 267-8, which was a seaborne invasion which penetrated the Aegean Sea but was terminated by the crushing Roman victory at Naissus (268). But, unlike in previous invasions, the Carpi are not mentioned specifically by Zosimus and the other chroniclers and their role is thus uncertain.

Defeat and resettlement in the Empire (271-318)

Bust of Roman emperor Aurelian (ruled 270-5), who began the policy of transferring large numbers of Carpi to Pannonia and evacuated the Roman province of Dacia

The Tetrarchs: The emperor Diocletian and his three imperial colleagues. To the left, Diocletian and his Caesar (deputy) Galerius; on the right, Maximianus and Constantius Chlorus. Note the "Pannonian" woollen caps commonly worn (out of combat) by officers in the late army; and the sword grips with eagle-head pommels. Porphyry statue, mounted on the Basilica di San Marco, Venice

The late 3rd century saw the recovery of the empire under the iron rule of the so-called Illyrian emperors, a tightly-knit group of career soldiers with shared origins in the Danubian provinces (especially Moesia Superior) and regiments, whose successors (and often descendants) dominated the empire for over a century (268-379). These not only broke the transdanubian tribes on the battlefield, but also pursued a policy of large-scale resettlement of defeated tribespeople in the Danubian provinces of the empire. Template:Hcref

273: The emperor Aurelian (r. 270-5) scored a major victory over the Carpi in 273, for which he was granted the title Carpicus Maximus by the Senate. He then resettled a large number of Carpi prisoners around Sopiana (Pécs, Hungary) in the Roman province of Pannonia. Aurelian also decided to abandon the Roman province of Dacia, evacuating most of its population (both urban and rural), and resettling it in Moesia Inferior. The main motivation, in line with the transfer of the Carpi themselves and of other barbarian tribespeople, was probably to re-populate the latter province, which had been ravaged by the plague and wars.

296-318: As soon as it was established by the emperor Diocletian (r. 284-305), the Tetrarchy, a college of four emperors under Diocletian's overall leadership, was faced by a major war with the Carpi, the first for 23 years. The war ended in 297 with a crushing victory for Diocletian and his Caesar (deputy emperor) Galerius, who both took the title Carpicus Maximus. But intensive operations against the Carpi were soon resumed, this time by the two Caesars, acting in concert as well as separately. By 300, Galerius had gained the Carpicus title for the second time, while Constantius Chlorus won it for the first time. Each of these acclamations represents a substantial victory, and the slaying of at least 5,000 Carpi, as traditionally required for the grant of a Triumph in Rome.

For the Carpi, these defeats were accompanied by mass deportations and resettlement inside the empire. According to Ammianus, Diocletian's regime continued to settle Carpi in Pannonia, and, apparently, in Scythia Minor (i.e. the coastal region of modern Romania). Eutropius reports that "enormous numbers" were transferred. According to Victor, the entire remaining Carpi people were transferred into the empire. This cannot be wholly true by 300, the date implied by Victor's chronicle, since the emperor Constantine I the Great (r. 312-37) is attested as holding the Carpicus Maximus title in an inscription dated 318: the most likely date that he gained the title was in 317, after he had made peace with Licinius and established his headquarters in the lower Danube region for the first time since his accession as Caesar in 306. It is possible, if the 317 victory was followed by further deportations, that the Carpi were totally eradicated from the Transdanubian region (which may have been the precise aim of imperial policy). A strong support for this view is the absence of any mention of the transdanubian Carpi in the detailed contemporary history of Ammianus, whose surviving books cover the period 353-78. This includes the great Gothic migration of 376-8, which culminated in the Roman disaster at the Battle of Adrianople. Aside from Goths, the author mentions Taifali, Heruli and other elements. Ammianus does mention the Carpi twice, but only those settled inside the empire.

Many historians (especially Romanian) dispute this and argue that many Carpi remained in the Dacian region, a view accepted by Millar and Batty. In 336, Constantine assumed the title Dacicus Maximus. It has been suggested that this was in reality a victory over the Carpi, but this view is based on the a priori assumption that the Carpi were Dacians and lacks independent supporting evidence.

Ultimate fate

Constantine I built a gigantic series of defensive earthworks on the mountain fringes of the Tisza and Wallachian plains facing the Carpathians (the Devil's Dykes and Brazda lui Novac de Nord respectively). Although there remains much uncertainty about the purpose of these fortifications, they have been interpreted as designed to protect the Romans' tributary Sarmatian tribes in those plains (the Iazyges and Roxolani respectively) against incursions by the peoples of the Carpathians and beyond: Goths, Taifali and Dacians, and the remnants of the Carpi, if any.

After the death of Constantine, the Wallachian plain and Moldavia fell under the domination of the Tervingi branch of the Gothic nation, as evidenced by the existence of a substantial Gothic kingdom in the period leading up to the Battle of Adrianople (378). Transylvania, on the other hand, appears to have been dominated in the 4th century by another probably Germanic group, the Taifali. However, the Taifali in turn appear to have been under Gothic suzerainty. It has been suggested that Germanic overlordship of this region is supported by the discovery of a few Chernyakhov sites, and particularly of the grave of a princely-status "migrator" on the site of the former Roman legionary fortress of Potaissa (although the identification of the deceased as a Goth is speculative).

Zosimus' mention of the Carpo-Dacians in the late 4th century is the latest appearance of the Carpi name in the ancient sources. This has led to considerable speculation about their eventual fate. The most likely scenario is that the indigenous peoples of the Dacian region, including remnants of the Carpi (if any), mingled with the various other peoples who migrated into the region from the 4th century onwards (Goths, Huns, Gepids and Slavs) and gradually lost their separate identity (whatever that was).

This is disputed by the proponents of Daco-Roman continuity in Dacia, who claim that the "Free Dacians" who occupied the Roman province after it was abandoned had become Latin-speakers and adopted the same Roman culture as the inhabitants of the former Roman province. These Daco-Romans supposedly maintained their unique and homogenous culture through the migration period. But this view is based on tendentious interpretation of archaeological data and has been challenged by some archaeologists and historians who dispute the notion that the Daco-Romans and the neighbouring barbarian tribes shared a common culture and language.

Separate speculation surrounds the fate of the Carpi transferred to Pannonia by Aurelian and Diocletian. Some Romanian historians suggest that the Pannonian Carpi moved to SW Illyria (mod. Albania) from AD 450 onwards in order to escape the Hunnic and later invasions. But this theory lacks any documentary evidence in the sources, and was devised to explain the marked affinities between the Albanian and Romanian languages. These, however, may have a different explanation.Template:Hcref

Notes

^ a: Romanian archaeological interpretation: The interpretation of archaeological data by many Romanian historians and archaeologists has been heavily criticised by outsiders, and increasingly in recent years by some Romanian archaeologists themselves, as being unduly conditioned by preconceived notions of the ethnological history of Dacia. In particular, according to the critics, data has often been selectively and tendentiously used to support the paradigm of Daco-Roman continuity during the medieval era, to the exclusion of other possible interpretations. The paradigm portrays the "autochthonous" Daco-Romans as a culturally and linguistically homogenous population, who preserved their culture essentially unchanged over centuries. The autochthonous population is distinguished from the "migrators", other peoples who entered the region in the medieval period, whose influence on the Daco-Romans is characterised as shallow and transitory, as their culture was supposedly inferior to the more "civilised" Daco-Romans. For a detailed critique of archaeological interpretation in Romania, cf. the online paper by A-G. Niculescu: Nationalism and the Representation of Society in Romanian Archaeology

^ b: Roman resettlement policy: It was a long-established Roman imperial policy, dating from the time of Augustus (ruled 30BC - AD 14), to settle surrendering barbarian communities (dediticii) in the empire, granting them land in return for an obligation of military service much heavier than the usual conscription quota. But the Illyrian emperors pursued this policy on an unprecendented scale. The emperors' central concern were their own native Danubian provinces, which had been severely depopulated by the smallpox pandemic of 251-70 and by the barbarian incursions during that period. As a result vast tracts of arable land had fallen out of cultivation. This posed a serious threat to army recruitment and supply, since around half the entire army's effectives were recruited, and based, in the Danubian provinces.

The Illyrian emperors responded by resettling in the Danubian provinces as many as a million barbarians in the period 270-300. In addition to the Carpi, many other barbarian peoples were deported en masse to the empire. Probus (ruled 275-80) is recorded as transferring 100,000 Bastarnae to Moesia in 279/80 and later equivalent numbers of Gepids, Goths and Sarmatians. Diocletian continued the policy, transferring in 297 huge numbers of Bastarnae and Sarmatians as well as Carpi.

Although the precise terms under which these people were settled in the empire are unknown (and may have varied), the common feature was the grant of land in return for an obligation of military service much heavier than the normal conscription quota. The policy had the triple benefit, from the Roman government's point of view, of weakening (or eliminating) a threat to the imperial border, repopulating the plague-ravaged frontier provinces (and bringing their abandoned fields back into cultivation) and providing a pool of first-rate recruits for the army. But it could also be popular with the barbarian prisoners, who were often delighted by the prospect of a land grant within the empire. In the 4th century, such communities were known as laeti.

^ c: Origin of the Albanian language: The theory that the Pannonian Carpi brought their Dacian language to Albania suffers from multiple flaws. (1) It assumes that the Carpi were Dacian-speakers, which is far from certain; (2) The supposed migration lacks any support in the ancient sources; (3) It ignores mainstream academic opinion, including virtually all Albanian linguists and most Italian, German and Austrian linguists, that Albanian is descended from the ancient Illyrian language; (4) It presupposes that the Pannonian Carpi had not become Latin speakers during the 150 years they sojourned in Pannonia, but had retained their old Dacian tongue. This ignores the powerful Latinising pressure of the (exclusively Latin-speaking) Roman army, which would have been the main employer of Carpi young men due to their status as military colonists. (It also contradicts the view of proponents of Daco-Roman continuity that the Carpi had become Latinised during the period of Roman rule in Dacia). In view of these problems, it is far more likely that Romanian shares many features with Albanian because it, too, is descended (indirectly and partially) from Illyrian, or, to be more precise, from the Illyro-Latin spoken by Romanised Illyrians, which was the base for Balkan Romance.

See also

• Free Dacians
• Costoboci
• Late Roman army

References

Ancient

• Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae (ca. 395)
• Eusebius of Caesarea Historia Ecclesiae (ca. 320)
• Eutropius Historiae Romanae Breviarium (ca. 360)
• Anonymous Historia Augusta (ca. 400)
• Jordanes Getica (ca. 550)
• Ptolemy Geographia (ca. 140)
• Sextus Aurelius Victor De Caesaribus (ca. 380)
• Tacitus Germania (ca. 100)
• Zosimus Historia Nova (ca. 500)

Modern

• Batty, Roger (2008): Rome and the Nomads: the Pontic-Danubian region in Antiquity
• Barrington (2000): Atlas of the Greek & Roman World
• Bichir, Gh. (1976): History and Archaeology of the Carpi from the 2nd to the 4th centuries AD
• Cambridge Ancient History 1st Ed. Vol. XII (1939): The Imperial Crisis and Recovery
• Cameron, Alan (1969): Theodosius the Great and the Regency of Stilicho in Harvard Studies in Classical Phililogy" n. 73
• CIL: Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum ("Corpus of Latin Inscriptions")
• AE: Année Epigraphique ("Epigraphic Year" - periodical)
• Holder, Paul (2003): Auxiliary Deployment in the Reign of Hadrian
• Jones, A.H.M. (1964): Later Roman Empire
• Köbler, Gerhard (2000): Indo-germanisches Wörterbuch (online)
• Lloshi, Xhevat (1999): Albanian in Handbuch der Sudosteuropa-Linguistik Band 10, pp277–99 (online)
• Millar, Fergus (1970): The Roman Empire and its Neighbours
• Niculescu, G-A. : Nationalism and the Representation of Society in Romanian Archaeology (online paper)
• Odahl, C.M. (2004): Constantine and the Christian Empire
• Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1878)
• Thompson, E.A. (1982): Zosimus 6.10.2 and the Letters of Honorius in Classical Quarterly 33 (ii)

External links

• Niculescu: Archaeological interpretation in Romania
• Lloshi: Albanian

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