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Few people know the true significance of Trajan’s Column, a towering monument in Rome. The column commemorates Trajan’s conquest of Dacia, a powerful civilization in what is now Romania, which marked the defining achievement of his 19-year reign (98–117 AD).

This victory had far-reaching consequences, including what some historians consider the first major economic crisis in the ancient world. The Roman conquest of Dacia, finalized in 106 AD under the leadership of King Decebal, brought an extraordinary influx of wealth into the empire. The Romans plundered an estimated 166 tons of gold and vast quantities of silver, replenishing the imperial treasury. To celebrate, Emperor Trajan hosted 123 days of lavish games and gladiatorial battles in Rome, showcasing the empire’s triumph.

However, this influx of Dacian gold had an unintended consequence. The sudden flood of precious metals into the Roman economy caused a sharp decline in their value, triggering rampant inflation. This economic disruption, often described as the ancient world’s first inflationary crisis, destabilized markets across the empire and beyond, affecting trade and wealth in regions connected to Rome.

This phenomenon bears striking similarities to modern financial crises, such as the Great Depression of 1929–1933 or the 2008 global financial meltdown. Yet, nearly 2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire faced a comparable economic upheaval driven by the spoils of war.

The impact of Dacian gold on the Roman economy is thoroughly explored in „Geologia economica a aurului” (Economic Geology of Gold), a work authored by a team led by Prof. Dr. Gheorghe C. Popescu from the Faculty of Geology at the University of Bucharest, Romania.

Pleb Rebel 6mo ago 💬 1

Trajan’s war on the Dacians, a civilization in what is now Romania, was the defining event of his 19-year rule. The loot he brought back was staggering. One contemporary chronicler boasted that the conquest yielded a half million pounds of gold and a million pounds of silver, not to mention a fertile new province.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/trajan-column/article.html

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Pleb Rebel 6mo ago

After the victory over the Dacians, according to the historian Dio Cassius and Criton, Emperor Trajan’s personal physician, the Roman legions brought back from Dacia, as war booty, no less than 166 tons of gold and 331 tons of silver.

Today, the value of that gold alone would amount to nearly 10 billion euros, calculating the price of a gram of gold at an average of 60 euros, or 300 lei.

Initially, the impact of the plundered Dacian gold replenished the imperial treasury. Moreover, the emperor took unprecedented measures.

For instance, he organized 123 days of games and battles, involving no fewer than 10,000 gladiators, canceled all debts, and exempted all taxpayers from state taxes for one year.

Additionally, he gifted each Roman head of household 650 denarii, an amount equivalent to the price of several able-bodied slaves.

He also funded numerous monuments and buildings and drained the marshes around the capital of the empire.

Furthermore, he moved an entire hill to make way for the space where he later erected the famous Trajan’s Column.

However, the wealth of precious metal soon revealed its adverse effects, leading to the first collapse in the price of gold in human history.

Its value dropped by nearly a tenth across the vast Roman Empire.

The situation became so severe that, in 107 AD, Trajan was forced to implement a monetary reform, devaluing gold and silver coins.

At the same time, the Roman prefect of Egypt adjusted the exchange rate between the two metals.

Thus, nearly 2,000 years ago, the Dacian gold plundered by the Romans, in a way, took its revenge on its plunderers, triggering the first form of financial crisis in history.