Dacia Aureliana was a province of the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 found by Emperor Aurelian

Aurelian

Aurelian , was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following...

, after his retreat from Dacia Traiana in 271

271

Year 271 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelianus and Bassus...

. Between 271/275 and 285, it occupied most of what is today Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. Its capital was in Serdica (modern Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

). The Emperor Diocletian

Diocletian

Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244  – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....

 replaced Dacia Aureliana with two provinces – Dacia Mediterranea

Dacia Mediterranea

Dacia Mediterranea is a part of the former Dacia Aureliana divided by Constantine the Great.Serdica is the province capital....

 with its capital at Serdica and Dacia Ripensis

Dacia Ripensis

Dacia Ripensis was the name of a Roman province first established by Aurelian circa 283 AD, south of the Danube River, after he withdrew from Dacia Traiana.-History:...

, with its capital at Ratiaria

Ratiaria

Ratiaria was a city founded by Moesi, a Daco-Thracian tribe, in 4th century BC, along the river Danube. The city had a gold mine in the vicinity, which was exploited by the Thracians.It is located 2 km west of present village Archar in Vidin Province, northwestern Bulgaria...

. Later these two “Dacias” along with Dardania, Lower Moesia, and Prevalitana constituted the Diocese of Dacia

Diocese of Dacia

The Diocese of Dacia was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, in the area of modern Serbia and western Bulgaria. It was subordinate to the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum...

.

Sources

• Grumeza, Ion: Dacia: Land of Transylvania, Cornerstone of Ancient Eastern Europe; Hamilton Books, 2009, Lanham and Plymouth; ISBN 978-0-7618-4465-5