Greuthungi Wall
Encyclopedia
The Upper Trajan's Wall is the modern name given to a fortification located in the central area of modern Moldavia
. Some scholars consider it to be of Roman
origin, while others think it was built in the third/fourth century by the Germanic Greuthungi
to defend their borders against the Huns
. It may also have been called Greuthungian Wall in later Roman accounts, but this is uncertain owing to a single polysemic manuscript occurrence in the works of Ammianus Marcellinus
.
Some scholars, such Vasile Nedelciuc, argue that the turf Wall was done initially by the Romans, even because it has a ditch facing north. Probably Emperor Trajan
made the first earth movements of the turf Wall around 110 AD, in order to protect the coastal area from the Danube delta until Tyras
.
Others, such as the historian Peter Heather
, affirm it was build by the local Germanic tribes, mainly as a defense against raiders from Central Asia (Attila's Huns). Historian Thomas S. Burns is more reluctant, and wishes for better dating data. The identification of the geographical feature in Moldavia with the passage in Ammianus Marcellinus has been proposed by the Romanian historian Radu Vulpe in 1957. Historian Herwig Wolfram
questions the emendation given to the passage in Ammianus Marcellinus necessary to read it as being about a wall.
Moldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
. Some scholars consider it to be of Roman
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....
origin, while others think it was built in the third/fourth century by the Germanic Greuthungi
Greuthungi
The Greuthungs, Greuthungi, or Greutungi were a Gothic people of the Black Sea steppes in the third and fourth centuries. They had close contacts with the Thervingi, another Gothic people from west of the river Dnestr. They may be the same people as the later Ostrogoths.-Etymology:"Greuthungi" may...
to defend their borders against the Huns
Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic people who, appearing from east of the Volga River, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and established the vast Hunnic Empire there. Since de Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu, who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years prior to the emergence of the Huns,...
. It may also have been called Greuthungian Wall in later Roman accounts, but this is uncertain owing to a single polysemic manuscript occurrence in the works of Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus
Ammianus Marcellinus was a fourth-century Roman historian. He wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from Antiquity...
.
Characteristics
The wall stretches 120 kilometres from the Dniester River in the Teleneşti district to the Prut River. In Romania the remains of the wall can be found in Tiganasi, Carniceni, Sendreni, Tocsomeni.Some scholars, such Vasile Nedelciuc, argue that the turf Wall was done initially by the Romans, even because it has a ditch facing north. Probably Emperor Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
made the first earth movements of the turf Wall around 110 AD, in order to protect the coastal area from the Danube delta until Tyras
Tyras
Tyras , was an ancient Greek city founded as colony of Miletus, probably about 600 BC, situated some 10 m from the mouth of the Tyras River...
.
Others, such as the historian Peter Heather
Peter Heather
Peter Heather is a historian of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, currently Professor of Medieval History at King's College London. He has held appointments at University College London and Yale University and was Fellow and Tutor in Medieval History at Worcester College, Oxford until...
, affirm it was build by the local Germanic tribes, mainly as a defense against raiders from Central Asia (Attila's Huns). Historian Thomas S. Burns is more reluctant, and wishes for better dating data. The identification of the geographical feature in Moldavia with the passage in Ammianus Marcellinus has been proposed by the Romanian historian Radu Vulpe in 1957. Historian Herwig Wolfram
Herwig Wolfram
Herwig Wolfram is an Austrian historian. Professor emeritus at the University of Vienna, from 1983 until 2002 he was Director of the Austrian Institute for Historical Research ....
questions the emendation given to the passage in Ammianus Marcellinus necessary to read it as being about a wall.
Further reading
- Emanuel Constantin Antoche, Marcel Tanasache, (1990) "Le Vallum (Troian) de la Moldavie centrale" in Etudes Roumaines et Aroumaines. Sociétés européennes, no. 8, Paris ; Bucharest : [s.n], pp. 130-133, ; Sudoc 087572664