which the Dacians are defeated and their dead lie
scattered on the ground. They are then seen retreating with their women
and children, devastating the country and slaying their cattle which are
heaped up in piles. Trajan is again present, sparing the old men, women,
and children, and making prisoners. Now the Dacians are the attacking
party, and the Romans defend themselves behind forts; and then again the
army is in motion with Trajan at its head, crossing rivers, and erecting
fortifications. In the next section the Dacians have made a stand, and
the scene represents a pitched battle in which they are again defeated
with great slaughter. All the incidents of the fight are vividly
depicted: Romans fighting from their chariots, Dacians and their allies
mounted and on foot, prisoners brought in, and a man, apparently a spy,
bound before Trajan himself. Then follows a further advance, which
occupies some of the succeeding scenes of the panorama. Here the Romans
fall into an ambuscade, from which they extricate themselves; there
they pass a post of danger, apparently a wooden stronghold of the
Dacians, under cover of a wall of shields held aloft by the soldiers;
and at length they arrive before a fortified town, where Trajan is again
seen seated upon a platform, surrounded by his generals, whilst the
Dacians, one of whom is supposed to be Decebalus himself, kneel round
about, suing for peace. In this scene the attire, emblems, and
accoutrements of the two contending nations are presented in marked
contrast. The Roman standards and eagles have already been mentioned;
those of the Dacians generally represent serpentine monsters at the end
of a long pole.[93] Whilst the Romans carry their tall, curved, oblong
shield, the oval ones of the Dacians ornamented with floral devices lie
heaped in confusion. Most of the Dacians are bareheaded, but some,
supposed to be chiefs, wear a head-dress resembling a cap of liberty.
Another section completes the panorama of the first expedition,
representing the embarkation and landing of Trajan; the sacrifices,
triumph, and rejoicings in the capital.

But Decebalus had no more intention of abiding by the terms of his
treaty with the Roman emperor than had Trajan with that of his
predecessor. The Dacian king had no sooner seen his enemy's back than he
repaired his fortresses, armed his people afresh, sought new alliances
with his neighbours, and commenced depredations upon the territories of
R