er to his proposal.
Very little is known of the incidents of this campaign, excepting that
Trajan forced the passes of the Carpathians, and, taking one defended
post after another, drove the enemy into the vicinity of his capital;
that the tribes who had allied themselves with the Dacians, amongst whom
the Sarmatians, Jasyges, and Burri are named, deserted them one by one,
and that the Romans at length laid siege to Sarmizegethusa, where
Decebalus had taken refuge. After a brave but ineffectual defence the
king, rather than yield himself a prisoner, committed suicide with his
sword; whilst his followers, after setting fire to the town, imitated
the example of their leader by taking poison. The head of Decebalus was
cut off and sent to Rome by Trajan, who discovered and divided amongst
his soldiers vast spoils and treasures which the Dacians had endeavoured
to conceal, and then returned to Rome, where (A.D. 106) a
triumph was celebrated on even a grander scale than after the conclusion
of his first expedition.[95]

[Illustration: DACIANS SETTING FIRE TO THEIR CAPITAL. (FROM TRAJAN'S
COLUMN.)]

Before drawing to a close this hasty survey of the rise and fall of the
Dacian monarchy, let us turn again for a moment to the bas-reliefs upon
Trajan's Column, the indelible and, after all, the most trustworthy
record of his second expedition.[96] Passing hastily over the first
scenes, which comprise tho landing of his troops, the assault and
capture of a fortified place, the defeat of the Dacians, and what
appears to be a refusal on the part of Trajan to grant them peace, we
have a very faithful and circumstantial picture of a halt, where the
emperor is present at the offering of a bull as sacrifice. Then there is
a continuance of the march inland, followed by fierce contests between
the two armies. At length the Romans arrive before a walled city
(probably Sarmizegethusa) where all the incidents of a siege, including
personal adventures, are portrayed. A Roman soldier, standing at the top
of a scaling ladder, has struck off the head of one of the Dacians on
the wall, whilst the latter are seen hurling stones and other missiles
at those engaged in the assault. Then comes another application for
peace, a Dacian prince kneeling at the feet of Trajan; whilst in the
same section, separated only by a couple of thin trees, we have the
scene of the Dacians setting fire to their city, and in close contiguity
is their dying leader. The