The Mithraic evidence documented in Roman Dacia is closely linked to military communities, mining districts, colonial foundations and the intense mobility that followed the province’s conquest. Its rich corpus of monuments and inscriptions makes Dacia one of the most important regions for understanding Mithraism along the Danubian frontier.
Mithraic monuments of Dacia
Mithraeum of Slăveni
The Mithraeum of Slaveni was discovered in 1837 on the right bank of the river Olt, in Romanati district.
Mithraeum of Sarmizegetusa
The large number of monuments found at the Mithraeum of Sarmizegetusa and the sheer size of the temple are unusual.
CIMRM 2027
Tauroctony relief of Sarmizegetusa
This relief of Mithras slaying the bull incorporates the scene of the god carrying the bull and its birth from a rock.
CIMRM 2063
Tauroctony from Cluj
Several elements, such as the snake, scorpion or dog, are missing from this tauroctony relief of Cluj.
CIMRM 2025
Mithras Petrogenitus of Alba Iulia
Mithras born from the rock with a snake raising in coils around it.
CIMRM 1991
Tauroctony relief from Alba Iulia
This marble relief from Alba Iulia contains numerous scenes from the myth of Mithras.
CIMRM 1958
Tauroctony from Dragus
The tauroctonic relief from Dragus includes a naked flying figure that Vermaseren has identified as Phosporus or Lucifer.
CIMRM 1919
Tauroctony from Euthices from Apulum
This marble relief of Mithras killing the bull was made by a freedman who dedicated it to his old masters.
CIMRM 1935
Tauroctony from Aelius Maximus of Turda
This small relief of Mithras killing the bull was found in 1859 in Turda, in the Cluj region of Romania.
CIMRM 1920
Tauroctony medallion of Transylvania
This medallion belongs to a specific category of rounded pieces found in other provinces of the Roman world.
CIMRM 2187
Column of Dioscorus from Alba Iulia
This is one of the at least three inscriptions of Dioscorus, servant of Marcus to Mithras Invictus found in Alba Iulia, Romania.
Brothers attested in Dacia
Provinces of Dacia
Dacia Malvensis
Within the southern sectors of Roman Dacia, Dacia Malvensis preserves evidence linked to military mobility and provincial urbanisation.
Dacia superior
Dacia superior formed part of one of the most intensely Mithraic frontier regions of the Roman empire after the conquest of Trajan.
Places in Dacia
Alsóbajom
The locality of Alsóbajom is associated with archaeological material attributed to the Roman province of Dacia.
Apulum
Apulum, now within Alba Iulia, was a Roman settlement first mentioned by the mathematician, astrologer and geographer Ptolemy. Its name comes from the Dacian Apoulon.
Aquae
Aquae was associated with thermal springs and communications routes in the region of modern Călan.
Botoșești-Paia
The locality of Botoșești-Paia has yielded material connected with the Danubian provincial landscape.
Bruckla
The locality of Bruckla is associated with archaeological remains from the Roman province of Dacia.
Bumbești-Gorj
Jiu valley site associated with the defensive system linking Dacia to the southern Danubian regions.
Cibinium
Roman settlement of Dacia superior located in the area of present-day Sibiu in Romania. The site became an important urban and military centre, later developed into the medieval city known as Hermannstadt in German and Nagyszeben in Hungarian.
Cioroiu Nou
Cioroiu Nou is known for archaeological remains connected with settlement activity in Dacia.
Dierna
Dierna occupied a strategic position along the Danube corridor near the Iron Gates region of southwestern Dacia.
Drobeta
Drobeta controlled an important crossing point on the Danube and became one of the major centres of Dacia.
Inscriptions from Dacia
Tauroctony relief from Alba Iulia
Tauroctony from Euthices from Apulum
Tauroctony from Aelius Maximus of Turda
Column of Dioscorus from Alba Iulia
Tauroctony from Aelius Hylas from Doştat
L. Aeli[us] Hylas [vicesimarius] l[ibertus] pr[o] sa[lute] et Horientis [sic] fil[ii] sui et Apuleia[e] eius signum numinis cum absidata / ex voto pos[uit].
Lucius Aelius Hylas, collector of the twentieth tax, freed, for his health, that of his son Horiens and [his wife] Apuleia, following a vow, had the image of the divinity placed with the niche.
Cautes with bull head of Sarmizegetusa
Column to Nabarze of Protas
Cautopates of Sarmizegetusa with scorpion
Altar from Sarmizegetusa by Hermadio
Altar of Hermadio from Tibiscum
Mithraic stele from Alba Iulia
Tauroctony of Ulpius Linus from Apulum
References
- Jaime Alvar Ezquerra (2021) The Mystery of Mithras. Exploring the heart of a Roman cult
- Philippe Roy (2021) Les cultes de Mithra dans l’Empire romain











