Few people know the true significance of Trajan’s Column, a towering monument in Rome. The column commemorates Trajan’s conquest of Dacia, a powerful civilization in what is now Romania, which marked the defining achievement of his 19-year reign (98–117 AD).
This victory had far-reaching consequences, including what some historians consider the first major economic crisis in the ancient world. The Roman conquest of Dacia, finalized in 106 AD under the leadership of King Decebal, brought an extraordinary influx of wealth into the empire. The Romans plundered an estimated 166 tons of gold and vast quantities of silver, replenishing the imperial treasury. To celebrate, Emperor Trajan hosted 123 days of lavish games and gladiatorial battles in Rome, showcasing the empire’s triumph.
However, this influx of Dacian gold had an unintended consequence. The sudden flood of precious metals into the Roman economy caused a sharp decline in their value, triggering rampant inflation. This economic disruption, often described as the ancient world’s first inflationary crisis, destabilized markets across the empire and beyond, affecting trade and wealth in regions connected to Rome.
This phenomenon bears striking similarities to modern financial crises, such as the Great Depression of 1929–1933 or the 2008 global financial meltdown. Yet, nearly 2,000 years ago, the Roman Empire faced a comparable economic upheaval driven by the spoils of war.
The impact of Dacian gold on the Roman economy is thoroughly explored in „Geologia economica a aurului” (Economic Geology of Gold), a work authored by a team led by Prof. Dr. Gheorghe C. Popescu from the Faculty of Geology at the University of Bucharest, Romania.
