The Roman response to this strategic question took the form of a energetic counterattack , by a clever combined force, which included the classes Flavia Moesica and Flavia Pannonica , highly specialized units of the army and select forces drawn from the cavalry of the imperial guard. This choice would give Trajan valuable success in the double battle of Nicopolis on the Istrum, wresting the initiative from the forces of the Dacian Entente, leading to their decisive defeat at the Battle of Tropaeum Traiani . It was, therefore, in the fields and plains of Mesia Inferior that the fate of the First Dacian War was decided and, by extension, the final outcome of the prolonged struggle for hegemony in Central and Eastern Europe between the Roman Empire and the Roman State. Dacian. And it was precisely the initial success of the Roman counterattack that was the crucial seed of these events.
It is worth asking our sources what kind of soldiers carried out those first and fundamental operations, against an enemy superior in number, spurred by success and to a large extent owner of the land. The answer we get from the only available source on the matter, Trajan's Column, is as intriguing as it is disconcerting:in scene XXXVI, a large group of bearded, long-haired, bare-chested warriors, in the Germanic manner, march very close to the emperor, closely followed by a detachment of troops of a similar appearance, albeit armored, some wearing helmets of non-Roman type and, even more striking, several of them also wearing bear or wolf skins; not even the group of horsemen equipped in the Roman manner, presumably equites singulares Augusti , manage to break the singularity of the scene, walking at a brisk pace, dismounted, leading their horses.
Who are these warriors, clearly Germanic in appearance who, both in this scene and in other very precise ones, stand out in the representation of the Roman army in action, both for their uniqueness aesthetics and, above all, by the protagonism that the sculptors gave them? What is the reason for his depiction in close proximity to the emperor in this and other sequences? And, more particularly, who are the fur-clad warriors who form part of Trajan's task force at the start of the campaign in Mesia Inferior in AD 101? C.?
Next we will discover, among the ranks of the emperor's guard, his special forces and his elite contingent, not the surprising presence of germanic warriors making use of their traditional weapons, but troops displaying military and cultural traditions totally foreign to the Roman world of the time, with full knowledge and intentionality on the part of their commanders, to the point of being reflected in the official propaganda of the Empire:berserker and úlfhednar , ecstatic warriors of purely Germanic tradition, lead the vanguard of the army alongside Trajan, side by side with the best of his cavalry. Why?
Ecstatic Warriors in Germanic Antiquity
One of the most outstanding and fascinating constants in the military world from Prehistory to the present day has been the identification of some warriors with powerful predators, from the assumption of their name, passing for their appearance, to the point of taking and imitating their personality, behavior and qualities. Similarly, entering a state of war rage calculated, related or not to the behavior attributed to a particular animal, as a form of personal empowerment, fear inhibition, enhancement of destructive capacity and psychological weapon of the first category, has always been present in war, in one way or another and at multiple scales. Indo-European cultures are rich in this type of warlike traditions and behaviors.
The Germanic warrior culture was not, at all, alien to this constant, constituting perhaps the most famous example of the systematic and defined use of the "ecstasy" or "fury" of battle in general, and of the identification of the warrior with wild animals with specific purposes and concrete traditions in particular. Paradoxically, the first evidence we have of the existence of this particular aspect of the Germanic tradition comes from the main Roman source that concerns us in this study:the Trajan Column. Duly contrasted with the later testimonies, especially with the abundant Nordic tradition, the information contained in the scenes of this monument allows us to define, with reasonable clarity, the ecstatic warriors and the two main categories of animal-warriors of the Germanic tradition of the moment and later:the berserkir and the úlfhednar .
The term úlfhedinn (plural úlfhednar ) can be safely translated as "the one in the wolf's skin". Unlike the berserkr , its nature is crystal clear:they were warriors who, dressed in the skin of this animal, completely identified with its nature, behavior and abilities, assuming its personality until its spirit merged with that of the beast. The wolf, whose strength lies in its ability to act as a team, with speed and agility, under cover of a strongly hierarchical structure, and in its loyal and cunning nature, is a particularly attractive animal for any military tradition. At the same time, the special mythological and symbolic connection of this animal with the figure of Wodan (the Nordic Odin) puts the úlfhednar closely related to this capital divinity of the Germanic tradition, with whose einherjar They are frequently linked. Organized into more or less defined brotherhoods, often cut across tribal structures, the úlfhednar they are both groups of young people in search of their consecration as true warriors, as well as elite veterans, authentic champions appreciated for their particular skills.
The berserkr (plural berserker ) is etymologically more complex, ambiguous and fluid. The meaning of the term berserkr can be interpreted, in general, in two main ways:"the one who assumes the spirit of a bear" and "the shirtless / the one who does not wear armor". In the Norse tradition, the berserkr is often defined as a warrior who, unarmored and practically naked, fights possessed by a violent fury or berserksgangr , without specifying any relationship with a specific animal. However, in the oldest Germanic tradition, the identification of the berserkir with the bear and the concrete assumption of its behavior and appearance is more frequent and accentuated, its nudity or lack of armor constituting an accessory or irrelevant aspect in this case. Thus, during antiquity, the berserkr It was often characterized by displaying the attitude and strength of a bear, dressing up in its skin and showing, like the animal, greater individualism, despite also constituting brotherhoods that cut across the tribal institutions of the time. The nature of these groupings, however, is linked to a much lesser extent to young warriors in initiation, more often involving contingents of elite warriors linked to the retinues, escorts and elite forces of chieftains or sovereigns. The berserker he entered combat roaring and snapping like a bear, fighting with the brutal determination of this animal, impassive and even invulnerable to injury, wreaking havoc in the enemy ranks and displaying unnatural strength.
As we have seen, the ambivalent term berserkr it can also allude to the ecstatic warrior in general, and the warrior who, fighting naked or semi-naked, displayed a battle fury not necessarily linked to the behavior of a specific animal. This flexible and broad category of Germanic warriors is also documented for the first time in Trajan's Column. Just like the úlfhedinn and that the berserkr understood as warrior-bear, the berserkr , as a mere ecstatic warrior, he entered combat equally imbued with the berserksgangr , a state for which Wodan is responsible, master, and patron, and for which other gods, such as Baldr himself, boast in later Norse tradition. Whether identified with an animal or not, the Germanic ecstatic warriors did not spiritually or physically become a common beast, but rather a mythical animal or a state of frenzy that made them Wodan's chosen ones, bearers of his power and an earthly reflection of it. . In this sense, ecstasy or berserksgangr it was not a blind fury, but an authentic mythical identification of deep religious significance.
This trance or berserksgangr , whatever its final form, used to be induced by songs and rhythmic battle cries, also enhanced through dance, a reality collected in multiple iconographic sources of the Germanic and Nordic tradition. On the contrary, we can almost completely rule out the use of hallucinogens of any kind as a form of berserksgangr induction. , a practice of which we have no evidence in any of the available Greco-Latin, Germanic or Nordic testimonies.
Berserk and úlfhednar at Trajan's Column
As we know, the symbolic language of Trajan's Column is precise and methodical. No representative element is there by chance or by the artist's mere whim:each detail has a meaning and aims to convey a specific message to the viewer. The distortion that this monument makes of reality in certain scenes thus obeys both a propagandistic need and the most absolute representative clarity. Ambiguity had no place in a space intended to praise Emperor Trajan and his role as commander.
So who are the colorful and varied barbarian-looking warriors that surround the emperor in scene XXXVI of the monument? Why do these types of troops reappear again and again in main shots and attitudes, rivaling legionnaires, standard bearers and praetorians? It is clear that, contrary to what has been maintained to date by much of the historiography, it is not about mercenaries, symmachiarii , numerii or even auxiliaries with an "un-Roman" aspect:this type of troops are never represented so close to the emperor, taking their place, as a rule, more "prestigious", more "Roman" forces. His position in this particular scene, but also on many other occasions, therefore, can only correspond to units considered prestigious, worthy of being immortalized in such a position:elite units of the army and/or units especially close to the person of the emperor.
A detailed analysis of their appearance gives us fundamental clues that, as we will see, immediately lead us to the image of the ecstatic warriors, the berserkir and the úlfhednar , project Germanic and Norse sources of all kinds. In scene XXXVI of Trajan's Column, the first thing that catches the specialist's attention is the large group of eight warriors with abundant hair, some profusely bearded, all of them bare-chested except for one of them, who wears the tunic without a sleeve. Protected by a shield, they are equipped with wooden maces, although one also carries a sword hanging from a baldric that crosses his chest. Marching practically at the same time as Trajan, whom they catch up with despite the fact that the Caesar is on horseback, they mark the vanguard of the infantry contingent. Their appearance as fast, agile and fearless fighters, several of them young, equipped with weapons designed for shock and combat against armored forces, perfectly corresponds to that of the Germanic ecstatic warriors:given their characteristics, this type of troops constituted forces ideal assault weapons, with a high ability to break up and disrupt (physically and psychologically) heavier or better-equipped troop formations. They were equally suitable for quickly making contact with the enemy, as well as for vanguard, scouting and skirmish work. In addition, the mace, apart from being a common weapon of the Germanic panoply until the Middle Ages, was also characteristic of the equipment of ecstatic warriors and the like in this period.
The role of these warriors in the Roman army as shock forces it is all the more evident in various battle scenes where these warriors fight in the front line, displaying markedly violent attitudes and postures, which underline the brutality of their attack. Hair in the wind, frowns knitted and faces contracted, their expressions and movements contrast with those of the nearby auxiliaries and legionnaires, as well as with that of their Dacian enemies, whom they dwarf many times, strongly reminding us of the descriptions that Germanic and Norse sources make the berserksgangr . The elements of iconographic distinction described clearly underline the unique character of these forces:We are not dealing with any irregular contingents, but rather with ecstatic warriors who range from highly specialized forces to true elite units. These warriors also deserve the recognition and praise of Trajan after the combat, as they are present in several of the adlocutiones of the emperor on the monument, occupying close-ups or standing out for their nudity, corpulence, height and appearance among the standard bearers, praetorians and legionnaires that surround them in these scenes.
No less striking is the group of eight other bearded warriors in scene XXXVI, four of them wearing distinctive furs while the other four wear helmets of marked foreign make. They are all armored, protected by a shield, and generally seem to be equipped with long-bladed swords. The possibility that the fur headdresses are standard bearers or simple auxiliaries with a more barbaric appearance than usual is beyond any doubt:we have already pointed out that the symbology in the Column is never gratuitous. Their skins have a specific meaning, as does their closeness to the emperor and the general structure of the scene:we are faced with two úlfhednar and/or berserker clearly characterized and uniquely distinguished in this scene. Greater attention to detail even allows the two specialties to be differentiated:two berserkir , whose skins with wide legs and heavy heads would correspond to that of two bears and, a step further back, two úlfhednar , headdresses with narrower leg skins and smaller, more angular heads. Located close to the emperor, elbow to elbow with his singular equites , these warriors represent elite forces and units of Trajan's most personal and private guard, probably singular pedites or similar, whose origins would even go back to the time when their leader held the position of governor in Germania Superior. The very high level of its equipment, its unique characterization and its position in the scene, do not leave too much room for alternative interpretations.
Regarding the warriors, also armored and armed with swords, but not wearing fur, we have already pointed out that their main characteristic is to wear helmets of clear Germanic make. Although in this case we cannot rule out that they are elite German warriors, aristocrats and veterans of Trajan's guard or other troops, with no obvious link to specifically ecstatic traditions, the fact that they are practically mixed in a group consistent with berserker and úlfhednar It does not allow us to totally ignore the possibility that they have some kind of relationship with the latter.
Recalling the data we know about ecstatic warriors from the ancient Germanic and Norse tradition, these constituted groups of champions closely linked to the chieftains they served and whose people they were linked by oath, elite units whose particular characteristics and skills made them ideal for the performance of brutal shock tactics, for a fierce defense or to protect an outstanding leader, get him out of a dangerous situation and, if necessary, not survive him in combat. This is clearly the role and identity of the Germanic warriors of the Roman army represented in the scenes of Trajan's Column, as well as the category that this gives them through its precise symbolic and scenic language.
A unique elite force in the Roman Army
Why resort to this type of troops? What were the institutional, strategic, tactical and even personal reasons for its use in the context of Trajan's Dacian Wars? From a propaganda point of view, the representation of these troops sends out a multiple message. The emperor is presented as commander of troops from practically the entire world, underlining the universality of his power and that of the Roman State itself. On a more particular level, the Column underscores the particular extent of Trajan's appeal as a victorious and promising general:given that Greco-Latin elites were fully aware of the importance of leadership and military success in the Germanic societies of the 2nd century AD C., depicting his emperor surrounded and also acclaimed by the best barbarian warriors makes explicit the resounding ability of the Caesar to summon among the latter. To a certain extent, Roman iconography echoes part of the Germanic ideology, recycling it for its own use, showing Trajan as the supreme Germanic leader, the only one capable of attracting the loyalty, respect and sacrifice of the best among them. non-Romans, as well as being the imperator undisputed for the Romans themselves.
As we already know, Emperor Trajan was by no means the first Roman commander to surround himself with a contingent of Germanic warriors, both as an elite force and as a personal guard. Suffice it to mention the well-known case of the equites singulares Augusti . The direct personal relationship that Roman generals used to have with this type of troops, and that their own idiosyncrasies fostered, made them particularly valuable forces for all kinds of delicate functions. At a more particular level, the nomen Ulpius , which means "wolf" in archaic Latin, must have had a very similar meaning in Germanic ears, given its proximity to the root of this same word in the Germanic language. Given the relationship of this animal with Wodan, patron of the úlfhednar , but also of the berserkir and the berserksgangr , this etymological coincidence must have exerted its particular impact among the Germanic troops of the emperor. Is it possible that, in part, the leading role of these warriors in the Trajan Column derives from this circumstance? We cannot know for sure. What is certain is that these warriors must have performed a particularly brilliant job in the Dacian wars to deserve the honor of being immortalized in this monument.
Berserk , úlfhednar , other ecstatic warriors and, in general, any select, veteran, well-equipped and motivated Germanic troops, were a valuable asset to an early 20C Roman army. II AD C.:It provided him with a powerful and determined shock force, an eloquent psychological weapon and, if necessary, an elite contingent strictly loyal to his supreme commander , ready to execute any necessary sacrifice to fulfill his designs and for the safeguarding of her integrity and his honor. They were a perfect complement to the more common, but no less effective, forces of the Roman army, allowing the deployment of skills and tactics impossible with more institutionalized and disciplined forces, or already too far removed from the idiosyncrasies underlying those skills and tactics.
When, in the summer of 101 AD, the combined army of the Dacian Entente fell on Messiah Inferior with withering and methodical efficiency, threatening to blow up the entire Roman strategy and Based on the successes achieved so far in the campaign, Trajan and his generals searched for an optimal strategic response:a mobile and versatile expeditionary force, capable of launching a counterattack as precise as it was brutal and, at the same time, highly motivated to the point of fanaticism. The elite Germanic units of the army, from select auxiliary units and shock forces, through the singular equites of the Emperor, up to his singular pedites , úlfhednar and berserkir , formed the backbone of said force.
The versatility and mobility of this army allowed it to avoid that the Dacian and Roxolani armies deployed between Novae and Nicopolis del Istro could act in coordination and gather their forces. Snatching the initiative from them entirely, in the first battle of Nicopolis on the Istro Trajan overthrew and put to flight the Roxolani army in a withering assault. Days later, in the second battle of the same name, the emperor's expeditionary force destroyed the Dacian army rushing to the aid of their vanquished allies:at Trajan's Column the mighty ecstatic German warriors emerge, running, from the ranks of the auxiliary infantry, mingling in the fray side by side with the cavalry, whose charge they rival, possessed by the berserksgangr . Although the presence in this action of vexillationes more regular legionnaires and auxiliary detachments is by no means ruled out, the former being entirely absent from the scenes detailing the preparations for these operations, the march into battle and the two combats described, not reappearing until just after.
His particularities and abilities made him of the úlfhednar and berserkir , warriors bearing a military and cultural tradition and idiosyncrasy totally foreign to the Roman world, a fundamental weapon in the first and fundamental phases of the Roman counterattack in Mesia Inferior. In this way they contributed in a fundamental way to the events that decided the First Dacian War and, consequently, the history of Roman power in Danubian Europe during the following century and a half.
Conclusions
Consequently, the image of the High Imperial Roman Army has been held to date, not only outside academic circles but, unfortunately, still largely within them , changes appreciably, at least, through the realities that we have described. True to its adaptive capacity , the Roman army, once again, took from its adversaries and associates those weapons that it considered the necessary complement to its own art of war and power management. Beyond his own weaknesses and shortcomings, the Germanic warrior, in his many facets and specialties, underwent a long process of incorporation and integration into the Roman military machinery on various scales. The immortalization in the Trajan Column of the berserkir , úlfhednar and other ecstatic Germanic warriors fighting in the Roman ranks represents one more qualitative step in this process:the official public recognition of the presence of armed forces of markedly foreign traditions, not just in the numeri and symmachiarii , but in units of the emperor's guard and the elite of army specialists.
Going back to considerations of a purely military order, the scenes of Trajan's Column that we have analyzed throughout this study, show the presence of armed contingents in the elite of the Roman army carriers, moreover, of an entire religious idiosyncrasy markedly foreign to the Greco-Latin tradition of the time. In this way, the adaptability of the Roman army and state went a step further, being able not only to incorporate tactics, panoplies and even entire categories of warriors, but also to accept with it the spiritual and cultural package that accompanied and which gave it its true meaning. The public acknowledgment and representation of this reality also meant an innovation that reveals fundamental changes in the perception of the "non-Roman" at all levels, as well as in the image of imperial power, in its projection and in its meaning.
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