Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa

Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa was founded on Emperor Trajan's orders by the governor Decimus Terentius Scaurianus, shortly after the conquest of Dacia (106 AD), on the site of a Roman military camp in the Hațeg plain. It was the capital of the province of Roman Dacia, and under Emperor Severus Alexander (222–235) it received the title of metropolis.

The walled area, about 32 ha (600 × 540 m), had the forum at its centre, where the two main streets crossed; outside the walls stood temples, houses, public buildings and the amphitheatre, which held about 5,000 people. Much of the ancient city has still not been excavated.

The ruins can be visited in the village of Sarmizegetusa, also home to the Sarmizegetusa Archaeological Museum, founded in 1924, with finds from the excavations.