City
Ratiaris
Archer
Listen to the story
Ratiaris stood on the right bank of the Danube, where the Bulgarian village of Archar lies now. Under the emperor Trajan it became a Roman colony, and after Rome gave up Dacia across the river, the Thirteenth Legion was moved here. Around AD 400 the town was home to a Danube flotilla and an arms factory, and it served as capital of the province of Dacia Ripensis. The Greek historian Priscus called it very large and populous, yet Attila destroyed it. On the map, a road branches off here towards Naissus, the modern city of Niš.