Napoca (ancient city)

The history of Cluj-Napoca covers the time from the Roman conquest of Dacia, when it was known as Napoca, through its flourishing as the main cultural and religious center in the historic province of Transylvania, until its modern existence as a city, the seat of Cluj County in north-western Romania.

About the origin of the settlement's name Napoca or Napuca several hypotheses have been advanced. The most important are the following:

Independent of these hypotheses, scholars agree that the name of the settlement predates the Roman conquest (AD 106).

The oldest human settlement near Cluj dates from the Neolithic Age. It was discovered at Gura Baciului, near Suceagu, in the valley of a tributary of the Nadăș river and nearby the Hoia Forest. The settlement dates back to 6000–5500 BCE, making it the oldest discovered settlement in Transylvania. The archaeological discovery connects it to the Starčevo–Kőrös–Criş culture, and more settlements like these have been discovered since: a tomb from this same culture was discovered in the Mănăștur district, and a similar settlement was discovered on the Strada Memorandumului.

Traces of the Thracian-Dacians and Celts suggest that the region was occupied intermittently throughout the Bronze and Iron Ages. As economies centered around cattle-raising developed in the Pannonian plain, the importance of the salt trade with the Transylvanian Plain became ever more important. Two major routes, one running north-south and the other east-west, met on the right end of a ford under the promontory of a hill, today named Cetățuie. Presumably there was at one time a Dacian fortress controlling this central communication point, later destroyed in the construction of Austrian fortifications at the start of the 18th century.

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