Etruscan Civilization

I

Introduction

Etruscan Civilization, culture of the ancient people of Etruria, an area roughly equivalent to modern Tuscany, Italy, which flourished between about 800 and 300 bc.

At the height of its power, between the 7th and 5th centuries bc, Etruria probably covered a territory stretching from the Alps to the Tiber. The name “Etruria” is the Latin version of the Greek name “Tyrrhenia” or “Tyrsenia”; the ancient Romans called the people Etrusci or Tusci, from which is derived the name of the modern Italian region of Tuscany.

The origins of the Etruscans are obscure and even in antiquity there was much speculation about their identity. The ancient Greek historian Herodotus maintained that the Etruscans came from Lydia, an ancient country in western Asia Minor. The later Roman historian Livy and Greek historian Polybius agreed with Herodotus, as did the Roman poets Publius Papinius Statius and Tiberius Catius Silius Italicus. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, however, held that the Etruscans were an indigenous people, a view taken by many modern scholars.

Archaeological discoveries have shed much light on early Etruscan history. It is now generally agreed that the earliest settlements of Etruria were along the low, marshy coastal lands of Tuscany. The first permanent settlements, Vetulonia and Tarquinii (now Tarquinia), probably date to about the end of the 9th century bc. Finds from that period include new types of burial chambers that differ greatly from earlier tombs and that contain luxurious funeral goods of amber, silver, gold, and gems from other regions of the known world, such as Egypt and Asia Minor.

II

History

From very early times Etruscan society was dominated by a firmly entrenched aristocracy that exercised strict control over the political, military, economic, and religious aspects of the people’s lives. By the 6th century bc, several city states, including Tarquinii and Veii, dominated their respective geographic regions and sent colonists to adjacent areas. Some of their leaders, including the semi-legendary Etruscan kings of Rome such as the Tarquins Lucius Priscus and Lucius Superbus, may have achieved their positions because they were accomplished warriors. Their independent city states were continually forming alliances with one another for economic and political gain. Warrior-kings also forged economic ties through marriage.

In response to the threat that these alliances posed, the Romans, Greeks, and Carthaginians also united occasionally against the Etruscans. In the 5th century bc, Etruscan power was challenged and severely curtailed. The navy from the city of Syracuse defeated an allied Etruscan fleet in a naval battle off the coast of Cumae in 474 bc. In an effort to regain control over the seas, an Etruscan confederacy allied itself with Athens in the ill-fated assault on Syracuse in 413 bc. After a siege of about ten years, the city of Veii was defeated (396 bc) by Rome in its struggle to control the overland routes north. This victory marked the beginning of Rome’s gradual conquest of Etruria, which was not completed until 283 bc.

In the 3rd century bc the Etruscans began to lose their unique cultural identity as they increasingly came under the control of Rome. The Etruscan cities of Caere, Tarquinia, and Vulci were forced to pay tribute and to cede some of their territories. Dissension among the aristocracy and insurrections by the lower classes followed, resulting in the collapse of the urban social structure, as in Volsinii. Consequently, Etruscan cities entered into alliances with Rome.

As a result of these alliances Roman law began to affect the Etruscan people. Attempts to rebel against Roman rule, with the help of the Umbrians and Gauls on one occasion, were defeated. The ties between Rome and Etruria were further strengthened in the 1st century bc, when the Etruscans accepted the offer of Roman citizenship. Their newly gained status was soon eroded, however, when they supported the losing side in the Roman civil wars (88-86 bc; 83 bc). The victor, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, took extreme vengeance, razing cities, seizing land, and imposing restrictions on Etruscan civil rights.

The brutality of Sulla so devastated the Etruscans that their subsequent attempts at revolt came to nothing. Over a century later, the Roman emperor Augustus sent new colonists to Etruria. These people worked with, not against, the Etruscans, and succeeded in accelerating the Romanization of the region.

III

Political and Military Structure

Little is known about how individual Etruscan cities were organized. It has been suggested, however, that the warrior heads of aristocratic families conquered those areas that were eventually to become independent Etruscan cities, each ruled over by its own king. As a result, the Etruscans never achieved a truly national unity, although individual cities sent colonists to neighbouring regions and often entered into diplomatic alliances not only with each other but also with foreign states. The history of the region indicates that each Etruscan city responded to crises in terms that were deemed beneficial for its own survival without regard for the interests of its neighbours.

The characteristic form of governmental organization in Etruria was the confederacy of the city states. At one time there appear to have been three separate Etruscan confederacies—the northern, the southern, and the central—each made up of 12 cities. The only confederacy of historical significance was the central confederacy, a loose political and religious organization that convened annually at the shrine of the deity Voltumna, overlooking Lacus Volsiniensis (now Lake Bolsena) in Latium. Its accomplishments were meagre, however, as it was probably preoccupied with religious rather than political matters.

No authoritative list of the 12 member city states of the central confederacy survives. Their names, however, can be deduced from information provided by Livy, Dionysius, and Diodorus Siculus: Arretium (Arezzo), Caere (Cerveteri), Clusium, Cortona, Perusia (Perugia), Populonia, Rusellae, Tarquinii (Tarquinia), Veii (Veio), Vetulonia, Volaterrae (Volterra), and Vulci. Magistrates, apparently known as lucomones, were elected annually from the nobility to govern each Etruscan city.

At the height of their power the Etruscans were an imposing military force, although this was probably not coordinated among the city states. The infantry appears to have been the mainstay of the force. The principal weapons were the spear and the battleaxe, the latter being used for throwing as well as for striking. The bow and the javelin were also used; arrows and javelins are frequently found in excavated Etruscan tombs. Helmets and shields of various designs were adapted from those of the Greeks, the Gauls, and of the tribes inhabiting the eastern Alps. Swords were apparently rare and highly prized. The cavalry was probably an important part of the Etruscan army, while chariots have been found in large tombs. The navy was remarkably powerful and virtually dominated the Mediterranean for almost two centuries.

IV

Economy

The Etruscans had links with many traders from the eastern Mediterranean who came to the Italian Peninsula. Evidence indicates that the Phoenicians were the first to arrive, probably in the 8th century bc. They were in search of raw materials, such as unworked metals and perhaps wood and leather, which they exchanged for the finished products of the Middle East. In time, Greek merchants, established at Pithekoussai, began to challenge Phoenician mercantile supremacy. By 625 bc vases manufactured in Corinth filled the Etruscan markets. In the late 6th and 5th centuries bc Attic vases, including outstanding examples of Greek vase painting, eclipsed Corinthian ware, and were probably exchanged for Etruscan utensils in bronze, which the Athenians prized.

In the 6th century bc the Etruscan mercantile network included exchanges of early Iron Age goods with rulers in Gaul (France) and the peoples of Tartessos and Ampurias, near Barcelona, in Spain. Many of the wars and alliances entered into by the Etruscan cities after the 5th century bc were dictated by economic forces.