Ancient Etruscan city ruins in Vulci, Italy (Viterbo province).
Who Were The Etruscan People?
The Etruscans were a civilization that grew and thrived in central Italy before they were eventually supplanted and conquered by the early Romans. The civilization thrived throughout the Iron Age, becoming a major factor in Mediterranean trade and commerce.
Their fall paved the way for the rise of the Roman Kingdom and the subsequent Roman Republic. At one point, the Etruscans dominated most of the Italian Peninsula. While the Greek influence over Roman culture is indisputable, Etruscan society and culture served as a building block upon which the reach and achievement of the Roman people grew.
Many facets of Etruscan life shaped how Rome developed socially, economically, and culturally. Some components were adopted entirely, while others were melded and changed over time to suit the growth of Roman societal norms.
Geography and History
The Etruscans inhabited the coast along the Tyrrhenian Sea and the inland areas of modern-day central Italy. Their territorial reach peaked around the year 750 BC, extending north to the Alps and east to Umbria, before they slowly began ceding land to the Romans. Historians believe the ancient Roman word for the Etruscans, "Tuscī," is the root of Toscana, meaning heartland.
Our knowledge of the Etruscans comes mostly from texts left behind by the Greeks and Romans, who generally looked down on the Etruscans and took minimal steps to preserve their history. Few primary resources from the Etruscans survive. Their dead language is only minimally understood.
Many of the texts left by the ancient Greeks and Romans claim the Etruscans descended from Greeks who migrated to the peninsula. Modern historians and archeologists mostly reject these documents, considering them politically motivated lies meant to overstate the Greeks' influence. Most researchers believe the Etruscans descended from people indigenous to Italy because of the clear cultural link of the Etruscan society with earlier Bronze-age cultures in the area.
The Etruscans lasted from their early Villanovan period around 900 BC to their complete absorption into the Roman Republic in 27 BC. Over that time, they rose to be the dominant society across Italy through the 5th century BC.
As time went on, the Roman Kingdom that bordered the Etruscans in the south began to grow. The Roman military was more professional, their population swelled, and their cities were more unified. Through the 4th century BC, the Etruscans had to fight the Romans to the south, as well as fighting invading Celts from the north. Their multi-front challenges were exacerbated because Etruscan city-states never banded together like their Roman counterparts.
Over time the Romans overran the Etruscans and began assimilating their cities into Rome, offering safety to those that accepted their new rulers. The last holdouts joined Rome - and Etruscan civilization effectively ended - by 27 BC.
Etruscan Culture and Influence on Rome
Just as trade filled much of the cultural exchange that defined the Roman Empire, the Etruscans' contact with the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Egyptians shaped their culture, which they eventually handed down to the Romans.
Etruscans and the First Romans
Around 650 BC, the Etruscans seized control of the initial Roman settlement, which was little more than a loose collection of farmers and shepherds occupying tiny villages. The area was strategically valuable due to the natural defenses provided by the topography and the presence of salt, which was a valuable and relatively rare resource at the time.
They installed the Tarquinii to rule as kings and set about remaking Rome into an Etruscan city. Subsequent kings were cruel and oppressive but expanded Rome's reach and turned it into the dominant Latin kingdom, seizing control of most of central Italy.
Social Structure
Early Etruscan society featured a ruling class of warrior-kings overseeing vast populations in rural areas. Etruria, the homeland, had rich copper and gold deposits. The Etruscans perfected mining and used the minerals to become significant players in regional trade. This economic engine transformed society, leading to a vast oligarch that ruled.
Early Roman kings dominated as the early Etruscans did before society become more stratified, with a ruling class who benefited from Rome's growing economic might.
In addition, the Etruscans' familiarity with Greek culture through their strong trade relations was the initial source of Roman exposure to Greek customs and traditions. The adoption of Greek values would not have occurred as rapidly without the Etruscans.
Urban Planning and Architecture
While hills are central to Rome's founding myth, and much of its early survival is owed to technological advancements, the Etruscans were competent builders and civil engineers who first utilized topography to their advantage. While Rome was just a crude settlement, the Etruscans likely sent in builders to help transform it into a rudimentary urban center. Etruscan influence under the Tarquinii monarchy led to Rome's initial sewage systems and the draining of the marshlands surrounding the Tiber River. This leap forward helped secure farmland, increasing the crop supply to fuel population growth.
Historians also believe the Servian Walls, which served Rome for hundreds of years, and fortification of the hills were completed under the Tarquinii. The Etruscans are also credited with temple construction, introducing the arch to Roman builders, and constructing the first Forum.
Religion
Information on the Etruscan religion is scarce, but it is generally thought to have been a dark and pessimistic view of the world. Oracles featured heavily in their rituals and were esteemed. The Tarquinii kings highly regarded the Sybilline books, which survived to Rome and were considered prophetic texts. The Romans also embraced the role of oracles in their religious practice.
Roman priests learned soothsaying from the Etruscans and prized the ability to interpret messages from the gods through natural phenomena like lighting and reading the entrails of sacrificed animals. Even after the Etruscans were conquered, Roman citizens continued revering their priests and oracles. During the Republic, the Roman Senate passed laws stating that Etruscan ceremonies were to be observed. Roman priests continued their practice until the introduction of Christianity and the rise of the Papacy.
Gladiators
Gladiatorial combat was a religious ceremony in Etruscan city-states. Upon the king's death, two men were forced into mortal combat. After the match concluded, the slain gladiator's blood was used as a sacrifice in honor of the deceased king.
The Romans adopted the custom but stripped it of its religious significance, turning gladiator fights into the bloody combat sport we know today.
Did you know...
Latium consisted of the coastal plain from the mouth of the River Tiber, to the promontory at Circeii and the neighbouring foothills. To the south were the Pomptine marshes. To the east were the Apennine Mountains. At the centre of Latium, lay the group of volcanic hills known as the Seven Hills of Rome.
