The Etruscan Tombs at Cerveteri and Tarquinia

The Etruscan Tombs at Cerveteri and Tarquinia

The Etruscan Homeland

The Etruscan Civilization, often overshadowed by the successes of its famous neighbor Rome, controlled at its height large tracts of land in present day Italy. The core homeland of this grand civilization was an area which stretched from the banks of the Tiber River past the borders of current day Florence. The people of this land were the bearers of an extremely powerful civilization which thrived for many years both preceding and during the years of the Roman Republic. During this time there were many active civilizations in the Mediterranean waters surrounding Italy, and the Etruscans were known to have carried on widespread trade throughout the Mediterranean basin, primarily with Greece and North Africa.

A Quick Note On Etruscan History

The history of this extremely interesting civilization is dotted with unknowns due to the inability of modern scholars to decipher the Etruscan language. However, due to the vast historiography of ancient Greek and Roman writers, quite a bit is known about Etruscan civilization. Enough so that the history of these people could be commented upon in the article "Etruscans" by Peto, which can be found on the Abnormalia website. This article summarizes quite well the history and various origins of the Etruscans, and as such is presented below.

"ETRUSCANS
By Peto

Etruscans were the main tribe in Italy before the rise of the Roman empire and
they had a great affect on the Roman culture. When we think about the Romans,
we remember the togas, the triumphs, the gladiators, the vaults and the
surnames... I am sorry to disappoint anybody, but all of these are Etruscan
inventions!

After 1st Etruscan tombs were found in 17th century, the historians have argued
the origin of Etruscans. 2000 years ago they were almost unanimous; Dionysius
of Halicarnassus (1st century B.C.) was an only ancient historian who claimed
(with political reasons?) Etruscans were the indigenous people of Italy. All
the other historians thought Etruscans came from Asia Minor. According to Greek
historian Herodotus (ca. 485-425 B.C.) Etruscans left Lydia (an ancient country
in Asia Minor), because there was a bad famine. According to another Greek
historian Thucydides (ca. 455-400 B.C.) some Etruscans still lived in Limnos (a
Greek island close by the coast of Asia Minor) before Athenians conquered it in
510 B.C. This is a very interesting piece of information, because modern
archaeologists have found Etruscan texts in Limnos which were written in 6th
century B.C. However, it is quite strange how little the myths of ancient
Greece and Rome deal with Etruscans and their migration from Asia Minor to
Etruria. Much more the myths handle Aeneas and his migration from Troy to
Latium. Well, later Latins succeeded little better than Etruscans...

The political situation in Europe and Middle East changed totally in 13th and
12th century B.C. At that time so-called Sea Peoples migrated on the coasts of
the Meditteranean Sea like Vikings a couple of millenniums later. The names of
the Sea Peoples were strange: Lukka, Denyen, Peleset, Meshwesh, Ekwesh, Tjeker,
Weshesh, Skekelesh, Shardana and Teresh. Three last tribes are the most
interesting ones, because they arrived later in Italy and named their countries:
Skekelesh, Shardana and Teresh became Sicilians, Sardinians and Tyrsenians (or
Tyrrhenians, that is the Greek name of Etruscans)!

On one the hand nobody really knows the origin of Etruscans but on the other
hand many etruscologists think it is irrelevant knowledge. The Etruscan culture
was not very remarkable when they arrived in Italy before 1000 B.C. The
Etruscan area in Italy was between the rivers Tiber and Arno. There were their
greatest cities Tarquinia, Caere, Veii, Vulci, Vetulonia, Populonia, Arretium,
Clusium and Volterra. The cities were very autonomous and they had only a
religious center: Volsinii. Very fast development of Etruscan culture began
when Greeks started to found the colonies in South Italy in 757 B.C. In the
beginning their friendship was very useful for both: Etruscans gave metals to
Greeks and Greeks gave luxuries to Etruscans. Greeks also taught Etruscans how
to write. Later their relationship worsened, because both had their own
commercial interests. Besides Etruscans allied with Carthaginians who were the
bitter enemies of Greeks. But the biggest bone of contention was their
expansions. Not only Toscana belonged to the Etruscan empire in 6th century,
but also Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Lazio, Campania and Corsica. When Greeks tried
to conquer the last-mentioned island, Etruscans won Greeks completely in 535
B.C. At that time Greeks gave the name 'Tyrrhenian Sea' to the sea between
Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, because Etruscans ruled that sea so
completely.

The Etruscan superpower did not last a long time. First Romans banished the
Etruscan kings who ruled in Rome from 616 to 509 B.C. As a result of this their
good relationship changed to the continuous war, and Etruscans were usually
stronger. But then Greeks helped Romans when they won Etruscans in the sea
battle of Cumae in 474 B.C. After this defeat Etruscans gave up. Their
enthusiastic art became fearful of death. The Etruscan religion was strange:
they believed the lifetime of their nation would be 900 years. Now they thought
their time had come. By the end of 5th century Corsica and Campania were
conquered by Greeks, Lazio by Romans, Umbria by Umbrians themselves and
Emilia-Romagna by Celtics. All this happened so easily. When Romans conquered
their 1st major Etruscan city Veii in 406-396, the other Etruscan cities did not
help their compatriots. If all the Etruscan cities had attacked together
against Rome, we would have never know anything about the Roman empire.
Etruscans still were much stronger together than Romans. Romans needed 10 years
to conquer Veii which was only the medium-sized Etruscan city. But Etruscans
had really lost their optimism. Only once they fought together against Romans
in the battle of Sentinum (295 B.C.), but it was too late. Romans were already
too powerful, and they conquered the whole Etruria by 265 B.C.

Romans respected very much the Etruscan culture. One of 1st etruscologists was
emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus (10 B.C.-54 A.D.) who wrote the
Etruscan history in 20 (!) volumes which have unfortunately disappeared (What a
loss!). His interest in the Etruscan culture was caused by his 1st wife Plautia
Urgulanilla who was Etruscan. According to Roman historian Gaius Suetonius
Tranquillus (70-140 A.D.) she was a very typical Etruscan woman: beautiful, but
immoral! Claudius also studied Etruscan language. Most Etruscans had begun to
speak Latin 100 years earlier, but there were still many augurs (Etruscan
diviners) who were able to speak Etruscan. Many other emperors had augurs as
advisers, too. The last of them was emperor Flavius Claudius Julianus Apostata
(332-363 A.D.) whose augurs advised him not to attack against Persians.
Julianus did not believe them, and he died in that battle. The history is the
most ironic: the last pagan emperor died, because he did not believe his pagan
diviners..."(From Abnormalia)

Etruscan Territory

To emphasize and accompany this excellent piece, and to give a better feel for the actual geo-political implications of this history, the following diagrams have been presented from the history Magna Graecia website. They show the extent of Etruscan land holdings during each designated time period, as well as the size of the other important cultures on and around the Italian Peninsula during the same period.

<-(530-510 B.C.) --- (390-375 B.C.)->

<-(302.B.C.) -------- (280-275 B.C.)->

<-(241 B.C.) -------- (215-212 B.C.)->

<-(212 B.C.) -------------- (Legend)->

(All Diagrams and Accompanying Information From history Magna Graecia)

Etruscan Archaeological Sites

Although comparatively little is known about this extremely advanced civilization, the Etruscans are indeed famous for their art and architecture. Much of this has come from intense archaeological excavation over the last few centuries, for a great amount of Etruscan art and architecture has been unearthed all over the Mediterranean. The expanse necropolises of Southern Etruria are some of the most best archaeological sites for Etruscan art and architecture. Two of these sites, Cerveteri (Caere) and Tarquinia, are especially famous. Just north of Rome, both are rich in Etruscan material and are undoubtedly worth the time to explore. And now that a quick historical overview has been presented about the people who built these vast complexes and crafted the art found within them, it is time to enjoy the art and architecture they have left behind.

Cerveteri

Tarquinia

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