This civilization flourished between 950 and 300 BC … in the northwestern part of the Apennine Peninsula between the Arno River, which flows through Pisa and Florence, and the Tiber, which flows through Rome. Since ancient times, this region has a historical name - Tuscany (in ancient times - Tuscia), so named by the indigenous Italic tribes after the people who inhabited and ennobled it - the Tusk.
Etruria was located in an area with a wonderful mild climate, wide valleys, with fertile soil, as if by nature itself prepared for agriculture. There were enough forests and mineral resources, which the Etruscans skillfully exploited, organizing the production of wonderful metal products, especially bronze sculptures, which were unparalleled in the entire Mediterranean. Etruscan wines, wheat, flax were also famous. Earlier than others on the Apennine Peninsula, they engaged in trade, establishing links with all the major trade centers of the Mediterranean, successfully competing with the Phoenicians and Greeks. Their sailors quite often engaged in piracy, which, however, in those days was almost synonymous. And they did it on such a grand scale that the Greeks even laid down a legend that the god Dionysus himself, during his wanderings, was captured by the Etruscan pirates. The sea itself was named in their honor Tyrrhenian, for the Greeks called them Tyrrhenians. The Romans later began to call them Etruscans, they themselves called themselves Rasenes or Rasna.
And who, besides the Greeks, the same glorious sailors, could give the name to the sea? But it was the Etruscans who became the true thalassocrates - the masters of the entire Western Mediterranean.
But they were not only sailors and merchants - the Etruscans founded many cities and colonies in Corsica, Elba, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and Iberia. They also subdued the important areas along the western coast of Italy - Latium and Campania. The Etruscans penetrated into northern Italy, establishing a number of cities there as well. They were involved in draining swamps, erecting stone walls around cities, and laying sewers. Representatives of the aristocracy in the Etruscan cities, united in leagues of the twelve degrees, already lived in stone houses, more like palaces, when the inhabitants of neighboring Rome still lived in primitive buildings.
But it was in Rome, which arose on the hills among the marshes, that the future threat to Etruria arose. A century later, the Etruscans made considerable efforts to subjugate the growing Rome - according to legend, the last three Roman kings were representatives of the Etruscan dynasty and did a lot to "domesticate" both the city and its inhabitants. Etruria's influence extended to almost all of Italy. However, happiness turned away from the Etruscans and setbacks began to pursue them one after another. First, the Greeks defeated their once-invincible fleet in a major naval battle. Then, outraged by the unseemly behavior of the royal son, the Romans expelled the entire royal family from the city. Then the Samnites revolted, after which there was an invasion of the Gauls. Rome was so strong that it did not want to obey anyone else. They learned the lessons of the Etruscans well, adopting a lot in military affairs. Time seemed to run faster for Etruria. The golden age is over: the former rulers of Rome, even the recent allies had to surrender their cities one after another in heavy battles. But the Romans were insatiable - endless wars demanded more and more new means. The resistance was brutally suppressed. The last Etruscan city fell in 406 BC. The Romans lavishly used the distribution of privileges to win the rebellious over to their side. The Etruscans resigned themselves, eventually even switched to Latin. The Romans lavishly used the distribution of privileges to win the rebellious over to their side. The Etruscans resigned themselves, eventually even switched to Latin. The Romans lavishly used the distribution of privileges to win the rebellious over to their side. The Etruscans resigned themselves, eventually even switched to Latin.
However, the worst, as it turned out, was ahead. During the terror of the dictator Sulla, the last Etruscans were destroyed.
The Etruscans gave a lot to the Romans - in addition to the already mentioned skills in various crafts and arts, they gave them the alphabet and numbers (the so-called Roman numerals that we still use were actually invented by the Etruscans), even the symbol of Rome - the famous she-wolf - and the one of Etruscan work.
Much is known about the Etruscans. Much, but not all …
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Who were they and where did they come to the lands of Italy? Some sources report that they clearly stood out from the surrounding tribes with their squat figures with large heads and thick arms.
This people was formed by three waves of migrations: from the Eastern Mediterranean (Anatolia); because of the Alps (Rhetia); from the North Caspian steppes (Scythia).
This theory is supported by the works of Herodotus, which appeared in the 5th century BC. e. As Herodotus argued, the Etruscans are immigrants from Lydia, a region in Asia Minor, - Tyrrens or Tyrsenes, forced to leave their homeland due to a catastrophic crop failure and hunger. According to Herodotus, this happened almost simultaneously with the Trojan War. Gellanicus from the island of Lesbos mentioned the legend of the Pelasgians who arrived in Italy and became known as Tyrrhenians. At that time, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed and the Hittite empire fell, that is, the appearance of the Tyrrhenians should be dated to the 13th century BC, or slightly later. Perhaps this legend is associated with the myth of the flight to the west of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the founding of the Roman state, which was of great importance to the Etruscans. The hypothesis of Herodotus is confirmed by the data of genetic analysis.
Titus Livy gives a semi-legendary version of the northern origin of the Etruscans from the Alpine tribes. The penetration of the migrating northern tribes - carriers of the Protovilleanov culture - into the Apennine Peninsula is accepted by most experts. Within the framework of this hypothesis, the Etruscans-Rasenes were related to the Alpine Retas, and in this case it is permissible to consider them as an autochthonous, pre-Indo-European population of Central Europe, which absorbed cultural and ethnic elements from Sardinia and, possibly, Asia Minor at different times. …
And the attitude of the Etruscans towards women shocked the Greeks and Romans so much that they called it immoral. It was unacceptable for them that Etruscan women enjoyed an independent social position and had influence in such important matters as matters of worship.
The origin of the Etruscans remains a mystery to this day. Some archaeologists believe that they migrated from the Aegean region, others that from Northern Europe. Some believe that their culture originated directly in Tuscany, suddenly receiving an impetus for rapid development.
The Etruscans themselves believed that they were the descendants of Hercules.
In the XVI century. it was claimed that after the Flood, Noah founded twelve cities in Etruria and that his body rests in the vicinity of Rome. They added to this that Hercules of Libya was the founder of Florence. These ideas were quite common in the Florentine Academy.
Another mystery is the language of the Etruscans. Despite the fact that about ten thousand different Etruscan texts are known, and we can even read them, no one has yet been able to convincingly prove that he understands what these records mean. Because nobody knows what language the Etruscans spoke.
They flourished in a fairly short historical period, and then disappeared, leaving behind many tombs with beautiful frescoes and amazing sarcophagi, from which they look at us with a slight smile, leaving many questions unanswered …