KTRURIA. 



KTRURIA. 



I of vassalage, having been conquered by the other nee, a tribe of 

 northern invaders from the mountains of Rhjetia the true Rasena or 



Thi hypothesis, even when not admitted by later writers, 

 DM considerably modlfled their views. M.I ker,' vol. i.) 



ha* made an ingenious effort to reconcile these theories by supposing 

 that a body of Tyrrhenian Pelaagtons who had settled early on the 

 Lydian coast, being compelled to migrate, repaired to the count of 

 KtrurU, and there founded the cities of TarquinU and Argyll*, 

 mingling gradually with the Etruscan* or Raaena of the interior, whom 

 with Niebuhr he *appoMe to have come originally from the Rhartian 

 Mountain*. Lepaiu* again discards altogether the hypothec!* of a 

 aeparate nation of Rasena. and supposes the Etruscans to be ilerired 

 from a mixture of the invading Pelaagians with the UmbrUnn, the 

 original occupant* of the country; and Dennis, who support* the 

 Lydian origin of the Etruscan* (' Etruria,' ToL i. Int.), while admitting 



of the Raaena with the Rhatian and None Alps, 

 appears inclined to adopt the assertion of Livy that the emigration wai 

 from the plain* to the mountain* on the i n rmion of Po vale by the Gauls. 



While therefore it cannot be said that anything like agreement baa 

 yet been armed at respecting the origin of the Etruscans, we may 

 perhaps venture to assert that certain conclusions have been pretty 

 generally admitted. Their mixed origin, for instance, is clearly esta- 

 blished. Unfortunately, the Etruscan language is still an almost 

 unknown tongue; but it is not now doubted that while it is radically 

 distinct from the other languages of Italy, it has many words and 

 inflections in common with its nearest neighbour, the Umbrian ; at 

 the same time the researches of Lepsius and others have shown that 

 it has an unquestionable Pelasgian element, and those of Steub appear 

 to prove it* connection with that once spoken in the Khsctian Alps 

 and even now not wholly lost ; while Klenze, Schwegler, and others 

 hare adduced argument* tending to establish the affinities of the 

 Rasenic element with the Gothic or Scandinavian group of the Indo- 

 Teutonic, On the whole the view which seems most to accord with 

 the present state of our knowledge of Etrnria is that the original 

 occupant* of the soil were Umbrians ; that a tribe of Pelaagians 

 invaded the country and obtained possession of the southern portion 

 of it, and a dominant influence over the whole ; that at a later period 

 a tribe from the Rbietian Mountains descended upon the land and 

 subjugated the dominant Pelasgians ; and that these three races 

 gradually intermingled, and from their union sprang the Etruscans 

 properly so called. 



Several centuries before the time assigned for the building of Rome 

 we find these Tnsci or Etruaci settled in Italy, both north and south 

 of the Apennines, in the plains of the Po, and on the bonks of the 

 Arno, They had extended their dominions across the centre of the 

 Peninsula from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean. Cnpra maritima, 

 now Orottamare, in the territory of Fermo, on the Adriatic coast, and 

 Cupra montano, which stood near the banks of jEsis, not far from 

 the present village of Masaccio, in the province of Ancona. were 

 Etruscan colonies. Of the great plain of the Po, the Etrusci occupied 

 the central part, from the left bank of the Ticinus and the right bonk 

 of the Trebbia, which separated them from the Ligurians on that side 

 to the Athesis, or Adige, which divided them from the Veneti, who 

 remained in possession of the coast of the Adriatic as far as the 

 mouth* of the Po. (Livy, v. 38.) South .of the Po the Ligurians 

 retained possession of the highlands of the Apennines as far eastward 

 as the sources of the Arno, which river formed at first the boundary 

 between them and the Etruscans, who afterwords extended to the 

 Macra, where they built Luna. The Etruscan towns in the plain of 

 the Po are said to have been twelve, like those of Middle Etruria, 

 south of the Apennines ; but Mantua and Felshia (Bologna) were the 

 only two remaining in the time of Pliny. The others had been 

 destroyed by the Gauls long before. The Etruscan origin of Adria 

 ha* been dinpntrd. For the names of the other Etruscan towns north 

 of the Apennines see Mazzocchi 'Catalogo alfabetico de'Luoghi 

 compresi nell' Etruria cireumpadana." 



Towards the south, Etruria is known to have extended as far as 

 the Tiber previous to the existence of Rome. But the Etruscans at 

 one period went also far beyond that river. There was a tradition of 

 their having conquered the Volsci, who afterwards recoveml their 



lepniuVnee. (Servlus in .Eneid, 1 xi. 667.) Their regular settle- 



mpania, where they are said to have also built twelve towns, 



of a later date, probably in the 2nd or 3rd century of 



me when the Etruscan power, south of the Apennines, was at its 



U^and after they had tost by the Gallic Irruption all that they 



^.ii in the plain..* the Po. The Etruscan colony founded at 



Capua would fall, according to Cato's statement, about the year 283 



51TS f the Ktru " "Pun* Cum*, in which they 



were defeated by the Syracuaan, In a naval fight, had happened some 



? b'fe**^ According to this calculation the Etruscan dominion in 



SfffTt^ L2? lrae 'S* " * C0untr 7 "" wnquered by 

 tUdsamhe* about the year 330 of Rome. The extent of the Etruscan 

 poaaearion. in Campania, and the number of towns which they built 

 or colonised there, is a matter of much doubt (Niebuhr, voL i ' On 

 TO! L^taS"?^ An * OBtan> ' * Bd> for * ic*ing opinion Micali, 

 The permanent powsr of the Etrtwcan* lay in Etruria Proper, or 

 Ehruria Media, as it has also been called, which corresponds in great 



measure to the present Tuscany, with the addition of that part of the 

 Papal State which lies on the right bank of the Tiber. For a geogra- 

 phical description of the country we refer to TUSCAN T. The Etruscans 

 had twelve principal states, each having iU representative city, all situ- 

 ated between the Arno and the Tiber, for the country between the 

 Arno and the Macra was annexed at a later period by conquest over the 

 Ligurians. Each state formed an independent community, the twelve 

 being bound together by a sort of loose confederacy : at times indeed 

 very loose, for we find repeatedly one state going to war without the 

 assistance or interference of the rest Of the twelve cities no complete 

 list is preserved by any ancient writer , eight are mentioned by Livy 

 (xxriii. 46) on the occasion of his enumerating the allies who volun- 

 teered to assist in equipping Scipio's armament against Carthage. 

 Modern authors have differed as to the enumeration of these twelve 

 cities ; we adopt that of Dennis, which appears to be sanctioned by 

 ancient writers : in the south were Tarquinii, the oldest anil 

 city of Etruria, Veii, Falerii, Cene, and Volsinii ; in the north 

 Ionia and Kusellae on the coast, Clusium and Arretimn in the valley of 

 the Clania, Corytnm and 1 Vrusia on the heights near the Thrasymene, 

 and in the extreme north Volaterrae; but some other towns have 

 strong claims to be reckoned among the twelve, the members of 

 probably varied at different period* of Etruscan history, some of t In- 

 newer towns as Capena, Fesnte (Fiesole), and Populonium taking the 

 place of Vetulonia and one or two others which fell into decay. 

 Besides these there were numerous other towns, some of which 

 acquired considerable celebrity either on account of their strength or 

 opulence, or of their historical associations. 



The sites of the twelve representative cities appear to be as 

 follows : Tarquinii, the modern city of the same name [TARO.I/INII]; 

 Veii, near the village of Isolo Farneee (Dennis, vol. i. p. 2.) ; I 

 at Civita Castellana ; Cera near Cervetri, between Rome and ' 

 Vecchia; Volsinii near BoUENA ; the most probable site assign 

 Vetulonia appears to be between Maglionia and the sea, from which it 

 is about 5 miles distant (Dennis, ii. ch. 48); Ruselloe, on the slope of 

 Moscona about 5 miles N. from Qrosseto ; Clusium, Cinrsi ; Arretimn, 

 AHEZZO; Corytnm, COBTONA; Perusia, PERUGIA; Volaterrae, VoL- 

 TERRA. Of all these towns vestiges more or less perfect and exi 

 are yet remaining ; of some indeed the sites ore only marked by heaps 

 of shapeless and half buried ruins, others ore scarcely traceable among 

 the buildings of the more recent towns which occupy their pin. 

 yet bear their name, but of some the ruins are still such as to com- 

 mand admiration as well as respect : and besides these the massive 

 walls and extensive fortifications, and the numerous extraordinary 

 tombs with their rich and various contents, belonging to the many 

 other towns of Etrnria which have been laid bare by Italian antiqua- 

 ries and treasure seekers, attest the wealth as well as the popnlousness 

 of the country. For, as Mr. Dennis observes, " Ktrurin was of old 

 densely populated, not only in those parts which are still inhabited, 

 but also, as is proved by remains of cities and cemeteries, in tracts 

 now desolated by malaria, and relapsed into the desert ; and what is 

 now the fen or the jungle, the haunt of the wild-boar, the buffalo, the 

 fox, and the noxious reptile, of old yielded rich harvests of corn, 

 wine, and oil, and contained numerous cities mighty and opulent, into 

 whose laps commerce poured the treasure* of the East, and the more 

 precious produce of Hellenic genius. Most of these ancient sites are 

 now without a habitant, furrowed yearly by the plough, or forsaken 

 as unprofitable wildernesses ; and such as are still occupied ar< . 

 few exceptions, more phantoms of their pristine greatness mean 

 villages in the place of populous cities." (' Cities and Countries of 

 Etruria,' i. Int. p. xxix.) 



Such of the twelve cities as have the places which now occupy their 

 sites printed in the above enumeration in email capitals, will be 

 found noticed and their more important remains mentioned under 

 the title so indicated ; for more full descriptions of them, as well as 

 of all the principal places where Etruscan remains have been disco- 

 vered we refer the reader to the work of Mr. Dennis above quoted, 

 which will indeed be found by the general reader a sufficient guide 

 in every branch of Etruscan antiquities. 



The little we know of the national history of Ktniri.i previous to 

 its wars with Rome, is gathered from fragments and incidental i. 

 in Greek and Roman writers. The Etruscan power appears to have 

 been at its height in the 3rd century of Rome, about the beginning of 

 the 6th century before Christ. Their dominion extended over the 

 country of the Umbrians to the Adriatic on one side, and to the Gulf 

 of Luni on the other ; and this also was the period of their naval 

 greatness, when their powerful fleets secured for them an almost 

 undisputed supremacy over the adjoining sea, which derived from 

 them the name of the Tyrrhenian. After Porsenna had dictated a 

 humiliating peace to Rome, the Tuscans overran Latiuin. .-in .! 

 quered Campania. They at first allied themselves with their mari- 

 time rival Carthage against the Phocecans, who had settled at Aleria 

 in Corsica, but afterward* the allies quarrelled together for the pos- 

 session of that island. They fought against the Cumans and 

 Syracusans united about the year 279 of Rome, and were defeated. 

 Half a century later they lost Campania to the Samnitcs, after w -lii.-h 

 the Romans began to encroach on that part of Etruria which lay 

 between Mount ('iiuiniis and the Tiber. Veii was the first Etrnscan 

 city that fell by the Roman arms ; Falerii and Fesceunia next; then 



