Before Rome - The Eternal Etruscans

For the Lady Astarte, this is the sacred place which was made and donated by Feferi Verlianus who reigns over Cairo during the month of the sacrifice to the sun as a gift to the temple. These words which record the dedication of a temple to the goddess Astarte during the 5th or 6th century BC come from the oldest historical source document ever found in Italy. It was inscribed into these golden plates and discovered during excavations in 1964 at the site of ancient Pergi. Ah, those Romans, always droning on about their temples and gods and rulers. Except not. These inscriptions were left by the people who came before Rome. They are the Etruscans, and most people have never heard of them. Before Rome, there was a powerful and advanced civilization shrouded in mystery known as the Etruscans. Settling between the rivers Arno and Tiber from the 8th century BC onwards, with remnants also in the Po Valley to the north and in Campania to the south, the Etruscans were the most developed society in pre-Roman Italy. Their civilization reached its peak between the 7th and 4th centuries BC and was characterized by high artistic achievement, a sophisticated social and political organization, and distinctive religious practices. The word the Etruscans has been debated since ancient times, fueling speculation even today. Archaeological and even genetic evidence has been recently uncovered that gives us some clues, but we'll delve into that later. The Etruscans were a fancy word for a maritime empire. Think Venice. Except, the Etruscans dominated the Tyrrhenian Sea on Italy's west coast and established trade links with the wider western Mediterranean region. However, their power began to decline due to a lack of unity among their various independent city-states, something Rome later would not tolerate and hence adopted an imperial governance structure. The guiding thesis of this narrative is clear. If Rome had not defeated the Etruscans, it would never have become the ruler of the Mediterranean. But as we'll see, Rome deeply absorbed the Etruscan culture, from town planning and public offices to religion and symbols of power, before assimilating the Etruscans completely. Watch until the end of the video to find out what archaeology has revealed to us about this civilization and why the Etruscans almost disappeared from history. So who were the Etruscans? Where did they come from? Well, let's dive right in. The Etruscans, also known as the Racena or Rasna, were an ancient Italian people who occupied the peninsula between the 9th and 1st century BC. Their origin has been debated since ancient times with various competing theories, such as that offered by Greek historian Herodotus, who believed they originated from Lydia in Asia Minor, and Dionysus of Halicarnassus, who argued that they were indigenous to Italy. Today, most scholars agree that they were a fancy anthropological term, basically, which means indigenous, and that they were descended from the Villanovan culture, which some also consider to actually be the first phase of the Etruscan civilization, lasting from about 900 to about 700 BC. No, no, no, not that Villanovan culture in western Pennsylvania. We're talking about this one in Italy. Anyway, we'll go into the DNA evidence for this stuff later. Okay, going back to our story, the Etruscans' main area of influence, known as Etruria in ancient times, roughly corresponded to present-day Tuscany. In fact, the word Tuscany derives from Etruscan, so maybe we can ultimately have them to thank for all that hearty Tuscan cuisine. Their lands also came to encompass western Umbria and northern Latium, located between the Arno River to the north and the Tiber River to the south. They also had offshoots to the north in the Po Valley, kind of where Milan is today, and to the south in Campania. Gosh, I'm getting hungry just thinking about all of this. The Etruscan language is attested by about 13,000 inscriptions. Although its alphabet is derived from the Greek alphabet, the language itself is not Indo-European, but actually a language isolate, like Basque, which is an important point that we'll come back to later. Anyway, the language is only partially deciphered due to the scarcity of sources and vocabulary. Now, I know what you're thinking. If we have those inscriptions on the golden plaques beside the Phoenician language, which we do understand, can't these serve as our Rosetta Stone to decode Etruscan? If you remember our episode about the Rosetta Stone, that allowed us to decode Egyptian hieroglyphics because it was next to two other languages, Greek and Demotic, and it was the Greek language which was well understood that was the key to deciphering the hieroglyphics. Well, in this case, the inscription on the golden plaques of Pergi is too short to give us that much insight into the Etruscan language, and a lot of it is taken up with proper names, which don't really tell us anything about the grammar or vocabulary. Likewise, most of the thousands of extant Etruscan inscriptions are short, many of them on tombstones, which once again are composed of a lot of names. In terms of political organization, the Etruscans were organized into independent autonomous city-states, which comprised the Etruscan League or Dodecapolis, and among these were Vejo, Tarkinia, and Kyra, the city that was mentioned in the inscription on those golden plaques. These cities were characterized by advanced urban planning and design, often featuring perpendicular streets, imposing city walls, often with arched gates. Sound familiar? We discussed Roman city planning when we reviewed Timgad, Algeria, as the epitome of Roman city planning. Well, this is actually where it started first, with the Etruscans. Society was stratified and first ruled by kings called Lucamoni, followed by aristocratic or oligarchic magistrates. This urban, sophisticated civilization reached its peak between the 7th and 4th centuries BC. As mentioned before, the earliest portion of the Etruscan civilization was that Villanova culture, lasting from the 10th to 8th century BC. The name Villanovan comes from a site on the outskirts of Bologna where peculiar burials were found in 1853. The Villanovans settled in the region that would become Etruria. Their initial social organization seemed to be rather egalitarian, as a lot of the graves were very modest in nature. However, soon enough, social differentiation seemed to appear, with some of the graves having prestige items like ornate scepters in them. From the beginning of the 8th century BC, this social differentiation seems to have intensified with the apparent formation of aristocracies, as evidenced by large and ornate tombs with diverse grave goods in them. The predominant burial practice seems to have been cremation, with the ashes being deposited in biconical urns, which were often covered by a bowl, or in the case of warriors, a bronze helmet. These urns were placed in shafts or pits, or sometimes inside stone structures which resembled huts. Though the economy was based on agriculture and pastoralism, above all it was differentiated by the extraction and processing of metals, which were traded by sea, setting the stage for that Thalassocracy we discussed before, and this led to contact with other Mediterranean cultures. And all of this trade made the Etruscans the most powerful force in Italy before the rise of Rome, some of whose early kings were actually Etruscans. By now, they were an important maritime power, dominating the Tyrrhenian Sea, and engaging in flourishing trade with the Greeks, Phoenicians, and Carthaginians. This trade was facilitated by important ports such as Persia, Gravisca, and Papalonia, and it was at this time that that culture of the urban planning, and the metalworking, and all the other good stuff we discussed, flourished. They also carried out remarkable hydraulic works, such as land reclamation and the construction of the Cloaca Maxima, one of the world's earliest sewer systems that survives even today. And here too, the political system and hierarchy matured, including religious authority. Many features of the Etruscan religion survived into Roman times, such as priests called Haruspices, who supposedly told the future by looking at the entrails of sacrificed animals. Symbols of Etruscan power that were later adopted by the Romans included the Latus, that little crooked staff used by augurs, who were sort of fancy fortune tellers. There was also notably the Lichter's bundle, or fascis, a symbol of power still used today, but which is actually the root of the word fascism, and hence it's often associated with it. But it was actually used throughout history. There it is on the American dime. Much of what we know about Etruscan society come from their necropolises, or cities of the dead, as little has been preserved of dwellings made of perishable materials such as wood. The stone tombs offered a familiar environment for the afterlife. They contained rich grave goods consisting of everyday objects such as cinerary urns, biconical or hat-shaped, mirrors, fibula, and pottery, including the characteristic fine black pottery known as buchero. These artifacts testify to the Etruscans' wealth, craftsmanship, especially in metallurgy and goldsmithing, and wide trade contacts. Archaeology reveals that Etruscan women also had a relatively emancipated status compared to contemporaneous Greek or Roman societies. They took an active role in public life and banquets, they owned property, they could read and write, and retained their family name even when married. The presence of women in family tombs and their discovery of female grave goods, which were sometimes very elaborate, underlie their prestige. Particularly revealing are the highly embellished murals in these tombs, such as those at the necropolis of Tarkinia, which is particularly famous for its painted walls, with scenes that depict daily life, including banquets, religious ceremonies, games, and dances. And remember, the tombs are where we find most of those inscriptions. They're long enough to give us a sense of who was buried there, but not really enough to go on to totally decode the language. From an early stage, the Etruscans were challenged by the rising power of the city-state of Rome, particularly in northern Latium, more commonly known as Lazio today. I think you can begin to see how much continuity there is in Italian history, and why Italians might have the cultural pride they do. From the 8th century BC, the rivalry between the Etruscan city of Veo and Rome was constant, driven by economic factors related to control over the fords on the river Tiber. However, Rome itself was significantly influenced by their rivals, the Etruscans. Remember, Rome had Etruscan kings, and Rome's last king, Tarkinius Superbus, was of Etruscan descent, and significant public works were realized under these kings, such as the Cloaca Maxima, that sewer system we discussed. The 5th century BC really marked the beginning of Etruscan decline, due in large part to the onslaught of a much more unified and well-functioning Rome. Wars against the Romans, such as the long conflict between Rome and Veo, culminated in Veo's capture in 396 BC, a heavy blow for the Etruscans. Following Veo's fall, Rome began absorbing Etruria, gradually conquering Etruscan cities and often reducing them or driving them into decline. This marked the beginning of Romanization, a process of cultural assimilation that, although it led to the eventual disappearance of Etruscan independence in 89 BC, saw Etruscan culture persist and have a profound influence on Roman culture, from religion to symbols of power. Well, as we've heard, Etruscan culture, religion, aspects of its political system, infrastructure, and even cities survived and expanded along with the Roman Republic and then the Empire. Traces of the Etruscan language can be found in Latin words or later Italian words of probable Etruscan origin. For example, Atrium, Histrio, Miles, Mundus, Populus, and Satellite. Much of what we know today about the Etruscan civilization comes from archaeology, especially in those rich tombs. Key sites include the large necropolises of Tarquinia and Cerveteri, which together comprise a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Artifacts from modern excavations are housed in prestigious institutions such as the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Guilla in Rome and numerous local museums, which are invaluable for discovering this fascinating civilization and are definitely worth a visit. But where can you find living, breathing Etruscans today? Well, if modern genetic studies are to be believed, within the genomes of a lot of Italian people. Genetic studies of modern Tuscan and other populations in the early 2000s found Anatolian and Middle Eastern genomic signatures in the Etruscan heartlands, supporting Herodotus's claims of a Lydian origin of these people, which we mentioned before. However, by 2021, the power of ancient DNA once again helped to rewrite history. A study of about 50 individuals living in Tuscany and in northern Latium between the 9th and 1st century BC also found DNA from Asia in the Etruscan genome. But it had entered the gene pool thousands of years earlier, at a time when much of Europe was receiving waves of immigration from Anatolia. In fact, it seems the Etruscans were not that different genetically from the contemporaneous neighboring Latins. Like most European populations, the Etruscans carry genomic signatures from Eniolithic peoples of the Pontic-Caspian steppe, which we've discussed in a number of episodes before. These folks from the steppe are considered by many to be the progenitors of the Indo-European peoples, a debate into which we waited some time back, so I'm not going to go there now. And yet, recall the Etruscans did not speak an Indo-European language, but instead theirs was a language isolate. So how was it that they were also descended from steppe people, but they didn't speak the same type of language that everyone else did? And that question will probably just remain one of those mysteries. Because remember, archaeology can't really tell us about a language that wasn't written down. And Etruscan wasn't really written down until they developed an alphabet with a heavy assist from the Greeks. However, the leading hypothesis is that the Etruscan language developed from whatever the Neolithic people who were in Italy were speaking prior to the arrival of the steppe folks who migrated there. Anyway, so that's the Etruscans, a civilization that no longer exists, but which you can actually see all around you. So the next time you pass beneath an arch on a straight city street or in a museum atrium, enjoy a fine Tuscan wine or admire some fascist symbolism, say a silent thank you to the Etruscans, not lost, but sometimes forgotten. Hey, if you like what you heard, give me that thumbs up below, hit that bell to subscribe, or if you want to support more independent archaeology content, consider contributing to my Patreon, where you can enjoy some exclusive members-only benefits and other goodies. Until the next dig!