The Etruscans are probably the most well known ancient tribe of the Italian Peninsula. They inhabited most of current day Tuscany and were a power long before Rome.
It was originally believed that they were from Lydia on the Eastern coast of Turkey, however modern DNA testing now points to them being and indigenous people of Italy. It is also thought that they advanced quicker than other tribes due to the mining of copper and iron in their region.
They were a dominate culture from the 8th century BC to around the 2nd century BC and founded city states in the north of Italy. Their influence extended south beyond Rome, in fact Rome is an Etruscan word. At one point they even controlled Corsica.
In the 5th and 6th Centuries their power started to decline as the Greeks began to influence the southern part of the peninsula, and the gallic tribes began to attack some of the cities in the north. Eventually, by the 3rd Century BC they were absorbed by Rome. Their alphabet is Greek in origin and was eventually passed on to the Romans.
Their government was similar to the Greeks and their initial homeland was twelve city-states. The had many gods, such as Tinia – sky, Uni – his wife, Cel – the earth, but later they began to worship some of the Greek gods. They believed in human sacrifice and as part of this belief they would have POW’s fight each other, the precursor to Roman gladiators.
As most ancient cultures, they had a strong military and they would mount summer campaigns in the attempt to gain control of other regions.
Art was a big part of their culture and strongly connected to religion. Their instruments were pan pipes, percussion and a lyre like stringed instrument. Their architecture was Greek in origin and later influenced Roman architecture.
Prior to the Etruscans, Rome was most likely small farming settlements and quite possibly ruled by the Etruscans. The Romans did absorb Etruscan culture and military training.
Timemaps
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