The Etruscan civilization (/ᵻˈtrʌskən/) is the modern name
given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to
Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio. The ancient Romans called its creators
the Tusci or Etrusci. Their Roman name is the origin of the terms Tuscany,
which refers to their heartland, and Etruria, which can refer to their wider
region.
In Attic Greek, the Etruscans were known as Tyrrhenians (Τυρρηνοὶ,
Tyrrhēnoi), earlier Tyrsenoi, from which the Romans derived the names Tyrrhēni,
Tyrrhēnia (Etruria), and Mare Tyrrhēnum (Tyrrhenian Sea),prompting some to
associate them with the Teresh (Sea Peoples). The word may also be related to
the Hittite Taruisa (gr. Tursha).The Etruscans called themselves Rasenna, which
was syncopated to Rasna or Raśna.
As distinguished by its unique language, this civilization
endured from before the time of the earliest Etruscan inscriptions (c. 700
BC) until its assimilation into the Roman Republic in the late 4th century
BC.
At its maximum extent, during the foundational period of
Rome and the Roman Kingdom, Etruscan civilization flourished in three
confederacies of cities: of Etruria, of the Po Valley with the eastern Alps,
and of Latium and Campania.
Culture that is identifiably Etruscan developed in Italy
after about 800 BC approximately over the range of the preceding Iron Age
Villanovan culture. The latter gave way in the 7th century to a culture that
was influenced by ancient Greece, Magna Graecia, and Phoenicia.
After 500 BC, the political destiny of Italy passed out of
Etruscan hands.
The latest mitochondrial DNA study (2013) shows that
Etruscans appear to fall very close to a Neolithic population from Central
Europe and to other Tuscan populations.
Credits: Wikipedia
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| Extent of Etruscan civilization and the twelve Etruscan League cities. |
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