![Etruscan civilization map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/Etruscan_civilization_map.png)
Etruscan cities were a group of ancient settlements that shared a common
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy
*Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization
**Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
** Etrusca ...
language and culture, even though they were independent city-states. They flourished over a large part of the northern half of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
starting from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
, and in some cases reached a substantial level of wealth and power. They were eventually assimilated first by
Italics in the south, then by
Celts
The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancien ...
in the north and finally in
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...
itself by the growing
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
.
The Etruscan names of the major cities whose names were later Romanised survived in inscriptions and are listed below. Some cities were founded by Etruscans in prehistoric times and bore entirely Etruscan names. Others, usually Italic in origin, were colonised by the Etruscans, who in turn Etruscanised their name.
The estimates for the populations of the largest cities (
Veii
Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
,
Volsinii
Volsinii or Vulsinii ( Etruscan: Velzna or Velusna; Greek: Ouolsinioi, ; ), is the name of two ancient cities of Etruria, one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis (modern Lago di Bolsena), and the other on the Via Clodia, between Clusium ...
,
Caere
:
Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, to ...
,
Vulci
Vulci or Volci (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Velch'' or ''Velx'', depending on the romanization used) was a rich Etruscan civilization, Etruscan city in what is now northern Lazio, central Italy.
As George Dennis (explorer), George Dennis wrot ...
,
Tarquinia
Tarquinia (), formerly Corneto, is an old city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Central Italy, known chiefly for its ancient Etruscan tombs in the widespread necropoleis, or cemeteries, for which it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status. ...
,
Populonia
Populonia or Populonia Alta (Etruscan: ''Pupluna'', ''Pufluna'' or ''Fufluna'', all pronounced ''Fufluna''; Latin: ''Populonium'', ''Populonia'', or ''Populonii'') today is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Piombino (Tuscany, central Italy). As o ...
) range between 25,000 and 40,000 each in the 6th century BC.
Twelve cities or nations
Of several
Etruscan leagues, the Dodecapolis (or "twelve cities") of the
Etruscan civilization
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roughl ...
is legendary amongst Roman authors particularly
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
. However the dodecapolis had no fixed roster and if a city was removed it was immediately replaced by another.
By the time the dodecapolis had sprung into the light of history, the Etruscan cities to the north had been assimilated by invasions of the Celts, and those of the south by infiltration of the Italics.
Etruscan cities were autonomous states, but they were linked in the dodecapolis and had a federal sanctuary at the Fanum Voltumnae near Volsinii.
Table of cities in Etruscan, Latin and Italian
The table below lists Etruscan cities most often included in the Dodecapolis as well as other cities for which there is any substantial evidence that they were once inhabited by Etruscans in any capacity. Roman and Italian names are given, but they are not necessarily etymologically related. For sources and etymologies (if any) refer to the linked articles.
[The Bonfantes (2002) pages 222-223 have published a good overall list.]
References
Sources
*
* Available in the Gazetteer of Bill Thayer's Website a
Further reading
*Dennis, George. 1883. ''The cities and cemeteries of Etruria.'' 2nd ed. London: John Murray.
*De Puma, Richard D., and J. Penny Small, eds. 1994. ''Murlo and the Etruscans: Art and society in ancient Etruria.'' Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
*Drago Troccoli, Luciana. 2006. ''Cerveteri.'' Rome: Libreria dello Stato.
*Hall, John F., ed. 1996. ''Etruscan Italy: Etruscan influences on the civilizations of Italy from antiquity to the modern era.'' Provo, UT: Museum of Art, Brigham Young University.
*Haynes, Sybille. 2000. ''Etruscan civilization: A cultural history.'' Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum.
*Leighton, Robert. 2004. ''Tarquinia: An Etruscan city.'' London: Duckworth.
*Phillips, Kyle M., Jr. 1993. ''In the hills of Tuscany: Recent excavations at the Etruscan site of Poggio Civitate (Murlo, Siena).'' Philadelphia: University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.
*Riccioni, Giuliana. 1979. "Vulci: A topographical and cultural survey." In ''Italy before the Romans: The Iron Age, Orientalizing, and Etruscan periods.'' Edited by David Ridgway and Francesca R. Ridgway, 241–76. London and New York: Academic Press.
*
Turfa, Jean MacIntosh
Jean MacIntosh Turfa (born 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American archaeologist and authority on the Etruscan civilization.
Jean MacIntosh graduated from Abington High School in Philadelphia and then earned her bachelor's degree at Gw ...
, ed. 2013. ''The Etruscan World.'' Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
External links
Names of the member-cities of the Etruscan Leagues (c. 750–270 BC) in Etruscan and Italian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etruscan Cities