Merchants Of Air
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Albums
    • Concerts
  • Interviews

The Etruscan civilization

31/8/2017

Comments

 
by Wagner Hertzog 
The first great civilization to emerge in the history of Italy, the Etruscans were a people of obscure and mysterious origin, which formed in the beginning of the 7th century BC a large confederation of autonomous cities that allowed them to conquer a great hegemony in the north and center of the Italian peninsula. 
Picture
Being "Etruscan" an exonym of Roman origin, the Etruscans called themselves by the endonym "Rasenna"; one hypothesis that seeks to explain their origins affirms that the Etruscan civilization developed from the autochthonous Villanovan culture. The beginnings of Rome, as well as its development as a primitive city-state, are possibly due to the expansion of Etruria when, in reaction to their territorial control, several tribes of Latins and Sabines probably united, forming a sort of coalition, to defend themselves against the periodic invasions of the Etruscan peoples. Several wars of Rome against Etruscan city-states like Fidenae and Veii are very well documented. 

Nevertheless, Etruscan society and culture played a major role in the early formation of Rome. As a city-state in its formative years, Rome developed gradually from a confederated alliance of Latins, Sabines and Etruscans. Inevitably, various elements of Etruscan culture and civilization were assimilated and disseminated by the Romans, who, especially during the republican period, recognized and prided themselves on the peoples who were responsible for their origins. 
Picture
Many historians today claim that the Roman civilization only became a powerful and emerging city-state because its rise coincided with the decline of the Etruscan civilization, undoubtedly a favorite subject among contemporary archaeologists and historians. Their language also continues to be a source of fascination, mystery and curiosity, which rekindles the uniqueness of their origins; they spoke an archaic isolated language, which by convention has been called Etruscan. Study, discussion and research between so called “etruscologists” show clearly that, unlike the neighboring peoples, the Etruscans did not spoke an Indo-European language. With an almost enigmatic writing system, their language remains mostly obscure, and was never entirely deciphered.  

Although their hegemony in the area was quite short – it lasted less than four centuries – history shows that they were of major importance to a certain degree in shaping roman’s culture, as well as war tactics. They engaged in trade and commerce with other civilizations – like the Greeks and Celts –, and usually could have warm, almost peaceful relations with them. Nevertheless, they engaged in warfare, and one of the main reasons that seeks to explain the formation of Rome was the fact that probably the Latin tribes that lived disperse in the seven hills of Rome had united to protect themselves from the periodic incursions of Etruscans into their territory, thus slowly giving rise to what early Rome came to be: an emerging, strong, independent city-state, destined to expand even further, and to become one of the most powerful, impressive and distinguished empires in human history.  
Picture
Unfortunately, several aspects of the Etruscan civilization are obscure. Since only a handful of texts directly written by them survive, what is mostly known forcibly comes from roman texts, with a lot of sources whose historical accuracy are not exactly reliable. The essence of what is known about the Etruscan civilization comes from archaeological evidence, as well as studies and research done in situ. With scarcity of historic legitimate sources from their own time, the substantial essence of the Etruscan civilization, unfortunately, is doomed to remain a mystery. 





​
Wagner

Comments
    Picture
    Serge's new episodic thriller 'I Do Not Want This' is now available.

    Archives

    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Writers

    All
    10 Songs For Whatever
    2016
    Analogue Atmospheres
    Antwerp Metal Fest
    Belgium
    Best Of
    Biography
    Björn
    Black Metal
    Cecilia's World
    Chauvinistic Chill-Out
    Comedy
    Creative Generalism
    Dance
    Doom
    Downtempo Delights
    Drama
    Dubstep
    Dunk Delights
    Dunk Festival
    EBM
    Edm
    Eline
    Elvae
    Fuel The Revolution
    Full Moon Jazz
    Games
    Gardening
    History
    Horror
    Inspired By Keys
    K3
    Lists
    Literature
    Lovecraft
    Metal
    Michiel
    Monsters
    Movies
    Music
    Music From The Cosmos
    Of Former Times
    Patsker
    Paul
    Poetry
    Politics
    Polls
    Preview
    Religion
    Rerooting
    Rik's Rassling Ramblings
    Rik Stalknecht
    Romance
    Scene Report
    Science
    Serge
    Serial Killers
    Space
    Strange
    Summer Chill
    Sunday Evening Sessions
    Synthpop
    Thorsten
    Thriller
    Valentines Day
    Wagner
    World Cup
    Wrestling
    Writing

Find us on

facebook
google+
twitter
tumblr
​
minds

About Us

Contact
FAQ
Logos and banners
© COPYRIGHT 2015. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.