Etruria

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is about the ancient Italian country. Etruria, Staffordshire is also a place in England.

Etruria — usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia — was an ancient country in Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium and Umbria. It was one of the most important city/states on the Italian peninsula before falling to the Roman Republic in the 3rd century BC.

Etruria became dominant in the Italian peninsula after 650 BCE. Their expansion included the Po River Valley and Latium and continued south until they came in contact with the Greek colonies in Southern Italy.

Etruscan kings most notably conquered and ruled Rome for 100 years until 509 BCE when the last Etruscan king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was removed from power and the Roman Republic was established. The Etruscans are credited with changing Rome from a farming village into a large city. They are also responsible for building the first road on the main street of Rome, the Via Sacra, and also temples, housing, markets, etc.

The Etruscan civilization (q.v.) was responsible for much of the Greek culture imported into republican Rome, including the twelve Olympian gods, and the growing of olives and grapes; and the Latin alphabet (adapted from the Greek alphabet).

The classical name Etruria was revived in the early 19th century, applied to the Kingdom of Etruria, an ephemeral creation of Napoleon I of France in Tuscany which existed from 1801 to 1807.

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