View source for Etruscan civilization

{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Etruscan civilization
| image_map              = Etruscan civilization map.png
| status                 = [[City-state|City-states]]
| life_span              = 900 BC–27 BC
| s1                     = Roman Kingdom{{!}}'''753 BC:'''<br /> Roman Kingdom
| s2                     = Roman Empire{{!}}'''27 BC:'''<br /> Roman Empire
}}
[[File:Etruscan civilization map.png|thumb|right|300px|Map showing the Etruscan civilization]]
[[File:Perugia, Museo archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria, cippo di Perugia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Cippus Perusinus. 3rd-2nd century BC, the tablet has 46 lines of Etruscan text]]
[[File:Etruscan votive heads IV-II century BC.jpg|thumb|right|Etruscan votive heads IV-II century BC found in various sanctuaries of Etruria]]
[[File:Etruscan riders BM 3-2.jpg|thumb|248px|Etruscan riders, silver panel 540/520BC, from Castel San Marino, near [[Perugia]]]]

The '''Etruscan civilization'''  lasted from about 900 [[BC]] to 27 BC and was a [[culture]] in [[wikt:ancient|ancient]] [[Italy]]. The [[Ancient Rome|Roman]]s called the people ''Etrusci'' or ''Tusci''. The [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greeks]] called them ''Tyrrhenoi'' or ''Tyrrsenoi''. The Etruscans called themselves ''Rasenna''.

The Etruscan civilization began in [[pre-history]]. They lived in an area which included modern [[Tuscany]], but was larger. At their height, they had three confederacies (like modern [[state]]s): Etruria, Latinum and the Po Valley, and [[Campania]]. The Etruscans ruled [[Rome]] until 396 BC.

== Language ==
Not much is known about the [[Etruscan language]]. Not much of its [[writing]] survives. Most what survives is from engravings on [[tombstone]]s. The Etruscans used an [[alphabet]] similar to those in [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenicia]] and [[Greek alphabet|Greece]].<ref>Rix, Helmut 2008. Etruscan, in ''The ancient languages of Europe'', Roger D. Woodard (ed) Cambridge University Press, pp. 141-164.</ref>

The language is related to the Tyrrhenian [[language family]] and is not clearly related to other languages. Some Etruscan letters were used by the Romans in the [[Latin alphabet]], which many languages use. Some Romans, such as the emperor [[Claudius]], could read and speak Etruscan. 

The lack of texts makes knowledge of their society and culture depend on much later Roman sources. Politics was based on the small city and probably the family unit. In their heyday, the Etruscan elite became rich by trade with the [[Celt|Celtic]] world to the north and the Greeks to the south, and filled their large family tombs with imported luxuries. Ancient Greece had a huge influence on their art and architecture, and [[Greek mythology]] was evidently very familiar to them.

Etruscan does not survive in any great literary works, unlike [[Greek language|Greek]] and Latin. An Etruscan religious literature existed, and evidence suggests that there was a body of historical literature and drama as well. For example, the name of a playwright, Volnius, is known. He wrote the "Tuscan tragedies". Although there is no evidence of notation, it is possible that Etruscan music had a written form.

== History ==
The Etruscans [[Mining|mined]] metals like [[copper]] and [[iron]]. They became rich and powerful and travelled around the [[Mediterranean Sea]]. The Etruscans began to lose power in the 5th century BC. The [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] began conquering parts of Etruscan land. By the beginning of the 1st century BC, the Etruscans had been entirely defeated.

== Art ==
Etruscan art included wall paintings, metalwork and [[sculpture]] in [[terracotta]]. Sculpture in [[casting|cast]] [[bronze]] was famous and widely [[export]]ed, but few large examples have survived because bronze was valuable and so was often recycled.<ref>Spivey, Nigel 1997. ''Etruscan Art''. London: Thames and Hudson.</ref>

[[File:Etruscan pendant with swastika symbols Bolsena Italy 700 BCE to 650 BCE.jpg|thumb|left|248px|[[Etruscan art|Etruscan]] pendant with [[swastika]] symbols from [[Bolsena]], [[Italy]], 700-650 BC. [[Louvre]].]]

== Etruscan religion ==
'''Etruscan religion''' was a set of stories, beliefs, and [[religious]] practices. These came from the preceding [[Iron Age]] [[Villanovan culture]]. They were heavily influenced by the mythology of [[ancient Greece]] and [[Phoenicia]]. They had similarities to [[Roman mythology]] and religion. As the Etruscan civilization was assimilated into the [[Roman Republic]] in the 4th century BC, the Etruscan [[religion]] and [[mythology]] were partially absorbed. There was a Roman tendency to absorb local gods and customs of conquered lands.
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== References ==
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[[Category:Etruscan civilization| ]]
[[Category:History of Italy]]