The Etruscans, like the contemporary cultures of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...

and

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

had a persistent military tradition. In addition to marking the rank and power of certain individuals in Etruscan culture, warfare was a considerable economic boon to Etruscan civilization. Like many

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

societies, the Etruscans conducted campaigns during summer months; raiding neighboring areas, attempting to gain territory and combating piracy as a means of acquiring valuable resources such as land, prestige goods and slaves. It is also likely individuals taken in battle would be ransomed back to their families and clans at high cost. Prisoners could also potentially be sacrificed on tombs to honor fallen leaders of Etruscan society, not unlike the sacrifices made by

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

for

Patroclus In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's ''Iliad'', Patroclus (pronunciation variable but generally ; grc, Πάτροκλος, Pátroklos, glory of the father) was a childhood friend, close wartime companion, and the presumed (by some later a ...

Significant battles

The written record of the period of Etruscan is fragmentary but it is generally believed that the Etruscans vied with the early Romans for control of the central Italian peninsula for nearly two centuries (c. 700 B.C. – c. 500 B.C.) before becoming one of the first neighboring cultures to succumb to Roman expansion. In the

Battle of Cumae The Battle of Cumae is the name given to at least two battles between Cumae and the Etruscans: * In 524 BC an invading army of Umbrians, Daunians, Etruscans, and others were defeated by the Greeks of Cumae. * The naval battle in 474 BC was bet ...

(474 B.C.), the Etruscans and allies were defeated in the waters off Cumae by the combined navies of Cumae and Syracuse. This defeat successfully blocked the southern expansion of Etruscan influence and marked the beginning of territorial loss in southern Italy. In the

Roman–Etruscan Wars The Roman–Etruscan Wars were a series of wars fought between ancient Rome (in both the regal and the republican periods) and the Etruscans. Information about many of the wars is limited, particularly those in the early parts of Rome's history ...

, Roman authors wrote accounts of a drawn out siege on the city of Veii. According to the Roces, the army of Rome unsuccessfully laid siege to the Etruscan city of Veii for 9 years before they were able to tunnel beneath the walls of the city and bring about Veii's downfall. The veracity of the account is difficult to determine, because the accounts are told as part of the biography of

Marcus Furius Camillus Marcus Furius Camillus (; c. 446 – 365 BC) was a Roman soldier and statesman of the patrician class. According to Livy and Plutarch, Camillus triumphed four times, was five times dictator, and was honoured with the title of ''Second Founder ...

, a legendary figure in Roman history.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a 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 traditional founding in ...

and

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

wrote about Camillus long after his death.

Equipment

Etruscan warrior near Viterbe Italy circa 500 BCE

In addition to written sources, the archaeological record provides evidence for the Etruscan military and warfare.

Tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s of

wealth Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...

y Etruscans consistently contain either representative sculpture of

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...

ry and

armour Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or f ...

, or the items themselves. The varieties of

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

s, helms, armour and weaponry vary according to date and location, but can still be organized into broad stylistic categories. Several Etruscan shields have been recovered from Etruscan grave sites. The shields are traditionally decorated

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids suc ...

circular disks measuring around a yard across. Earlier Etruscan shields are flat and later examples have a slightly convex curve across the body of the shield. The later styles bear close resemblance to contemporary Greek models. There are several helmet designs found at Etruscan sites, the most distinctively Etruscan being the so-called “crested helm” variety. The crest is fashioned by joining two embossed plates (or ''

lamina Lamina may refer to: Science and technology * Planar lamina, a two-dimensional planar closed surface with mass and density, in mathematics * Laminar flow, (or streamline flow) occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption betwee ...

e'') into a high peak pointed crest. The high crest is frequently embossed with decoration. In addition to the Crested Helm a number of other varieties of helms have been found in Etruscan tombs. Often the design is a semi-spherical cap, with no decoration or with appliques. Another variation to the common semispherical cap is cheek guards attached by hinges. Both swords and spears are frequently found at Etruscan tomb sites. Few examples of Etruscan swords survive in good condition, often only fragments of heavily oxidized blades. What does survive are generally robust spear points and wide blades not unlike early Roman weaponry. The bronze armour of the Etruscans is similar in style to that of the Greeks. One example from Tarquinia was two solid pieces connected by hinges at the hips and on either side of the neck. The example was anatomical in design, meaning the bronze plates were fashioned to look like the chest and back of a robust man. Another example from the Narce Tombs, northwest of the city of Rome, was from an earlier date and decorated like the Crested Helm. The Narce Tomb breast plate evidently would have restricted the range of motion considerable more and has led to hypotheses that it was intended for a stationary commander. Anatomical greaves have also been found in Etruscan tombs. Some of what is known about the arms and armour of the Etruscans is not based on actual equipment but rather sculpted duplicates. "The Tomb of Reliefs" at Cerveteri is a rock-hewn tomb with relief and stucco relief work painted to look as if the dead would be provided with all necessary goods to live comfortably in the tomb. This tomb provides a great deal of beneficial insight to the several types of Etruscan material culture including weapons. Among the decorations were a number of life sized weapons, items of armour and shields.

References and further reading

* B. D'Agostino, 'Military Organisation and Social Structure in Archaic Etruria' in O. Murray & S. Price (eds), ''The Greek City: From Homer to Alexander'' (Oxford 1990), 58-82 * Peter Connolly, ''Greece and Rome at War'' (London, rev. ed. 2006), 91-100 * Ross Cowan, ''Roman Conquests: Italy'' (Barnsley 2009) * Ross Cowan,
The Art of the Etruscan Armourer
in

Jean MacIntosh Turfa 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.) ''The Etruscan World'' (London & New York 2013), 747-748 * Ross Cowan,
Etruscan and Gallic ''Pila''
, ''Ancient Warfare'' 12.6 (2019), 18-21 * David George, 'Technology, Ideology, Warfare and the Etruscans Before the Roman Conquest' in Jean MacIntosh Turfa (ed.) ''The Etruscan World'' (London & New York 2013), 738-746 * W.V. Harris, ''Rome in Etruria and Umbria'' (Oxford 1971) * L. Rawlings, 'Condottieri and Clansmen: Early Italian Raiding, Warfare and the State' in K. Hopwood (ed.), ''Organised Crime in Antiquity'' (Cardiff 1999), 97-127 * P. Stary, 'Foreign Elements in Etruscan Arms and Armour: 8th to 3rd Centuries BC', ''Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society'' 45 (1979), 179-206 * Jean MacIntosh Turfa, ''Catalogue of the Etruscan Gallery of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology'' (Philadelphia 2005) * Various authors, 'Warfare' in M. Torelli (ed.), ''The Etruscans'' (New York 2001), 558-565

Significant battles

Equipment

References and further reading

External links