Monte Soratte visto da Civita Castellana

Falisci ( grc, Φαλίσκοι, ''Phaliskoi'') is the ancient Roman

exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group, ...

for an Italic tribe who lived in what is now northern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, on the Etruscan side of the

Tiber River The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

. They spoke an Italic language, Faliscan, closely akin to

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

. Originally a sovereign state, politically and socially they supported the

Etruscans 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, rou ...

, joining the Etruscan League. This conviction and affiliation led to their ultimate near destruction and total subjugation by

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Only one instance of their own endonym has been found to date: an inscription from Falerii Novi from the late 2nd century AD refers to the ''falesce quei in Sardinia sunt'', "the Faliscans who are in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

", where ''falesce'' is the nominative plural case. An Etruscan inscription calls them the ''feluskeś''. The Latin cannot be far different from the original name. The -sc- suffix is "distinctive of the Italic ethnonyms".

Geography

The Falisci resided in a region called by the Romans the ''Ager Faliscus'', "Faliscan Country", located on the right bank of the

between and including Grotta Porciosa in the north and

Capena Capena (until 1933 called Leprignano) is a town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio region (central Italy). The town has borrowed its modern name from a pre-Roman and Roman settlement that was to its north. Geography Cape ...

in the south. To the west, the corners of the roughly square area were on the slopes of the

Monti Sabatini The Monti Sabatini is a geologic region in Lazio, central Italy, a remnant of intense volcanism which started ca. 600,000 years ago, mainly with pyroclastic and maar forming eruptions which continued until 100,000 years ago. The mou ...

in the south and the

Monti Cimini The Monti Cimini, in English: Cimini Hills, are a range of densely wooded volcanic hills approximately north-west of Rome. They are part of the Antiapennine range, facing the Apennines main range towards the Tyrrhenian Sea. They are situated ...

in the north. Pollen samples from

Lake Bracciano Lake Bracciano ( it, Lago di Bracciano) is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region (second only to Lake Bolsena) and one of the major lakes of Italy. It has a circu ...

, Lake Monterosi and

Lake Vico Lake Vico ( it, Lago di Vico) is a caldera lake in the northern Lazio region, central Italy. It is one of the highest major Italian lakes, with an altitude of 510 m. Administratively, it is part of the municipalities of Caprarola and Ronci ...

reveal that the montane forests, formed by oaks, were very dense until the 2nd century BC. The arable land was contained within an enclosure of volcanic highlands and the

. The northern border of the enclosure went along the ridge of the

, the southern along the ridge connecting the

and

Monte Soratte Monte Soratte (ancient: ''Soracte'') is a mountain ridge in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy. It is a narrow, isolated limestone ridge with a length of and six peaks. Located some south east of Civita Castellana and c. north of Ro ...

, the western along the highlands connecting the two large volcanic lakes. The inner slopes are drained by streams pointing at the Tiber, which collect into converging canyons and finally into the canyon of the Treja River, which empties into the Tiber. These streams required an extensive network of bridges. Most of the through traffic went along the

Via Tiburtina Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur) and then, with the via Valeria, on to Pescara (Latin, Aternum). Historical road It was probably built by the Roman censor Marcus Valerius Maxi ...

on the west bank of the river, which could only be crossed south of Capena or at Grotta Porciosa in the north. There the Via Flaminia, earlier the

Via Amerina The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the '' Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed thr ...

, led inland into the country of the Sabines via the valley of the Nar River. On the western side, the

Via Cassia The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed through ...

or its predecessor led to the coast over

Sutri Sutri (Latin ''Sutrium'') is an Ancient town, modern ''comune'' and former bishopric (now a Latin titular see) in the province of Viterbo, about from Rome and about south of Viterbo. It is picturesquely situated on a narrow tuff hill, surrounded ...

gap. The Falisci therefore prospered by being on a protected crossroad. Their most important centre was

Falerii Falerii (now Fabrica di Roma) was a city in southern Etruria, 50 km (31 mi) northeast of Rome, 34 km (21 mi) from Veii (a major Etruscan city-state near the River Tiber) and about 1.5 km (0.9 mi) west of the ancient Via Flaminia. It was the main c ...

, which became known as ''Falerii Veteres'' after the Romans moved them to a less defensible position, ''Falerii'' ''Novi''. Both locations are near the modern

Civita Castellana Civita Castellana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, north of Rome. Mount Soracte lies about to the south-east. History Civita Castellana was settled during the Iron Age by the Italic people of the Falisci, who called it "F ...

. They also had Fescennium. Archaeologists have discovered other major municipalities, unmentioned by the ancient sources, at

Corchiano Corchiano is a town and ''comune ''in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, central Italy. It was an ancient settlement of the Faliscans and, in the Renaissance and later, a fief of the Farnese family. The local produce is hazelnuts and wine. Annual ...

Vignanello Vignanello is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo in the Italian region Latium, located about northwest of Rome and about southeast of Viterbo. Vignanello borders the following municipalities: Corchiano, Fabrica di Roma, Ga ...

Gallese Gallese is an Italian ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Viterbo, from Viterbo. It was taken by Duke Thrasimund II of Spoleto in 737 or 738, at which time it was essential to communications between Rome and Ravenna and had a large ...

and Grotta Porciosa.

Culture

In spite of the

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 ...

domination, the Faliscans preserved many traces of their Italic origin, such as the worship of the deities Juno Quiritis, Feronia, the cult of the god Soranus by the Hirpi or fire-leaping priests on

Mount Soracte Monte Soratte (ancient: ''Soracte'') is a mountain ridge in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy. It is a narrow, isolated limestone ridge with a length of and six peaks. Located some south east of Civita Castellana and c. north of R ...

Servius Servius is the name of: * Servius (praenomen), the personal name * Maurus Servius Honoratus, a late fourth-century and early fifth-century grammarian * Servius Tullius, the Roman king * Servius Sulpicius Rufus, the 1st century BC Roman jurist See ...

, ''ad Aen.'' xi. 785, 787 above all their language.

History

The Falisci, often allied with the Etruscans, resisted

for a long time. They were allied with

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 ...

when it was defeated in 396 BC. In the aftermath, Falerii was occupied by the victorious Romans. When, in 358,

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 ...

rebelled, the Falisci again took arms against Rome, but were again crushed c. 351 BC. This time an alliance was signed between the contenders, and a Roman garrison was settled in Falerii. The Falisci took advantage of the First Punic War to declare their independence, but their revolt ended in 241 BC with the death of 15,000 Falisci and the destruction of Falerii; the survivors were moved to a less defensible city, ''Falerii Novi''.

Language

The Faliscan language, the

Italic language The Italic languages form a branch of the Indo-European language family, whose earliest known members were spoken on the Italian Peninsula in the first millennium BC. The most important of the ancient languages was Latin, the official languag ...

of the ancient Falisci, attested by the 7th century B.C. is an

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...

language. Together with

, it forms the Latino-Faliscan languages group of the Italic languages. It seems probable that the language persisted, being gradually permeated with Latin, until at least 150 BC.

Notes

Sources

* *{{EB1911 , wstitle=Falisci , volume=10 , page=148 , first=Robert Seymour , last=Conway , author-link=Robert Seymour Conway Ancient Italic peoples