Storia degli antichi popoli italiani - Vol

Lucumo, in Etruscan lauchme or lauchume, was a title of Etruscan rulers, equivalent to the

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 ...

''rex'', or "king". In

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

sources, it is frequently mistaken for a personal name, particularly in the case of

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military con ...

, the fifth

King of Rome The king of Rome ( la, rex Romae) was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 ...

, a native of

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscans. T ...

who is said to have adopted a Roman name in place of his original name, ''Lucumo''. Heurgon compares this to the Etruscan use of the Roman ''

magister Magister is Latin for "master" or "teacher". It may refer to: Positions and titles * Magister degree, an academic degree * Magister equitum, or Master of the Horse * Magister militum, a master of the soldiers * Magister officiorum (''master of o ...

'', "magistrate", as a personal name in the case of

Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, R ...

, the sixth Roman king, known in Etruscan as the hero "Macstarna". Although much of what is known of the Etruscans from Roman literature refers to their kings, the various Etruscan city-states seem to have abolished their monarchies around the same period as the establishment of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

. The ''lucumones'' were replaced by magistrates bearing the title of ''zilath'', evidently the Etruscan equivalent of ''magister''. In later times, ''Lauchme'' survived as an Etruscan surname. The title of ''lucumo'' may have been bestowed on the priestly official elected to represent the twelve cities of the "

Etruscan dodecapolis Etruscan cities were a group of ancient settlements that shared a common Etruscan language and culture, even though they were independent city-states. They flourished over a large part of the northern half of Italy starting from the Iron Age, and ...

". With the passage of time, this official was also replaced by an annually-elected magistrate.Haegen & Strasser, "The Mysterious People of Etruria", p. 313.

References

Bibliography

Dionysius of Halicarnassus Dionysius of Halicarnassus ( grc, Διονύσιος Ἀλεξάνδρου Ἁλικαρνασσεύς, ; – after 7 BC) was a Greek historian and teacher of rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Emperor Augustus. His literary style ...

, ''Romaike Archaiologia'' (Roman Antiquities). * Titus Livius (

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 ...

), ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

''. *

Jacques Heurgon Jacques Heurgon (25 January 1903 – 27 October 1995) was a French university, normalian, Etruscan scholar and Latinist, professor of Latin language and literature at the Sorbonne. Married to Anne Heurgon-Desjardins, founder in 1952, of the Cen ...

, ''La Vie quotidienne chez lez Etrusques'' (Daily Life of the Etruscans), Hachette, Paris (1961, 1989), James Kirkup, translator, Phoenix Press, London (2002). * Anne Mueller von der Haegen and Ruth F. Strasser, "The Mysterious People of Etruria", in ''Art & Architecture: Tuscany'', H.F. Ullmann, Potsdam, (2013). {{Authority control Etruscans