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DA4. Etruscans and Romans

Statement

The Etruscans were predecessors of the Romans in the Italian Peninsula and the Romans borrowed many cultural aspects from them.

  • Do you think the Romans may have descended from the Etruscans? Justify.
  • Support your answer with relevant historical evidence.

Answer

Rome, a city founded in 753 BCE by Romulus and Remus, was the center of the great Roman civilization. The Etruscans, a civilization that occupied the northern part of Italy around the city of Tuscany. The two civilizations were neighbors despite the Etruscans’ civilization being older than the Roman one. The similarities between the two civilizations are evident, but there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the Romans descended from the Etruscans.

The legend of establishing Rome shared by Boundless History (2022) suggests that the city was founded by Romulus and Remus, who descended from the Trojans and Latin family; the story states that the city was established and then many tribes migrated to the city, of which they were Etruscans. So by this logic, the Romans did not descend from the Etruscans, despite many of Early Rome’s inhabitants being Etruscans.

Another evidence was suggested by Curry (2021) as the Greek historian Herodotus wrote around 500 BCE describing Etruscans as “they were migrants from Anatolia who brought with them a distinctive language and culture” (Curry, 2021). This suggests that the Etruscans were migrants from outside Italy, while the Romans were native to the Peninsula.

A third piece of evidence may be the war between the Romans and the Etruscans. The Etruscan city-states formed an alliance to fight outside threats; the fact that the Romans and Etruscans fought for about 150 years suggests that the two civilizations were different and if they were related, the fighting would have been less intense or even that Rome would enter such alliance (Daily History, n.d).

Also, Genetic and archeological studies suggest the separation of the two civilizations. Max Plack Institute (2021) suggests that the Etruscans shared genetic similarities with many Italic neighbors, including the Romans, but the study also states that the Genetic shifts through marriage and other factors make it difficult to give an absolute answer.

To conclude, the Romans and Etruscans were neighbors and shared many cultural aspects, but there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the Romans descended from the Etruscans. The influence of the Etruscans on the religion, language, warfare, and architecture of Rome is clear; and whether the Romans descended from the Etruscans or not, the Romans loved and adopted the Etruscan culture.

References

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