What did Etruscans contributed to Rome?

Answer 1

The Romans took many of the cultural traits from the Etruscans such as: art, architecture, fighting methods, religious ceremonies, architecture (such as underground water canal systems), Etruscan funeral games (which later became Roman gladiator fights) and more. Many aspects of the Etruscan culture were also borrowed from the Greeks, so, the Romans really took a lot of Greek culture from the Etruscans.

Answer 2

Etruscans influenced the Roman writing system, social and political structure and traditions and rituals. They also had an great impact on early urbanization in Rome as well as buildings and infrastructure. The last 3 kings of the Roman Kingdom are said to be of Etruscan descent.

Answer 3

The Romans gave the Etruscans the demise of their civilisation even though they never conquered Etruria. Etruria was not a united state. It was a collection of city states. The city of Veii near Rome, across the river Tiber, had two hundred years of armed conflicts with Rome at the end of which she was conquered and destroyed. The city of Volsinii, which was not far from Rome, was also conquered and, later, destroyed. Two Etruscan cities on the coast fought against Rome and lost. Rome did not conquer them, but seized some of their territories, which weakened them. Four or five Etruscan cities on the mountains fought against Rome and lost. Again, Rome did not conquer them.

Rome’s victories against Etruscan cities strengthened her power in Italy and weakened the military strength of the Etruscan cities. However, what weakened the Etruscan civilisation the most was the loss of the economic significance of Etruria. Originally they were a great trading nation and their prosperity was based on their trading fleet. The decline of the Etruscans was not exclusively down to the Romans. One factor that contributed to their decline, even before Rome expanded into Italy, was that the Greek cities of southern Italy took over the control of the sea on the west coast of Italy. The Etruscans lost most of their sea borne trade which was centred on this sea. The defeat of the Etruscan navy by the fleet of the Greek city of Syracuse (in Sicily) off the shores of Naples in 474 BC is seen as the beginning of Etruscan decline. A second stage was Rome’s victories against the Etruscan cities and their military weakening. The final nail in the coffin was that Rome then became the centre of trade in Italy and Etruria became an economic backwater. Etruscan civilisation and even the Etruscan language eventually disappeared and the Etruscans became latinised.

Answer 4

It is not really known because Etruscan influence occurred very early in Roman history and there are very little archaeological remains from that period. Very little has survived due to both the early age and because ancient Rome was continuously being redeveloped in her 1,200 years of history.

It is thought that the Etruscans developed the barrel arch, the simplest type of arch. The Romans then developed the vaulted arch which is more complex. It is likely that some of the archaic (early) Roman temples might have been built in the Tuscan (Etruscan) architectural order. However, if so, they did not survive and this order was soon abandoned in favour of the Greek architectural orders because it was seen as too simple and rustic. The Etruscans influenced Roman Religion to some degree.

The theory that the Etruscans conquered Rome in the 6th century BC, were responsible for Rome's earliest urbanisation and built the Cloaca Maxima (a sewer) and the large temple of Jupiter Otpimus Maximus on the Capitoline hill is just that, a theory. Its evidence base if flimsy and it is based on unproven assumptions. It has been challenged. Recent archaeological evidence in Latium (land of the Latins) suggests a different picture.

According to the Roman tradition, the 5th king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, a half Etruscan and half Greek introduced the following Etruscan customs:

• The celebration of triumphs in Etruscan style

• The golden chariot of the king

• The fasces, a bundle of wooden sticks with an axe sticking out in the middle. This was used by the lictors, the guards of the consuls and the praetor. They were also a symbol of the power and authority of the consuls and the praetor.

• The clothes worn by people in positions of authority. The trabea, the robe worn by the king and then the consuls and priests during public ceremonies. The toga praetexta, the robe worn by higher officers of state and the curule chair they sat on as a symbol of their authority. The paludamnetum, a cloak worn by generals and their higher officers when commanding an army (but not during peace).

• The falera, round ornamental metal disks for helmets, armour and harness of horses.

Answer 5

It is difficult to ascertain the actual extent of Etruscan influence on Rome. The fashionable theory that the Etruscans conquered or dominated Rome, or that the urban development of Rome in the 6th century BC was due to the Etruscans has been challenged. The evidence base of this theory is flimsy and it is based on unproven assumptions. Recent archaeological evidence suggests a different picture. Moreover, the Etruscan civilisation disappeared quite early and very little Etruscan writing, which has not been fully deciphered, has survived. There are minimal archaeological finds in the city of Rome because the Etruscans had an influence in the archaic (early) days of Rome and ancient Rome was continually redeveloped over the many centuries of its history. The Etruscans were one of the various peoples who had some influence on Roman religion. Early Roman architecture might have been influenced by the Etruscans as well as the Greeks. However, if this was the case, the Etruscan order (style) was soon abandoned. The Roman preferred the Greek orders because the Etruscan one was unadorned and rustic.

According to the Roman tradition, the 5th king of Rome, who was half Etruscan and half Greek, introduced the following Etruscan customs:

• The celebration of triumphs in Etruscan style

• The golden chariot of the king

• The fasces, a bundle of wooden sticks with an axe sticking out in the middle. This was used by the lictors, the guards of the consuls and the praetor. They were also a symbol of the power and authority of the consuls and the praetors.

Answer 6

It is not clear because of a lack of written and archaeological evidence. According to Florus, Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, celebrated his triumphs in the Etruscan fashion, riding a golden chariot drawn by four horses, while wearing a gold-embroidered toga and the tunica palmata, a tunic upon which palm-leaves were embroidered. He also introduced other Etruscan insignia of civilian authority and military distinction: the sceptre of the king; the trabea, a purple garment that varied in form, but was perhaps most often used as a mantle; the fasces carried by the lictors; the curule chair; the toga praetexta, later worn by various magistrates and officials; the rings worn by senators; the paludamentum, a cloak associated with military command; and the phalera, a disc of metal worn on a soldier's breastplate during parades, or displayed on the standards of various military units.[Strabo reports that he introduced Etruscan sacrificial and divinitory rites, as well as the tuba, a straight horn used chiefly for military purposes

Answer 7

According to Florus, Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, started the celebration of triumphs in the Etruscan fashion, with a golden chariot drawn by four horses. He also introduced other Etruscan insignia of civilian authority and military distinction: the sceptre of the king; the trabea, a purple garment that varied in form, but was perhaps most often used as a mantle; the fasces carried by the lictors; the curule chair; the toga praetexta, later worn by various magistrates and officials; the rings worn by senators; the paludamentum, a cloak associated with military command; and the phalera, a disc of metal worn on a soldier's breastplate during parades, or displayed on the standards of various military units. Strabo said that Tarquin introduced Etruscan sacrificial and divinatory rites, as well as the tuba, a straight horn used chiefly for military purposes. The Romans also thought that some of their deities were Etruscan in origin.

Answer 8

The Roman's borrowed Arches and Cuniculus.