Abstract
Etruscan history is scant and accounts of their own history essentially nonexistent, resulting in their origins being fiercely debated amongst scholars. Etruscologists’ primary arguments are whether Etruscan culture developed primarily in Italy or Asia Minor. Although historical accounts from Herodotus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus and archaeological evidence primarily from mitochondrial DNA studies have been to used try to establish their origins, nothing definite has been ascertained. Etruria’s fall to the Romans is one of the few definitive facts known about Etruscan history. The means by which they fell, however, are another debate amongst scholars. While the Roman conquest of Etruria is often depicted as a straightforward military annex, it was actually done by means of diplomacy, establishment of colonies, military strategy, and the thorough implementation of Roman administration. Rome was able to siege and sack the Etruscan city of Veii with minimal assistance from other Etruscan city-states, taking advantage of the ire of other Etruscan cities felt towards Veii because of Veii’s appointment of a king. Veii’s fall to Rome served as a powder keg in its domination of Italy, as the fall of a chief economic rival gave Rome considerably more room to expand its economy and military. Rome’s use of colonies was a large factor in facilitating its expansion, as they allowed for Rome to establish key defensive positions and enabled them to cut off their enemies both militarily and economically. Colonies like Cosa were important following Rome’s conquest of Etruria, as they allowed Rome to strengthen its influence in conquered regions and weaken the conquered cities by cutting off key economic routes (i.e. Cosa cutting off Vulci’s control of the Maremma coastline). Archaeological excavations of cities like Veii, Vulci, and Volsinii are all vital to understanding how Rome dealt with conquered Etruscan cities, with Veii showing how Rome would sometimes utterly a destroy a rival city from memory and the earth, Vulci conversely how Rome would implement a city into its system thoroughly, and Volsinii a strange combination of the two. More archaeological excavations tasked with discovering the transition between Etruscan and Roman periods of occupation will need to be conducted to determine to full extent of how Rome dealt with conquered Etruscan cities.