Before the mighty army of Rome was born, developed and finally conquered the civilized world, an advanced civilization flourished in the neighbourhood of the inhabitants of the city on the Tiber, created by a mysterious people - the Etruscans. It is not clear where they came from, but for hundreds - from the eighth to the third century BC - years, they were the masters of northern and central Italy. They did not form a single political entity but were divided into city-states that supported each other when necessary, but, also, fought against each other. The lack of political unity made it very easy for their enemies to conquer the rich community. Before this happened, however, the Etruscans' clients at the time included the fledgling city of Rome, which brought destruction of their civilization in time.
Strict in their opinions and customs, their neighbours gave them the name of a people who enjoyed life and who were sybarites, with promiscuous manners and unmanly qualities. This opinion, take into account numerous wars that the Etruscans fought, is perhaps not entirely true. What it was really like cannot be said for certain. Ultimately, their civilization collapsed under the onslaught of the Roman army, and the victorious Romans wrote the history of the defeated. The reason for the military decline of the Etruscan states is not to be found solely in real or alleged effeminacy and military weakness, as the ancients would have liked. The Etruscans fought many battles - clashing with Celts, Greeks and the previously mentioned Romans, among others.
It is difficult to determine what their military strength actually was like. Archaeological excavations show that Etruscan warriors were armed with bronze armour, fought with swords and spears and protected by shields, while their cities were defended by walls.
Composition of the army
The fighting force of the Etruscan army were, as most of its neighbours, free men, in peacetime, mainly farmers. For times of war they formed themselves into an army. Perhaps the individual units were composed of relatives. The warriors also armed themselves at their own expense. In peacetime, these semi-professional soldiers returned to their occupations. From the fifth century onwards, professional warriors and mercenaries also appeared in the ranks of the Etruscan army.
The semi-professional nature of the army was the result of primarily political, economic and military objectives of the Etruscans. Warfare was mainly confined to their neighbourhood - defending the local territory or securing important trade routes. Some actions were offensive in nature. Like many ancient societies, the Etruscans then conducted campaigns during the summer months - invading neighbouring areas with the intention of gaining new lands. They also practised piracy as a means of acquiring valuable resources, such as material goods or slaves.
Weaponry
The warrior was protected by bronze armour, which took the form of breastplates and greaves to protect the lower part of the legs. Complementing the protection was a helmet and a round shield, similar to that of the Greek hoplite. It is likely that hardened leather was also widely used as a protective waistcoat - a lighter but also effective form of protection. The main offensive weapons were bronze spears and double-edged swords.
Helmets used by the Greeks (e.g. the Corinthian type, which offers good head protection but at the expense of visibility) can be found in warrior graves. However, it is uncertain whether this was a common way of protecting the head or rather a symbolic piece of equipment with which a rich warrior was buried. The same is true of the use of horses during wars. Tombs abound with bronze horse’s bits (bridle and reins), and quite a few two-wheeled chariots have been found among the dead. Whether they were used in war, or whether they were merely a symbol of wealth, or whether they were only intended to help the deceased pass on to the next life, is a matter of dispute.
Warfare
For the first centuries of civilization, the Etruscans fought in phalanx formation - suggesting a strong Greek influence in the military field. This tactic may have worked well during battles between cities. From the fifth century onwards, fighting took a more dynamic form. Shields became smaller, as did helmets.
Cities
Many Etruscan cities were surrounded by walls with solid gates protected by towers. The walls did not always completely surround the city, but were intended to protect it from assaults at its weakest points. They were made of mud bricks set on stone plinths or entirely of tufa blocks, most dating from the fifth century. The unwalled sections were usually protected by natural precipices or artificial terraces and ditches. Such fortifications were intended to provide the community - both urban and rural - with temporary shelter in case of attack. However, the fact that the walls could withstand a prolonged attack is evidenced by the 10-year Roman siege of Etruscan Veja lasting from 406 to 396 BC, by the Romans.
Enemies
Nevertheless, the Etruscan armies, although chiefly composed of reliable soldiers, proved ineffective against the more professional and tactically dynamic Roman army, which, in addition, was able to draw on greater resources of both men and equipment. Another disadvantage of the Etruscan city-states was that they did not always support each other in the face of a common Roman threat. This did not mean that their diplomacy could not be effective. The Etruscans, also in conflict with Greek colonies, became allies of Carthage in their fight against their common rival for influence in the southern areas of the Italian Peninsula. The influence of the Etruscans was limited to Italy, and their trade with Corsica, Sardinia and Iberia (Spain) did not impede the economic activities of the Carthaginians. The Punic-Etruscan treaty of the 6th century reserved for Carthage a trade monopoly in southern Iberia (Spain) so that in future it could build up a powerful land army from the human and material resources there, which the Carthaginians had mastered. Thus, a naval conflict between the Greeks and the Etruscan-Punic allies took place in the 630s; the Greeks lost Corsica to the Etruscans and Sardinia to Carthage. The loss of the islands by the Greeks ended their westward expansion forever, but this did not end the conflict. In the following century, the Etruscans and Carthaginians continued their struggle against the Greek colonies, which came together under the banner of the powerful city of Syracuse. The Greeks launched a series of attacks in the first half of the fourth century. By this time, the Etruscans were usually fighting alone, which contributed to their defeats - the Etruscan coastal areas were plundered and their lucrative trade routes were taken over by others. Etruria, or rather the northern parts of Italy that the Etruscans had colonized, was also attacked from the north by the migrating Celts, who had been pushing south since the early fifth century. The conflict, between the Etruscans and the Celts, ended with the defeat of the former at the Battle of Melpum (Milan) in 396 BC. After six centuries, Etruscan control of central Italy was thus suddenly seriously threatened from two directions.
Moreover, the Etruscan cities had long been in competition with each other, which often took the form of armed clashes. Defeated cities were abandoned and the population absorbed into larger, neighbouring settlements. Thus, when Rome entered Etruria, advancing ever further north, the Etruscan cities failed to mobilize the Etruscan League and transform it from a religious organization into a military alliance of mutual aid. However, the Romans still did not have everything their way. The Etruscans proved a stubborn enemy to defeat - battles, sieges and plundering of cities continued for two centuries in a brutal struggle for control of central Italy. The Etruscans formed an alliance with the Samnites, Umbrians and Gauls to confront Rome, but despite some initial successes, the Romans won a decisive victory at Sentinum in 295 BC, and sieges of cities such as Chiusi, Perugia and Troilum soon followed. Another Roman victory took place in 283 BC, at the Battle of Lake Vadimo against an Etruscan-Celtic alliance. In 281-280 BC, further Roman victories at Tarquinia, Orvieto and Vulci meant that most of Etruria finally came under Roman control; veteran colonies were established and the once great Etruscan cities were reduced to minor Roman settlements. One of the last Etruscan cities to fall was Cerveteri (in 273 BC), whose lands were confiscated and distributed to Roman soldiers.
Through skilful diplomacy, alliances and military prowess, the Romans gained their position as masters of Italy, which was the first step in their quest to control the Mediterranean and beyond.
The decline of the Etruscans' political independence did not mean the end of the struggle for them. Their armies sided with Rome at the Battle of Talamone against the Gauls in 225 BC, and although the former Etruscan cities made the wise decision to remain loyal to Rome when Hannibal invaded Italy during the Second Punic War (218-201 BC), they unwisely sided with Marius in the Roman civil war at the beginning of the first century B.C. The victor of this conflict, Sulla, then exacted brutal revenge by ruthlessly plundering some of their cities in 83 and 82 BC. The Etruscans ceased to be a warring nation and their culture quickly disappeared in the new reality of the Roman world.