Prehistoric Cultures of Pre-Roman Italy

Early Italy: The Villanovan Culture

In times long before we have written records, prehistoric Italy was home to an ancient people that archaeologists call the Villanovan culture. The Villanovan culture brought iron working to Italy and perhaps even brought the first examples of Indo-European language, the major language family from which most languages in Europe and western Asia are derived. The Villanovans cremated their dead and buried them in distinctive urns which are the primary archaeological evidence of the Villanovans. Though little is known about these people, they were the ancestors of many native peoples of Italy, most notably the Etruscans.

Early Italy: The Etruscans

The Etruscans were perhaps the most important and influential people of pre-Roman Italy and emerged from the Villanovan people. They dominated Italy politically prior to the rise of Rome, and Rome itself was ruled by Etruscan kings early in its history. Little is known about the early history of the Etruscans, since their language is not well understood. One thing that we do know from evidence of the Etruscan language is that it was not Indo-European. In fact, the Etruscan language resembles no other European language, which has led to many theories that they migrated to Italy from some other region such as Asia Minor in prehistory, but this theory is being increasingly rejected by modern scholars who now view the Etruscans as indigenous.

Thousands of inscriptions, on monuments, religious offerings, coins, and other objects, show that the Etruscans had a culture of writing, and the Romans had great reverence for Etruscan literature. The Etruscans produced many books, though only one example survives (in highly damaged form, as it was preserved as a wrap for an Egyptian mummy). Even after Latin had displaced Etruscan, some Romans still studied Etruscan, though knowledge of the language seems to have died out around 100 AD. Despite all the surviving inscriptions, modern scholars have been unable to decipher the Etruscan language beyond a few words, since it is so unlike any other language.

The Etruscans had great need of writing to preserve religious knowledge, which had an important role in Etruscan society. They sought to divine the will of the gods through various acts of augury, such as reading the livers of sacrificial animals. The Etruscans believed in a pantheon of gods who exercised their will upon men and who could be communicated with through priests and seers. The Romans later adopted many aspects of Etruscan religion, especially divination by means of livers, which was performed by a haruspex (“liver-reader”).

Though we cannot read their language, and their literature has been lost, we know a great deal about Etruscan life and society through the monuments that they left behind, especially funerary monuments. Many of these show religious scenes, which give us information about Etruscan rituals. Etruscan tombs are also often painted with banquet scenes, replete with dancers and musicians as well as men and women reclining as they eat. Etruscan sarcophagi, some of the most impressive surviving works of Etruscan art, are usually carved with depictions of men and women reclining together as if at a meal. Women are often depicted with men, and Etruscan women seem to have had a much higher status and more rights than in Roman society.

The basic political unit for the Etruscans was the city-state. From the ninth to the sixth century BC, the Etruscans expanded and colonized throughout Italy, and at their height they ruled lands from the Po River in the north to Campania in the south. These lands were never under a unified government, but had their own city governments while sharing a common Etruscan culture. Still, they often worked together. The Etruscans also assimilated the local Italic cultures into their own.

In the south, Etruscan expansion was soon halted by the growing power of the Greeks, who began settling along the southern coastal region. At the Battle of Cumae in 474 BC, the Etruscans were defeated at sea by a Greek fleet, shattering their hold on southern Italy. The coastal territories in the south were soon conquered by Greeks, while their inland territories in Campania were overrun by Sabellians, an Italic people coming down from the Apennine mountains.

In the 4th century BC, Gallic tribes poured over the Alps and invaded the Etruscan territories of northern Italy. They conquered many of the Etruscan cities in the north, forcing some Etruscans to flee towards the Alps, where they became known as Rhaetians. The Gauls also attacked cities further to the south, and though they did not conquer these regions, they weakened the Etruscans throughout Italy.

At the same time, the Romans were often at odds with the Etruscan cities to their north, particularly the powerful city of Veii located on the opposite side of the Tibur. In 396 BC, the Romans finally conquered Veii, an important step in their eventual conquest of the Etruscans. Nine years later this expansion was slowed when the invading Gauls sacked Rome itself, but Rome soon recovered, and the Etruscans could not effectively fight both the Romans and Gauls. The Etruscan cities were mostly incorporated into Rome’s growing Italian confederation, given citizenship rights and embraced Roman culture. Still, the Etruscans would have an enormous impact on the Romans, especially in terms of religion and government. The elite among the Etruscans became powerful members of Roman society, and many aristocratic Roman families, even the imperial Julio-Claudians, claimed some Etruscan ancestry.

Early Italy: The Oenotrians

The Oenotrians (or Enotri) were a very ancient Italian population that inhabited Enotria, a region corresponding to present-day southern Campania, part of Lucania and Calabria. It is thought that the Oenotrians represented the southern branch of a very old ethno-linguistic stratum, which once occupied a vast area of Italy stretching from Liguria to Sicily. They were traditionally divided into three branches: the Itali, the Morgeti and the Siculi (of which the latter spoke an Italic language). The Itali, named after their ruler King Italus, gave their name to Italy, while the Siculi gave their name to Sicily after being driven out of the peninsula. The political organization of the Oenotrians was predominantly oligarchic-monarchical and above all federative. They were mountaineers, dedicated to pastoralism, but also founded villages and cities linked by vital interests. They were a highly religious people. This indigenous population played a fundamental role in the development of a civilization that later constituted the embryo of the city-states of the southern Italian coast.

Early Italy: The Rhaetians

The Rhaetians (Raetians or Raeti) were a pre-Indo European population, believed to be descended from Etruscans, who lived in the Alps. They inhabited a very large but sparsely-populated territory covering the modern-day alpine areas of Lombardy, northeastern Italy, eastern Switzerland, western Austria and southern Germany. The Rhaetians took their name from the Etruscan captain Retus or Rhetus, who led them into exile across the Alps. Originally they inhabited Tuscany and the Po Valley, but in the fourth century BC they were driven into the Alps by the invading Gallic tribes. They were possibly related to the Camuni and Euganei. Their language was very closely-related to Etruscan, and their alphabet was undoubtedly Etruscan. Ancient writers associated them with what is now called the Fritzens-Sanzeno culture. Devoted to agriculture and woodworking, and noted for their banditry and excellent wine, they destroyed the Roman city of Como in 89 BC before being conquered by the Romans in 15 BC. The Rhaetian tribes quickly became loyal subjects of the Empire and contributed disproportionate numbers of recruits to the imperial Roman army’s auxiliary corps. They became so thoroughly romanized that they soon disappeared as a distinct people, their memory surviving only through the Roman province named after them: Raetia.

Early Italy: The Ligurians

The Ligurians lived in northwestern Italy, in a region that to this day is still called Liguria. At their greatest known extent they inhabited not only Liguria, but also modern-day Piedmont, western Lombardy, Savoy, Provence, Corsica and northern Sardinia. Some believe that in pre-historic times they may have even inhabited the whole Italian peninsula down to Sicily. Their origins are uncertain, but they were one of the oldest people of ancient Italy. They were made up of many kindred tribes, the most notable of which was the Apuani. The Ligurians spoke an Indo-European language (not to be confused with the modern Ligurian dialect) and were respected as warriors. They initially resisted the growing power of Rome, and mostly sided with Hannibal during his invasion of Italy, though some Ligurian tribes supported Rome. The Apuani continued to resist Roman rule even after the defeat of Hannibal, and inflicted a humiliating defeat on a Roman army, but they were completely conquered in 181 BC, when the Romans deported the remaining Apuani population to Campania and Samnium. The Romans settled their former lands with Roman colonists, and soon Liguria was assimilated into Roman ways.

Early Italy: The Euganei

The Euganei were a very ancient population of pre-Indo European origin, concentrated in the Province of Brescia, Trentino and Veneto. They originally inhabited a large area of northeastern Italy between the Eastern Alps and Adriatic Sea, stretching from Istria to Lake Garda, but with the arrival of the Veneti in the second millennium BC they were pushed westward into Lombardy and northward into the Alps, where they merged with the Rhaetians. The names of at least two Euganean tribes are known: the Stoni and Triumpilini. They were possibly related to the Camuni. They have also been associated with the Ligurians. Cato the Elder considered the Camuni a Euganean tribe. Their chief settlement was Verona, which they co-founded with the Rhaetians. They fiercely opposed the invasion of the Cenomani Gauls in 400 BC. The Stoni maintained their independence until 118 BC, when they were subjugated by Rome and exterminated after bitter resistance; the Camuni and Triumpilini, instead, gladly accepted Roman rule upon being subdued by Augustus in 15 BC. Their name lives on today in the Euganean Hills near Padua.

Early Italy: The Camuni

The Camuni (or Camunni) were an ancient Italian population located in Val Camonica during the Iron Age in the first millennium BC. They were a very old indigenous people of Italy, most likely related to the Etruscans and Euganei, and were among the greatest producers of rock art in Europe. Conquered by the Romans at the beginning of the first century AD, the Camuni were gradually incorporated into the political and social structures of Rome, with a rapid process of Latinization.
Early Italy: The Veneti

In northeastern Italy, around the modern city of Venice, lived the Veneti. They were an Italic tribe who spoke an Indo-European language similar to other Italian languages such as Latin and Oscan. The language disappeared around the first century BC, as it was replaced by Latin. The Veneti were loyal supporters of Rome and sent troops to help the Romans fight Hannibal during his invasion. In 181 BC, the Romans founded a colony at Aquileia, which became the chief city in the region (Venice was not founded until the fifth century AD). The Romans continued to colonize the region until it was thoroughly romanized.

Early Italy: The Latins

The region of Latium, located in west-central Italy, was home to the Latins, an Italic tribe who founded several cities, the most famous of which was Rome. The Latins lived in independent city-states like many other Italian peoples, and they shared a common Latin language (though different cities spoke different dialects). The cities of Latium banded together for mutual defense, forming the Latin League. The Latin League was initially led by the city of Alba Longa, the most powerful of the early Latin cities, but in the middle of the seventh century BC the city of Rome destroyed Alba Longa and took over control of the Latin League. Rome eventually dominated the league, and after defeating the other members of the Latin League at the Battle of Lake Regillus in 498 BC, Rome became separate and superior to the rest of the league.

Rome and the members of the Latin League agreed to each bear half the cost of the defense of Latium, but the league essentially became a means of Roman expansion, with the Latin cities furnishing troops to fight in Rome’s wars. In 340 BC the members of the league rebelled and tried to throw off Roman domination, but the Romans joined with their Samnite neighbours to subdue the other Latins. After defeating the league in 338 BC, the Romans disbanded the Latin League and established separate alliances with each of its cities. The cities lost their autonomy to Rome, though in exchange they were granted different levels of Roman citizenship, with many given very generous Latin Rights. During Hannibal’s invasion of Italy, all the Latin cities remained loyal to Rome. After the Social War they were all granted full citizenship and voting rights. By the end of Rome’s republican era, most of the Latin states had become essentially suburbs of Rome, and many important Romans came from these cities.

In and around Latium were a number of other Italic tribes who were not members of the Latin League. These include the Sabines, the Volsci, the Aequi, the Hernici and the Aurunci. These people all spoke Italic languages that were similar to both Latin and the Oscan and Umbrian languages to the south and east. These tribes were conquered by Rome early in its expansion and given various levels of citizenship rights, until they were all granted full citizenship after the Social War.

Early Italy: The Picentes

On the northeast coast of Italy on the Adriatic Sea lived the Picentes, an Italic tribe living in a land the Romans called Picenum. The area was conquered by Rome around 286 BC, and the Romans settled large colonies of citizens there, the most important of which was Ariminum (modern-day Rimini). Picenum would prove especially loyal to Rome, remaining behind the Romans even during Hannibal’s invasion and when many other Italian tribes rebelled.

Early Italy: The Umbrians

Between Latium and Picenum lay Umbria. Before the arrival of Latin, several Umbrian languages were spoken in the region, closely related to Oscan languages, and the Umbrians long inhabited most of north-central Italy. Many Umbrian lands were conquered by the Etruscans, and the Umbrians and Etruscans became bitter enemies. At the same time, those Umbrians that fell under Etruscan rule had some influence on Etruscan culture, and Umbrians fought in the Etruscan army (for example, they joined the Etruscans in the Battle of Cumae). The free Umbrian city-states were eager allies of Rome, as they shared a common enemy in the Etruscans. The Romans settled many colonies in Umbria, bringing Roman people and customs there. The Umbrians briefly joined the Samnites and their anti-Roman confederation in the Third Samnite War, but were defeated with the Samnites at the Battle of Sentinum within Umbrian territory.

The Romans built a great fortress called Naria on top of the Umbrian town of Nequinum, which dominated the area. The Romans also built the Via Flaminia, a major highway to the Adriatic, right through Umbria. This allowed the Roman army to quickly march through the region. As a result, Umbria was under tight Roman control. Later, the Umbrians remained allied to Rome even during Hannibal’s invasion of Italy, when many former Roman allies joined the Carthaginians. Umbria gradually adopted Roman culture, thanks in part to the spread of Roman colonists and the linguistic similarities between Latin and Umbrian. The Umbrians briefly fought against Rome in the Social War, but they surrendered quickly and were given full Roman citizenship.

Early Italy: Campania

The inland of southern Italy was occupied by a variety of Italic tribes, collectively called Oscans. They spoke Oscan, an Indo-European language closely related to Latin. Later in their history they attempted to unite together against the growing power of Rome, though their attempts at political unity failed.

Campania, the region south of Latium, was also home to native Oscan peoples, and derived its name from the Campani, an Oscan-speaking Italic tribe. However, between the seventh and fifth century BC, the Greeks landed on the coastline, founded the colonies of Cumae and Neapolis (modern-day Naples) and subdued some of the native Italics in the region, while the Etruscans founded the important city of Capua (originally Capeva). Capua became renowned for its wealth and size.

By the middle of the fifth century BC, Sabellian-Italic peoples, particularly the Samnites, began major incursions into Campania, and threatened Capua and Neapolis. The Samnites captured Capua in 424 BC, and in 343 BC Capua promised to surrender its independence to the Romans if they would help expel the Samnites. The Romans did so in the First Samnite War, the beginning of Roman-Samnite hostilities, and Capua was given Roman citizenship without the right to vote. The Second Samnite War broke out in 326 BC when the Samnites occupied Neapolis and its citizens appealed to Rome for help. With Rome’s victory, Campania fell under Roman rule, and the region was considered so strategically important, considering it lay between Rome and her Samnite enemies, that the Romans built their first highway, the Via Appia, to connect Rome to Capua.

When Hannibal invaded Italy, the cities of Campania stayed loyal to Rome until Rome’s disastrous defeat at the Battle of Cannae. Capua opened its gates to Hannibal and Hannibal used the city as a base of operations. The Romans made several unsuccessful attempts at taking the city, until they succeeded in capturing it in 211 BC. The Romans killed much of the city’s population in the sack and Capua was severely punished afterwards, losing its citizenship rights and much of its land. Indeed, much of Campania was confiscated as Roman state land and then bought up by wealthy Roman aristocrats, who established large plantations known as Latifundia.

Early Italy: The Samnites

The Sabellians were an Oscan-speaking Italic people inhabiting the mountainous inland regions south of Latium. Though some had migrated from the mountains to Campania, it was these people who were subdued by the Greeks and Etruscans in Campania. The most important of the Sabellian peoples were the Samnites. Unlike other Sabellians, they stayed in the mountainous interior. The Samnites were formed from a league of four tribes: the Pentri, Hirpini, Caudini and Carricini, all of which inhabited the mountainous inland regions southeast of Latium. The Samnites proved to be the bitterest foe of Rome during its conquest and unification of the Italian Peninsula. As fierce mountain warriors they were a deadly match for the armies of Rome, and it took Rome centuries to subdue them.

The Samnites did not live in city-states, but instead in conglomerations of villages. They had a few urban centers, such as the towns of Bovianum and Malventum, but their mountainous homeland was not ideal for cities. The Samnite lands were organized into large administrative units, each of which was called a tuoto, a word from Oscan. Each of the four main tribes of the Samnites comprised a tuoto, and seems to have had its own government. We do not know very much about the Samnite governments, though sources suggest that they had elected officials. Perhaps they had republican governments similar to that of Rome. The Oscan word meddix comes down to us as a term for a high government official. Each tuoto had a different meddix as its leader. The Samnite tribes were closely aligned, however, and there is no record of any lack of cooperation or infighting between them.

As discussed above, the Samnites first came into conflict with Rome when they attacked Campania and threatened Capua. The Romans sent military aid to Campania, but when their Latin allies rebelled, the Romans allied with the Samnites in 340 BC. War broke out again in 326 BC when Neapolis requested Roman aid against the Samnites. The Samnites inflicted some humiliating defeats on the Romans during the Second Samnite War, such as the Battle of the Caudine Forks, but Rome gradually gained an edge. In fact, the Romans learned much from the Samnite style of warfare and the famous heavy infantrymen of the Romans were influenced by Samnite soldiers. In 305 BC the Romans ended the war with a victory at the Battle of Bovianum. The Third Samnite War broke out in 298 BC, and was an attempt by many tribes in Italy to join forces to halt Roman expansion. The Samnites led a confederation made up of Umbrians, Etruscans, and many other tribes. The Romans had grown too strong by this point, however, and they could not be defeated. The Samnites surrendered in 291 and were incorporated into Rome’s Italian confederation.

When Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Italy, the Samnites flocked to his side in hopes of throwing off Roman rule. Even after Pyrrhus departed from Italy, the Samnites continued to fight, though to little effect. They joined Hannibal during his invasion of Italy, but after his defeat they fell under Roman rule once again. Still, the Samnites were bitter enemies of the Romans, and rose up against Rome during the Social War. They were the last of the Italian people to hold out against the Romans, and in 82 BC the Samnites threatened Rome and attacked its Colline Gate. The dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla defeated them, and massacred the survivors. Sulla effectively eradicated the Samnite population, and soon after, the Samnites ceased to exist as a people. Still, some Romans with Samnite names, such as Pontius Pilate, who may have had Samnite ancestry, appear later in Roman history.

Early Italy: The Lucanians

South of the Samnites lived the Lucanians (or Lucani). According to one Roman historian, they maintained democratic governments, though, like the Romans, they would raise up a dictator in times of emergency. They had gradually displaced the native proto-Italic people of the southern Italian interior, known as the Oenotrians. The Lucanians proved more aggressive than these peoples, and soon began attacking the Greek city-states along the coast of southern Italy. They conquered several Greek cities, and threatened Tarentum (Taranto), one of the most important. The Greeks requested aid from Alexander I of Epirus, who crossed over into Italy in 334 BC. Alexander of Epirus defeated the Lucanians in several battles, but was eventually killed by them.

The Lucanians suffered from aiding their Samnite relatives in their wars against the Romans, and lost many soldiers to battles with the Romans. When Tarentum was threatened again, this time by the Romans, and the citizens of that city appealed to Pyrrhus of Epirus, instead of fighting the Epirote king as they did Alexander I, the Lucanians quickly joined him in hopes of humbling the Romans. They were mistaken, and when Pyrrhus was forced to flee Italy they were left at the mercy of the Romans. They were subjugated by the Romans, but rebelled and joined the Carthaginians when Hannibal invaded Italy. Once again, they suffered for backing the wrong side. Lucania was devastated in the course of the war, and the Lucanians were suppressed by the Romans once Hannibal was defeated. The region fell into ruin.

The Lucanians rebelled against Rome once more during the Social War, and were again defeated. The major towns of the region died out, and swamps and forests reclaimed what had once been settled areas. The region remained a backwater throughout the Roman Empire.

Early Italy: The Bruttians

South of the Lucanians was the region of Bruttium (known in modern times as Calabria). The native inhabitants, such as the Oenotrians, were conquered by the Lucanians around 400 BC. Around 356 BC, a group of subjugated natives and some Lucanians rose up in rebellion and threw off Lucanian rule. These people became known as the Bruttians. The term “Bruttian” was supposedly originally a pejorative term used by the Lucanians for these rebels, but it was soon adopted as a national name. The Bruttians not only threw off Lucanian rule, but they conquered the Greek city-states on the coast, the most important being the city of Croton, expelling the Greeks from Calabria. Eventually the Lucanians recognized the independence of the Bruttians, and they joined together to defeat Alexander I of Epirus. Later they joined Pyrrhus of Epirus against the Romans, and like their Lucanian neighbors suffered harshly from Roman reprisals.

When Hannibal invaded Italy, they rose up in support of him and remained some of his most steadfast allies. Croton remained Hannibal’s winter headquarters, and he could always count on Bruttium for a secure base. In the last years of his war in Italy, Hannibal was more or less holed up in Bruttium, and when he returned to Africa, many Bruttians went with him and fought in defense of Carthage at the Battle of Zama. When Hannibal was defeated, the Romans dealt harshly with the Bruttians. The Bruttians were stripped of their freedom and given a very low status in the Roman Republic’s confederation. Colonies of Roman citizens were established in Croton and elsewhere, and quickly Bruttian customs and language disappeared, being replaced by Roman ways.

Early Italy: The Iapygians

The region known today as Puglia or Apulia, which makes up the heel of Italy’s boot, was home to the Iapygians (or Apulians, as the Romans called them). The Iapygians were made up of three tribes of uncertain origin: the Messapians, the Peucetians and the Daunians. They spoke a language known as Messapian, which was an Italic language (although some say Illyrian) but used the Tarentine-Ionic alphabet for writing. Although all three tribes spoke the Messapian language, they had developed distinct archaeological cultures by the seventh century BC.

During Rome’s Samnite Wars, the northern Apulian towns, worried about the growing power of their Samnite neighbors to the west, allied with Rome, while the Messapians gave aid to the Samnites. Such patterns of loyalty remained standard: when Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Italy, the Apulians allied with the Romans against him, while the Messapians joined with Pyrrhus; later, when Hannibal invaded, the northern Apulian towns stayed loyal to Rome while the Messapians joined the Carthaginians. Eventually the region was incorporated into Roman Italy and the Messapian language gave way to Latin.

Early Italy: Sicily

The native population of the island was divided into three distinct peoples: the Sicels, the Sicani, and the Elymians. The Sicels (or Siculi) inhabited the eastern parts of Sicily, the Sicani the midlands, and the Elymians the western parts of the island. The Sicels (whom Sicily is named after) were an Italic tribe. The Elymians and Sicani were of uncertain origin, but the Sicani are thought to be one of the oldest inhabitants of Sicily; they were perhaps related to the Ligurians and possibly once occupied the whole of the Italian peninsula in ancient times. Meanwhile some linguists classify the Elymians as an Italic tribe. The Elymians had an advanced civilization, as evidenced by the Temple of Segesta, built by the Elymians in the fifth century BC. When Sicily was conquered by the Romans after the First Punic War, the native inhabitants were slowly subsumed into Roman culture.

Early Italy: Nuragic Civilization

The Nuragic civilization derives its name from the nuraghe, massive stone towers built by the Bronze Age population of the island of Sardinia from around 1800 to 1200 BC. These megalithic structures are incredibly common, with about one nuraghe for every three square kilometres in Sardinia. The people who built them are more mysterious. By the first millennium BC, the main confederations of tribes inhabiting Sardinia were: the Balares, the Ilienses and the Corsi. The Balares and Ilienses were Nuragic people, while the Corsi were Ligurians and also inhabited the nearby island of Corsica (to which they gave their name).

In the sixth century BC Sardinia was invaded by the Carthaginians. After the First Punic War, the Carthaginian troops on Sardinia rebelled and established their own state. The native inhabitants of the island drove them out, and they turned to Rome for help. The Romans landed on Sardinia and defeated the Carthaginians. Soon after, Rome annexed Sardinia and Corsica. Eventually, the people were assimilated into Roman culture.