Etruscan torture. Etruscans (Rasens) are Russians - Acta diurna – LJ

This civilization flourished between 950 and 300 BC in the northwestern part of the Apennine Peninsula between the Arno River, which flows through Pisa and Florence, and the Tiber, which flows through Rome. Since ancient times, this region has had a historical name - Tuscany (in ancient times - Tuscia), so named by the indigenous Italian tribes after the people who inhabited and ennobled it - the Tusci.

Etruria was located in an area with a wonderful mild climate, wide valleys, and fertile soil, as if nature itself had prepared it for agriculture. There were enough forests and mineral resources there, which the Etruscans skillfully exploited, establishing the production of wonderful metal products, especially bronze sculptures, which had no equal in the entire Mediterranean. Etruscan wines, wheat, and flax were also famous. Earlier than others on the Apennine Peninsula, they engaged in trade, establishing connections with all the major trading centers of the Mediterranean, successfully competing with the Phoenicians and Greeks. Their sailors quite often engaged in piracy, which, however, in those days was almost synonymous. And they did this on such a scale that the Greeks even created a legend that the god Dionysus himself was captured by Etruscan pirates during his wanderings. The sea itself was named Tyrrhenian in their honor, for the Greeks called them Tyrrhenians. The Romans later began to call them Etruscans; they themselves called themselves Raseni or Rasna.

And who, besides the Greeks, equally famous sailors, could give a name to the sea? But it was the Etruscans who became the true thalassocrats - the masters of the entire Western Mediterranean.

But they were not only sailors and traders - the Etruscans founded many cities and colonies in Corsica, Elba, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and Iberia. They also subjugated important areas along the western coast of Italy - Latium and Campania. The Etruscans penetrated into Northern Italy, founding a number of cities there. They were engaged in draining swamps, erecting stone walls around cities, and laying sewers. Representatives of the aristocracy in the Etruscan cities, united in leagues of twelve cities, already lived in stone houses, more like palaces, when the inhabitants of neighboring Rome still lived in primitive buildings.

But it was in Rome, which arose on the hills among the swamps, that the future threat to Etruria arose. A century later, the Etruscans made considerable efforts to subjugate the growing Rome - according to legend, the last three Roman kings were representatives of the Etruscan dynasty and did a lot to “civilize” both the city and its inhabitants. The influence of Etruria spread over almost all of Italy. However, happiness turned away from the Etruscans and failures began to haunt them one after another. First, the Greeks defeated their once invincible fleet in a major naval battle. Then, outraged by the inappropriate behavior of the king's son, the Romans expelled the entire royal family from the city. Then the Samnites rebelled, followed by the invasion of the Gauls. Rome grew so strong that it no longer wanted to obey anyone. They learned the lessons of the Etruscans well, adopting a lot in military affairs. Time seemed to run faster for Etruria. The Golden Age ended: the former rulers of Rome and the recent allies had to surrender their cities one after another in difficult battles. But the Romans were insatiable - endless wars required more and more new means. Resistance was brutally suppressed. The last Etruscan city fell in 406 BC. The Romans generously used the distribution of privileges to attract the recalcitrant to their side. The Etruscans reconciled themselves, and eventually even switched to Latin.

However, the worst, as it turned out, lay ahead. During the reign of dictator Sulla, the last Etruscans were destroyed.

The Etruscans gave the Romans a lot - in addition to the already mentioned skills in various crafts and arts, they gave them the alphabet and numbers (the so-called Roman numerals that we still use were actually invented by the Etruscans), even the symbol of Rome - the famous she-wolf - and that one is of Etruscan work.

Much is known about the Etruscans. Much, but not all...

Who were they and where did they come to the lands of Italy? Some sources report that they clearly stood out among the surrounding tribes with their squat figures with large heads and thick arms.
This people was formed by three waves of migrations: from the Eastern Mediterranean (Anatolia); from beyond the Alps (Retia); from the North Caspian steppes (Scythia).

This theory is supported by the works of Herodotus, which appeared in the 5th century BC. e. As Herodotus argued, the Etruscans were people from Lydia, a region in Asia Minor, the Tyrrhenians or Tyrsenians, who were forced to leave their homeland due to catastrophic crop failure and famine. According to Herodotus, this happened almost simultaneously with the Trojan War. Hellanicus from the island of Lesbos mentioned the legend of the Pelasgians who arrived in Italy and became known as the Tyrrhenians. At that time, the Mycenaean civilization collapsed and the Hittite empire fell, that is, the appearance of the Tyrrhenians should be dated to the 13th century BC, or a little later. Perhaps connected with this legend is the myth about the flight to the west of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the founding of the Roman state, which was of great importance for the Etruscans. Herodotus' hypothesis is confirmed by genetic analysis data.

Titus Livius gives a semi-legendary version about the northern origin of the Etruscans from the Alpine tribes. The penetration of migrating northern tribes - carriers of the Protovillanova culture into the Apennine Peninsula is accepted by most experts. Within the framework of this hypothesis, the Etruscan-Rasenes were related to the Alpine Reti, and in this case they can be considered as an autochthonous, pre-Indo-European population of Central Europe, which at different times absorbed alien cultural and ethnic elements from Sardinia and, possibly, Asia Minor .

And the attitude of the Etruscans towards women shocked the Greeks and Romans so much that they called it immoral. It was unacceptable to them that Etruscan women enjoyed an independent social position and had influence in such important matters as matters of cult.

The origin of the Etruscans remains a mystery to this day. Some archaeologists believe that they migrated from the Aegean region, others that from Northern Europe. Some believe that their culture originated directly in Tuscany, suddenly receiving an impetus for rapid development.

The Etruscans themselves believed that they were descendants of Hercules.

In the 16th century it was claimed that after the Flood, Noah founded twelve cities in Etruria and that his body rested in the vicinity of Rome. They added to this that Hercules of Libya was the founder of Florence. These ideas were very common in the Florentine Academy.

Another mystery is the Etruscan language. Despite the fact that about ten thousand different Etruscan texts are known, and we can even read them, no one has yet been able to convincingly prove that he understands what these records mean. Because no one knows what language the Etruscans spoke.

Does Etruria have its own history? A dozen cities allied with each other, the development of which did not occur simultaneously, and which had completely different, and sometimes opposite, destinies - could they have a common and unified history? Without a doubt, it would be more correct to talk about the history of the Etruscan civilization, about the history of people who used the same language and who were united by a common religion.

In fact, these cities, at once so different and so similar, were united by the consciousness of their belonging to the same nation and celebrated this unity every year by electing a god in the temple Voltumny, located on the territory of Volsinia, the head of the union - rex Etruriae, a symbol of their cultural and religious ties. The Romans, however, viewed this somewhat differently and spoke about Etruscan dominance in Italy, without highlighting the dominance of one or another city.

The question of the origin of the Etruscans is not central today.

Since ancient times, three versions have been put forward regarding the origin of the Etruscans: the version of eastern origin, the version of their arrival from the northern Alpine countries and the version of their local origin.

After opening in Villanova(a village located near Bologna) In the middle of the 19th century, the tombs, which were considered by archaeologists to belong to the culture immediately preceding the Etruscan one, began to be called Villanovian. This term thus refers to the entire early history of the Etruscans.

The burials found at Villanova are associated with the earliest Italian practice of cremation of the dead, a custom also known in central Europe as cultures of the fields of burial urns, did not exist on the Apennine Peninsula during the Bronze Age. The burials of this "Apennine culture" are found throughout all regions where Italic languages ​​of Indo-European origin were spoken, concurrent with the so-called "pit burial" culture (where the dead were buried in pit graves in an extended position along with the objects of their daily life).

It is therefore very tempting to identify the emergence of Etruscan civilization with the rite of cremation in Tuscany. However, this in no way resolves the issue of the origin of the Etruscans.

There are two important dates to remember related to the formation of the Etruscan civilization: 1200 BC. and 900 BC The first date corresponds to the emergence of this new culture and perhaps the arrival of groups of people emerging from the East, although nothing can prove this. Late 13th century BC was marked by serious upheavals, especially in the eastern Mediterranean: the fall of the Hittite Empire, acts of piracy and attempts to conquer, especially in Egypt, the “peoples of the sea”

If there were once migratory movements of people who came from the East to join the population of Tuscany in order to change the culture and introduce the foundations of a new civilization, then they should be dated to the beginning of the 12th century.

Second date, 900 BC. (beginning of the Iron Age, after the gradual expansion of the practice of cremation throughout what would later be Etruscan territory), marks the beginning of pre-urbanization, which marks a new growth and apogee of Villanovian culture.

As for cities, during this period there is a regrouping of scattered habitat areas into places that in the future will become large cities - Veii, Caere, Volsinia, Vulci.

Let's take an example Tarquin, sacred city of Etruria. Excavations of numerous necropolises located on all its hills have revealed several habitat zones scattered at the heights, in particular on the Monterozzi plateau.

Around 750-720. BC. all these habitats were abandoned in favor of a single site where the city of Tarquinia was created, while Monterozzi became the necropolis of the new city. Here, as in Rome, the choice of a single place of residence was determined by the place intended for the burial of the dead. Archaeologist Mario Torelli compares these two famous cities and notes the commonality in the process of regrouping of the surrounding inhabitants and in the process of their founding.

A similar pattern in the formation of cities was observed throughout almost all of Etruria, with some differences in different eras and regions.

Etruscans in Italy

A study of the influences and confrontations on the Apennine Peninsula before the advent of Rome allows us to note the enormous role that the Etruscans played not only in Italy, but throughout the Western Mediterranean. It is obvious that they occupied a dominant position there, unlike the Greeks and Carthaginians. Relations between these three peoples were constantly becoming more complicated.

It can be said, therefore, that the Etruscans played a major role in the formation of Italy.

Italy began to transform itself under the Greek model. Contacts, especially commercial ones, of the cities of Magna Graecia with Campania, Latium and Etruria favored the evolution of these regions and contributed to their development. However, it should be noted that there were no Greek colonies on Etruscan soil. At the same time, Etruria, fertile and rich in metals, had everything to attract the Greeks. But the Etruscan cities, which had already been formed by this time, themselves showed colonialist inclinations. They competed with the Greeks on the soil of Italy.

7th century BC this is the time when Carthage also decided to establish itself in the Western Mediterranean. In the 6th century BC, the Greek presence intensified even more: the Greek colony-polises set out to block the Etruscans’ road to Sicily.

The appearance of Greek colonists in southern Italy greatly influenced the customs of the Etruscans. This period was marked by the highest degree of sophistication of Etruscan civilization and the prosperity of such large cities. Rome's position became even more strategic, and Etruscan cities began to quarrel over the possession of this point.

But the brilliance and sophistication of Etruscan culture of this period hid the reality of the decline that was already evident in the life of Etruria. In 545 BC. A victory was won over the Phocians at Alalia, but it put the Etruscans in an even more difficult position. The Carthaginians, who allied with the Etruscans in the fight against it, gave Alalia to their Etruscan allies, and themselves gained control of a much larger part of the island. At the same time they settled in Western Sicily and began

there is a war against the Greeks. At the same time, the Carthaginians constantly relied on their Etruscan allies, with whom they concluded a treaty of friendship. However, this notorious treaty seems to have imposed on the Etruscans something like a Carthaginian protectorate.

To these foreign policy problems should be added the internal upheavals in the Greek colonies that began at the end of the 6th century BC, which could not but affect the Etruscans.

Tarquinius proudly ruled Rome like a tyrant, arousing the hatred of the Romans. Ultimately, Rome rebelled and the tyrant and his family were expelled. It is believed that Tarquin was expelled from Rome in 509 BC.

However, the struggle did not end with the expulsion of Tarquinius. Tarquin ran to Porsenne, king of the Etruscan city of Chiusi. Porsenna, considering the restoration of Tarquin's power useful for the Etruscans, went to Rome. According to some versions, he captured the city.

After this, a detachment of Etruscans led by the son of Porsenna Arunta moved against the Latins, but was defeated by the Greek army under the command Aristodemus.

After some time, in 474 BC, a new tyrant Hieron, having united the Greek coalition, defeated the Etruscans, allies of the already thoroughly weakened Carthaginians, near Cumae. The Etruscans, then they were forced to retreat beyond their original borders, and it is from this defeat that we must count the time when they finally left Rome.

Etruscans in Rome

It is believed that the Etruscans came up with a legend that could justify their presence at the head of Rome from the moment of its founding. We know that the “official” legend of Romulus appeared gradually and was formalized only in the 4th century BC... According to legend, the Etruscan king Taphetius was the grandfather of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus.

Tarhetius reigned in Alba Lonre and was obviously considered a descendant of Aeneas, that is, ultimately, Zeus himself. A magical phallus suddenly appeared in the hearth of his house, which allegedly produced the Roman twins suckled by a she-wolf.

The presence of Tuscan traders in Rome long before the reign of Tarquin is beyond doubt, but Etruscan rule would change the city so profoundly in so many areas that it would take too long to compile a comprehensive list.

The Etruscan influence was most clearly manifested in the field of landscaping. The skill of hydraulic engineers made it possible to drain the swampy land of the Forum, create the first drainage and, in fact, a new urban landscape. The Capitol was equipped and the Temple of Jupiter was built on the model of Etruscan temples, stone buildings covered with tiles were erected. They were decorated with painted terracotta products, the remains of which were found in all important places of the center (Forum, Capitol), the Great Circus (Circus Maximus) was equipped, several streets were laid on the territory of the Forum, including the famous Vicus Tuscus(Tuscan street) with a statue of God Vertumnus.

The Etruscan kings were not content with changing the cityscape. They also introduced some ceremonies (triumphs, games), established a calendar and, mainly thanks to Servius Tullius, carried out important reforms, creating new social and military structures. All citizens of Rome were divided into classes according to their condition, and these classes became represented in the army by different detachments with different levels of weapons.

To these basic changes can be added a number of innovations of a legal and cultural nature, which for a long time took root in the morals and customs of the Romans, to such an extent that they themselves began to forget about their origin. The most important:

One of these innovations was, without a doubt, the alphabet, which the Etruscans themselves borrowed from the Greeks.

All this means that, despite the desire of the Romans themselves to downplay Etruscan influence, the presence of the Etruscans in Rome was real and left a very deep mark.

Italy in Modern Times (1559-1814)

Military history of Italy

Economic history of Italy

Electoral history

History of fashion in Italy

History of money in Italy

History of music in Italy

Until the middle of the 20th century. The “Lydian version” was subject to serious criticism, especially after the decipherment of the Lydian inscriptions - their language had nothing in common with Etruscan. However, according to modern ideas, the Etruscans should be identified not with the Lydians, but with the more ancient, pre-Indo-European population of the west of Asia Minor, known as the “Proto-Luvians” or “Sea Peoples”.

Story

The formation, development and collapse of the Etruscan state took place against the backdrop of three periods of Ancient Greece - Orientalizing, or geometric, classical, Hellenistic, as well as the rise of the Roman Republic. The earlier stages are given in accordance with the autochthonic theory of the origin of the Etruscans.

Proto-Villanovian period

Funeral urn in the form of a hut. 9th century BC e.

The most important of the Etruscan sources that marked the beginning of Etruscan civilization is the Etruscan chronology saecula (centuries). According to it, the first century of the ancient state, saeculum, began around the 11th or 10th century BC. e. This time belongs to the so-called Proto-Villanovian period (XII-X centuries BC). There is extremely little data on the Proto-Villanovians. The only important evidence of the beginning of a new civilization is a change in the funeral rite, which began to be performed by cremating the body on a funeral pyre, followed by burying the ashes in the fields of urns.

Villanova I and Villanova II periods

After the loss of independence, Etruria retained its identity for some time. In the II-I centuries BC. e. local art continued to exist; this period is also called Etruscan-Roman. But gradually the Etruscans adopted the way of life of the Romans. In 89 BC. e. The Etruscans were granted Roman citizenship. By this time, the process of assimilation of Etruscan cities was almost completed. And yet in the 2nd century AD. e. some Etruscans spoke their own language. The haruspices, the Etruscan soothsayers, lasted much longer. However, Etruscan history was completed.

Art

The first monuments of Etruscan culture date back to the end of the 9th - beginning of the 8th centuries. BC e. The development cycle of Etruscan civilization ends in the 2nd century. BC e. Rome was under its influence until the 1st century. BC e.

The Etruscans long preserved the archaic cults of the first Italian settlers and showed a special interest in death and the afterlife. Therefore, Etruscan art was significantly associated with the decoration of tombs, based on the concept that the objects in them should maintain a connection with real life. The most notable surviving monuments are the sculpture and sarcophagi.

The science

We know very little about Etruscan science, with the exception of medicine, which was admired by the Romans. Etruscan doctors knew anatomy well, and it was no coincidence that the ancient historian wrote about “Etruria, famous for the discovery of medicines.” They achieved some success in dentistry: in some burials, for example, even dentures were found.

Very little information has also reached us about the literature, scientific and historical works created by the Etruscans.

Cities and necropolises

Each of the Etruscan cities influenced the territory it controlled. The exact number of inhabitants of the Etruscan city-states is unknown; according to rough estimates, the population of Cerveteri in its heyday was 25 thousand people.

Cerveteri was the southernmost city of Etruria; it controlled deposits of metal-bearing ore, which ensured the well-being of the city. The settlement was located near the coast on a steep ledge. The necropolis was traditionally located outside the city. A road led to it along which funeral carts were transported. There were tombs on both sides of the road. The bodies rested on benches, in niches or terracotta sarcophagi. The personal belongings of the deceased were placed with them.

Foundations of houses in the Etruscan city of Marzabotto

From the name of this city (etr. - Caere) the Roman word “ceremony” was subsequently derived - this is how the Romans called some funeral rites.

The neighboring city of Veii had excellent defenses. The city and its acropolis were surrounded by ditches, making Veii almost impregnable. An altar, a temple foundation and water tanks were discovered here. Vulka is the only Etruscan sculptor whose name we know was a native of Vei. The area around the city is notable for the passages carved into the rock, which served to drain water.

The recognized center of Etruria was the city of Tarquinia. The name of the city comes from the son or brother of Tirren Tarkon, who founded twelve Etruscan policies. The necropolises of Tarquinia were concentrated near the hills of Colle de Civita and Monterozzi. The tombs, carved into the rock, were protected by mounds, the chambers were painted for two hundred years. It was here that magnificent sarcophagi were discovered, decorated with bas-reliefs with images of the deceased on the lid.

When laying the foundation of the city, the Etruscans observed rituals similar to the Roman ones. An ideal place was chosen, a hole was dug into which the sacrifices were thrown. From this place, the founder of the city, using a plow drawn by a cow and an ox, drew a furrow that determined the position of the city walls. Where possible, the Etruscans used a lattice street layout, oriented to the cardinal points.

Life

The houses and tombs described above belonged to people who could afford to purchase luxury goods. Therefore, most of the household items found at the excavations tell about the life of the upper strata of Etruscan society.

Ceramics

The Etruscans created their ceramic products, inspired by the works of Greek masters. The shapes of the vessels changed over the centuries, as did the manufacturing technique and style. The Villanovians made pottery from a material often called impasto, although this is not exactly the correct term to describe Italic vessels made of impasto clay fired to a brown or black color.

Around the middle of the 7th century BC. e. In Etruria, real bucchero vessels appeared - black ceramics characteristic of the Etruscans. Early bucchero vessels were thin-walled and decorated with incisions and ornaments. Later, a procession of animals and people became a favorite motif. Gradually, the bucchero vessels became pretentious, overloaded with decorations. This type of pottery had already disappeared by the 5th century BC. e.

In the 6th century, black-figure ceramics became widespread. The Etruscans mainly copied products from Corinth and Ionia, adding something of their own. The Etruscans continued to produce black-figure vessels when the Greeks switched to the red-figure technique. True red-figure pottery appeared in Etruria in the second half of the 5th century BC. e. Favorite subjects were mythological episodes and scenes of farewell to the dead. The center of production was Vulci. Painted pottery continued to be produced in the 3rd and even 2nd century BC. e. But gradually the style leaned towards black ceramics - the vessel was covered with paint, which imitated metal. There were silver-plated vessels of exquisite shape, decorated with high reliefs. The ceramics from Arezzo, which were used on Roman tables in subsequent centuries, became truly famous.

Bronze products

The Etruscans had no equal in working with bronze. Even the Greeks admitted this. They collected some Etruscan bronzes. Bronze vessels, especially for wine, often followed Greek forms. Scoops and sieves were made from bronze. Some products were decorated with bas-reliefs, the handles were shaped like bird or animal heads. Candelabra for candles were made from bronze. A large number of incense braziers have also been preserved. Other bronze utensils include meat hooks, basins and jugs, tripods for cauldrons, libation bowls, and stands for playing cottabos.

Women's toiletries constituted a special category. One of the most famous products of Etruscan craftsmen were bronze hand mirrors. Some are equipped with folding drawers and decorated with high reliefs. One surface was carefully polished, the reverse was decorated with engraving or high relief. Strigils were made from bronze - spatulas for removing oil and dirt, cysts, nail files, and caskets.

Other household items

The best items in an Etruscan home were made of bronze. Others were lost because they were made of wood, leather, wicker, and fabric. We know about these objects thanks to various images. For several centuries, the Etruscans used chairs with a high rounded back, the prototype of which was the wicker chair. Products from Chiusi - chairs with backs and tables with four legs - indicate that in the 7th century BC. e. The Etruscans sat at the table while eating. In Etruria, it was common for spouses to eat together; they reclined together on a Greek wedge bed, which was covered with mattresses and pillows folded in half. Low tables were placed in front of the bed. In the 6th century BC. e. There are a lot of folding chairs appearing. The Etruscans also borrowed high-backed chairs and high tables from the Greeks - craters and oinochoes were placed on these.

By modern standards, Etruscan houses are rather sparsely furnished. As a rule, the Etruscans did not use shelves and cabinets; things and provisions were stored in caskets, baskets or hung on hooks.

Luxury goods and jewelry

For centuries, Etruscan aristocrats wore jewelry and acquired luxury goods made of glass, faience, amber, ivory, precious stones, gold and silver. Villanovians in the 7th century BC. e. wore glass beads, jewelry made of precious metals and faience pendants from the Eastern Mediterranean. The most important local products were brooches, made of bronze, gold, silver and iron. The latter were considered rare. The exceptional prosperity of Etruria in the 7th century BC. e. caused a rapid development of jewelry and an influx of imported products. Silver bowls were imported from Phenicia, and the images on them were copied by Etruscan craftsmen. Boxes and cups were made from ivory imported from the East. Most jewelry was produced in Etruria. Goldsmiths used engraving, filigree and graining. In addition to brooches, pins, buckles, hair ribbons, earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, and clothing plates were widespread. During the Archaic era, decorations became more elaborate. Earrings in the form of tiny bags and disc-shaped earrings have come into fashion. Semi-precious stones and colored glass were used. During this period, beautiful gems appeared. Hollow pendants often played the role of amulets; they were worn by children and adults. Etruscan women of the Hellenistic period preferred Greek-type jewelry. In the 2nd century BC. e. They wore a tiara on their heads, small earrings with pendants in their ears, disc-shaped clasps on their shoulders, and their hands were decorated with bracelets and rings.

Clothes and hairstyles

Clothing consisted mainly of a cape and a shirt. The head was covered with a high hat with a round top and curved brim. Women let their hair down over their shoulders or braided it and covered their head with a cap. Sandals served as footwear for men and women. The Etruscans all wore short hair, with the exception of the haruspex priests. The priests did not cut their hair, but removed it from their foreheads with a narrow headband, a gold or silver hoop. In more ancient times, the Etruscans kept their beards short, but later they began to shave them clean.

Military organization and economy

Military organization

Trade

Crafts and Agriculture

Religion

The Etruscans deified the forces of nature and worshiped many gods and goddesses. The main deities of this people were considered Tin (Tinia) - the supreme god of the sky, Uni and Menrva. Besides them there were many other gods. The sky was divided into 16 regions, each of which had its own deity. In the Etruscan worldview, there were also gods of the sea and the underworld, natural elements, rivers and streams, gods of plants, gates and doors; and deified ancestors; and simply various demons (for example, the Demon Tukhulka with a hawk's beak and a ball of snakes on his head instead of hair, who was the executor of the will of the gods of the underworld).

The Etruscans believed that the gods could punish people for mistakes and lack of attention to their persons, and therefore sacrifices must be made to appease them. The greatest sacrifice was human life. As a rule, these were criminals or prisoners who were forced to fight to the death during the funerals of noble people. However, at critical moments the Etruscans sacrificed their own lives to the gods.

Power and social structure of society

Leisure

The Etruscans loved to participate in fighting competitions and, perhaps, to help other people with housework. The Etruscans also had a theater, but it did not become as widespread as, for example, the Attic theater, and the manuscripts of plays found are not enough for a definitive analysis.

Toponymy

A number of geographical names are associated with the Etruscans. The Tyrrhenian Sea was so named by the ancient Greeks because it was controlled by the "Tyrrhenians" (the Greek name for the Etruscans). The Adriatic Sea was named after the Etruscan port city of Adria, which controlled the northern part of this sea. In Rome, the Etruscans were called "Tusci", which was later reflected in the name of the administrative region of Italy Tuscany.

Etruscan language and literature

The family ties of the Etruscan language are debatable. The compilation of a dictionary of the Etruscan language and the deciphering of texts are progressing slowly and are still far from complete.

Sources

• Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman antiquities: In 3 vols. M.: Frontiers XXI, 2005. Series “Historical Library”.
• Titus Livy. History of Rome from the founding of the city. In 3 vols. M.: Science 1989-1994. Series “Monuments of Historical Thought”.
• Plutarch. Comparative biographies: In 3 vols. M.: Nauka, 1961, 1963, 1964. Series “Literary Monuments”.
• Pavel Orozy. History against the pagans. Books I-VII: B B 3 vols. St. Petersburg: Aletheia, 2001-2003. Series "Byzantine Library".

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• Nemirovsky A.I. Etruscans. From myth to history. M.: Nauka, 1983.
• Penny J. Languages ​​of Italy // . T. IV: Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean c. 525–479 BC e. Ed. J. Boardman et al. Trans. from English A. V. Zaikova. M., 2011. pp. 852-874. – ISBN 978-5-86218-496-9
• Ridgway D. Etruscans // Cambridge History of the Ancient World. T. IV: Persia, Greece and the Western Mediterranean c. 525–479 BC e. M., 2011. pp. 754-808.
• Robert Jean-Noel. Etruscans. M.: Veche, 2007. (Series “Guides of Civilizations”).
• Sokolov G.I. Etruscan art. M.: Art, 1990.
• Thuillet J.-P. Etruscan Civilization / Trans. from fr. M.: AST, Astrel, 2012. - 254 p. - “Historical Library” series, 2,000 copies, ISBN 978-5-271-37795-2, ISBN 978-5-17-075620-3
• Ergon Jacques. Daily life of the Etruscans. M.: Young Guard, 2009. Series “Living History. Everyday life of humanity."
• Etruscans: Italian love of life. M.: TERRA, 1998. Encyclopedia series “Vanished Civilizations”.
• Macnamara E. Everyday life of the etruscans. M., 2006.

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Like torture with bamboo, the “iron maiden” is considered by many researchers to be a terrible legend. Perhaps these metal sarcophagi with sharp spikes inside only frightened the people under investigation, after which they confessed to anything. The "Iron Maiden" was invented at the end of the 18th century, i.e. already at the end of the Catholic Inquisition.
How it works?
1) The victim is stuffed into the sarcophagus and the door is closed;
2) The spikes driven into the inner walls of the “iron maiden” are quite short and do not pierce the victim, but only cause pain. The investigator, as a rule, receives a confession in a matter of minutes, which the arrested person only has to sign;
3) If the prisoner shows fortitude and continues to remain silent, long nails, knives and rapiers are pushed through special holes in the sarcophagus. The pain becomes simply unbearable;
4) The victim never admits to what she had done, so she was locked in a sarcophagus for a long time, where she died from loss of blood;
5) Some models of the “iron maiden” were provided with spikes at eye level in order to quickly poke them out.
3. Skafism
The name of this torture comes from the Greek “scaphium”, which means “trough”. Scaphism was popular in ancient Persia. During the torture, the victim, most often a prisoner of war, was devoured alive by various insects and their larvae who were partial to human flesh and blood.
How it works?
1) The prisoner is placed in a shallow trough and wrapped in chains.
2) He is force-fed large quantities of milk and honey, which causes the victim to have profuse diarrhea, which attracts insects.
3) The prisoner, having shit himself and smeared with honey, is allowed to float in a trough in a swamp, where there are many hungry creatures.
4) The insects immediately begin their meal, with the living flesh of the martyr as the main dish.
4. The Terrible Pear


“The pear is lying there - you can’t eat it,” it is said about the medieval European weapon for “educating” blasphemers, liars, women who gave birth out of wedlock, and gay men. Depending on the crime, the torturer thrust the pear into the sinner's mouth, anus or vagina.
How it works?
1) A tool consisting of pointed pear-shaped leaf-shaped segments is inserted into the client’s desired body hole;
2) The executioner little by little turns the screw on the top of the pear, while the “leaves” segments bloom inside the martyr, causing hellish pain;
3) After the pear is completely opened, the offender receives internal injuries incompatible with life and dies in terrible agony, if he has not already fallen into unconsciousness.
5. Copper Bull


The design of this death unit was developed by the ancient Greeks, or, to be more precise, by the coppersmith Perillus, who sold his terrible bull to the Sicilian tyrant Phalaris, who simply loved to torture and kill people in unusual ways.
A living person was pushed inside the copper statue through a special door.
So
Phalaris first tested the unit on its creator, the greedy Perilla. Subsequently, Phalaris himself was roasted in a bull.
How it works?
1) The victim is closed in a hollow copper statue of a bull;
2) A fire is lit under the bull’s belly;
3) The victim is fried alive, like a ham in a frying pan;
4) The structure of the bull is such that the cries of the martyr come from the mouth of the statue, like a bull’s roar;
5) Jewelry and amulets were made from the bones of the executed, which were sold at bazaars and were in great demand..
6. Torture by rats


Torture by rats was very popular in ancient China. However, we will look at the rat punishment technique developed by 16th century Dutch Revolution leader Diedrick Sonoy.
How it works?
1) The stripped naked martyr is placed on a table and tied;
2) Large, heavy cages with hungry rats are placed on the prisoner’s stomach and chest. The bottom of the cells is opened using a special valve;
3) Hot coals are placed on top of the cages to stir up the rats;
4) Trying to escape the heat of hot coals, rats gnaw their way through the flesh of the victim.
7. Cradle of Judas

The Judas Cradle was one of the most torturous torture machines in the arsenal of the Suprema - the Spanish Inquisition. Victims usually died from infection, as a result of the fact that the pointed seat of the torture machine was never disinfected. The Cradle of Judas, as an instrument of torture, was considered “loyal” because it did not break bones or tear ligaments.
How it works?
1) The victim, whose hands and feet are tied, is seated on the top of a pointed pyramid;
2) The top of the pyramid is thrust into the anus or vagina;
3) Using ropes, the victim is gradually lowered lower and lower;
4) Torture continues for several hours or even days until the victim dies from powerlessness and pain, or from blood loss due to rupture of soft tissues.
8. Trampling by elephants

For several centuries, this execution was practiced in India and Indochina. An elephant is very easy to train and teaching it to trample a guilty victim with its huge feet is a matter of just a few days.
How it works?
1. The victim is tied to the floor;
2. A trained elephant is brought into the hall to crush the martyr’s head;
3. Sometimes before the “head test,” animals crush the victims’ arms and legs in order to amuse the audience.
9. Rack

Probably the most famous and unrivaled death machine of its kind called the “rack”. It was first tested around 300 AD. on the Christian martyr Vincent of Zaragoza.
Anyone who survived the rack could no longer use their muscles and became a helpless vegetable.
How it works?
1. This instrument of torture is a special bed with rollers at both ends, around which ropes are wound to hold the victim’s wrists and ankles. As the rollers rotated, the ropes pulled in opposite directions, stretching the body;
2. Ligaments in the victim’s arms and legs are stretched and torn, bones pop out of their joints.
3. Another version of the rack was also used, called strappado: it consisted of 2 pillars dug into the ground and connected by a crossbar. The interrogated person's hands were tied behind his back and lifted by a rope tied to his hands. Sometimes a log or other weights were attached to his bound legs. At the same time, the arms of the person raised on the rack were turned back and often came out of their joints, so that the convict had to hang on his arms turned out. They were on the rack from several minutes to an hour or more. This type of rack was used most often in Western Europe
4. In Russia, a suspect raised on the rack was beaten on the back with a whip and “put to the fire,” that is, burning brooms were passed over the body.
5. In some cases, the executioner broke the ribs of a man hanging on a rack with red-hot pincers.
10. Paraffin in the bladder
A savage form of torture, the exact use of which has not been established.
How it works?
1. Candle paraffin was rolled by hand into a thin sausage, which was inserted through the urethra;
2. Paraffin slipped into the bladder, where solid salts and other nasty things began to settle on it.
3. Soon the victim began to have kidney problems and died from acute renal failure. On average, death occurred within 3-4 days.
11. Shiri (camel cap)
A monstrous fate awaited those whom the Ruanzhuans (a union of nomadic Turkic-speaking peoples) took into slavery. They destroyed the slave's memory with a terrible torture - putting a shiri on the victim's head. Usually this fate befell young men captured in battle.
How it works?
1. First, the slaves' heads were shaved bald, and every hair was carefully scraped out at the root.
2. The executors slaughtered the camel and skinned its carcass, first of all, separating its heaviest, dense nuchal part.
3. Having divided the neck into pieces, they immediately pulled it in pairs over the shaved heads of the prisoners. These pieces stuck to the heads of the slaves like a plaster. This meant putting on the shiri.
4. After putting on the shiri, the neck of the doomed person was chained in a special wooden block so that the subject could not touch his head to the ground. In this form, they were taken away from crowded places so that no one would hear their heartbreaking screams, and they were thrown there in an open field, with their hands and feet tied, in the sun, without water and without food.
5. The torture lasted 5 days.
6. Only a few remained alive, and the rest died not from hunger or even from thirst, but from unbearable, inhuman torment caused by drying, shrinking rawhide camel skin on the head. Inexorably shrinking under the rays of the scorching sun, the width squeezed and squeezed the slave's shaved head like an iron hoop. Already on the second day, the shaved hair of the martyrs began to sprout. Coarse and straight Asian hair sometimes grew into the rawhide; in most cases, finding no way out, the hair curled and went back into the scalp, causing even greater suffering. Within a day the man lost his mind. Only on the fifth day did the Ruanzhuans come to check whether any of the prisoners had survived. If at least one of the tortured people was found alive, it was considered that the goal had been achieved. .
7. Anyone who underwent such a procedure either died, unable to withstand the torture, or lost his memory for life, turned into a mankurt - a slave who does not remember his past.
8. The skin of one camel was enough for five or six widths.
12. Implantation of metals
A very strange means of torture and execution was used in the Middle Ages.
How it works?
1. A deep incision was made on a person’s legs, where a piece of metal (iron, lead, etc.) was placed, after which the wound was stitched up.
2. Over time, the metal oxidized, poisoning the body and causing terrible pain.
3. Most often, the poor people tore the skin in the place where the metal was sewn up and died from blood loss.
13. Dividing a person into two parts
This terrible execution originated in Thailand. The most hardened criminals were subjected to it - mostly murderers.
How it works?
1. The accused is placed in a robe woven from vines and stabbed with sharp objects;
2. After this, his body is quickly cut into two parts, the upper half is immediately placed on a red-hot copper grate; this operation stops the bleeding and prolongs the life of the upper part of the person.
A small addition: This torture is described in the book of the Marquis de Sade “Justine, or the successes of vice.” This is a small excerpt from a large piece of text where de Sade allegedly describes the torture of the peoples of the world. But why supposedly? According to many critics, the Marquis was very fond of lying. He had an extraordinary imagination and a couple of delusions, so this torture, like some others, could have been a figment of his imagination. But this field should not refer to Donatien Alphonse as Baron Munchausen. This torture, in my opinion, if it did not exist before, is quite realistic. If, of course, the person is pumped up with painkillers (opiates, alcohol, etc.) before this, so that he does not die before his body touches the bars.
14. Inflating with air through the anus
A terrible torture in which a person is pumped with air through the anus.
There is evidence that in Rus' even Peter the Great himself sinned with this.
Most often, thieves were executed this way.
How it works?
1. The victim was tied hand and foot.
2. Then they took cotton and stuffed it into the poor man’s ears, nose and mouth.
3. Bellows were inserted into his anus, with the help of which a huge amount of air was pumped into the person, as a result of which he became like a balloon.
3. After that, I plugged his anus with a piece of cotton.
4. Then they opened two veins above his eyebrows, from which all the blood flowed out under enormous pressure.
5. Sometimes a bound person was placed naked on the roof of the palace and shot with arrows until he died.
6. Until 1970, this method was often used in Jordanian prisons.
15. Polledro
Neapolitan executioners lovingly called this torture “polledro” - “foal” (polledro) and were proud that it was first used in their hometown. Although history has not preserved the name of its inventor, they said that he was an expert in horse breeding and came up with an unusual device to tame his horses.
Only a few decades later, lovers of making fun of people turned the horse breeder’s device into a real torture machine for people.
The machine was a wooden frame, similar to a ladder, the crossbars of which had very sharp angles, so that when a person was placed on them with his back, they cut into the body from the back of the head to the heels. The staircase ended with a huge wooden spoon, into which the head was placed, as if in a cap.
How it works?
1. Holes were drilled on both sides of the frame and in the “cap”, and ropes were threaded into each of them. The first of them was tightened on the forehead of the tortured, the last tied the big toes. As a rule, there were thirteen ropes, but for those who were especially stubborn, the number was increased.
2. Using special devices, the ropes were pulled tighter and tighter - it seemed to the victims that, having crushed the muscles, they were digging into the bones.
16. Dead Man's Bed (modern China)


The Chinese Communist Party uses the “dead man’s bed” torture mainly on those prisoners who try to protest against illegal imprisonment through a hunger strike. In most cases, these are prisoners of conscience, imprisoned for their beliefs.
How it works?
1. The arms and legs of a stripped prisoner are tied to the corners of a bed on which, instead of a mattress, there is a wooden board with a hole cut out. Place a bucket for excrement under the hole. Often, a person’s body is tied tightly to the bed with ropes so that he cannot move at all. A person remains in this position continuously for several days to weeks.
2. In some prisons, such as Shenyang City No. 2 Prison and Jilin City Prison, police also place a hard object under the victim's back to intensify the suffering.
3. It also happens that the bed is placed vertically and the person hangs for 3-4 days, stretched out by his limbs.
4. Added to this torment is force feeding, which is carried out using a tube inserted through the nose into the esophagus, into which liquid food is poured.
5. This procedure is performed mainly by prisoners on the orders of the guards, and not by medical workers. They do this very rudely and unprofessionally, often causing serious damage to a person’s internal organs.
6. Those who have gone through this torture say that it causes displacement of the vertebrae, joints of the arms and legs, as well as numbness and blackening of the limbs, which often leads to disability.
17. Yoke (Modern China)

One of the medieval tortures used in modern Chinese prisons is the wearing of a wooden collar. It is placed on a prisoner, causing him to be unable to walk or stand normally.
The clamp is a board from 50 to 80 cm in length, from 30 to 50 cm in width and 10 – 15 cm in thickness. In the middle of the clamp there are two holes for the legs.
The victim, who is wearing a collar, has difficulty moving, must crawl into bed and usually must sit or lie down, since the upright position causes pain and leads to injury to the legs. Without assistance, a person with a collar cannot go to eat or go to the toilet. When a person gets out of bed, the collar not only puts pressure on the legs and heels, causing pain, but its edge clings to the bed and prevents the person from returning to it. At night the prisoner is unable to turn around, and in winter the short blanket does not cover his legs.
An even worse form of this torture is called “crawling with a wooden clamp.” The guards put a collar on the man and order him to crawl on the concrete floor. If he stops, he is hit on the back with a police baton. An hour later, his fingers, toenails and knees are bleeding heavily, while his back is covered in wounds from the blows.
18. Impalement

A terrible, savage execution that came from the East.
The essence of this execution was that a person was laid on his stomach, one sat on him to prevent him from moving, the other held him by the neck. A stake was inserted into the person's anus, which was then driven in with a mallet; then they drove a stake into the ground. The weight of the body forced the stake to go deeper and deeper and finally it came out under the armpit or between the ribs.
19. Spanish water torture

In order to best carry out the procedure of this torture, the accused was placed on one of the types of racks or on a special large table with a rising middle part. After the victim's arms and legs were tied to the edges of the table, the executioner began work in one of several ways. One of these methods involved forcing the victim to swallow a large amount of water using a funnel, then hitting the distended and arched abdomen. Another form involved placing a cloth tube down the victim's throat through which water was slowly poured, causing the victim to swell and suffocate. If this was not enough, the tube was pulled out, causing internal damage, and then inserted again and the process repeated. Sometimes cold water torture was used. In this case, the accused lay naked on a table under a stream of ice water for hours. It is interesting to note that this type of torture was considered light, and confessions obtained in this way were accepted by the court as voluntary and given by the defendant without the use of torture. Most often, these tortures were used by the Spanish Inquisition in order to extract confessions from heretics and witches.
20. Chinese water torture
They sat a man in a very cold room, tied him so that he could not move his head, and in complete darkness cold water was very slowly dripped onto his forehead. After a few days, the person froze or went crazy.
21. Spanish armchair

This instrument of torture was widely used by the executioners of the Spanish Inquisition and was a chair made of iron, on which the prisoner was seated, and his legs were placed in stocks attached to the legs of the chair. When he found himself in such a completely helpless position, a brazier was placed under his feet; with hot coals, so that the legs began to slowly fry, and in order to prolong the suffering of the poor fellow, the legs were poured with oil from time to time.
Another version of the Spanish chair was often used, which was a metal throne to which the victim was tied and a fire was lit under the seat, roasting the buttocks. The famous poisoner La Voisin was tortured on such a chair during the famous Poisoning Case in France.
22. GRIDIRON (Grid for torture by fire)


Torture of Saint Lawrence on the gridiron.
This type of torture is often mentioned in the lives of saints - real and fictitious, but there is no evidence that the gridiron “survived” until the Middle Ages and had even a small circulation in Europe. It is usually described as an ordinary metal grate, 6 feet long and two and a half feet wide, mounted horizontally on legs to allow a fire to be built underneath.
Sometimes the gridiron was made in the form of a rack in order to be able to resort to combined torture.
Saint Lawrence was martyred on a similar grid.
This torture was used very rarely. Firstly, it was quite easy to kill the person being interrogated, and secondly, there were a lot of simpler, but no less cruel tortures.
23. Pectoral

In ancient times, a pectoral was a female breast decoration in the form of a pair of carved gold or silver bowls, often sprinkled with precious stones. It was worn like a modern bra and secured with chains.
In a mocking analogy with this decoration, the savage instrument of torture used by the Venetian Inquisition was named.
In 1885, the pectoral was heated red-hot and, taking it with tongs, they put it on the tortured woman’s chest and held it until she confessed. If the accused persisted, the executioners heated up the pectoral again cooled by the living body and continued the interrogation.
Very often, after this barbaric torture, charred, torn holes were left in place of the woman’s breasts.
24. Tickle torture

This seemingly harmless effect was a terrible torture. With prolonged tickling, a person's nerve conduction increased so much that even the lightest touch initially caused twitching, laughter, and then turned into terrible pain. If such torture was continued for quite a long time, then after a while spasms of the respiratory muscles occurred and, in the end, the tortured person died from suffocation.
In the simplest version of torture, the interrogated person was tickled in sensitive areas either simply with their hands, or with hair brushes or brushes. Stiff bird feathers were popular. Usually they tickled under the armpits, heels, nipples, inguinal folds, genitals, and women also under the breasts.
In addition, torture was often carried out using animals that licked some tasty substance from the heels of the interrogated person. The goat was very often used, since its very hard tongue, adapted for eating grass, caused very strong irritation.
There was also a type of tickling torture using a beetle, most common in India. With it, a small bug was placed on the head of a man's penis or on a woman's nipple and covered with half a nut shell. After some time, the tickling caused by the movement of insect legs on a living body became so unbearable that the interrogated person confessed to anything
25. Crocodile


These tubular metal crocodile pliers were red-hot and used to tear the penis of the person being tortured. First, with a few caressing movements (often made by women), or with a tight bandage, a persistent, hard erection was achieved and then the torture began
26. Tooth crusher


These serrated iron tongs were used to slowly crush the testicles of the interrogated person.
Something similar was widely used in Stalinist and fascist prisons.
27. Creepy tradition.


Actually, this is not torture, but an African ritual, but, in my opinion, it is very cruel. Girls aged 3-6 years old simply had their external genitalia scraped out without anesthesia.
Thus, the girl did not lose the ability to have children, but was forever deprived of the opportunity to experience sexual desire and pleasure. This ritual is done “for the benefit” of women, so that they will never be tempted to cheat on their husbands
28. Bloody Eagle


One of the most ancient tortures, during which the victim was tied face down and his back was opened, his ribs were broken off at the spine and spread apart like wings. Scandinavian legends claim that during such an execution, the wounds of the victim were sprinkled with salt.
Many historians claim that this torture was used by pagans against Christians, others are sure that spouses caught in treason were punished in this way, and still others claim that the bloody eagle is just a terrible legend.

Etruscans(ital. etruschi, lat. tusci, other Greek τυρσηνοί, τυρρηνοί-Tyrrhenians, self-called. Rasenna, Rasna or Raśna ) - ancient Aryan tribes of the Hittite-Proto-Slavic tree, inhabiting in the first millennium BC. e. north-west of the Apennine Peninsula (region - ancient Etruria, modern Tuscany) and created an advanced civilization that preceded and shaped the Roman one. Often what is attributed to the Romans are the remains of the Etruscans. The Roman triumphal arch is nothing more than the Etruscan city arch. The Capitoline wolf was created in Etruria.

Who and where were the Slavs before they began to be called that? Archaeological discoveries of the last century in the Apennine Peninsula and the Balkans became revolutionary for the historiography of Europe: they led to the emergence of a new field of historiography - etruscology, affecting not only ancient and early Roman times. The information obtained provided comprehensive material that made it possible to fully identify the Etruscan culture, including language, religion, traditions, rituals, and way of life. These signs of culture made it possible to trace the history of the development of the Etruscan-Roman civilization up to our time. They shed light on many of the "blank spots" of history and the "dark times" of historical literature. They provided answers to fundamental questions regarding the prehistory of the Slavs. The general conclusion is that the Etruscans are Proto-Slavs: a large number of material data demonstrate the identity of the cultures of the Etruscans and the ancient Slavs, and there is not a single fact contradicting this. All the fundamental features of the cultures of the Etruscans and the ancient Slavs coincide. In addition, all the fundamental characteristics that unite the Etruscan and Slavic cultures are unique and different from other cultures. There is no other nation that possesses at least one of these characteristics. In other words, the Etruscan culture is not similar to anyone other than the Slavs, and vice versa, the Slavs are not similar to anyone in the past except the Etruscans, i.e. The Etruscans have no other descendants except the Slavs. This is the main reason why they are persistently trying to “bury” the Etruscans.
Reliable data show that the homeland of the peoples now called Slavs is the south of Europe. There are two fundamental, reliably confirmed facts of the history of Byzantium: firstly, the population of the European part of Byzantium from the 5th century gradually began to be called Slavs; on the other hand, before the formation of the Slavic principalities, the territories of the Roman and Byzantine empires: from the Black Sea to the Alps and the Apennines, the Adriatic coast are the only reliably established territories of the constant presence of the culture of the ancient Slavs. The name "Slavs" was neither the original name of the people nor their self-name. This name, going back to the word “glorious,” developed in the Middle Ages as a general name for part of the Byzantine and former Byzantine population who staunchly professed the pagan monotheism of the god Perun, and in whose names the ending “slav” was common (Miroslav, Rostislav, etc. ). We are talking about a developed settled people with a state social culture, a people whose language structure, pre-Christian religion and traditions date back to the ancient times of Rome. How did this people arise with such a high state culture - a culture that has been developed over many centuries, is not easy to develop and was not achieved by all peoples of the past? Where are the sources of such a high level of development of the Slavic principalities in the 10th-12th centuries? What is the prehistory of the Slavs, or, in other words, the pre-Slavic history of the people named by this name (the term “Slavs” appeared only in the 10th century AD). Who really and where were the ancestors of the Slavs? What are myths, hypotheses, and what is reality?
Unfortunately, the historiography of the Slavs cannot rely on reliable written sources. The problem of non-survivability and unreliability of surviving historical written sources is common, but in the case of the prehistory of the Slavs, it is critical - the prehistory of the Slavs cannot be reliably reconstructed on the basis of information alone from the few surviving and repeatedly rewritten monuments of historical literature that managed to survive. The surviving literature of the Middle Ages about the Slavs is scanty and reflects only the confrontation between nascent Christianity and the monotheistic paganism of the god Perun, which was preached by the ancient Slavs (the commitment of the Byzantine emperors to Christ-Radimir and Perun also fluctuated, some of the emperors were pagans, some were Christians).
But the lack of truthful written information is not the end of historiography. After all, a people is not identified by what the author or a later copyist of a monument of historical literature said about those who are now commonly called the ancient Slavs. There are objective characteristics of a people and criteria for their identification.
A people is identified by its culture (all its parts), that is, by what has been developed over many centuries. The three fundamental features of culture, which are self-sufficient for identifying a people, are: language, its structure, pre-Christian religion, traditions, rites and customs. In other words, if these fundamental signs of culture coincide among two peoples of the present and past, then they are the same people at different times. Culture is incomparably more than just the name of a people. The names of many of the peoples of Europe were different, changing over time, and this was a source of confusion in written sources and sources and a subject of speculation in later times. Only self-name has objective meaning. For the historical identification of a people, the fourth fundamental feature is also important - the level of social culture: settled state, semi-nomadic, nomadic.
In the first millennium BC. Most of the territory of the Apennine Peninsula, the southern part of the Alps and the Adriatic coast was occupied by the Etruscans. They determined the development of this region in the last millennium BC. and in the first half of the 1st millennium AD. During the rise of Rome, the territory of Etruscan cities extended from the Alps, from the Veneto-Istrian region to Pompeii. It was one of the most developed ancient civilizations. The unique features of Etruscan culture - the presence of writing in modern letter form, the presence of a fully developed religion, as well as a unique social and federal organization of society - determined the development of this region and all of Europe for many centuries.
Archeology shows a high degree of cultural commonality between the population of the Apennine Peninsula, the Alps and the Adriatic. The degree of this community was, in a number of ways (at least in socio-political development), higher than the community of scattered Greek cities of that time. This is not surprising, because the population lived much more compactly due to the uniqueness of the peninsula and its geographical location and had closer connections than the population of Greek cities scattered over thousands of kilometers along the coasts of various seas.
Rome as a real stable settlement arose as one of the cities of the Etruscan federation - league of cities and, like all other Etruscan cities, was initially ruled by kings. During the reign of Servius Tullius and Superbus Tarquinius, Rome became a self-governing, although still economically dependent city. In Rome, Etruscan religion, writing, numbers, calendar, and holidays were in effect. After the political structure of Rome changed - the transition to republican rule, which gave some rights to the plebeians ("latum pedes") - the city became more independent, but this had economic consequences. Without its own region, Rome experienced food difficulties. Bread and other products were imported from the sea, through Ostia (Ustia) to the mouth of the Tiber. Rome needed its own agricultural region. As a result of negotiations with the Etruscan kings and military campaigns, mainly with the Samnites, a small area southeast of Rome was annexed. The annexed region included some Etruscan cities (Tusculum, Praeneste, Rutula), as well as part of the adjacent lands of the Sabines, Mars, Samnites, and Volscians. This “international” region began to be called “Latium” - it is translated from Latin as “expansion, encirclement”. In ancient, pre-Roman times, the population of this area were Etruscans, Sabines, Marsi, Samnites, Oscans, Umbrians. Of the tribes, only the Pomptinians, Uphentinians, and Hernics are known. Latins were not counted among the ancient peoples who lived here. Archaeological evidence shows that Etruscan culture was also dominant in Latia. On one of the picturesque White Hills of this area near the Etruscan city of Tusculum, in which such famous Etruscans as Cato Priscus and Cicero were born, one of the statues of the main ancient Etruscan god Jeova (Jupiter) was installed. Rome proposed a new political system - a republic, which after several centuries was established throughout the Etruscan federation. Wearing the Etruscan tunic (toga) was a sign of Roman citizenship.
It has been established that the basis of the writing of Rome is the Etruscan alphabet and writing. During the period of the rise of Rome, no one except the Etruscans possessed alphabetic writing. The Etruscans had intensive contact with the Phoenicians (Carthage), who, as is known, passed on their alphabet to the Greeks. The earliest known alphabetic text in history is the inscription on the “cup of Nestor”, found in the territory of the Etruscans. The Roman alphabet (Latin alphabet) is a (Roman) variant of the Etruscan alphabet. Just like, say, Ionic, Athenian, Corinthian and others are variants of the Greek alphabet. In Rome, the font of ornate Etruscan letters was changed to simpler and easier to write. The Etruscan script continued to be used by priests and on special occasions. The language of Rome has the structure of the Etruscan language. The Latin vocabulary was formed on the basis of the Etruscan language and the language of other ethnic groups that arrived in Rome, mainly the Sabines. The pantheon of ancient gods of Rome was made up of the ancient gods of the Etruscans. Services in the temples of Rome were held according to ancient Etruscan books. Not only kings, but also some of the future Roman emperors and many prominent figures were Etruscans by origin.
In modern historiography there is an insoluble problem, which consists in the fact that there is no reliable historical data, neither written nor archaeological, confirming the reality of the ancient tribes of the “Latins”; they were not known either before the rise of Rome, or for three to five centuries after the founding of the city. It is necessary to distinguish between the terms “ancient Latins” and “latins” (late). In early Roman times, the ancient population of the territory of the future Latium consisted of various peoples, among whom the ancient tribe of “Latins” was not known. They were not known either to the very first ancient authors - contemporaries of the emergence of Rome and the authors of Greek mythology, Hesiod, Homer, or to the later historians Thucydides and Herodotus, who wrote 300 years after the founding of the city. There are no words with the stem “Latin”, “Latin” in the first published code of laws of Rome “XII Tables”, written two centuries after the emergence of the city. The first literary use of the term "Latin society" appeared only more than five centuries after the rise of Rome and usually designated the incomplete citizens of the republic. There is also no archaeological evidence confirming the existence of the ancient Latin tribe, there is nothing that could be somehow connected with them. Extensive and massive attempts to find any real evidence of the existence of the “Latin” tribe in the territory of Latium were undertaken again in the second half of the last century. But they again did not give the desired result: several more Etruscan cities were discovered in Latia.
Thus, history does not have any data, neither written nor archaeological, confirming the reality of the existence of the ancient tribes of the “Latins”. The terms “Latin”, “Latium”, “Latins” arose 3-5 centuries after the rise of Rome. These terms are not directly related to each other, but have a common linguistic root - the Latin word "latum", meaning "broad, general". The word "Latin" can be translated from the "Latin" language as "broad, general", and does not require anything additional to explain its meaning and origin. Such a neutral name for a language is not unique in history - the same name arose for the first common Greek language; it was called "koine dialectos", which in Greek has the same meaning as "Latin language" in Latin - that is, "common language". The Koine people also never existed. Subsequently, this first name for the Greek language ceased to be widely used, and the question of the possible existence of the Koine tribes itself disappeared. But this did not happen with the name of the language of Rome; it was preserved and gave rise to the hypothesis of ancient Latins. Something similar is observed today in the process of mastering the English language by the backward population of the Pacific Islands. The resulting hybrid received the contemptuous name “pidgin English”, or simply “pidgin”, i.e. literally: "pig English". And it is possible that in two thousand years historians will insist on the existence of a separate “pidgin” people.
The language called “Latin” was formed in the Roman Republic several centuries after the emergence of Rome as a result of the mixing of several languages. The small agricultural region of Latium received a similar “Latin” name, which is translated from Latin as “expansion surrounding.” The socio-legal term "Latin" was not ethnic and applied to any resident of the Roman Republic who did not have full Roman citizenship and did not have all "Roman" rights. A Roman, for example, could not be enslaved by another Roman; at the same time, a Roman could have a Latin slave.
Two centuries after the transition to a republic, the official language of Rome and the language of the army began to be called “Latin,” but the republic itself, its citizens, law, then the empire, emperors, and all power structures remained “Roman.” The terms "Roman" and "Latin" are not equivalent, they have different origins and different content.
The terms "Latin", "Latium", "Latins" are not the only terms whose etymology goes back to the common root "latum". The supreme god of the ancient pantheon of Etruscan gods Jeova (Jupiter) in the Roman Republic was also called “Latiar” (another altar of Jeova was located at the same time in Macedonia); "latus fundus" meant "large farm, latifundia", "lati-clavus" means "wide stripe" and is famous for being worn on their togas by senators, "latum pedes" by plebeians and the bulk of the Roman army, etc. In other words, all Latin words with the stem lati(n) come from one common root - the adjective “wide, common”. And history does not have any evidence to support any ethnic content of these words.
A basic linguistic fact of European history is that Latin and Slavic languages ​​have a common genetic root. The origin of a language cannot be established simply on the basis of the coincidence of some words, because Many words, as a result of the development of contacts, moved from one language to another. All modern languages ​​have a large number of words borrowed from Latin.
The genetic root of a language is the structure of its grammar. Words can easily change, borrow and move from one language to another, but the grammatical structure, structure of the language, its morphology, and syntax do not change. The structure of the language, unlike vocabulary and phonetics, is conservative and, as history shows, has not changed for thousands of years. The stability of grammar is demonstrated by all known languages ​​with a long history. Examples are Greek and Latin. The grammar of the Greek language has not changed in 2800 years. All the principles of grammar and categories have been preserved, only some endings in several types of declensions and phonetics have changed. (Phonetics may differ at the same time in different places of residence.) At the same time, the vocabulary of the Greek language has changed almost completely, and it has changed more than once.
The grammar of the Latin language demonstrates the same stability: the structure of the grammar, all its categories, principles, forms, constructions have been preserved. Only some endings have changed. At the same time, the vocabulary of the Latin language was changing. In general, any living language is an example of how much its vocabulary has changed in a relatively short period of time. Every European language currently has a so-called “old language” is its predecessor, which was used only 7-8 centuries ago. But what each language has in common with its “old language” is the structure of the language and grammar.
(to be continued)