Editing Etruscan civilization (section)

===Possible founding of Rome===
{{Main|Founding of Rome}}
[[File:20090414-Cività-di-Bagnoregio.jpg|thumb|right|A former Etruscan walled town, [[Civita di Bagnoregio]]]]
[[File:Lupa Capitolina, Rome.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Capitoline Wolf]]'', long considered an Etruscan bronze, feeding the twins [[Romulus and Remus]]]]
Those who subscribe to a [[Latins (Italic tribe)|Latin]] foundation of Rome followed by an Etruscan invasion typically speak of an Etruscan "influence" on Roman culture – that is, cultural objects which were adopted by Rome from neighboring Etruria. The prevailing view is that Rome was founded by Latins who later merged with Etruscans. In this interpretation, Etruscan cultural objects are considered influences rather than part of a heritage.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GrnsU27t2X8C&q=Rome+was+founded+by+Italics&pg=PA810 |title=The Shakespeare Name Dictionary |year=2004 |access-date=2011-09-14 |first1=Madison |last1=Davis |first2=Daniel |last2=Frankforter|publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9780203642276 }}</ref> Rome was probably a small settlement until the arrival of the Etruscans, who constructed the first elements of its urban infrastructure such as the drainage system.<ref>{{cite book |author=Cunningham, Reich |title=Cultures and Values: A survey of the humanities |publisher=Thomson/Wadsworth |year=2006 |url=https://archive.org/details/culturevaluessur02cunn |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/culturevaluessur02cunn/page/92 92] |quote=The later Romans' own grandiose picture of the early days of their city was intended to glamorize its origins, but only with the arrival of the Etruscans did anything like an urban center begin to develop.|isbn=978-0534582272 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hughes |title=Rome: A cultural, visual, and personal history |year=2012 |page=24 |quote=Some Roman technical achievements began in Etruscan expertise. Though the Etruscans never came up with an aqueduct, they were good at drainage, and hence they were the ancestors of Rome's monumental sewer systems.}}</ref>

The main criterion for deciding whether an object originated at Rome and traveled by influence to the Etruscans, or descended to the Romans from the Etruscans, is date. Many, if not most, of the Etruscan cities were older than Rome. If one finds that a given feature was there first, it cannot have originated at Rome. A second criterion is the opinion of the ancient sources. These would indicate that certain institutions and customs came directly from the Etruscans. Rome is located on the edge of what was Etruscan territory. When Etruscan settlements turned up south of the border, it was presumed that the Etruscans spread there after the foundation of Rome, but the settlements are now known to have preceded Rome.

Etruscan settlements were frequently built on hills—the steeper the better—and surrounded by thick walls. According to [[Roman mythology]], when [[Romulus and Remus]] founded Rome, they did so on the [[Palatine Hill]] according to Etruscan ritual; that is, they began with a ''[[pomerium]]'' or sacred ditch. Then they proceeded to the walls. Romulus was required to kill Remus when the latter jumped over the wall, breaking its magic spell (see also under [[Pons Sublicius]]). The name of Rome is attested in Etruscan in the form ''Ruma-χ'' meaning 'Roman', a form that mirrors other attested ethnonyms in that language with the same suffix ''-χ'': ''Velzna-χ'' '(someone) from Volsinii' and ''Sveama-χ'' '(someone) from [[Sovana]]'. But this in itself does not prove Etruscan origin conclusively. If Tiberius is from ''θefarie'', then Ruma would have been placed on the ''Thefar'' ([[Tiber]]) river. A heavily discussed topic among scholars is who was the founding population of Rome. In 390&nbsp;BC, the [[Battle of Allia|city of Rome was attacked]] by the [[Gauls]], and as a result may have lost many, though not all, of its earlier records.

Later history relates that some Etruscans lived in the ''[[Vicus Tuscus]]'',<ref>Tacitus, Cornelius. ''The Annals & The Histories''. Trans. Alfred Church and William Brodribb. New York, 2003.</ref> the "Etruscan quarter", and that there was an Etruscan line of kings (albeit ones descended from a Greek, [[Demaratus of Corinth]]) that succeeded kings of Latin and Sabine origin. Etruscophile historians argue that this, together with evidence for institutions, religious elements and other cultural elements, proves that Rome was founded by Etruscans.

Under Romulus and [[Numa Pompilius]], the people were said to have been divided into 30 [[curia]]e and three [[Roman tribe|tribes]]. Few Etruscan words entered [[Latin]], but the names of at least two of the tribes—''Ramnes'' and ''Luceres''—seem to be Etruscan. The last kings may have borne the Etruscan title ''lucumo'', while the [[regalia]] were traditionally considered of Etruscan origin—the golden crown, the sceptre, the ''toga palmata'' (a special robe), the ''sella curulis'' ([[Curule seat|curule chair]]), and above all the primary symbol of state power: the ''[[fasces]]''. The latter was a bundle of whipping rods surrounding a double-bladed axe, carried by the king's [[lictor]]s. An example of the fasces are the remains of bronze rods and the axe from a tomb in Etruscan [[Vetulonia]]. This allowed archaeologists to identify the depiction of a fasces on the grave [[stele]] of Avele Feluske, who is shown as a warrior wielding the fasces. The most telling Etruscan feature is the word ''populus'', which appears as an Etruscan deity, [[Fufluns]].