Editing Etruscan civilization (section)

===Government===
{{Main|Etruscan society#Government|l1=Etruscan governance}}
[[File:Etruscan mother and child 500 to 450 BCE.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Etruscan mother and child, 500–450&nbsp;BC]]
The historical Etruscans had achieved a [[Sovereign state|state]] system of society, with remnants of the [[chiefdom]] and tribal forms. Rome was in a sense the first Italic state, but it began as an Etruscan one. It is believed that the Etruscan government style changed from total [[monarchy]] to [[oligarchic]] [[republic]] (as the Roman Republic) in the 6th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jean-Paul Thuillier |title=Les Étrusques|publisher=Éditions du Chêne|year=2006|isbn=2842776585|language=fr|page=142}}</ref>

The government was viewed as being a central authority, ruling over all tribal and clan organizations. It retained the power of life and death; in fact, the [[gorgon]], an ancient symbol of that power, appears as a motif in Etruscan decoration. The adherents to this state power were united by a common religion. Political unity in Etruscan society was the city-state, which was probably the referent of {{Transliteration|ett|methlum}}, "district". Etruscan texts name quite a number of [[magistrate]]s, without much of a hint as to their function: The {{Transliteration|ett|camthi}}, the {{Transliteration|ett|parnich}}, the {{Transliteration|ett|purth}}, the {{Transliteration|ett|tamera}}, the {{Transliteration|ett|macstrev}}, and so on. The people were the ''mech''.

==== Importance of Religion in the Government ====
Governments in ancient Mediterranean societies were explicitly interweaved with the religious practices of the contemporary. The Etruscan King ''lucomo (plural: lucumones),'' was considered the supreme authority and under the Etruscans’ theocratic governmental approach acted as the connection between god and people. The royal title was not just limited to hereditary succession but was also given due to elite lineage, divine sanction and also wealth. This prominence of divine sanction is reflective of the importance of religion in Etruscan governments and as such, all Etruscan kingship was also believed to be under divine approval and held the final word. Roman historian Titus Livius records the story of Lucomo which reflects how the divinity was revered and understood in the Etruscan era as captured by Roman historians. Lucomo was propelled by his wife Tanaquil to acquire power in Rome due to the inability to do so in Etruscan government,(Rome is considered the first Italic state) and on their journey an eagle replaced Lucomo’s cap, which was interpreted as an omen from the divine of future kingship.<blockquote>      “That such bird had come from such a quarter of the heavens… it had lifted the ornament placed on the head of man, to restore it to the same, by direction of the gods.” <ref>{{Citation |last=Livy |title=Ab Urbe Condita |date=2018-08-14 |work=Liviana: Studies on Livy |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oseo/instance.00265868 |access-date=2025-03-27 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-882468-8}}</ref></blockquote>
[[File:Etruscan tombs at Villafranca (Castiglione del Lago) (5).jpg|thumb|Etruscan tomb]]
This notion of combined political power and religious authorities held by the kingship is reinforced by [[Sybille Haynes]], an expert on Etruscology, described the ''lucomo'' to also be "chief priest."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ridgway |first=David |date=2001 |title=Etruscan Civilization: a Cultural History. By Sybille Haynes. 260mm. Pp xx + 432, 84 col pls, 246 ill, 4 maps. London: British Museum Press, 2000. ISBN 0–7141–2228–9. £35.00. |url=https://doi.org/10.1017/s0003581500072486 |journal=The Antiquaries Journal |volume=81 |pages=425–425 |doi=10.1017/s0003581500072486 |issn=0003-5815}}</ref> Tombs of the royals found also are engraved with divine symbols, which can be interpreted to understand that kings in this society acted as a connection between humans and the spiritual.

While there was a transition from monarchy to oligarchic democracy, religion was deeply intertwined with Etruscan political and governmental identity, as Kings and magistrates worked to ensure peace with the gods by rituals and interpretation of the divine and their will through haruspicy and augury.  The [[Haruspex|haruspices]] were a group of pristries who by analysis of the celestial signs and animal entrails could deduce the will of the gods. The creation of city-states as Tenney Frank argued took place due to economic and natural advantages, and also due to a need for common tribal meetings in ancient polities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Frank |first=Tenney |date=January 1914 |title=Representative Government in the Macedonian Republics |url=https://doi.org/10.1086/359849 |journal=Classical Philology |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=49–59 |doi=10.1086/359849 |issn=0009-837X}}</ref> It allowed for a dialogue of ideas to increase communication, and desires and was headed by the ''zilath mechl rasnal'', (“magistrate of the Etruscan people”)  who as modern scholars have argued functioned largely as a ceremonial leader, rather than a federal executive.  Modelling a decentralised theocracy, this role further ties together the idea that Entruscan government was held through shared religious rituals and beliefs.

It is important to note that while Etruscan city states such as Tarquinia and Veii were established as politically autonomous, being centered around aristocratic rule and magistrates, international composition in these states were also considered progressive by scholars and historians. It is believed often due to the abundance of Greek and Roman sources over Etruscan ones that women were not allowed participation and enjoyment in public life, however  their society was depicted to revere female gods, and women were allowed to participate in public life.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ra'Ad |first=Basem L. |date=2001 |title=Primal Scenes of Globalization: Legacies of Canaan and Etruria |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/463644 |journal=PMLA |volume=116 |issue=1 |pages=89–110 |issn=0030-8129}}</ref> This reverence for female duties can be deduced to understand how gender-diverse spirituality was also an important aspect of Etruscan society.

Political religion also extended to the establishment of the twelve city-states, whose league was called “''duodecim populi Etruriae.''” This league held assemblies annually and selected their ''zilath mechl rasna'' at the ''Fanun Voltumnae,'' the shrine of [[Voltumna|Voltuma]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book V Chapter 1 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/5A*.html |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> Taking place at a sanctuary dedicated to the god Voltuma. These assemblies acted as both political conferences where military and peace talks could be held as well as religious festivals. Foreign policy, related to war, and alliances, were believed to be an outcome of the will of the gods, and discussions regarding this also took place at the yearly assemblies. [[Mario Torelli]] articulates that these asemblies served the purpose of ensuing a divine sanction for the actions decided by the collective.<ref name=mt>{{Cite journal |last=Torelli |first=Mario |date=2015-03-04 |title=Etruscans, Army of the |url=https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118318140.wbra0580 |journal=The Encyclopedia of the Roman Army |pages=351–388 |doi=10.1002/9781118318140.wbra0580}}</ref>  Lastly, the importance of religion in these meetings is further emblematic by the appointment of a dictator,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Le Glay |first=Marcel |title=A history of Rome |last2=Voisin |first2=Jean-Louis |last3=Le Bohec |first3=Yann |last4=Le Glay |first4=Marcel |date=2009 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-8327-7 |edition=4th |location=Oxford}}</ref> who was chosen based on religious rituals to then hold the same supreme authority that the King had enjoyed in early Etruscan civilisation. As such, it can be envisioned that Etruscan policy and assemblies prioritised and revered divine legitimacy, the messages from gods were treated as the ultimate authority and the government’s desire to maintain a strong positive relationship is prevalent.

Religion was further embedded into the urban and geographical organisations of city states, and temples became an important political feature where decisions would be made as gods would act as a tool of legitimation. Mario Torelli, an Italian scholar of the culture of Etruscans, notes the intersection of temples as a place of worship and political power, creating the ultimate intersection cultivating an environment of sacred order.<ref name=mt/>

Etruscan’s political and governmental strategies, with their influence of religion, also left a legacy in Roman religion and statecraft. Roman annexation of Etruscan city states occurred in the 4th and 3rd century BCE, and saw the adoption of many religious-political practices. Practices such as augury and haruspicy remained especially prevalent, as Etruscan haruspices were called upon by the Roman senate reflecting the importance of religion in nation building. As much of what is known about Etruscans comes from Greek and Roman authors, due to the few written records remaining from Etruscan’s, it is studied through perspectives other than their own leading to a diminished understanding of religious importance in Etruscan governance.