Editing History of Italy (section)

===Etruscan civilization===
{{Main|Etruscan civilization}}
The [[Etruscan civilization]] flourished in central Italy after 800 BC. The main hypotheses on the origins of the [[Etruscans]] are that they are indigenous,<ref name="plosone.org" /> probably stemming from the [[Villanovan culture]], or that they are the result of invasion from the north or the [[Near East]]. A 2007 study has suggested a [[Near East]]ern origin.<ref>{{Cite journal |vauthors=Achilli A, Olivieri A, Pala M, etal |date=April 2007 |title=Mitochondrial DNA variation of modern Tuscans supports the near eastern origin of Etruscans |journal=Am. J. Hum. Genet. |volume=80 |issue=4 |pages=759–68 |doi=10.1086/512822 |pmc=1852723 |pmid=17357081}}</ref> The researchers conclude that their data, taken from the modern Tuscan population, "support the scenario of a post-Neolithic genetic input from the Near East to the present-day population of Tuscany". In the absence of any dating evidence, there is however no direct link between this genetic input and the Etruscans. By contrast, a [[mtDNA|mitochondrial DNA]] study of 2013 has suggested that the Etruscans were probably an indigenous population. Among ancient populations, ancient Etruscans are found to be closest to a Neolithic population from Central Europe.<ref name="plosone.org">{{Cite journal |last1=Ghirotto |first1=Silvia |last2=Tassi |first2=Francesca |last3=Fumagalli |first3=Erica |last4=Colonna |first4=Vincenza |last5=Sandionigi |first5=Anna |last6=Lari |first6=Martina |last7=Vai |first7=Stefania |last8=Petiti |first8=Emmanuele |last9=Corti |first9=Giorgio |last10=Rizzi |first10=Ermanno |last11=De Bellis |first11=Gianluca |last12=Caramelli |first12=David |last13=Barbujani |first13=Guido |date=2013-02-06 |editor-last=Hawks |editor-first=John |title=Origins and Evolution of the Etruscans' mtDNA |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=8 |issue=2 |page=e55519 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...855519G |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0055519 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3566088 |pmid=23405165 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

It is widely accepted that Etruscans spoke a non-[[Indo-European language]]. Some inscriptions in a similar language, known as [[Lemnian language|Lemnian]], have been found on the Aegean island of [[Lemnos]]. Etruscans were a monogamous society that emphasized pairing. The historical Etruscans had achieved a form of state with remnants of chiefdom and tribal forms. The first attestations of an [[Etruscan religion]] can be traced to the [[Villanovan culture]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Thomson de Grummond |first1=Nancy |author-link=Nancy Thomson de Grummond |title=The Religion of the Etruscans |last2=Simon |first2=Erika |author-link2=Erika Simon |date=2006 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=0-2927-0687-1 |location=Austin}}</ref>

Etruscan expansion was focused across the [[Apennines]]. The political structure of the Etruscan culture was similar, albeit more aristocratic, to Magna Graecia in the south. The mining and commerce of metal, especially copper and iron, led to an enrichment of the Etruscans and to the expansion of their influence in the Italian peninsula and the western [[Mediterranean]]. Here their interests collided with those of the Greeks, especially in the 6th century BC, when [[Phoceans]] of Italy founded colonies along the coast of France, Catalonia and [[Corsica]]. This led the Etruscans to ally themselves with the [[Carthaginians]].<ref name="historyone">{{Cite book |last=Bonfante |first=Larissa |author-link=Larissa Bonfante |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QaXZky58FIC&pg=PA58 |title=Etruscan Life and Afterlife: A Handbook of Etruscan Studies |date=1986 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |isbn=0-8143-1813-4 |page=58}}</ref><ref name="historytwo">{{Cite book |last=Franklin Hall |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUhT7i7XhOAC&pg=PA198 |title=Etruscan Italy: Etruscan Influences on the Civilizations of Italy from Antiquity to the Modern Era |date=1996 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=0-8425-2334-0 |page=198}}</ref>

Around 540 BC, the [[Battle of Alalia]] led to a new distribution of power in the western Mediterranean. [[Carthage]] expanded its sphere of influence at the expense of the Greeks, and [[Etruria]] saw itself relegated to Corsica. From the first half of the 5th century, the new international political situation meant the beginning of the Etruscan decline. In 480 BC, Etruria's ally Carthage was defeated by a coalition of Magna Graecia cities led by [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]].<ref name="historyone" /><ref name="historytwo" />

A few years later, in 474 BC, Syracuse's tyrant [[Hiero I of Syracuse|Hiero]] defeated the Etruscans at the [[Battle of Cumae]]. Etruria's influence over the cities of [[Latium]] and Campania weakened, and it was taken over by Romans and [[Samnites]]. In the 4th century, Etruria saw a [[Gaul|Gallic]] invasion end its influence over the [[Po River|Po]] valley and the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] coast. Meanwhile, [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] had started annexing Etruscan cities. This led to the loss of their north provinces. [[Etruscia]] was assimilated by Rome around 500 BC.<ref name="historyone" /><ref name="historytwo" />

{{Gallery|align=center
|width=160 |File:Tomba dei Rilievi (Banditaccia).jpg|Necropolis of Banditaccia located in [[Cerveteri]], Lazio
|File:Chimera d'arezzo, fi, 03.JPG|[[Chimera of Arezzo]]
|File:Perugia, Museo archeologico Nazionale dell'Umbria, cippo di Perugia.jpg|[[Cippus Perusinus]]
}}