Editing Etruscan civilization (section)

===Expansion===
{{main|Etruria Padana|Etruria Campana}}
[[File:Map of Europe with indication of the directions of the traffic of Etruscan and Greek products - (English language version).svg|thumb|right|Etruscan territories and major spread pathways of Etruscan products]]
Etruscan expansion was focused both to the north beyond the [[Apennine Mountains]] and into Campania. Some small towns in the sixth century&nbsp;BC disappeared during this time, ostensibly subsumed by greater, more powerful neighbors. However, it is certain that the political structure of the Etruscan culture was similar to, albeit more aristocratic than, [[Magna Graecia]] in the south. The mining and commerce of metal, especially [[copper]] and [[Iron (material)|iron]], led to an enrichment of the Etruscans and to the expansion of their influence in the Italian peninsula and the western [[Mediterranean Sea]]. Here, their interests collided with those of the Greeks, especially in the sixth century&nbsp;BC, when [[Phocaea]]ns of Italy founded colonies along the coast of [[Sardinia]], [[Spain]] and [[Corsica]]. This led the Etruscans to ally themselves with [[Ancient Carthage|Carthage]], whose interests also collided with the Greeks.<ref name="historyone">{{cite book|first=Larissa |last=Bonfante |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QaXZky58FIC&q=Etruscan+League&pg=PA58 |title=Etruscan life and afterlife|via=Google Books | access-date=2009-04-22 | isbn=978-0-8143-1813-3|year = 1986|publisher=Wayne State University Press }}</ref><ref name="historytwo">{{cite book |author=John Franklin Hall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bUhT7i7XhOAC&q=Etruscan+League&pg=PA198 |title=Etruscan Italy |via=Google Books |access-date=2009-04-22 |isbn=978-0-8425-2334-9 |df=dmy-all|year = 1996| publisher=Indiana University Press }}</ref>

Around 540&nbsp;BC, the [[Battle of Alalia]] led to a new distribution of power in the western Mediterranean. Though the battle had no clear winner, [[Carthage]] managed to expand its sphere of influence at the Greeks' expense, and Etruria saw itself relegated to the northern [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] with full ownership of [[Corsica]]. From the first half of the 5th&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC, the new political situation meant the beginning of the Etruscan decline after losing their southern provinces. In 480&nbsp;BC, Etruria's ally Carthage was defeated by a coalition of Magna Graecia cities led by [[Syracuse, Sicily]]. A few years later, in 474&nbsp;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 the area was taken over by Romans and [[Samnites]].

In the 4th century&nbsp;BC, Etruria saw a [[Gaul|Gallic]] invasion end its influence over the [[Po Valley]] and the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic coast]]. Meanwhile, [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] had started annexing Etruscan cities. This led to the loss of the northern Etruscan provinces. During the [[Roman–Etruscan Wars]], Etruria was conquered by Rome in the 3rd century&nbsp;BC.<ref name="historyone"/><ref name="historytwo"/>