Ancient Italy History

The history of Italy begins in the 9th century B.C. when the earliest written records of tribes exist. There were three main groups of people who established the first settlements in the land we call Italy today. The Oscans, Umbrains, and Latins were the three linguistic groups that could be easily separated by their languages.

Eventually the Latin culture was the group to become the most dominant, resulting in Rome?s establishment around 350 B.C. This was the most powerful city-state in Italy?s history, which became a flourishing empire until its fall in 476 A.D. There were many city-states that remained for hundreds of years after Rome fell, which were later conquered by outside forces and annexed.

Ancient Tribes of Italy

Before Rome grew and conquered the surrounding people and lands, Italic tribes were cultures that were not necessarily related or similar in ethnicity and language. Different languages like Greek and Italic were spoken, with each having their own dialects.

Some history of the tribes in Italy is lost due to written records only appearing at a certain time. Mythology has been examined, as well as archaeological ruins, to determine more details about the ancient tribal cultures. The lineages that lived in Italy included descendants of Etruscans, Ligurians, and Raetians.

The Etruscan Civilization

One of the most flourishing civilizations in Italy?s history was the Etruscan culture that appears in records dated after 800 B.C. It?s unknown where the origins of the Etruscans came from, but a popular theory among historians is that they are an indigenous people. Others suggest they moved to their place in Italy in the form of invasion from the Near East or farther north.

The Etruscan civilization grew thanks to their large mining industry of precious metals like iron and copper. Of course, this put them in a sticky situation as competitors with the Greeks, who also enjoyed the rich value of such resources.

Greek Influence on Italy History

Many people from ancient Greece came to Italy, and they brought many cultural elements with them. The Greek language, religion, and political ideas made its way into several regions of Italy that were once primarily influenced by the indigenous tribes that lived there.

A very significant example of this cross-cultural influence was the introduction of a very specific variety of the Greek alphabet. The Etruscans decided to take on this new system of writing and speaking, which was called the Old Italic alphabet. This later evolved into the familiar Latin alphabet, which is the most commonly used one in the world.

To find out more about the history of the ancient world, visit Ancient History

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