ABSTRACT
The region of central Italy between the valley of the Tiber, the valley of the Arno, and the Apennines, called Etruria, was inhabited by the Etruscans. Although distinct in language and culture, Rome had been heavily influenced by nearby Etruscan cities such as Caere and Veii. Indeed, Etruscan monarchs had ruled Rome for over a century. But during the fifth century B.C., Rome initiated a century-long period of continuous border conflicts with Veii that ended in the defeat and destruction of the Etruscan city in 396 B.C. Eventually, all Etruria was controlled by Rome. By the time of the Roman empire, the Etruscan language was discarded and the last vestige of Etruscan autonomy had disappeared. The statue of Juno which figures so prominently in Livy's account has been lost, but an earlier Etruscan temple image from Veii, Apollo, has survived. The Etruscans were especially famous in the ancient world for the art of divination.
