The Etruscan civilization, which flourished in central Italy from the 8th to 3rd century BCE, gained a reputation in antiquity for being party-loving pushovers when it came to warfare, but the reality is somewhat different. History being most often written by the victors, the Etruscans were conquered by and assimilated into the Romans' fast-growing empire, and Latin authors minimised the debt they owed to Italy's first great civilization and the difficulties they had in establishing themselves as top dog in the region. Without extensive written texts of their own, the history of the Etruscans must be pieced together from what little remains of their culture, namely, the ruins of fortification walls, surviving weapons, armour, and artworks depicting warfare-related themes, and secondhand accounts of ancient writers. Nevertheless, some features of Etruscan warfare become clear: the use of bronze armour, shields and swords, a preoccupation for defence shown in the building of fortification walls, and a general lack of unity between cities, which would, in the end, ring the death knell of the Etruscan culture.
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Definition
Timeline
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540 BCEA joint Carthaginian and Cerveteri force wins the Battle of the Sardinian Sea against the Phocaeans.
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539 BCEEtruscan & Carthaginian alliance expels the Greeks from Corsica.
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c. 475 BCECelts defeat the Etruscans at the Ticino River.
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474 BCEAn Etruscan fleet is defeated by the navy of Syracuse at the Battle of Cumae.
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437 BCE - 435 BCERome defeats Etruscan Veii in the Veientine War; the Etruscan king Lars Tolumnius is killed.
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400 BCECelts enter Italy and settle in the Po Valley.
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396 BCERome sacks the Etruscan town of Veii after a ten-year siege.
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396 BCECelts defeat an Etruscan army at the battle of Melpum. Afterwards the Celts heavily settle all over the Po Valley.
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394 BCEEtruscan Volsinii and their ally Sappinum unsuccessfully attacks Rome.
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391 BCESenones besiege Clusium, an Etruscan city.
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384 BCESyracuse attacks the ports of the Etruscan city of Cerveteri.
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356 BCE307 Roman prisoners are sacrificed in the forum of the Etruscan city of Tarquinia.
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294 BCEA Roman army led by L. Postimius Megellus defeats an army from Etruscan Volsinii.
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284 BCEEtruscan Volsinii with an army of Gauls attacks Arretium.
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283 BCERomans defeat the Etruscans and Celts at lake Vadimo.
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280 BCEThe Romans conquer the Etruscan cities of Tarquinia, Volsinii and Vulci.
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273 BCERome conquers the Etruscan town of Cerveteri.
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264 BCEEtruscan Volsinii is sacked by the Romans and its residents relocated to Bolsena.
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225 BCECelts defeat 6000 Romans at Faesulae and proceed to overrun Etruria.
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82 BCE - 80 BCEVolterra is besieged and sacked by Roman general Sulla.