The Etruscan Cities & Rome - Softcover

Scullard, Professor H. H.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801860725 ISBN 13: 9780801860720

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998

Synopsis

"Scullard's command of scholarship and his ability to evaluate all types of evidence are combined with an exemplary clarity in language: this is an impressive and highly useful book... Scullard moves with controlled ease through details of archaeological evidence, the vague references of literary sources and bits of linguistic data."--Doris Taylor Bishop, Classical World

In The Etruscan Cities and Rome, Howard H. Scullard examines the cities of Etruria, the dominant power on the Italian peninsula just prior to the ascendancy of Rome. Though eventually conquered by the Romans, the Etruscans exerted enormous influence on Roman political and social institutions. Scullard describes the mysterious origins of these people, their years of conquest and expansion, and their encounters with Greeks, Romans, Celts, and others. Generously illustrated, the book admirably captures the distinct qualities of Etruria's various urban centers -- from the southern cities where art and handicrafts flourished, to the metal-working northern cities, to the outlying Etruscan areas of Latium and Campania.

"Comprehensive, helpful, sensible and well aware of current discoveries and research... Professor Scullard, with the help of 120 good plates, has had the excellent idea of treating [the cities] not only as a group but also as a number of distinct idiosyncratic units. His views on the eternally discussed major questions are always prudent."--Times Literary Supplement

"A description of each site is enhanced by a plan and by photographs of the major remains of buildings, finds, and works of art. Descriptions are correlated with available testimony of ancient writers. Thus the book is both a 'travel book' and a history of the individual cities... The book's contribution lies in its synthesis of evidence from various sources and in the reconstruction of the development, status, and history of the individual cities."--Inez Scott Ryberg, American Historical Review

About this title

Review:

Rome is known to us today as a mighty empire, but it emerged slowly, and in the face of a greater regional power: namely, the combined city-states of Etruria, in what are now the Italian provinces of Tuscany and Umbria. H.H. Scullard, the late University of London classicist, offers a comprehensive view of Etruscan culture and history in this survey, originally published in 1967 and regarded as a standard work. Scullard examines the controversial question of Etruscan origins, weighing the evidence for whether the Etruscans entered Italy as a distinct ethnic group or, instead--and more likely--they evolved from elements of local and foreign cultures. He describes the rise of commercial and political centers such as Perusia, Caere, Vulci, and Veii, pointing to impressive examples of Etruscan engineering and architecture that the Romans would later emulate. Along the way he considers aspects of Etruscan ritual and material culture, including the weapons and elaborate tombs for which the Etruscans were justly famous in ancient times. Scullard closes with a discussion of Etruria's relations with Rome, marked by a period of Etruscan rule over the city during the reign of the Tarquins in the 6th century, a reign that ended with the collapse of Etruscan power in Latium and the rise of republican government within Rome itself. --Gregory McNamee

About the Author:

Howard H. Scullard (1903-83) was a professor of ancient history at the University of London. He was the author of The History of the Roman World from 753 to 146 B.C. and From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68.

About this edition

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0801860725
• ISBN 13: 9780801860720
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384