Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1126

 1102 TAEQUINII. tion considered as subsisting between tins Tages and Tarchon himself, the eponvmous hero of Tarquinii. (Miiller, Etrusker, vol. i. p. 73.) It is imposhible here to discuss the historical beurinss of these traditions, which seem to point to Tarquinii as the point from ■whence the power and civilisation of the Etruscans emanated as from a centre, while on the other hand there is another body of traditions which seems to represent that people as gradually extending them- selves y»'om the north, and Cortona as the first centre and stronghold of their power. [Etruria, Vol. I. p. 859.] A somewhat ditferent version is given by Justin, who states that Tarquinii was founded by the Thessalians, probably meaning the Pelasgians from The.ssaly, to whom Hellanicus ascribed the colonisa- tion of Etruria in general. (Justin, xx. 1; Hel- lanic. np Dionys. i. 28.) But whatever valu« may be attached to the.se traditions, they may at least be admitted as proving the reputed high antiquity and early power of Tar- quinii as compared with the other cities of Southern Etruria: and this is confirmed by the important position it appears to have held, when its name first appears in connection with the Roman history. Ci- cero calls it " urbem Etruriae florentissimam " at the time when Demaratus, the father of Tarqui- iiius Priscns, was said to have established him.self there. (Cic. de Rep. ii. 19.) It is remarkable indeed that the story which derived the origin of the Eoinan king Tarquinius from Corinth represented his father Demaratus as bringing with him Greek artists, and thus appears to ascribe the first origin or introduction of the arts into Etruria, as well as its religious institutions, to Tarquinii. (Plin. sxxv. 12. s. 43; Strab. v. p. 220.) It is unnecessary to repeat here the well-known story of the emigration of an Etruscan Lucumo from Tarquinii to Rome, where he became king under the name of Lucius Tarquinius. (Liv. i. 34; Dionys. iii. 46 — 48; Cic. de Rep. ii. 19, 20; Strab. v. p. 219.) The con- nection with Tarquinii is rejected by Niebuhr, as a mere etymological fable, but it is not easy to say on what grounds. The name of Tarquinius, as that of a gens or family, as well as that of the city, is undoubtedly Etruscan; the native form being "Tarcnas:" and the strong infusion of Etruscan- influence into the Roman state before the close of the regal period is a fact which cannot reasonably be questioned. It is remarkable also that the Roman traditions represented the Tarquinians as joining with the Veientes in the first attempt to restore the exiled Tarquins, B.C. 509, though from this time fdrth we do not again hear of their name for more than a century. (Liv. ii. 6, 7; Dionj's. v. 14.) The story of the emigration of the elder Tarquin to Rome, as well as that of his father De- maratus from Corinth, may fairly be deemed un- worthy of belief in its present fui'm; but it is probable that in both cases there was a historical foundation for the fiction. After the war already mentioned, in the first year of the Republic, no subsequent mention of Tarquinii occurs in Roman history till B.C. 398, when the Tarquinians took up arms, and ravaged the Roman territories, while their army was en- gaged in the siege of Veil. They were, however, intercepted on their march home, and all their booty taken from thein. (Liv. v. 16.) Livy distinctly calls them on this occasion ''novi hostes:" but from this time they took an active part in the wars of the Etruscans with Rome. The conquest of Veii in TARQUINII. B.C. 396, had indeed the effect of bringing the Romans into immediate collision with the cities which lay next beyond it, and among these Tar- quinii and Volsinii seem to have taken the lead. Already in B. c. 389, we find the Tarquinians join- ing with the other cities of Southern Etruria in an attempt to recover Sutrium: the next year their territory was in its turn invaded by the Romans, who took the towns of Cortuosa and Contenebra, both places otherwise unknown, but which appear to have been dependencies of Tarquinii. (Liv. vi. 3, 4.) From this time we hear no more of them till b. c. .'i58, when the Tarquinians, having ravaged the Roman territories, the consul C. Fabius marched against them, but was defeated in a pitched battle, and 307 of the prisoners taken on the occasion were put to death in the Forum of Tarquinii, as a saciifice to the Etruscan deities. (Liv. vii. 12, 15.) Shortly after, we find the Tarquinians and Faliscans again in arms, and in the first battle which occurred between them and the Romans they are said to have obtained the victory by putting forward their priests with flaming torches and serpents in their hands, to strike tenor into their assailants. (Liv. vii. 16, 17). But the Etruscans were defeated in their turn by C. Marcius Rutilus, who was named dic- tator to oppo.se them : and two years later (b. c. 354) the Romans took a sanguinary revenge for the massacre of their prisoners, by putting to death, in the Forum at Rome, 358 of the captives taken from the Tarquinians, chiefly of noble birth. (/6. 19.) But the spirit of the Tarquinians was not yet subdued, and with the supportfof the Faliscans and Caerites, who now for a short time took part against Rome, they continued the war till B.C. 351, when they sued for peace, and obtained a truce for forty years. {lb. 19—22.) This truce appears to have been faithfully ob- served, for we hear nothing more of hostilities with Tarquinii till b. c. 311, when the Tarquinians appear to have united with the other confederate cities of Etruria in attacking the Roman colony of Sutrium. They were, however, defeated by the Roman consul Aemilius Barbula, and again the next year by Q. Fabius, who followed up his victory by passing the Ciminian forest, and carrying his arms for the first time into Northern Etruria. There is no doubt that the Tarquinians, though not mentioned by name, bore a part in this contest as well as in the great battle at the Vadimonian lake in the following year (b. c. 309), as we find them soon after making their submission to Rome, and purchasing the favour of the consul Decius by sending him supplies of corn. (Liv. ix, 32, 35—39, 41.) They now ob- tained a fresh truce for forty years (76. 41) ; and from this time we hear no more of them as an inde- pendent nation. Whether this long truce, like the last, was faithfully observed, or the Tarqtiinians once more joined in the final struggles of the Etruscans for independence, we know not ; but it is certain that they passed, in common with the other chief cities of Etruria, gradually into the condition of de- pendent allies of Roiue, which they retained till the Social War (b. c. 90), when they as well as all the other Etruscans obtained the full Roman franchise. (Ap|)ian, B. C. i. 49.) The only mention of Tarquinii that occurs in this interval is during the Second Punic War, when the citizens came forward to fur- nish the expedition of Scipio with sail-cloth for his fleet. (Liv. xxviii. 45.) According to the Liber Coloniarum a body of colonists was sent thither by