The Etruscans are a mysterious people. Etruscans: are they really the ancestors of the Russians

Scientists-historians still really know almost nothing about when and where exactly the birth of the main ancestors of the Russian people - the Slavs - took place. The Slavs are one of the youngest peoples, historically reliable information about which appeared only in the middle of the 1st millennium AD. However, at that time the Slavs were already one of the most numerous peoples in Europe. Where and who were the Slavs before they were called that?

Currently, there are many hypotheses and versions about the origin of the Russian people. Which of them is true, it is impossible to say for sure. But Russian history is much more ancient than Norman historians thought. Researchers in Lately began to quite often draw a parallel between the Russians and the disappeared Etruscans. Moreover, some researchers began to call the Etruscans Proto-Slavs. Is this really so?

archaeological discoveries made over the past century in the Balkans and the Apennine Peninsula have become revolutionary for European historiography. They affected not only the early Roman and ancient times and led to the emergence of Etruscology, a new field of historiography. The information obtained by archaeologists provided exhaustive material that made it possible to fully study the culture of the Etruscans - their way of life, rituals, traditions, religion and language. All this made it possible to trace the entire history of development Etruscan civilization. They shed light on many "dark spots" in history and gave answers to the most important questions that concerned the prehistory of the Slavs. Researchers who comprehensively and deeply worked on ancient sources immediately drew attention to the ethnogenetic and ethnocultural ties between the Etruscans and Rus'.

According to the ideas of the Etruscans, which are completely identical to the Slavic ones, in the center of the world was located sacred mountain where earth and sky meet. The Etruscans believed that there was a Vedic temple on this ancient mountain. For this reason, in every city, the so-called "model" of such a mountain was considered a temple - a meeting place for earth, sky and underworld. The question of the origin of the Etruscan ideas about the world is still open. The original works of the Etruscans have not been preserved to this day - only in Roman adaptations. Therefore, modern researchers in the study of the Etruscan worldview rely mainly on sculptural images, reliefs and drawings. Thousands of Etruscan inscriptions on the walls of tombs, sarcophagi, figurines, grave steles, mirrors and vessels have survived to this day.

The evidence found during the excavation of ancient Etruria made it possible to speak of the similarity of the ancient Slavic culture with the Etruscan. The calendar, the nature of the burials, the names of the Etruscans, their traditions have the same roots with the culture of the Slavs. Particularly impressive are the data that for the first time made it possible to identify the writing and language of the Etruscans - vocabulary and the grammar of the Etruscan language has many coincidences with Old Slavonic. For example, the word "est" in the Etruscan language also meant: "to eat" and "to eat." Against the background of such discoveries, no one was shocked by the assertion that over 2000 years the alphabet used by the Etruscans has undergone the most minor changes - only two letters have been added to it. By the 10th century AD, it became known under the name "Cyrillic".

General conclusion, which archaeologists made, based on this information, is that the Etruscans are Proto-Slavs. A huge amount of material data show the identity of the cultures of the ancient Slavs and Etruscans. There is not a single fact that would contradict this. All the fundamental features of the cultures of the ancient Slavs and Etruscans coincide. Moreover, all the features that unite the cultures of the Etruscans and Slavs are unique and different from other cultures. No other nation possesses any of these characteristics. In other words, the culture of the Etruscans is unlike anyone other than the Slavs. You can also say about the Slavs, who in the past are not like anyone except the Etruscans. Many historians believe that the main reason that the Etruscans are persistently trying to "bury" is that they had no other descendants than the Slavs.

In academic science, it is believed that the Etruscans lived from the 8th to the 2nd century BC, and the Slavs appeared only in the 5th-6th centuries AD, so the Etruscans could not know the Russian language and could not be Russian. But how, in this case, to explain that Moscow and Rus' are mentioned on the Etruscan mirrors? In addition, the Etruscans knew the Arabs well, Dakar in Africa, Egypt. It seems that they were simply “pushed back” a millennium ago. It is interesting that two inscriptions are made on one mirror on the head of Atlant - Rome is written on the beard, and Rus' is written on the hair. Rus' is higher than Rome, and this can be explained by the fact that Rome was founded by Russia. In Rome, everyone wrote in Russian, Russian voices sounded, and only then the Latins gradually began to come there. They slowly accumulated and eventually ousted the Slavs.

It is believed that the Etruscans lived on its territory even before the founding of Rome. It was they who cast the statue of the Capitoline Wolf, which testifies to the excellent ability to process metal. But oddly enough, leaving behind a huge amount of beautiful products, written monuments and even fortified cities such as Florence, Capue, Bologna - the Etruscans suddenly disappeared into obscurity. Entire generations of researchers worked on the texts that they left behind and could not master them in any way. It is surprising that in Russia in the 19th century they learned to read the texts of the Etruscans. This happened thanks to F. Volansky, who suggested that the Etruscan language is very close to the Slavic language. He even compiled the Etruscan alphabet. If you learn to use such an alphabet, then the inscriptions can be easily read. This may indicate that the Etruscan language is one of the variants Slavic language, which arose and spread even before the founding of Rome.

All this leads to a revision of the whole history, and a revision of the traditional views on the Slavs. After all, it was generally accepted that the Slavs did not play any special role in world history and lived modestly in the backyards of Europe during the heyday of the greatest European civilizations. World historiography is not even able to admit the idea that the Slavs are not only the inhabitants of the swamps of the Middle Ages, but also the direct descendants of the most ancient tribe of the Etruscans, who lived in Italy as early as the 2nd century BC, and whose culture lay in foundation of ancient Rome. It must be said that many domestic researchers also act within the framework of the model of European historiography, not trying to get to the bottom of the truth.

Konstantin Milyaev

As a boy, reading a children's encyclopedia, I drew attention to the history of the mysterious people - the Etruscans. And when I read that the Etruscan language still cannot be translated, despite the numerous examples of writing that have survived, I already thought: “Etruscans ... The root of the word is Russian ... This is very similar to the word “Russians.” Why not try to decipher Etruscan Old Russian language? And already as an adult, having become acquainted with the works of the writer Vladimir Shcherbakov and a number of other Etruscologists, I again returned to this topic.

Descendants of the sons of the leopard

The Roman historian Titus of Livy wrote about the Etruscans of the first millennium BC as follows: “The Etruscan Empire before the Roman Empire covered significant areas by land and sea ... They dominated the upper and lower seas that wash Italy ... One of them is called Tussky by the Italian peoples , by the name of the people, the other - by the Adriatic, from Adria, the colony of the Etruscans ... ".
Fifty-oared Etruscan ships 25 meters long plowed the Mediterranean expanses both near Etruria and very far from it. The Etruscan warships were equipped with an underwater metal ram, which the Romans called the rostrum (the word is undoubtedly the Etruscan "sprout").
On the coins of Vetulonia and other Etruscan city-states, you can see the image of an improved anchor with two metal paws. It is not difficult to understand the advantages of such an anchor: before its invention, anchor stones, baskets with stones were used.
The most famous of the Etruscan cities - Chatal-Gyuyuk and Chayenu-Telezi - were found by archaeologists in Asia Minor. The inhabitants of Chatal-Gyuyuk built houses from raw bricks in the 7th millennium BC. They knew 14 species of cultivated plants. Scraps of fabrics of that period cause amazement even among modern weavers. The technique of polishing obsidian mirrors was unique. Holes in beads made of semi-precious stones were drilled thinner than the eye of a needle. The craftsmanship and artistic taste of the ancient Etruscans far surpass anything known to other regions of our planet. Judging by some signs, this most ancient of human civilizations could compete with the legendary Atlantis in many ways.
Sanctuaries and temples were found in Chatal-Guyuk, and a whole priestly region of this ancient settlement was found. The mother goddess, who gives life to a child (one of the main deities of Chatal-Gyuyuk), sits on a throne, the handles of which are decorated in the form of two leopards. Eastern Atlantis, as Etruria was called, is millennia older than the pyramids and other ancient monuments, including the Sumerian ones.
One of the oldest Etruscan frescoes depicts a leopard motif. Two lead the horse by the bridle. On a horse is a boy, behind him is a leopard or a cheetah. The beast trustingly put its paw on the boy's shoulder. The fresco was found on the territory of modern Italy, but the homeland of the Etruscans is still Asia Minor. In the language of the Khatgs, who inhabited Asia Minor five or six thousand years ago, one can find the root "ras" in the name of the leopard. The Etruscans called themselves races.
In ancient times, a single proto-language developed in the Eastern Mediterranean. Its bearers are the most ancient tribes who worshiped the leopard - the race: races, russes, rusits. It was they who at one time withstood the blow of the great Atlanteans, who intended to enslave the entire Mediterranean.

The mystery of Etruscan letters

Unfortunately, there are still many difficulties with the decipherment of Etruscan letters. One of the reasons for this is the use of Latin transcription to "sound" Etruscan inscriptions. But the Latin alphabet cannot convey the features of the Etruscan language, and therefore cannot lead to a correct understanding of Etruscan words. This was and is the main obstacle that did not allow Western specialists to approach the goal. Most translations from Etruscan are incorrect, only a small part of them conveys approximate meaning individual texts. And even the found parallel texts in the Etruscan and Phoenician languages ​​​​do not help the cause.
If we proceed from the fact that the Russian language retains an organic relationship with the language of the Rasen-Etruscans, we finally get the key to deciphering the ancient inscriptions.
The Etruscans, figuratively speaking, are a large branch of the Hitto-Slavic tree. In this regard, we can recall the Ruthenians who lived in the south of France. And in "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" it is not Venetians, as the translators interpret, but "Veneditsi" - Venedichi, Wends. Evidence of this can also be found in the Book of Veles, which speaks of the Wends who went west. The Etruscan verb "vende" - to lead, to lead away - confirms this. Lamentation for "take away the princes to Rostislav" is also an Etruscan trace. The name of one of the goddesses of Etruria is Una, "young". Then they said "unosha", not "young man". This root has left a deep mark in the modern Russian language. The suffixes "onok", "yonok" owe their origin to him. The little lynx is literally "young lynx".

"Mini muluvanetse avile vipena" - this is how one of the Etruscan inscriptions looks like. The inscriptions on the products of ancient masters often begin with the pronouns "I", "me". In the given example, the translation into Russian should be as follows: "The artist Avil (performed) me." Muluvanets (muluvanets) is an artist, something like the corresponding verb sounds in modern Ukrainian. However, in special works one can find a different translation: "I was initiated by Aulus Vibenna." But this translation contradicts the already established norms of the Etruscan language itself, in which the verb always completes the phrase. So "muluvanetse" can't be a verb.
Here are a few Etruscan words (some of which are known to Etruscologists): una - young; tour - a gift; turutse - gave; turan - giver; spur - collection; tes - tes; avil - year - oval; date, goodbye - date; glory - glory; torna - road; venev - a wreath; tum - thought, thought; lepo - beautiful; rosh - rye, wheat, bread; ade, yade - poison; strength - strength; zhinace - reap, chest; tel - do; zhisi - life; tablecloths - bedspread, tablecloth; zusle - must; rastoropevi - quickness; apex - vigilance; ais, yais - the beginning, god, egg; puya, poya - wife; puin, puinel - intoxicated, violent; karchaz, karchazhe - wild boar (cf. "uproot" from the habit of wild boars to pull out roots from the ground); titmouse - titmouse; arel - eagle; ali - or; ita—this; an, en - he; mi - I; mini me; ti - you; eni - they.
Is in the Etruscan language hard word"lautni". Its translation means a dependent group of people, slaves for example. There are other interpretations of this term: a household member, a freedman, a family member, etc. Let's pay attention to the sound of the word. Lautni - laudni - people - people. Much later, this word, as it were, returned in the expressions "people of the count such and such", "human", etc. Zilak in Etruria is an official. The chain helps to understand its sound: "zilak - strongman - strongman". The meaning of the word itself is: "powerful", "strongest", "leader".

However, another analogy is also possible. "Sun" in Etruscan sounds like "strength". One of the most ancient roots, preserved in the word "shine", must be hidden in it. “Strength”, “asserted”, as it were, bring together strength and radiance.
In the complex term "zilak mehl rasenal" one can catch already familiar consonances. The translation, apparently, should sound like this: "leader of the Rasen force."

Tin - chief god Etruscans, god of day, light. It sounds the same Russian word"day".
The sons of the leopard were once a force capable of overturning the Atlanteans.
The catastrophe, which the Earth did not yet know, destroyed all the cities of Eastern Atlantis - the birthplace of the universal proto-language. Only after a millennium did the first settlements begin to rise - mainly on the continent, away from the coast. This is how Chatal-Gyuyuk (modern name), Jericho, arose.
But even four thousand years later, the coastal areas have not reached their former prosperity. ancient tribes only partially recovered from the terrible losses. They preserved the language and the cult of the leopard. Later they were called Pelasgians. In the ancient Phoenician, Cretan, Asia Minor, Aegean settlements, they spoke the same parent language. At the turn of the second or third millennium BC, the Achaean Greeks came from the continental regions, whose tribes in ancient times suffered less from the catastrophe, since their habitats were not connected with the sea and were not devastated by the elements.

Genuine barbarian Greeks seized the territory of present-day Greece, destroyed the cities of the Pelasgians, their fortresses, razed the Pelasgikon fortress to the ground, on the site of which the Parthenon was built only one and a half thousand years later. Many of the Pelasgians crossed over to Crete to escape the invasion. Before that, the cities of the Pelasgians-Minoans flourished in Crete. Their writing has been read, but still not understood. Their language is unknown to linguists, although this is the parent language spoken by the Lydians, Libyans, Canaanites, Cimmerians, Trypillians, Etruscans, the inhabitants of Troy and many, many others.
In the middle of the second millennium BC, the Greeks reached Crete. The full-blooded art of the Minoans-Pelasgians gives way to a dry and lifeless stylization. The motifs traditional for Minoan painting - flowers, starfish, octopuses on palace-style vases - disappear or are reborn into abstract graphic schemes.

And yet the Achaean culture of the Greeks was able to borrow a lot from the Minoans. Including linear syllabics, religious rites along with the gods themselves, plumbing, fresco painting, clothing styles and much more.
Approximately seven hundred years later, the Achaean Mycenaean culture flourished. But a new invasion of the Greek barbarians, known as the Dorians, fell upon the lands of Greece and the surrounding regions. After it began new period Greek history- Homeric, as it is customary to call it. The Dorian conquest set Greece back several centuries. Palaces, citadels and entire cities lay in ruins.

The Philistines were also Pelasgians (from their name comes the very word "Palestine"). The Philistines arrived on the Palestinian coast at about the same time as the first nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes from the East. The Pelasgians and the Philistines are the closest relatives of the Etruscan Rasenians.
Much of their culture became the property of other peoples, including the Greeks, nomads who came to Palestine, etc. Both the Pelasgians, and many tribes of the so-called peoples of the sea, and the Trypillians - the creators of the Trypillian culture on the Dnieper - were ultimately the sons leopard, that is, the Russians, the Russians of Asia Minor.

Etruscan "qi" means "three". "Tsipoli" literally means "three pains". That's what they called the onion. After all, his throat hurts, his nose hurts, his eyes hurt.

The Ukrainian "cibulya" and the Italian "cipollo", "cipollino" testify to the Etruscan roots. And the Russian word for "chicken" is literally "three-fingered".
There is evidence that at the turn of our era, Etruscan was still spoken in the Alpine valleys. Later, the rutens made the transition to the Dnieper, "to their homeland." Perhaps the descendants of the Etruscans from the northern regions participated in this campaign.
What did Etruria give Rome? Here is a short list: musical instruments, anchor, theater, mining, ceramics and metalworking, herbal medicine, melioration, cities in Italy, the art of divination, the Capitoline she-wolf. The first kings of Rome were the Etruscans. The eternal city of Rome itself was founded by the Etruscans. Almost everything that the Etruscans built in eternal city, the Romans subsequently identified the epithet "greatest". The Etruscan canal system is still part of the urban economy of Rome today.

In the city of Nikonia (Dniester region) a figurative vessel was found, on which one can read the Russian inscription in Greek letters: "Keep your wife with agodos." Translation: "Keep yourself a wife with his daughter (dosh - daughter)." The figurine vessel depicts a man and a woman. The woman's face is wrapped in a scarf, under the scarf is a child. It matches the inscription. It turns out that Russian texts are a common phenomenon on the Black Sea coast of the first millennium BC. e. and first centuries AD. e. The inscriptions from Nikonia are more than two thousand years old, Al-Khwarizmi once named the Black Sea cities in his book: Rastiyanis, Arsas, Arusinia. Now we can say with confidence: these are the cities of the Rus, the descendants of the legendary sons of the leopard.

The Etruscans are rightfully considered one of the most amazing mysteries in history. Scientists do not know exactly where they came from and what language they spoke. The question of a possible connection between the Etruscans and Russians has not yet been clarified.

Under the veil of secrets

In the middle of the 1st millennium BC. on the territory of Italy between the rivers Tiber and Arno stretched the legendary state - Etruria, which became the cradle of Roman civilization. The Romans eagerly learned from the Etruscans, borrowing from them the system of government and gods, engineering and mosaics, gladiator fights and chariot races, funeral rites and clothes.

Despite their fame, the Etruscans are one big mystery for us. A lot of evidence has been preserved about the Etruscans, but they do not give us a convincing and reliable picture of the life of this people. Scientists do not know for certain how the Etruscans appeared and where they disappeared. Until now, the exact boundaries of Etruria have not been established and the Etruscan language has not been deciphered.

The Roman Emperor Claudius I, who ruled in the 1st century AD, left to his descendants a 20-volume History of the Etruscans, as well as a dictionary of the Etruscan language. But fate wanted these manuscripts to be completely destroyed in a fire. Library of Alexandria, depriving us of the opportunity to lift the veil of secrets of the Etruscan civilization.

People from the East

Today there are three versions of the origin of the Etruscans. Titus Livius reports that the Etruscans entered the Apennine Peninsula from the north, along with the Alpine Rets, with whom they were related. According to the hypothesis of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, the Etruscans were natives of Italy, who adopted the achievements of the previous culture of Villanova.

However, the "Alpine version" does not find any material evidence, and modern scientists increasingly associate the Villanova culture not with the Etruscans, but with the Italics.

Historians have long noticed how the Etruscans stood out from their less developed neighbors. This served as a prerequisite for the third version, according to which the Etruscans settled the Apennines from Asia Minor. This view was held by Herodotus, who claimed that the ancestors of the Etruscans came from Lydia in the 8th century BC.

There is a lot of evidence of the Asia Minor origin of the Etruscans. For example, a way to create sculptures. The Etruscans, unlike the Greeks, preferred not to carve the image from stone, but to sculpt it from clay, which was typical of the art of the peoples of Asia Minor.

There is more important evidence oriental origin Etruscans. IN late XIX century on the island of Lemnos, located near the coast of Asia Minor, archaeologists discovered a tombstone.

The inscription on it was made in Greek letters, but in a completely unusual combination. What was the surprise of scientists when, after comparing this inscription with Etruscan texts, they discovered a striking similarity!

The Bulgarian historian Vladimir Georgiev offers a curious development of the "Eastern version". In his opinion, the Etruscans are none other than the legendary Trojans. The scientist bases his assumptions on the legend, according to which the Trojans led by Aeneas from the war-torn Troy fled to the Apennine Peninsula.

Georgiev also supports his theory with linguistic considerations, finding a relationship between the words "Etruria" and "Troy". One could be skeptical of this version if, in 1972, Italian archaeologists had not unearthed an Etruscan monument tomb dedicated to Aeneas.

genetic map

Not so long ago, scientists from the University of Turin, using genetic analysis, decided to test Herodotus' hypothesis about the Asia Minor origin of the Etruscans. The study compared Y-chromosomes (passed on the male line) of the population of Tuscany and residents of other regions of Italy, as well as the island of Lemnos, the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey.

It turned out that the genetic patterns of the inhabitants of the Tuscan cities of Volterra and Murlo are more similar to those of the inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean than the neighboring Italian regions.

Moreover, some genetic characteristics of the inhabitants of Murlo absolutely coincide with the genetic data of the inhabitants of Turkey.

Researchers from Stanford University decided to use computer simulation to reconstruct the demographic processes that have affected the population of Tuscany over the past 2,500 years. This method initially involved the data of anthropological and genetic expertise.

The results were unexpected. Scientists managed to exclude a genetic connection between the Etruscans, the ancient inhabitants of central Italy and modern inhabitants Tuscany. The data obtained suggest that the Etruscans were wiped off the face of the earth by some kind of catastrophe, or that they were a social elite that had little in common with the ancestors of modern Italians.

Anthropologist Joanna Mountain, leader of the Stanford project, notes that "the Etruscans differed in every respect from the Italians and even spoke a language of a non-Indo-European group." "Cultural and language features made the Etruscans a real mystery to numerous researchers,” Mountain sums up.

"Etruscan is Russian"

The phonetic proximity of the two ethnonyms - "Etruscans" and "Russians" - gives rise to hypotheses among researchers about the direct connection of the two peoples. Philosopher Alexander Dugin understands this connection literally: "Etruscan is Russian." The plausibility of this version is also given by the self-name of the Etruscans - Rasenna or Raśna.

However, if the word "Etruscan" is compared with the Roman name of this people - "tusci", and the self-name "Rasen" is associated with the Greek name of the Etruscans - "Tyrsene", then the proximity of the Etruscans and Russians no longer looks so obvious.

There is enough evidence that the Etruscans could leave the territory of Italy.

One of the reasons for the exodus may have been climate change, accompanied by drought. It just coincided with the disappearance of this people in the 1st century BC.

Presumably, the Etruscan migration routes should have extended to a more favorable north for farming. Evidence of this, for example, are the urns found in Upper Germany for storing the ashes of the deceased, which are similar to Etruscan artifacts.

It is likely that part of the Etruscans reached the territory of the current Baltic states, where they could assimilate with Slavic peoples. However, the version that the Etruscans laid the foundations of the Russian ethnos is not confirmed by anything.

The main snag in the absence of the sounds "b", "d" and "g" in the Etruscan language - the structure of the larynx did not allow the Etruscans to pronounce them. This feature of the vocal apparatus is more reminiscent of not Russians, but Finns or Estonians.

One of the recognized apologists of Etruscology, the French scientist Zachary Mayani, turns the vector of Etruscan settlement immediately to the east. In his opinion, the descendants of the Etruscans are modern Albanians. Among the justifications for his hypothesis, the scientist cites the fact that the capital of Albania, Tirana, carries one of the names of the Etruscans - "Tyrrhens".

The vast majority of scientists believe that the Etruscans simply disappeared into the ethnic group of the peoples who inhabited the Roman Empire. The speed of assimilation of the Etruscans may well be a consequence of their small number. According to archaeologists, the population of Etruria, even at the time of its heyday, did not exceed 25 thousand people.

Difficulties in translation

The study of Etruscan writing is carried out with XVI century. What languages ​​were not taken as a basis to decipher the Etruscan inscriptions: Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Celtic, Finnish, even the languages ​​of the American Indians. But all attempts have not been successful. “Etruscan is not readable,” skeptic linguists said.

However, scientists still achieved certain results.

They found that the Etruscan alphabet originates from the Greek and consists of 26 letters.

Moreover, the alphabet borrowed from the Greeks did not correspond much to the peculiarities of the phonetics of the Etruscan language - some sounds, depending on the context, had to be denoted by different letters. Moreover, the late Etruscan texts sinned with the omission of vowel sounds, which created an almost insoluble problem in their decipherment.

And yet, some linguists, in their words, managed to read some of the Etruscan inscriptions. Three scientists at once 19th century- Pole Tadeusz Volansky, Italian Sebastiano Ciampi and Russian Alexander Chertkov - said that the key to deciphering Etruscan texts lies in the Slavic languages.

In the footsteps of Volansky, the Russian linguist Valery Chudinov followed, who proposes that the Etruscan language be considered the successor of the “Slavic runic writing”. Official science is also skeptical of Chudinov's attempts to "ancientize" Slavic writing, and to his ability to read the inscriptions where an inexperienced person sees the "play of nature."

Modern researcher Vladimir Shcherbakov tries to simplify the problem of translating Etruscan inscriptions by explaining that the Etruscans wrote as they heard. With this method of deciphering, many Etruscan words from Shcherbakov sound completely “Russian”: “ita” - “this”, “ama” - “pit”, “tes” - “forest”.

The linguist Petr Zolin notes on this occasion that any attempt to read texts of such antiquity with the help of modern words absurd.

Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Zaliznik adds: “An amateur linguist willingly plunges into a discussion of written monuments of the past, completely forgetting (or simply not knowing anything) that in the past the language he knew looked completely different from what it is now.”

Today, most historians are convinced that the Etruscan inscriptions will never be deciphered.

Ancient mysterious people, who once lived on the Apennine Peninsula, on the territory of modern Italy. Etruria is a region of Tuscany located between the Tiber and Arno rivers. The self-name of the Etruscans - "rassenna" was preserved in the name of the mountain range near Arezzo (ancient Arezzium) in Tuscany. The Greeks knew the Etruscans under the name of the Tyrrhenians or Tyrsenes, and it is preserved in the name of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The mystery of the Etruscan people is manifested in almost everything.

Their language is unknown, their writing has not been deciphered, their origin and ethnicity are not clear. Surprisingly little has been written about this people, as if the Etruscans lived some kind of closed life and practically did not come into contact with their neighbors. The point, apparently, is that the way of life and worldview of the Etruscans were perceived by the majority of the peoples of the Mediterranean as something exceptional. Their way of life, customs and customs seemed to their contemporaries so incomprehensible and contradictory that, along with admiration, they aroused sharp rejection and even hatred.

In September 2013, archaeologists announced a stunning discovery - in the Italian region of Tuscany, they managed to find a completely sealed tomb carved into the rock.

The intact tomb contained what appeared to be the body of an Etruscan prince armed with a spear. He was buried in a crypt along with his wife's ashes. European media reported the discovery of the grave of a 2,600-year-old warrior prince. But it turned out that the crypt contains another surprise. An analysis of the bones showed that the warrior prince was actually a warrior princess.

Historians still know relatively little about Etruscan culture , which flourished in the territory of modern northeastern Italy and was absorbed by Roman civilization around 400 BC. Unlike their contemporaries - the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Etruscans left almost no historical documents that modern European science could unambiguously interpret.

The authors of Greek and Roman written sources most often either write about the Etruscans with condemnation, or simply hush up about them. But the Etruscans created an original civilization, amazing masterpieces of art, ecological and economic-social systems. They brought grapes and olives to Italy, founded Rome itself and ruled it for a hundred and fifty years, but disappeared as a people from the face of the planet as if overnight, taking their secrets with them. The most interesting thing is that they predicted their disappearance several centuries before.

"Etruscan is not readable", they said in ancient rome, and this point of view is still held in the West, although quite interesting attempts have been made in Russia to decipher Etruscan inscriptions. Currently, there is no generally accepted point of view on the language of the Etruscans, their graves are a unique opportunity to look into the past and get acquainted with their culture.

Read also: Etruscan underground pyramids

new tombs, discovered by archaeologists in Tuscany, were found in the Etruscan necropolises of Tarquinia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where there are more than 6,000 rock-cut crypts.
"In an underground chamber dating back to the early sixth century BC, there are two burial beds carved into the rock," said Alessandro Mandolesi, an archaeologist at the University of Turin who excavated the crypt.

When the team of archaeologists removed the slab sealing the crypt, we saw two large platforms. On one platform lay a skeleton, next to which lay a spear. On another platform lay the partially burnt parts of the skeleton. In addition, several ornaments and a bronze box were found, which may have belonged to a woman.

Initially, it was thought that the spear would offer a skeleton lying on a larger platform - a male warrior, possibly an Etruscan prince. A jewelry, most likely belonged to the wife of a warrior-prince, whose ashes rested nearby. But analysis of the bones showed that the prince holding the spear was actually a woman between 35 and 40 years old, while the ashes in the urn belonged to a man.

But why does a woman need a spear? As a scholar of the Western school, Alessandro Mandolesi suggested that most likely it was placed there as a symbol of the union of the two deceased. But his colleagues expressed a different opinion, it is possible that the spear shows the high status of a woman.

In this case, perhaps, the perception of the culture of the Etruscans was distorted by the images of the ancient Greeks and Romans. While Greek women were actually locked in their homes, Etruscan women, according to the testimony of ancient historians, were more independent, and led a rather free way of life. So historians, as often happens, rushed to conclusions, declaring the Etruscan princess a prince only on the basis of their ideas about which gender is more likely to use certain objects.

By the way, if Italian archaeologists had been more attentive in studying the ancient history and culture of our countrymen - the Sarmatians, then a woman with a spear would not have caused them so much surprise. And, perhaps, this is another argument confirming the closeness or even commonality of the cultures of our ancestors. It is possible that someday the world will know how to read Sarmatian correctly, sorry, Etruscan.

Who are they, the Etruscans? What did they believe in, how did they live?
Read most interesting book: Nagovitsyn A.E. Mythology and religion of the Etruscans , in which the author tries to figure out and trace what the ancient Slavs had in common with the Etruscans, and how they differed, and whether the Etruscans and Russians are actually close relatives:

“We will try to show that many similar mythological, religious and worldview ideas of the Slavs and Etruscans are not borrowing or heritage, but general ideas that have one root that goes deep into ancient history peoples of the Mediterranean region. In our opinion, the ancient peoples who inhabited the Mediterranean were the ancestors of both the Etruscans and the modern Russian people.

Of the military affairs of the peoples of the Apennine Peninsula, it was about the Samnites, since it seemed to the author that their influence on the military affairs of Rome was more significant. It is clear that the Etruscans also had to be touched on, about whose military organization in the same Wikipedia only two sentences are given. But ... everything happened as it should have happened: there were immediately "experts" who knew for sure that the Etruscans were the ancestors of the Russians (Slavs), well, it started. And although there are, fortunately, few such people on this site, they do exist. And this is already like on a ship: if there is a small “hole” in the skin, then wait for a big leak. Gotta patch it up before it starts. Therefore, apparently, it makes sense to return to the topic of the Etruscans and see who they are, where they come from, and further study them in more detail military history, and armor.

Warrior and Amazons - Mural from Targinia, 370 - 360 BC Archaeological Museum of Florence.

Herodotus also reported about where they came from to the Apennine Peninsula, who wrote that the Etruscans are from Lydia, a territory in Asia Minor, and that their name is tyrrhens or tyrsenes, and the Romans called them Tus (hence Tuscany). For a long time it was believed that the culture of Villanova is their culture, but now it is more associated with another local population - italics. However, after the decipherment of the Lydian inscriptions, this point of view was criticized, since it turned out that their language had nothing to do with Etruscan. The modern point of view is this: the Etruscans are not Lydians as such, but an even more ancient, pre-Indo-European people of the western part of Asia Minor, belonging to the "peoples of the sea." And it is very possible that the ancient Roman myth about Aeneas, the leader of the beaten Trojans, who moved to Italy after the fall of the fortified Troy, was connected with them. For some reason, archeological data today do not convince a sufficiently large number of people: “all these are fakes buried in the ground,” they say, although it is completely incomprehensible what these “burrows” could have (or had) purpose. In general, it turns out that the goal is the same: "to offend Russia." However, the purpose of this "event" is again unclear. Before the revolution of 1917, Russia was an empire whose rulers were most closely related to the ruling houses of Europe. I mean, it didn't make any sense. After the revolution, at first no one took it seriously, that is, why offend someone who was already offended and bury money in the ground? But when we really began to represent something, then it was simply too late to bury anything - the achievements of science make it possible to recognize any fake.

And it was precisely science that gave us the most important proof that Herodotus and the archaeologists were right. It can be considered proven that the ancient Etruscans moved to Italy from Asia Minor, where they lived on the territory of modern Turkey. Comparing the genetic data of the inhabitants of the Tuscan region (ancient Etruria) with the data of citizens from Turkey, scientists at the University of Turin concluded that they are obviously similar. That is, the Asia Minor origin of the ancient inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula, which Herodotus reported - rightly so! At the same time, the DNA of the inhabitants of the Tuscan Casentino Valley and the cities of Volterra and Murlo was studied. The donors of the genetic material were men from families who had lived in the area for at least three generations and whose last names are unique to the region. Y-chromosomes (which are just transmitted from father to son) were compared with Y-chromosomes of people from other regions of Italy, from the Balkans, Turkey and also the island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea. There were more matches with genetic samples from the East than from Italy. Well, a genetic variant was found among the inhabitants of Murlo, which is generally found only among the inhabitants of Turkey. Here, as they say - that's it, there's nothing to argue about.

Etruscan pendant with the image of a swastika, 700 - 600 years. BC. Bolsena, Italy. Louvre Museum.

True, there is also linguistics, but it cannot yet give an exhaustive answer to the question of the origin of the Etruscan language. Although over 7,000 Etruscan inscriptions are known, its relationship to any family of languages ​​has not been established. Well, that's not installed and that's it! And even researchers from the USSR. But if the Etruscans come from Asia Minor and have Lydian ancestors, then their language must belong to the extinct Hitto-Luvian (Anatolian) group of Indo-European languages. Although the data on its Indo-European origin is not convincing enough.

Etruscan warriors carry a fallen comrade. National Museum Villa Giulia, Rome.

And here the final answer to these disputes was given by ... cows! A study of the mitochondrial DNA of cows from Tuscany, conducted by a group of geneticists led by Marco Pellecchia from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Piacenza, showed that their distant ancestors have their direct relatives of cows from Asia Minor! At the same time, animals from all regions of Italy were studied. And it turned out that about 60% of the mitochondrial DNA of cows from Tuscany are identical to the mitochondrial DNA of cows from the Middle East and Asia Minor, that is, in the homeland of the legendary Etruscans. At the same time, this study did not establish a relationship between Tuscan cows and cattle from the north and south of Italy. Well, since cows are domestic animals, since they do not fly, do not swim and do not migrate in herds, it becomes clear that they could get from one part of the Mediterranean to another only by sea on ships. And who in that period of time could sail the Mediterranean on ships and “inherit” in this way their own and “bestial” genes? Only the "peoples of the sea", first settled in Sardinia, and then on the mainland. By the way, the oldest tribal name of the Etruscans "Tursha" or "Turusha" is also known from the Egyptian monuments of the era of Ramses II - that is, the time when he waged war with the "peoples of the sea."

Well, then they just assimilated. They did not leave Italy, as some Slavophiles claim, in order to become the ancestors of the Slavs, namely, they assimilated. Otherwise… we would not have found their genes on its territory today. For this, it takes a very long time ... to copulate in order to “inherit” so well. Yes, and then they would also steal cattle, because at that time it was of great value. But no: both people and cattle - all this remained in Italy. And this means that no Etruscans are Russian, and they have never been our ancestors!

Chimera from Arezzo. bronze statue 5th century BC e. Archaeological Museum, Florence.

Now culture. Her character traits- whether it be spiritual culture or material, they never completely disappear during the resettlement. This is especially true for religion. It is known that the Etruscans believed in the afterlife of the deceased and, like the Egyptians, tried to provide him "in the next world" with everything necessary. As a result, the Etruscans built tombs for them so that they would remind the deceased of his native home and filled them with utensils and furniture. The deceased were cremated, and the ashes were placed in a special urn. Famous and beautiful sculpted sarcophagi.

Etruscan sarcophagus of the spouses from the Banditaccia necropolis. Polychrome terracotta, 6th century BC. e. National Museum Villa Giulia, Rome.

Personal belongings and jewelry, clothes, weapons and various household items were to be buried along with the urn, that is, there was a strong belief in the human soul, not connected with the body! On the walls of the tombs, such pleasant scenes as feasts, sports games and dances were painted in all respects. Funeral games, gladiator fights, sacrifices to the dead - all this was supposed to alleviate their fate in the “other world”. In this, the religion of the Etruscans was very different from the ideas of the Greeks, for whom the tomb was just a tomb, a place for a dead body, but nothing more!

The main Etruscan deities were the goddess of love Turan, Tumus is an analogue Greek god Hermes, Seflans - the god of fire, Fufluns - the god of wine, Laran - the god of war, Fesan - the goddess of the dawn, Voltumna, Norcia, Lara and the gods of death - Kalu, Kulsu, Leion, etc. The Etruscans recorded their religious views in holy books, and the Romans later translated them and learned a lot of interesting things from them, in particular, about divination by the entrails of animals, about heavenly signs and various rituals with which you can "act" on the gods.

Etruscan black-figure vase depicting fighting hoplites, c.550 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Like many ancient societies, the Etruscans conducted military campaigns during the summer months; raided neighboring areas, tried to seize land, valuable goods and slaves. The latter could be sacrificed on the graves of the dead in order to honor their memory, in the same way that Achilles tried to honor the memory of the murdered Patroclus.

Etruscan helmet of the Corinthian type, 6th–5th centuries. BC. Dallas Museum of Art, Texas.

Written monuments Etruscan period are fragmentary, but they also give reason to believe that the Etruscans competed with the early Romans for dominance in central Italy for almost two centuries (c.700 BC - 500 BC), but the first of the neighboring Roman cultures began to succumb to Roman expansion.

Etruscan helmet from the British Museum.