Roman-Etruscan Wars
Encyclopedia
The Roman-Etruscan Wars were a series of wars fought between ancient Rome
(including both the Roman Kingdom
and the Roman Republic
) and the Etruscans
, from the earliest stages of the history of Rome.
Readers of this article should note that information about many of the wars is limited, particularly those in the early parts of Rome's history, and in large part is known from ancient texts alone.
, the Etruscans, led by King Mezentius
allied with King Turnus
of the Rutuli
, attacked the Latins
and the exiled Trojans
, led by Latinus
and Aeneas
respectively. The Latins and Trojans were victorious, although Aeneas was killed in the battle. Peace was afterwards concluded on the basis that the river Tiber would be the common boundary between the Etruscans and the Latins.
, the Fidenates
(an Etruscan people) decided to suppress Rome as a future threat and began to waste its territory, in opposition to which Romulus
marched on Fidenae and camped a mile from it. Setting an ambush in the thickets he brought the rest of the army to the gates of Fidenae to provoke them into exiting the city. Seeing the appearance of disorder the Fidenates sallied out in pursuit and were caught in the ambush. Romulus' troops wheeled, drove the Fidenates through their gates so closely that they were not able to close them, and took the town.
The Veientes were concerned at the situation with Fidenae both because of its proximity to Veii
and their consanguinuity with the Fidenates (who were also Etruscan), and accordingly launched an incursion into Roman territory. After having done so, the Veientes returned to Veii with their booty. Romulus and the Roman army followed and met the Veientes in battle outside the walls of Veii. The Romans were victorious and the Veientes fled into the city. The Romans, not having the strength to take to city by storm, instead laid waste their lands. The Veientes sued for peace, and a one-hundred year treaty was concluded upon Veientes giving to the Romans a part of their own territory.
In the second war with Fidenae and Veii in the 7th century (see below), Livy describes Fidenae as a Roman colony. It may be that a colony was established there after the defeat by Romulus.
, the Fidenates and Veientes again went to war with Rome. According to Livy they were incited to war by Mettius Fufetius
, the dictator of Alba Longa
, who had been defeated by and had become in substance a vassal of Rome.
The Fidenates openly revolted against Rome. Tullus summoned Mettius and his army from Alba Longa and, together with the Roman army, marched on Fidenae. The Roman and Alban army crossed the Anio and camped near the confluxion of the Anio and the Tiber
. The army of Veii crossed the Tiber also and, with the Fidenates, formed up battle lines next to the river, the Veientes closest to the river and the Fidenates nearest the mountains. The Roman-Alban army formed up facing them, the Romans towards the Veientes and the Albans towards the Fidenates.
The battle commenced, however Mettius and the Alban troops headed slowly towards the mountains, intending to desert. Tullus exhorted his troops, telling them the Alban army had moved pursuant to his orders. The Fidenates, who being Roman colonists understood Latin, heard what Tullus said about the Albans and feared the Alban army would charge down upon them from the rear: accordingly they fled the battle. The Romans then routed the Veientes.
, Rome's sixth king Servius Tullius
went to war with Veii (after the expiry of an earlier truce) and with the Etruscans. Little is said of the war, except that the king was conspicuous for his valour and good fortune, that he routed a great army of the Etruscans and Veientes, and that the war helped cement his position at Rome, he having only recently become king. According to the Fasti Triumphales, Servius celebrated three triumphs
over the Etruscans, including on 25 November 571 BC and 25 May 567 BC (the date of the third triumph is not legible on the Fasti).
Livy records that during the reign of Servius' successor, Tarquinius Superbus, Rome renewed a treaty with the Etruscans. It is not clear which earlier peace treaty was renewed.
. The deposed king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
, whose family originated from Tarquinii in Etruria, garnered the support of the cities of Veii and Tarquinii, recalling to the former their regular losses of war and of land to the Roman state, and to the latter his family ties. The armies of the two cities followed Tarquin to battle but were defeated by the Roman army at the Battle of Silva Arsia
. The consul Valerius collected the spoils of the routed Etruscans, and returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph on 1 March 509 BC.
Livy
writes that later in 509 BC Valerius returned to fight the Veientes. It is unclear whether this was was continuing from the Battle of Silva Arsia, or was some fresh dispute. It is also unclear what happened in this dispute.
, king of Clusium
in 508 BC. Clusium was at that time a powerful Etruscan city.
The Roman senate
heard of the approach of Porsena's army, and were afraid lest the people of Rome should out of fear let the enemy into the city. Accordingly the senate took a number of measures to strengthen the resolve of the populace, including purchasing grain from the Volsci
and from Cumae
, nationalising licences for the sale of salt (which was at the time costly), exempting the lower classes from taxes and port customs duties. The measures were successful, and the mood of the populace turned against the enemy.
Porsena, with his army, attacked Rome. As his troops were surging towards the Pons Sublicius
, one of the bridges over the Tiber leading into the city, Publius Horatius Cocles leapt across the bridge to hold off the enemy, giving the Romans time to destroy the bridge. He was joined by Titus Herminius Aquilinus
and Spurius Lartius
. Herminius and Lartius retreated as the bridge was almost destroyed. Horaius waited until the bridge had fallen, then swam back across the river under enemy fire. A statue was erected to Horatius in the comitium
, along with land at the public expense, and also private awards.
As the attack had been unsuccessful, Porsena next determined to blockade the city. He established a garrison on the Janiculum
, blocked river transport, and sent raiding parties into the surrounding countryside.
During the siege, the consul Valerius baited a group of the Clusian army with a herd of cattle driven out through the Esquiline Gate. Titus Herminius was ordered to lay in wait along the Via Gabina
, two miles from Rome. Spurius Lartius was posted with troops inside the Colline Gate; consul Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus
waited with troops at the Naevian Gate; whilst Valerius himself led troops down from the Coelian Hill. The trap was successful, and the band of Clusians were killed.
The siege continued. Next, with the approval of the senate a Roman youth named Gaius Mucius snuck into the Etruscan camp with the intent of assassinating Porsena. However, when Mucius came close to the king, he could not tell apart the king from his secretary, and killed the king's secretary in error. Mucius was captured by the Etruscans, and brought before Porsena. He openly declared his identity and what had been his intent. he threatened that he was but merely the first of three hundred Roman youths who would attempt such a deed. To prove his valour, Mucius thrust his hand into one of the Etruscan camp fires, thereby earning for himself and his descendants the cognomen
Scaevola. Mucius was also granted farming land on the right hand back of the Tiber, which later became known as the Mucia Prata (Mucian Meadows). Porsena, shocked at the youth's bravery, dismissed him from the Etruscan camp, free to return to Rome.
Most historical sources say the siege ended with a peace treaty.
At this point, according the Livy
, Porsena sent ambassadors to Rome to offer peace. Terms were negotiated. Porsena requested the throne be restored to Tarquinius, but the Romans refused. However the Romans did agree to return to the Veientes lands taken from them in previous wars, and Roman hostages were agreed to be given in exchange for the withdrawal from the Janiculum of the Etruscan garrison.
The peace was agreed, and hostages taken by Porsena. One of the hostages, a young woman named Cloelia
, fled the Etruscan camp, leading away a group of Roman virgins. Porsena demanded she be returned, and the Romans consented. Upon her return, however, Porsena being impressed by her bravery allowed her to choose half the remaining hostages to be freed. She selected from amongst the hostages the young Roman boys to be freed. The Romans honoured Cloelia with the unusual honour of a statue at the top of the Via Sacra
, showing Cloelia mounted on a horse, that is as an eques.
Some ancient sources say the siege was successful.
Livy recounts that during his own time, public auctions of goods at Rome were by tradition referred to as "selling the goods of king Porsena", and that this somehow relates to the war with Clusium. Livy concludes most likely it is because, when Porsena departed Rome, he left behind as a gift for the Romans his stores of provisions.
Livy also records that, after the war, a number of the Eruscan soldiers returned to Rome to seek shelter following the War between Clusium and Aricia
, and that a number of the Etruscans remained to live in Rome, and were granted an area to live which thereby became known as the Vicus Tuscus
.
In 507 BC Porsena once again sent ambassadors to the Roman senate, requesting the restoration of Tarquinius to the throne. Legates
were sent back to Porsena, to advise him that the Romans would never re-admit Tarquinius, and that Porsena should out of respect for the Romans cease requesting Tarquinius' readmittance. Porsena agreed, telling Tarquinius to continue his exile elsewhere than Clusium. Porsena also restored to the Romans their hostages, and also the lands of Veii that had been taken from Rome by treaty.
Although the ancient Romans
believed the siege was a historical event that had taken place, many modern historians think the war was at least partly mythical.
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
(including both the Roman Kingdom
Roman Kingdom
The Roman Kingdom was the period of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a monarchical form of government of the city of Rome and its territories....
and the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
) and the Etruscans
Etruscan civilization
Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to a civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany. The ancient Romans called its creators the Tusci or Etrusci...
, from the earliest stages of the history of Rome.
Readers of this article should note that information about many of the wars is limited, particularly those in the early parts of Rome's history, and in large part is known from ancient texts alone.
Prior to the foundation of Rome
According to the Roman foundation myth as relayed by LivyLivy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, the Etruscans, led by King Mezentius
Mezentius
In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman audience he was a contemptor divum, a "despiser of the...
allied with King Turnus
Turnus
In Virgil's Aeneid, Turnus was the King of the Rutuli, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas.-Biography:Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, King of the Latin people. Upon Aeneas' arrival, however, Lavinia is promised to...
of the Rutuli
Rutuli
The Rutuli or Rutulians were members of a legendary Italic tribe...
, attacked the Latins
Latins
"Latins" refers to different groups of people and the meaning of the word changes for where and when it is used.The original Latins were an Italian tribe inhabiting central and south-central Italy. Through conquest by their most populous city-state, Rome, the original Latins culturally "Romanized"...
and the exiled Trojans
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
, led by Latinus
Latinus
Latinus was a figure in both Greek and Roman mythology.-Greek mythology:In Hesiod's Theogony, Latinus was the son of Odysseus and Circe who ruled the Tyrsenoi, presumably the Etruscans, with his brothers Ardeas and Telegonus...
and Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
respectively. The Latins and Trojans were victorious, although Aeneas was killed in the battle. Peace was afterwards concluded on the basis that the river Tiber would be the common boundary between the Etruscans and the Latins.
War with Fidenae and Veii under Romulus
In the 8th century BC, during the reign of Rome's first king, RomulusRomulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
, the Fidenates
Fidenae
Fidenae, or Fidenes, home of the Fidenates, was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the Via Salaria, which ran between it and the Tiber. As the Tiber was the border between Etruria and Latium, the left-bank settlement of Fidenae represented an extension of Etruscan...
(an Etruscan people) decided to suppress Rome as a future threat and began to waste its territory, in opposition to which Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
marched on Fidenae and camped a mile from it. Setting an ambush in the thickets he brought the rest of the army to the gates of Fidenae to provoke them into exiting the city. Seeing the appearance of disorder the Fidenates sallied out in pursuit and were caught in the ambush. Romulus' troops wheeled, drove the Fidenates through their gates so closely that they were not able to close them, and took the town.
The Veientes were concerned at the situation with Fidenae both because of its proximity to Veii
Veii
Veii was, in ancient times, an important Etrurian city NNW of Rome, Italy; its site lies in Isola Farnese, a village of Municipio XX, an administrative subdivision of the comune of Rome in the Province of Rome...
and their consanguinuity with the Fidenates (who were also Etruscan), and accordingly launched an incursion into Roman territory. After having done so, the Veientes returned to Veii with their booty. Romulus and the Roman army followed and met the Veientes in battle outside the walls of Veii. The Romans were victorious and the Veientes fled into the city. The Romans, not having the strength to take to city by storm, instead laid waste their lands. The Veientes sued for peace, and a one-hundred year treaty was concluded upon Veientes giving to the Romans a part of their own territory.
In the second war with Fidenae and Veii in the 7th century (see below), Livy describes Fidenae as a Roman colony. It may be that a colony was established there after the defeat by Romulus.
Second War with Fidenae and Veii, under Tullus Hostilius
In the 7th century BC, during the reign of Rome's third king, Tullus HostiliusTullus Hostilius
Tullus Hostilius was the legendary third of the Kings of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius, and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius...
, the Fidenates and Veientes again went to war with Rome. According to Livy they were incited to war by Mettius Fufetius
Mettius Fufetius
Mettius Fufetius was a dictator of Alba Longa, an ancient town in central Italy near Rome. He was appointed after the death of king Gaius Cluilius and was defeated by Rome.Mettius Fufetius subsequently betrayed the Romans in battle...
, the dictator of Alba Longa
Alba Longa
Alba Longa – in Italian sources occasionally written Albalonga – was an ancient city of Latium in central Italy southeast of Rome in the Alban Hills. Founder and head of the Latin League, it was destroyed by Rome around the middle of the 7th century BC. In legend, Romulus and Remus, founders of...
, who had been defeated by and had become in substance a vassal of Rome.
The Fidenates openly revolted against Rome. Tullus summoned Mettius and his army from Alba Longa and, together with the Roman army, marched on Fidenae. The Roman and Alban army crossed the Anio and camped near the confluxion of the Anio and the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
. The army of Veii crossed the Tiber also and, with the Fidenates, formed up battle lines next to the river, the Veientes closest to the river and the Fidenates nearest the mountains. The Roman-Alban army formed up facing them, the Romans towards the Veientes and the Albans towards the Fidenates.
The battle commenced, however Mettius and the Alban troops headed slowly towards the mountains, intending to desert. Tullus exhorted his troops, telling them the Alban army had moved pursuant to his orders. The Fidenates, who being Roman colonists understood Latin, heard what Tullus said about the Albans and feared the Alban army would charge down upon them from the rear: accordingly they fled the battle. The Romans then routed the Veientes.
War with Veii and the Etruscans, under Servius Tullius
In the 6th century BC, according to LivyLivy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, Rome's sixth king Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius
Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of ancient Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned 578-535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, Rome's first Etruscan king, who was assassinated in 579 BC...
went to war with Veii (after the expiry of an earlier truce) and with the Etruscans. Little is said of the war, except that the king was conspicuous for his valour and good fortune, that he routed a great army of the Etruscans and Veientes, and that the war helped cement his position at Rome, he having only recently become king. According to the Fasti Triumphales, Servius celebrated three triumphs
Roman triumph
The Roman triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly celebrate and sanctify the military achievement of an army commander who had won great military successes, or originally and traditionally, one who had successfully completed a foreign war. In Republican...
over the Etruscans, including on 25 November 571 BC and 25 May 567 BC (the date of the third triumph is not legible on the Fasti).
Livy records that during the reign of Servius' successor, Tarquinius Superbus, Rome renewed a treaty with the Etruscans. It is not clear which earlier peace treaty was renewed.
War with Veii and Tarquinii, after the overthrow of the monarchy in 509 BC
In 509 BC the Roman monarchy was overthrown, and the republic commenced with the election of the first consulsRoman consul
A consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic.Each year, two consuls were elected together, to serve for a one-year term. Each consul was given veto power over his colleague and the officials would alternate each month...
. The deposed king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus was the legendary seventh and final King of Rome, reigning from 535 BC until the popular uprising in 509 BC that led to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He is more commonly known by his cognomen Tarquinius Superbus and was a member of the so-called Etruscan...
, whose family originated from Tarquinii in Etruria, garnered the support of the cities of Veii and Tarquinii, recalling to the former their regular losses of war and of land to the Roman state, and to the latter his family ties. The armies of the two cities followed Tarquin to battle but were defeated by the Roman army at the Battle of Silva Arsia
Battle of Silva Arsia
The Battle of Silva Arsia was a battle in 509 BC between the republican forces of ancient Rome on the one hand, and Etruscan forces of Tarquinii and Veii led by the deposed Roman king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus on the other...
. The consul Valerius collected the spoils of the routed Etruscans, and returned to Rome to celebrate a triumph on 1 March 509 BC.
Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
writes that later in 509 BC Valerius returned to fight the Veientes. It is unclear whether this was was continuing from the Battle of Silva Arsia, or was some fresh dispute. It is also unclear what happened in this dispute.
War with Clusium in 508 BC
Tarquinius, having failed to regain the throne using his allies of Tarquinii and Veii, next sought the aid of Lars PorsenaLars Porsena
Lars Porsena, in Etruscan Pursenas, was an Etruscan king known for his war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium...
, king of Clusium
Clusium
Clusium was an ancient city in Italy, one of several found at the site. The current municipality of Chiusi partly overlaps this Roman walled city. The Roman city remodeled an earlier Etruscan city, Clevsin, found in the territory of a prehistoric culture, possibly also Etruscan or proto-Etruscan...
in 508 BC. Clusium was at that time a powerful Etruscan city.
The Roman senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
heard of the approach of Porsena's army, and were afraid lest the people of Rome should out of fear let the enemy into the city. Accordingly the senate took a number of measures to strengthen the resolve of the populace, including purchasing grain from the Volsci
Volsci
The Volsci were an ancient Italic people, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. They then inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the south, the Hernici on the east, and stretching roughly from...
and from Cumae
Cumae
Cumae is an ancient Greek settlement lying to the northwest of Naples in the Italian region of Campania. Cumae was the first Greek colony on the mainland of Italy , and the seat of the Cumaean Sibyl...
, nationalising licences for the sale of salt (which was at the time costly), exempting the lower classes from taxes and port customs duties. The measures were successful, and the mood of the populace turned against the enemy.
Porsena, with his army, attacked Rome. As his troops were surging towards the Pons Sublicius
Pons Sublicius
The earliest known bridge of ancient Rome, Italy, the Pons Sublicius, spanned the Tiber River near the Forum Boarium downstream from the Tiber Island, near the foot of the Aventine Hill. According to tradition, its construction was ordered by Ancus Martius around 642 BC, but this date is...
, one of the bridges over the Tiber leading into the city, Publius Horatius Cocles leapt across the bridge to hold off the enemy, giving the Romans time to destroy the bridge. He was joined by Titus Herminius Aquilinus
Titus Herminius Aquilinus
Titus Herminius, surnamed Aquilinus, was one of the heroes of the Roman Republic. He participated in two of the most famous conflicts that attended the birth of the Republic, and was elected consul in 506 BC...
and Spurius Lartius
Spurius Lartius
Spurius Lartius, surnamed either Flavus or Rufus, was one of the leading men of the early Roman Republic, of which he was twice consul...
. Herminius and Lartius retreated as the bridge was almost destroyed. Horaius waited until the bridge had fallen, then swam back across the river under enemy fire. A statue was erected to Horatius in the comitium
Comitium
The Comitium in Rome is the location of the original founding of the city. The area is marked by a number of shrines, temples, altars and churches today from throughout its history. The location was lost due to the cities growth and development over a thousand years, but was excavated at the turn...
, along with land at the public expense, and also private awards.
As the attack had been unsuccessful, Porsena next determined to blockade the city. He established a garrison on the Janiculum
Janiculum
The Janiculum is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although the second-tallest hill in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the proverbial Seven Hills of Rome, being west of the Tiber and outside the boundaries of the ancient city.-Sights:The Janiculum is one of the...
, blocked river transport, and sent raiding parties into the surrounding countryside.
During the siege, the consul Valerius baited a group of the Clusian army with a herd of cattle driven out through the Esquiline Gate. Titus Herminius was ordered to lay in wait along the Via Gabina
Via Praenestina
The Via Praenestina was an ancient Roman road of central Italy.It was initially called Via Gabina, from Gabii, the ancient city of Latium where it ended...
, two miles from Rome. Spurius Lartius was posted with troops inside the Colline Gate; consul Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus
Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus
Titus Lucretius Tricipitinus is a figure of the Roman Republic. Twice, in the years 508 and 504 BC, he was Roman Consul, both times with Publius Valerius Poplicola...
waited with troops at the Naevian Gate; whilst Valerius himself led troops down from the Coelian Hill. The trap was successful, and the band of Clusians were killed.
The siege continued. Next, with the approval of the senate a Roman youth named Gaius Mucius snuck into the Etruscan camp with the intent of assassinating Porsena. However, when Mucius came close to the king, he could not tell apart the king from his secretary, and killed the king's secretary in error. Mucius was captured by the Etruscans, and brought before Porsena. He openly declared his identity and what had been his intent. he threatened that he was but merely the first of three hundred Roman youths who would attempt such a deed. To prove his valour, Mucius thrust his hand into one of the Etruscan camp fires, thereby earning for himself and his descendants the cognomen
Cognomen
The cognomen nōmen "name") was the third name of a citizen of Ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. The cognomen started as a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary cognomina were used to augment the second name in order to identify a particular branch within...
Scaevola. Mucius was also granted farming land on the right hand back of the Tiber, which later became known as the Mucia Prata (Mucian Meadows). Porsena, shocked at the youth's bravery, dismissed him from the Etruscan camp, free to return to Rome.
Most historical sources say the siege ended with a peace treaty.
At this point, according the Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, Porsena sent ambassadors to Rome to offer peace. Terms were negotiated. Porsena requested the throne be restored to Tarquinius, but the Romans refused. However the Romans did agree to return to the Veientes lands taken from them in previous wars, and Roman hostages were agreed to be given in exchange for the withdrawal from the Janiculum of the Etruscan garrison.
The peace was agreed, and hostages taken by Porsena. One of the hostages, a young woman named Cloelia
Cloelia
Cloelia is a semi-legendary woman from the early history of ancient Rome.As part of the peace treaty which ended the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC, Roman hostages were taken by Lars Porsena. One of the hostages, a young woman named Cloelia, fled the Clusian camp, leading away a group of...
, fled the Etruscan camp, leading away a group of Roman virgins. Porsena demanded she be returned, and the Romans consented. Upon her return, however, Porsena being impressed by her bravery allowed her to choose half the remaining hostages to be freed. She selected from amongst the hostages the young Roman boys to be freed. The Romans honoured Cloelia with the unusual honour of a statue at the top of the Via Sacra
Via Sacra
The Via Sacra was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum , to the Colosseum....
, showing Cloelia mounted on a horse, that is as an eques.
Some ancient sources say the siege was successful.
Livy recounts that during his own time, public auctions of goods at Rome were by tradition referred to as "selling the goods of king Porsena", and that this somehow relates to the war with Clusium. Livy concludes most likely it is because, when Porsena departed Rome, he left behind as a gift for the Romans his stores of provisions.
Livy also records that, after the war, a number of the Eruscan soldiers returned to Rome to seek shelter following the War between Clusium and Aricia
War between Clusium and Aricia
The war between Clusium and Aricia was a military conflict in central Italy in around 508 BC.Lars Porsena was king of Clusium, at that time reputed to be one of the most powerful cities of Etruria. At the behest of the exiled king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, Porsena had waged war against...
, and that a number of the Etruscans remained to live in Rome, and were granted an area to live which thereby became known as the Vicus Tuscus
Vicus Tuscus
Vicus Tuscus was an ancient street in the city of Rome, running southwest out of the Forum Romanum between the Basilica Iulia and the Temple of Castor and Pollux towards the Forum Boarium and Circus Maximus via the west side of the Palatine Hill and Velabrum.-History:The name of Vicus Tuscus is...
.
In 507 BC Porsena once again sent ambassadors to the Roman senate, requesting the restoration of Tarquinius to the throne. Legates
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
were sent back to Porsena, to advise him that the Romans would never re-admit Tarquinius, and that Porsena should out of respect for the Romans cease requesting Tarquinius' readmittance. Porsena agreed, telling Tarquinius to continue his exile elsewhere than Clusium. Porsena also restored to the Romans their hostages, and also the lands of Veii that had been taken from Rome by treaty.
Although the ancient Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
believed the siege was a historical event that had taken place, many modern historians think the war was at least partly mythical.