Veii was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and only 16 km (9.9 mi) north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the city-state of Veii are in Formello, immediately to the north. Formello is named after the drainage channels that were first created by the Veians.
Etruria was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now Tuscany, Lazio, and Umbria.
Falerii was a city in southern Etruria, 50 km northeast of Rome, 34 km from Veii, 16 km form Rome) and about 1.5 km west of the ancient Via Flaminia. It was the main city of the Faliscans, a people whose language was a Latin dialect and was part of the Latino-Faliscan language group. The Ager Faliscus, which included the towns of Capena, Nepet (Nepi) and Sutrium (Sutri), was close to the Monti Cimini.
The Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting a large area in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family. The study of Thracians and Thracian culture is known as Thracology.
The Battle of the Allia was fought between the Senones and the Roman Republic. It was fought at the confluence of the rivers Tiber and Allia, eleven Roman miles (16 km) north of Rome. The Romans were routed and subsequently the Senones sacked Rome. The common date given for the battle is 390 BC. This is based on the account of the battle by the Roman historian Livy and the Varronian chronology, a Roman dating system. The ancient Greek historian Polybius, who used a Greek dating system, derived the date 387/6 BC. Plutarch wrote that the battle took place just after the summer solstice when the moon was near the full, a little more than three hundred and sixty years from the foundation of Rome. That would be shortly after 393 BC. Tacitus said that the battle took place the 15 before the Kalends of August, which is 18 July.
Vulca was an Etruscan artist from the town of Veii. The only Etruscan artist mentioned by ancient writers, he worked for the last of the Roman kings, Tarquinius Superbus. He is responsible for creating a terracotta statue of Jupiter that was inside the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill, and possibly the Apollo of Veii. His statue of Jupiter, which being made of terracotta had a red face, was so famous that victorious Roman generals would paint their faces red during their triumphal marches through Rome. Pliny the Elder wrote that his works were "the finest images of deities of that era...more admired than gold."
Lake Albano is a small volcanic crater lake in the Alban Hills of Lazio, at the foot of Monte Cavo, 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Rome. Castel Gandolfo, overlooking the lake, is the site of the Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
The Battle of Veii, also known as the Siege of Veii, is a battle of ancient Rome, approximately dated at 396 BC. The main source about it is Livy's Ab Urbe Condita.
The sanctuary of Minerva at Portonaccio is an archaeological site on the western side of the plateau on which the ancient Etruscan city of Veii, north of Rome, Italy, was located. The site takes its name from the locality within the village of Isola Farnese, part of Municipio XX, city of Rome.
The Battle of the Cremera was fought between the Roman Republic and the Etruscan city of Veii, in 477 BC.
Gaius Fulcinius was a Roman emissary dispatched to the colony of Fidenae. His murder led to the resumption of war against Veii, and the eventual capture of Fidenae.
Tullus Cloelius or Cluilius, called Cloelius Tullus in some sources, was a Roman envoy to Fidenae. He and his fellow envoys Gaius Fulcinius, Spurius Antius, and Lucius Roscius were dispatched in the year 438 B.C., tasked with investigating the reasons for Fidenae's alliance with Veii. All four were murdered on the orders of the Veientine king, Lars Tolumnius. Statues of the slain ambassadors were then erected at the public expense outside the Rostra in Rome, and the following year, Rome declared war against Veii in response to the incident.
Lucius Roscius was one of four Roman envoys sent to Fidenae after it revolted against Roman rule and allied itself with the Etruscan city state of Veii. He, and the other Roman emissaries, were murdered on the orders of the King of Veii, Lars Tolumnius.
Lars Tolumnius, was the most famous king of the wealthy Etruscan city-state of Veii, roughly ten miles northwest of Rome, best remembered for instigating a war with Rome that ended in a decisive Roman victory.
The Apollo of Veii is a life-size painted terracotta Etruscan statue of Apollo (Aplu), designed to be placed at the highest part of a temple. The statue was discovered in the Portonaccio sanctuary of ancient Veii, in what is now central Italy, and dates from c. 510 - 500 BC. It was created in the so-called "international" Ionic or late-archaic Etruscan style.
A cuniculus, plural cuniculi, is a diversionary water channel, used by ancient civilizations on the Italian Peninsula. As the general ancient Italian use derives from the Etruscan use, the term has a special significance of Etruscan cuniculi. The city of Veii was noted for them. The Italian community of Formello to the north of Veii was named after the numerous cuniculi there.
Etruscan art was produced by the Etruscan civilization in central Italy between the 9th and 2nd centuries BC. From around 600 BC it was heavily influenced by Greek art, which was imported by the Etruscans, but always retained distinct characteristics. Particularly strong in this tradition were figurative sculpture in terracotta, wall-painting and metalworking especially in bronze. Jewellery and engraved gems of high quality were produced.
The Etruscans, like the contemporary cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome had a persistent military tradition. In addition to marking the rank and power of certain individuals in Etruscan culture, warfare was a considerable economic boon to Etruscan civilization. Like many ancient societies, the Etruscans conducted campaigns during summer months; raiding neighboring areas, attempting to gain territory and combating piracy as a means of acquiring valuable resources such as land, prestige goods and slaves. It is also likely individuals taken in battle would be ransomed back to their families and clans at high cost. Prisoners could also potentially be sacrificed on tombs to honor fallen leaders of Etruscan society, not unlike the sacrifices made by Achilles for Patroclus.
The Roman–Etruscan Wars were a series of wars fought between ancient Rome and the Etruscans, from the earliest stages of the history of Rome. 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.
Aulus Cornelius Cossus was a Roman politician and general who lived in the fifth century BC.
