Falisci
The Falisci were an Italic tribe who lived in what is now northern Lazio, on the Etruscan side of the Tiber River. They spoke an Italic language, Faliscan, closely related to Latin. Originally a sovereign state, politically and socially they supported the Etruscans, joining the Etruscan League. This conviction and affiliation led to their ultimate near destruction and total subjugation by Rome.
Only one instance of their own endonym has been found to date: an inscription from Falerii Novi from the late 2nd century AD refers to the falesce quei in Sardinia sunt, "the Faliscans who are in Sardinia", where falesce is the nominative plural case. An Etruscan inscription calls them the feluskeś. The Latin cannot be far different from the original name. The -sc- suffix is "distinctive of the Italic ethnonyms".
Geography
The Falisci resided in a region called by the Romans the Ager Faliscus, "Faliscan Country", located on the right bank of the Tiber River between and including Grotta Porciosa in the north and Capena in the south. The 1st-century Roman writer Pliny the Elder and the 1st-century BCE Latin poet Horace both state that the Monte Soratte was within Faliscan territory; it likely functioned as the border between Faliscan country and Capenate territory. The land between Monte Soratte and the Tiber is of unclear ownership; although nearly all the 4th-3rd century BCE inscriptions from the area east of Monte Soratte are Faliscan, most scholars consider the land to have been part of the ager Capenas. To the west, the corners of the roughly square area were on the slopes of the Monti Sabatini in the south and the Monti Cimini in the north. Pollen samples from Lake Bracciano, Lake Monterosi and Lake Vico reveal that the montane forests, formed by oaks, were very dense until the 2nd century BC. According to the 1st-century BCE Roman historian Livy, the forest by Monti Cimini was dangerous for foreigners as of the 4th-century BCE; he claims that "not a single trader had, up to that time, ventured through it."The arable land was contained within an enclosure of volcanic highlands and the Tiber River. The northern border of the enclosure went along the ridge of the Monti Cimini, the southern along the ridge connecting the Monti Sabatini and Monte Soratte, the western along the highlands connecting the two large volcanic lakes. The inner slopes are drained by streams pointing at the Tiber, which collect into converging canyons and finally into the canyon of the Treja river, which empties into the Tiber. These streams required an extensive network of bridges.
Most of the through traffic went along the Via Tiburtina on the west bank of the river, which could only be crossed south of Capena or at Grotta Porciosa in the north. There the Via Flaminia, earlier the Via Amerina, led inland into the country of the Sabines via the valley of the Nar River. On the western side, the Via Cassia or its predecessor led to the coast over Sutri gap. The Falisci therefore prospered by being on a protected crossroad.
The primary urban center in Faliscan territory was the city of Falerii, now the modern settlement of Civita Castellana. Falerii was situated at the conjunction of several small rivers from Monti Sabatini and the larger Treia river. Following the Roman conquest of 241 BCE, the city of Falerii was destroyed and the inhabitants were moved to the less defensible position of Falerii Novi. Another major city mentioned in ancient literature is Fescennium, which is said by Festus to be the origin site of the Roman wedding tradition known as the Fescennine verses. Other Faliscan cities unmentioned by the ancient sources include Corchiano, Vignanello, Gallese and Grotta Porciosa.
History
The Falisci, often allied with the Etruscans, resisted Rome for a long time. They were allied with Veii when it was defeated in 396 BC. In the aftermath, Falerii was occupied by the victorious Romans. When, in 358, Tarquinia rebelled, the Falisci again took arms against Rome, but were again crushed c. 351 BC. This time an alliance was signed between the contenders, and a Roman garrison was settled in Falerii.The Falisci took advantage of the First Punic War to declare their independence, but their revolt ended in 241 BC with the death of 15,000 Falisci and the destruction of Falerii; the survivors were moved to a new city, Falerii Novi.
Culture
It is unclear precisely how the Faliscans saw themselves and what characteristics they believed separated them from neighboring cultures. The only instance of the Falisci referring to their own ethnicity comes from a 2nd-century Latin inscription from Falerii Novi describing Faliscans in Sardinia: "falesce·quei·in·Sardinia·sunt." Ancient Roman authors sometimes equate the Falisci and the Etruscans; the 4th-century Latin writer Servius the Grammarian calls the city of Falerii a Tuscan city and Livy calls the Falisci an Etruscan people. The 1st-century BCE historian Dionysus of Halicarnassus claimed that Faliscan culture developed from earlier, supposedly Pelasgian, inhabitants of the region. However, the 1st-century BCE geographer Strabo notes that the Falisci differed from the Etruscans in numerous ways: "Some say that the inhabitants of Falerii are not Etruscans, but Faliscans, a distinct people; and some, too, that the Faliscans are a polis with a distinct tongue."Dionysius describes Faliscan weaponry in his works, stating that their spears and bucklers resembled Greek equipment used in Argos. Dionysius likely intended this description to further support his proposed connection between Argos and the Falisci. He further claims that whenever the Faliscan army left their borders, they sent unarmed holy men ahead of the rest of the army carrying the terms of peace. Cato the Elder, a 3rd-century BCE Roman politician, mentions a type of cattle-stall called the praesepe Faliscum, although such a device was possibly not exclusive to the ager Faliscus.
Pottery
The Faliscans earned large quantities of black and red-figure pottery from trade with the Attic parts of Greece and immigration of Attic artisans. By the 4th-century BCE, the red-figure style became the predominant type of pottery in the ager Faliscus. During this same century, the city of Falerii experienced significant artistic development; 4th-century BCE pottery from Falerii demonstrates standardized design and highly technical craftsmanship. Vincent Jolviet studied Faliscan tombs and divided Faliscan red-figure pottery into two categories: the "Style ancien," which comprises pottery produced around 380 BCE, and the "Style récent," consisting of pottery made from 340-280 BCE. The ancient Faliscan style contained distinctly Faliscan characteristics such as the decorations under the handles, although it remained strongly influenced by its Attic origins. In contrast, the recent style shows greater evidence of technical differences from Attic pottery: decorations in the recent style were painted without relief-lines, using thin, rushed, and watery paint lines instead. Late Faliscan pottery contained volutes, tongue-decorations on the shoulders, and palmettes beneath the handles. Dionysian imagery, such as depictions of satyrs and maenads alongside birds, also became staples of late Faliscan pottery. Winged figures were used to fill up blank spaces easily, expediting the production process.Social structure
The exact political mechanisms underpinning Faliscan society remain unclear due to limited archaeological evidence. Middle Faliscan inscriptions mention the political position of efiles, a term that may have emerged as a calque on the Latin word aedilis. Late Faliscan inscriptions from Falerii Novi mention a cuestod, a censor, several duouiri, and a pretod that served a—possibly local—senate. The term rex, meaning "king," appears on the cursus honorum in a Middle Faliscan text. It is possible that this position performed religious duties, similar to the Roman Rex sacrorum. The title appears at the end of the cursus, indicating that these magistrates may have served for a limited duration of time or served periodically. Another possible explanation for this placement is that the office was not a part of the traditional Roman cursus honorum.The usage of patronymic instead of matronymic filiations indicates that Faliscan society may have been somewhat patriarchal. There are several examples of Faliscan praenomina which are seemingly unique to Faliscan culture or are rare outside of the ager Faliscus; the names Iuna and Volta are included within this category, they are especially unique as they are masculine names with the ending -a. Other names such as Gaius and Gaia are much more common in Faliscan inscriptions than in other cultures. Instances of double gentillicum are found in a Middle Faliscan inscription containing the name ueluisni · olna and in a Middle or Late Faliscan text containing the name m · tito · tulio · uoltilio · hescuna. In Etruscan culture, this naming convention was used to mark an individual as a freedman. One Middle Faliscan inscription from Falerii mentions a freedwoman named loụṛia who was inhumed in the same loculus as the freeborn fasies : csia.