CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

POLITICAL SYSTEMS AND LAW

Hilary Becker

G

reek and Roman authors inform us that the administration of Etruscan cities began

with kings and, in fi ts and starts, transitioned to elected magistrates at the end of

the Archaic period, contemporary to similar developments in Athens and Rome. While

the ancient authors are not overly interested in the mechanics of the Etruscan political

system, this study will examine Etruscan evidence, along with evidence from Greek and

Roman authors, in order to fl esh out a diachronic impression of political life in Etruria,

aiming to demonstrate in particular how the different city-states were governed across

their territories, and to what extent there was any federal activity in Etruria. Such a

study also provides an idea of what Etruscan citizens might have expected from their

magistrates and their city-state overall, in terms of administration, public works and law.

A DIACHRONIC OVERVIEW OF ETRUSCAN MAGISTRACIES:

The monarchical period

By the middle of the eighth century bce elite leaders (principes) at the head of Etruscan

gentes (clans), according to Roman authors, shared their power to form the Etruscan

city-state. As with the contemporary Romans and Greeks, the preferred political form

for these nascent city-states was monarchical. The Etruscan word for king was zilath,

denoting “head ruler” or “commander”.^1 This political term remains in use throughout

Etruscan political history, although its precise constitutional meaning changes over time.

The use of the term zilath during the monarchical period can be found on a cippus from

Rubiera (near Modena) dating to the end of the seventh century bce.^2 This inscription

specifi cally states that this magistrate, whose name is no longer legible, was a zilath at

Misala or Sala.

Etruscan kings are familiar in Greek and Roman authors, and even the Aeneid

associates early Etruria with kingship, in the form of Mezentius of Caere.^3 An Etruscan

king Arimnestos was the fi rst non-Greek to make a dedication (a throne) at Olympia,^4

and other notable kings include Porsenna, as well as the kings of Etruscan descent at

Rome. Mastarna is one of the more notable kings from Etruscan and Roman history,