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Military history of Italy
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Military history of Italy
The military history of Italy chronicles a vast time period, lasting from the military conflicts fought by the ancient peoples of Italy, most notably the conquest of the Mediterranean world by the ancient Romans, through medieval warfare, the expansion of the Italian city-states and maritime republics, the involvement of the historical Italian states in the Italian Wars and the wars of succession, to the Napoleonic period, the Italian unification (known as Risorgimento), the campaigns of the colonial empire, the two world wars, and into the modern day, with world peacekeeping operations under the aegis of NATO, the EU or the UN. The Italian peninsula has been a centre of military conflict throughout European history due to its geostrategic position: because of this, Italy has a long military tradition.
In the 1st millennium BC, the territory of present-day Italy was inhabited by a multitude of populations differing in origin, culture, language and religion. The difference was also reflected in the variety of military organization they had. Much of central-southern and north-eastern Italy was inhabited by populations called Italic peoples, or rather by the type of languages they spoke. In the 8th century BC in central-southern Italy, for example, Latins were settled in the west from which the Romans would later emerge, Sabines in the upper Tiber Valley, Umbrians in the north-east, Samnites in the south, Oscans and others shared the Italian peninsula with two other main ethnic groups: Etruscans to the north, and Greeks to the south.
The Etruscans (Etrusci or Tusci in Latin) were settled north of Rome in Etruria (modern northern Lazio, Tuscany and part of Umbria). They founded cities like Tarquinia, Veii and Volterra and deeply influenced Roman culture, as clearly shown by the Etruscan origin of some of the mythical Roman kings. The origins of the Etruscans are lost in prehistory. Historians have no literature, no texts of religion or philosophy; therefore much of what is known about this civilization is derived from grave goods and tomb findings.
Given their federal organization as city-states, in the event of war the armies were recruited on an Etruscan city basis and calling citizens to arms according to wealth and social position; consequently the composition, equipment and appearance of the armies had to vary greatly. The armed formations included bodies of hoplites, light troops and cavalry, each with their own equipment and tasks. In fact, the structure of the units was based on the armament, the infantry could be heavy or light. The cavalry had reconnaissance and exploration purposes, while in the archaic age the war chariot was also used. The Etruscans had a territory with many metal deposits at their disposal, especially the island of Elba, the metallurgical technique of the Etruscan blacksmiths was advanced and allowed them to have higher quality weapons than other peoples.
The Italic peoples were war-like as the Etruscans were (the gladiatorial displays actually evolved out of Etruscan funerary customs). The Italics and the Etruscans had a significant military tradition. In addition to marking the rank and power of certain individuals in their culture, warfare was a considerable economic boon to their civilization. Like many ancient societies, the Italics and the Etruscans conducted campaigns during summer months, raiding neighboring areas, attempting to gain territory and combating piracy/banditry as a means of acquiring valuable resources such as land, prestige and goods. It is also likely individuals taken in battle would be ransomed back to their families and clans at high cost.
After 650 BCE, the Etruscans became dominant in central Italy, and expanded into north Italy founding cities like Mutina (modern Modena) and Felsina (modern Bologna). Roman tradition claimed that Rome had been under the control of seven "etruscan" kings from 753 to 509 BCE beginning with the mythic Romulus who, along with his brother Remus, were said to have founded the city of Rome.
The northern part of Italy was called Cisalpine Gaul because of the presence of Celtic tribes and the strong influence they had on the region. Non-Celtic people like Ligures in the western part, and Adriatic Veneti in the eastern, also existed and were the majority of population of Cisalpine Gaul, although they were very influenced by Celts in their culture, and warfare was no exception. The Ligurians practised warfare mainly by ambush and their weaponry was very similar to the Celtic one, Greek, and illirian ones (e.g. with hoplites and phalanx), but later emerges use of typical Celtic weapons and tactics.
The first Celtic presence in northern Italy could date back to the Bronze Age in the 13th century with the Canegrate culture, with the arrival of proto-Celtic populations from the Alps. This was followed in the Iron Age by the Golasecca culture (9th-4th century BC). A tomb dating back to this period presents in its armament characteristics of the nearby Hallstatt culture but also Etruscan or Greek.
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Military history of Italy
The military history of Italy chronicles a vast time period, lasting from the military conflicts fought by the ancient peoples of Italy, most notably the conquest of the Mediterranean world by the ancient Romans, through medieval warfare, the expansion of the Italian city-states and maritime republics, the involvement of the historical Italian states in the Italian Wars and the wars of succession, to the Napoleonic period, the Italian unification (known as Risorgimento), the campaigns of the colonial empire, the two world wars, and into the modern day, with world peacekeeping operations under the aegis of NATO, the EU or the UN. The Italian peninsula has been a centre of military conflict throughout European history due to its geostrategic position: because of this, Italy has a long military tradition.
In the 1st millennium BC, the territory of present-day Italy was inhabited by a multitude of populations differing in origin, culture, language and religion. The difference was also reflected in the variety of military organization they had. Much of central-southern and north-eastern Italy was inhabited by populations called Italic peoples, or rather by the type of languages they spoke. In the 8th century BC in central-southern Italy, for example, Latins were settled in the west from which the Romans would later emerge, Sabines in the upper Tiber Valley, Umbrians in the north-east, Samnites in the south, Oscans and others shared the Italian peninsula with two other main ethnic groups: Etruscans to the north, and Greeks to the south.
The Etruscans (Etrusci or Tusci in Latin) were settled north of Rome in Etruria (modern northern Lazio, Tuscany and part of Umbria). They founded cities like Tarquinia, Veii and Volterra and deeply influenced Roman culture, as clearly shown by the Etruscan origin of some of the mythical Roman kings. The origins of the Etruscans are lost in prehistory. Historians have no literature, no texts of religion or philosophy; therefore much of what is known about this civilization is derived from grave goods and tomb findings.
Given their federal organization as city-states, in the event of war the armies were recruited on an Etruscan city basis and calling citizens to arms according to wealth and social position; consequently the composition, equipment and appearance of the armies had to vary greatly. The armed formations included bodies of hoplites, light troops and cavalry, each with their own equipment and tasks. In fact, the structure of the units was based on the armament, the infantry could be heavy or light. The cavalry had reconnaissance and exploration purposes, while in the archaic age the war chariot was also used. The Etruscans had a territory with many metal deposits at their disposal, especially the island of Elba, the metallurgical technique of the Etruscan blacksmiths was advanced and allowed them to have higher quality weapons than other peoples.
The Italic peoples were war-like as the Etruscans were (the gladiatorial displays actually evolved out of Etruscan funerary customs). The Italics and the Etruscans had a significant military tradition. In addition to marking the rank and power of certain individuals in their culture, warfare was a considerable economic boon to their civilization. Like many ancient societies, the Italics and the Etruscans conducted campaigns during summer months, raiding neighboring areas, attempting to gain territory and combating piracy/banditry as a means of acquiring valuable resources such as land, prestige and goods. It is also likely individuals taken in battle would be ransomed back to their families and clans at high cost.
After 650 BCE, the Etruscans became dominant in central Italy, and expanded into north Italy founding cities like Mutina (modern Modena) and Felsina (modern Bologna). Roman tradition claimed that Rome had been under the control of seven "etruscan" kings from 753 to 509 BCE beginning with the mythic Romulus who, along with his brother Remus, were said to have founded the city of Rome.
The northern part of Italy was called Cisalpine Gaul because of the presence of Celtic tribes and the strong influence they had on the region. Non-Celtic people like Ligures in the western part, and Adriatic Veneti in the eastern, also existed and were the majority of population of Cisalpine Gaul, although they were very influenced by Celts in their culture, and warfare was no exception. The Ligurians practised warfare mainly by ambush and their weaponry was very similar to the Celtic one, Greek, and illirian ones (e.g. with hoplites and phalanx), but later emerges use of typical Celtic weapons and tactics.
The first Celtic presence in northern Italy could date back to the Bronze Age in the 13th century with the Canegrate culture, with the arrival of proto-Celtic populations from the Alps. This was followed in the Iron Age by the Golasecca culture (9th-4th century BC). A tomb dating back to this period presents in its armament characteristics of the nearby Hallstatt culture but also Etruscan or Greek.
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