{{Short description|Ancient Etruscan cities}} {{About|the two ancient Roman towns|other uses|Volsinii (disambiguation)}} [[File:Bolsena.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Bolsena]] at the site of Roman Volsinii.<br>{{Coord|42|38|41|N|11|59|09|E}}]] [[File:Panorama di Orvieto.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Orvieto]], candidate for the location of Etruscan Velzna. Etruscan antiquities there are extensive.<br>{{Coord|42|43|N|12|06|E}}]] '''Volsinii''' or '''Vulsinii''' ([[Etruscan language|Etruscan]]: '''Velzna''' or '''Velusna'''; [[Ancient Greek|Greek]]: '''Ouolsinioi''', {{lang|grc|Ὀυολσίνιοι}};<ref>[[Strabo]] ''Geography'' 5.2.9 records it under this name as a city in the interior of Tyrrhenia and says that there was a lake near ("peri") it.</ref> {{lang|grc|Ὀυολσίνιον}}<ref>[[Ptolemy]] ''Geography'' iii.1.50 lists this form of the name as a city among the Tusci.</ref>), is the name of two ancient cities of [[Etruria]], one situated on the shore of Lacus Volsiniensis (modern [[Lago di Bolsena]]), and the other on the [[Via Clodia]], between [[Clusium]] ([[Chiusi]]) and [[Forum Cassii]] ([[Vetralla]]).<ref>[[Antonine Itinerary]]; [[Tabula Peutingeriana]].</ref> The latter was [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] and was destroyed by the Romans in 264 BC following an attempted revolt by its slaves, while the former was founded by the Romans using the remainder of the Etruscan population rescued from the razed city.<ref name=Ihne>{{cite book|title=The history of Rome|url=https://archive.org/details/historyrome04ihnegoog|first=Wilhelm|last=Ihne|publisher=Longmans, Green, and Co.|year=1871|location=London|edition=English|pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyrome04ihnegoog/page/n502 479]–481}}</ref>
Modern [[Bolsena]], [[Italy]], in the region of [[Lazio]], descends from the Roman city. The location of the Etruscan city is debated. [[Umbria]]n [[Orvieto]], about {{convert|14|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Bolsena, is a strong candidate.
==Location==
The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] historian [[Joannes Zonaras]] states that the Etruscan Volsinii lay on a steep height;<ref name=zon>Zonaras, ''Annals'' (or ''Chronicle'' or ''Epitome'' - he does not state a name of his own) viii. 7; ''cf.'' [[Aristotle]] ''De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus'' 96.</ref> while [[Bolsena]], the modern town on the site of Roman Volsinii, is situated in the plain. Scholars of the 19th century debated the location of this elevated site. [[Wilhelm Ludwig Abeken]]<ref>''Mittelitalien'', p. 34 and following.</ref> looked for it at [[Montefiascone]], {{convert|14|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Bolsena at the southern extremity of the lake; while [[Karl Otfried Müller]]<ref>''Etrusker'', i. p. 451.</ref> believed it was at [[Orvieto]], {{convert|17|km|mi|abbr=on}} away, and adduced the name of that place in Latin, ''Urbs Vetus'', the "old city," as an argument in favour of his view. British explorer and writer [[George Dennis (explorer)|George Dennis]]<ref>''Etruria'', vol. i. p. 508.</ref> was of the opinion that there was no reason to believe that it was so far from the Roman city, and that it lay on the summit of the hill, above the [[amphitheater]] at Bolsena, at a spot called ''Il Piazzano''.{{cn|date=August 2023}} He adduced in support of this hypothesis the existence of a good deal of broken pottery there, and of a few caves in the cliffs below.
===Fanum Voltumnae=== {{main|Fanum Voltumnae}}
Fanum Voltumnae was the chief sanctuary of the Etruscans. Numerous sources refer to a league of the "Twelve Peoples" of Etruria, which met annually at the Fanum, possibly for the purpose of electing priests.<ref>Livy v.1.</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Grummond |first1=Nancy Thomson de |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQtbJyFCd40C |title=The Religion of the Etruscans |last2=Simon |first2=Erika |date=2009-04-20 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-78233-4 |page=35 |language=en}}</ref> The exact location of this shrine is still unknown, though it may have been in an area near modern [[Orvieto]], believed by many to be the ancient Volsinii. Professor Simonetta Stopponi of the University of Macerata, an Etruscologist, has been excavating at Orvieto since 2000. She believes that Fanum was located at this site.<ref name="world-archaeology.com">[http://www.world-archaeology.com/features/fanum-voltumnae-parliament-of-the-etruscan-league.htm Fanum Voltumnae: Parliament of the Etruscan League.] World Archaeology 2007 Issue 26</ref>
An Etruscan substructure, datable to the 6th-4th centuries BC, has been uncovered.
<blockquote> "Most impressive was the excavation of a round fountain area, on a slight rise above and overlooking the temples, whose decorations included the head of a lion. According to Stopponi, ‘This would have been the sacred spring.’"<ref name="world-archaeology.com"/> </blockquote>
==History==
===Volsinii veteres=== Etruscan Volsinii (Velzna or Velusna; or sometimes in [[Latin]] ''Volsinii Veteres'' – Old Volsinii) appears to have been one of the most powerful cities of Etruria, the cult centre of the god [[Voltumna]], and was doubtless one of the 12 which formed the Etruscan confederation, as Volsinii is designated by [[Livy]]<ref>''History of Rome'', x.37.</ref> and [[Valerius Maximus]]<ref name=lc>''Factorum et Dictorum Memorabilia'', Book ix.1, "External affairs" Section 2.</ref> as one of the ''capita Etruriae'' ("heads of Etruria"). It is described by [[Juvenal]]<ref>''[[Satires of Juvenal|Satires]]'' iii.191.</ref> as seated among well-wooded hills.
Volsinii first enters Roman historiography following the fall of [[Veii]] in 396 BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gustafsson |first=Gabriella |url= |title=Evocatio Deorum: Historical and Mythical Interpretations of Ritualised Conquests in the Expansion of Ancient Rome |date=2000 |publisher=Acta universitatis Upsaliensis |isbn=978-91-554-4765-6 |page=55 |language=en}}</ref> The Volsinienses, in conjunction with the Salpinates,<ref>Still unknown population in Etruria, obviously near Volsinii, living in a city whose name has been variously reconstructed as *Salpis, *Salpinum, *Salapia.</ref> taking advantage of a famine and pestilence which had desolated Rome, made incursions into the Roman territory in 391 BC. They were defeated, and 8,000 of them were taken prisoner. However, they purchased a twenty-year truce in exchange for returning the booty they had taken, and furnishing the pay of the Roman army for a year.<ref>[[Livy]], ''History of Rome'', v.31-32.</ref>
They appear next in 310 BC, when, in common with the rest of the Etruscan cities, except Arretium (modern [[Arezzo]]), they took part in the siege of Sutrium (modern [[Sutri]]), a city in alliance with Rome.<ref>[[Livy]], ''History of Rome'', ix.32.</ref> This war was terminated by the defeat of the Etruscans at the [[First Battle of Lake Vadimo]] (310 BC), a major blow to their power.<ref>Livy ix.39.</ref> Three years afterwards the consul [[Publius Decius Mus (consul 312 BC)|Publius Decius Mus]] captured several of the Volsinian fortresses.<ref>Livy ix.41.</ref> In 295 BC, [[Lucius Postumius Megellus (consul 305 BC)|Lucius Postumius Megellus]] ravaged their territory and defeated them under the walls of their own city, slaying 2,800 of them. Consequently they, together with Perusia (modern [[Perugia]]) and [[Arezzo|Arretium]], purchased a forty-year peace by paying a heavy fine.<ref>Livy ix.37.</ref>
Not more than fourteen years, however, had elapsed, when, with their allies the [[Buccino|Vulcientes]], they again took up arms against Rome. But this attempt ended in their final subjugation in 280 BC.<ref>Attested by very brief statements in Livy ''[[Epitome of Livy|Epitome]]'' to Book xi and also the ''[[Fasti Capitolini]]''.</ref> [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]]<ref>''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Historia Naturalis]]'' xxxiv.7.16.</ref> tells an absurd story, taken from the Greek writer [[Metrodorus of Scepsis]], that the object of the Romans in capturing Volsinii was to make themselves masters of 2,000 statues which it contained. The story, however, suffices to show that the Volsinians had attained great wealth, luxury, and art. This is confirmed by Valerius Maximus,<ref name=lc/> who also adds that this luxury was the cause of their ruin, by making them so indolent that they at length allowed the administration of their commonwealth to be usurped by slaves.<ref name=zon/><ref>[[Florus]], ''Epitome'', i.21.</ref><ref>[[Aurelius Victor]], ''De Viris Illustribus'', 36</ref><ref>[[Paulus Orosius|Orosius]] ''Historiae adversum Paganos'', iv.5.</ref>
The attempted revolution apparently began with the admission of freedmen into the army, which must have been in 280 BC. They became a powerful plebeian class, who were subsequently allowed to become members of the Senate and to hold public office. They seem to have acquired majorities, using them to shape the law. Other slaves were set free; they gave themselves all the privileges formerly reserved for the Etruscans, such as rights of intermarriage and inheritance, and aggressively insisted on them against the will of the Etruscan patrician class. There were complaints of rape and robbery.
In 265 BC, when the revolutionary party began to pass laws limiting patrician political activity, the [[lucumones]] sent a clandestine embassy to Rome asking for military assistance. On their return they were executed for treason, but shortly afterwards a Roman army arrived to lay siege to the town. The subsequent conflict was intense; the consul and commanding general, [[Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges (consul 265 BC)|Quintus Fabius Gurges]], was a casualty. A year later his successor, [[Marcus Fulvius Flaccus (consul 264 BC)|Marcus Fulvius Flaccus]], receiving the surrender of the town through its starvation, razed it and executed the leaders of the plebeian party. The first display of gladiators at Rome in 264 is believed to have featured now captive freedmen from Volsinii.<ref>{{cite book|page=19|title=The Roman amphitheatre: from its origins to the Colosseum|first=Katherine E.|last=Welch|edition=illustrated|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-521-80944-3}}</ref> The Romans rescued and restored to power the remaining Etruscans of Volsinii, but decided it was necessary to remove them from that location to a new city on the shores of Lake Bolsena.<ref name=Ihne/> The new city had none of the natural defenses of the old one and was not in any way sovereign. The portable wealth from the old city was carried off to Rome.{{cn|date=August 2023}}
===Volsinii novi=== [[File:Kastor Niobid krater Louvre G341.jpg|thumb|200px|Attic red-figure calyx-krater, c. 460–450 BC, from Orvieto (the Niobid Krater).]]
This second, or Roman, Volsinii (sometimes called ''Volsinii Novi'' – New Volsinii) continued to exist under the [[Roman Empire|Empire]]. It was the birthplace of [[Sejanus]], the minister and favorite of [[Tiberius]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tacitus|title=Annals|page=iv. 1, vi. 8}}</ref> Juvenal (x. 74) alludes to this circumstance when he considers the fortunes of Sejanus as dependent on the favor of [[Nursia]], or Norsia, an Etruscan goddess much worshipped at Volsinii, into whose temple there, as in [[Temple of Jupiter (Capitoline Hill)|that of Jupiter Capitolinus]] at Rome, a nail was annually driven to mark the years.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Livy|title=Ab urbe condita|page=VIII.3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tertullian|title=Apology|page=24}}</ref> According to Pliny, Volsinii was the scene of some supernatural occurrences. He records that lightning was drawn down from heaven by king [[Porsenna]] to destroy a monster called Volta that was ravaging its territory.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pliny the Elder|title=Natural History|location=ii. 54}}</ref> Even the commonplace invention of hand-mills, ascribed to this city, is embellished with the traditional prodigy that some of them turned by themselves.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pliny the Elder|title=Natural History|page=xxxvi. 18. s. 29}}</ref>
==Remains== {{Unsourced|section|date=August 2023}} No definite traces of the Etruscan Volsinii have been identified. Of the Roman city, some remains are still extant at Bolsena. The most remarkable are those of a temple near the Florence gate, commonly called the ''Tempio di Norsia''. But the remains are of Roman work; and the real temple of that goddess most probably stood in the Etruscan city. The amphitheater is small and a complete ruin. Besides these there are the remains of some baths, sepulchral tablets, and a sarcophagus with reliefs representing the triumph of [[Dionysus|Bacchus]]. The [[Monti Volsini]] mountain range in northern [[Lazio]] takes its name from the ancient city.
==Coinage== Volsinii minted coins in antiquity. A full discussion of the coins of Volsinii may be found in Müller, ''Etrusker'', vol. i. pp. 324, 333.
==Native Volsinians== *[[Sejanus]], [[praetorian prefect]] under [[Tiberius]]. *[[Musonius Rufus]] the Stoic. *[[Aulus Cornelius Palma Frontonianus]], Roman statesman.
==See also== * [[Lake Bolsena]] * [[Vulsini]]
==Notes== {{Wikisource|Author:Livy}} {{Reflist}}
==References== *{{SmithDGRG}}
==External links== {{Wikisource1911Enc|Volsinii}} *{{cite web |url=http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/413389 |title=Places: 413389 (Volsinii) |author=Harris, W., R. Talbert, T. Elliott, S. Gillies |date=15 July 2021 |access-date=March 8, 2012<!-- 4:05 pm -->|publisher=Pleiades}} *[http://www.mysteriousetruscans.com/velzna.html Velzna (Roman Volsinii)], at MysteriousEtruscans.com *[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/_Periods/Roman/Archaic/Etruscan/_Texts/DENETR*/27.html George Dennis on Velzna] (chapter 27 of Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria) <br> {{Etruscans}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Etruscan cities]] [[Category:Razed cities]] [[Category:Archaeological sites in Umbria]]