The civilization that ruled Italy before the Romans were the Etruscans. They ruled in the area that corresponded, roughly Tuscany. According to Greek historian Herodotus, this nation originated from Asia Minor. They were at the peak of the rule of Italy from the 8th to the end 6th century BC. The Etruscans ruled the Romans for about a hundred years, when the Romans defeated them in 509 BC, when the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire officially began to develop.
