The Etruscans were the dominant civilization of pre-Roman Italy, occupying a region roughly corresponding to modern Tuscany and extending into Umbria and Campania.

Their language is famously unrelated to any other known language, which has made them a persistent mystery to linguists and historians.

Their culture shows significant connections to the Greek world but also distinctive features that suggest a different origin.

An ancient tradition, reported by the Greek historian Herodotus in the fifth century BCE, held that the Etruscans came from Lydia in western Anatolia — migrating to Italy after a period of famine in their homeland.

This Anatolian origin theory was taken seriously in antiquity but has been disputed by modern scholars.