Theirs was the first well-developed city culture with which the small farming communities in ancient Latium came into contact. Etruscan kings ruled Rome during the 500's B.C., when Rome itself grew from a village into a city. Rome became so prosperous and powerful under the Etruscan kings that it was able to rule most of Latium even after the last Etruscan king was driven out of the city. Language and culture. The Etruscan language cannot yet be understood, although it is written in letters much like Greek.
Historians have a great many inscriptions in the language, but most are very brief.
The language did not belong to the Indo-European family, like Latin and Greek, but it seems related to such obscure languages of Asia Minor as Lydian. Etruscan art was greatly influenced by the Greeks. The most spectacular Etruscan remains are tombs. Many were decorated with wallpaintings. Hundreds of these tombs have been preserved.