In the Etruscan League for example, were the different cities all different tribes? I'm having a hard time understanding if they were all separate tribes/clans under a common language/culture, or if they were all the same?
I'm attempting to do a bunch of research in my spare time on the Italic tribes and basically everything Italy between 800 bc - 300 bc. The more I read the more fascinated I become. The wars, the intrigue, the drama, the myths and legends between the Romans, Etruscans, Samnites, Sabines, Umbrians, etc is so cool! I used to be focused on the late Republic/Early Empire, but these older, smaller, more tribal conflicts and cultures are drawing me in big time.
Anyway, if anyone can answer my original question that'd be killer. Thanks guys!
The Etruscans were primarily arrayed as city states - that is, areas dominated by a particularly large settlement, often ruled by a king. This was, I believe, the norm for the ancient mediterranean until the rise of larger empires like Carthage and Rome.
Some examples include Clusium, Caere and Veii, the latter of which gave early Rome a run for it's money at one point.
The Etruscans were broadly of the same cultural group and spoke a language distinct from the Celtic and Italic languages nearby.