The form of government was that of a federal republic, divided into twelve states, over each of which presided a civil magistrate, called Lucumon. In times of war, the office of commander in chief was conferred on one of the Lucumones, with the title of king, and very considerable powers. This authority, however, was by no means abso lute, as it appears that he was subject to the controul of the general assembly of the deputies of the twelve states held in the temple of Voltumna, and liable even to capital pun ishment, if found guilty of the crimes laid to his charge. That their system of laws was just and equitable, and ad mirably adapted to the form of their society, appears from the concurring testimony of historians, and the abridgment of its principles itself, the foundation of the jurisprudence of the Romans ; for which, as well as their religious esta blishment, they were indebted to their Etrurian neighbours.
Their manners were in no small degree humanized; do mestic slavery, which at that period prevailed in almost every other nation in the world, did not exist among them; and their progress in the arts of polished life, is attested by those exquisite remains, which even in our own times, have been considered as models worthy of imitation.* These new arts, however, and the foreign ideas introduc ed by abundance and wealth, against which the most virtu ous education can make but a feeble opposition, were among the nation of Etruscans, the seeds of that relaxation of morals which marks inevitably the epoch of its decay. The seducing influence of corruption, damped by degrees the ardour of liberty. The colonies lost their affection for the mother country, and degenerated into cold and uninter ested allies, and the republic itself, divided by domestic contentions, fell, one state after another, under the domi nion of the Romans. The history of that nation becomes, from this period, that of Italy ; and for an account of its va rious revolutions, while under its power, we must refer to the article ROME.
Towards the close of the 5th century, when the empire of the west, surrounded by numberless hordes of barbarians impelled by ambition and famine, was every day deprived by their conquests of some valuable province or territory, Ita ly alone for some time preserved the appearance and name of the Roman empire. Under the feeble sway, however, of the later emperors, and the tyrannical misrule of their favourites, such was the miserable situation of the country, that the circumstances even of the provinces conquered by the barbarians, were envied by the wretched Italians. Ci vil liberty was almost annihilated, the laws were disregard ed, the nobles harassed and impoverished by the exactions of the imperial tax-gatherers, and the poor, exposed to the oppression of the soldiery, and reduced to a state of famine by the bands of robbers which overran the country, were indifferent into the hands of what master they fell, and were rather willing to enjoy personal freedom under the name of slaves to the Goths, than remain in a state of actual slavery with the semblance of Roman liberty. At this period, the army of the emperor consisted of three tribes of barbarians, the Heruli, the Rugm, and the Turcilingi. These soldiers having for some time received no pay, demanded that in lieu of it a certain portion of land should be assigned them. This request being refused by Orestes, the guardian of the Emperor Augustulus, they offered to transfer their allegi ance to Odoacer, his principal general ; and, on his promis ing to accede to their demands, deposed the emperor, and acknowledged him as their king. The new monarch wise ly abstained from making any change in the laws, and in or der to conciliate the eastern emperor, assumed only the ti tle of patrician of Rome, and pretended to acknowledge his authority. Having expelled from Noricum, Frederic, king
of the 12 ugm, a German tribe, the latter took refuge with Theodoric, king of the Goths, who then resided at Nova in Nlaesia, and implored his assistance against Odoacer. This prince, endowed by nature with superior talents and courage, was descended from the most illustrious family of the Goths, and had enjoyed the advantage of being educat ed at the court of the Byzantine emperor. Zeno, who had several times distinguished him with peculiar marks of fa vour, and as often, moved by fickleness or jealousy, attempt ed to deprive him of the possessions with which he himself had invested him. At this period, (A. D. 486.) Theodo vie, justly wearied with his duplicity and perfidy, had taken up arms against him, and extended his ravages till within a short distance from Constantinople. Zeno, alarmed at his approach, hastened to appease the wrath of Theodoric ; and to remove to a distance so formidable a neighbour, pro posed to him the invasion of Italy, and on his consenting, invested him with the title of his lieutenant. The govern ment of Odoacer, although in general just and politic, had now become extremely unpopular ; and a division of one third of the lands among the soldiery, in consequence of his promise, had wounded the pride, and excited the indigna tion of the Italians. They were therefore inclined to sub mit to Theodoric, who, arriving in Italy at the head of his whole nation, fought several battles with Odoacer, with va rious success. Being, however, deserted by several of his allies, he was besieged in Pavia by Odoacer, and obliged to have recourse to the assistance of the Western or Visi Goths, a branch of his nation settled in Gaul. With this reinforcement, he obliged Odoacer to raise the siege of Pa via and retire to Ravenna, where, having surrendered him self, he was put to death a few days after his capitulation. Theodoric now assumed the title of king of Italy, but, like his predecessor Odoacer, made no alteration in the laws, and declared himself not the enemy, hut the deliverer of the Romans, and the vassal of the emperor. He nevertheless allotted to his Goths a third part of the lands, but, whether from the moderation of the conquerors, or the peculiar mode in which this partition was executed, it appears neither to have excited complaint nor dissatisfaction ; and on the con trary, to have united more closely the interests of the two nations. This is said to have been chiefly effected by the wisdom of Liberius,the first prxtorian prefect, in the choice of whom and of his other ministers, Theodoric appears to have been equally prudent and fortunate ; and under their administration, Italy not only recovered from the state of misery in which it had been so long involved, but was re stored to her former power, opulence, and splendour. Agriculture, commerce, and the arts, the most unequivocal signs of prosperity, revived and flourished : and notwith standing the frequent wars in which he was engaged, the king appears never to have lost sight of the real and sub stantial interests of his people. In the later years of his reign, however, Theodoric became suspicious and cruel, and the execution of the virtuous Boethius and Symma chus will for ever tarnish the lustre of his early greatness. The king himself did not long survive, and his death is said to have been accelerated by feelings of remorse for the in justice of which he had been guilty.