Thread by @_Italus

𝑊𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝐴𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝐼𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑦
Part 2: The Villanovan Age

Continuing on our analysis of the evolution of ancient warfare in the Italian peninsula, we arrive at the Early Iron Age, also known as the Villanovan period, following the Late Bronze Age collapse.

At first glance, Italy doesn't seem to have changed dramatically since the Bronze Age.
The peninsula is still dotted by seemingly rudimentary settlements, lead by a warrior aristocracy, decked out in Urnfield-descendant bronze equipment.
There are however several developments:

The first of which is the stratification of troops.
Romulus is said to have first organized the army into a set 3000 infantrymen and 300 cavalrymen.
One third of the force came from each of Rome's three founding 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑠, the 𝑅𝑎𝑚𝑛𝑒𝑠, 𝑇𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 and 𝐿𝑢𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠.

The 300 horsemen, known as the 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠 (the swift), are proof of the development of equestrianism in this period, be it with the adoption of stronger horse breeds or use of saddle-like pads.
Cavalry units, like their chariot antecedents, were made up of the richest men.

Other north-central Italic peoples are assumed to have adopted similar models, with some variation.
The Etruscans retained a preference for their 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑠 (chariots), as well as implementing specialized flanking infantry known as the 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑖 (axe-bearers).

In the south, Hellenic influence manifested itself in the "proto-hoplites" of the Greek Homeric (Dark Age) and Archaic periods.
The self-supplied men of the 𝑝𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑠 would organize themselves in broad shield formations, which would develop into the renowned 𝑝ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑥𝑒𝑠.

In regards to technology, the advent of ironworking was initially relegated to tools, daggers and spearheads, with the distinct Urnfield-style bronze antennae swords, circular shields and rhomboidal crested helmets keeping their aristocratic associations.

The spread of metalworking techniques did make armor less "exclusive" to the ruling warrior elite, as seen with the use of less ornate "pot" helmets and 𝑘𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑦𝑙𝑎𝑥 chestplates.
Men were still expected to fund their armaments through the spoils garnered in war.

One should note two distinctly italic shield types developed in this period;
The first is a peculiar Etruscan "buckler", ~25-30 cm in diameter, with central boss and hand grip.
Only three specimens have been found, each interred in male tombs.

With Mycenaean dueling practice having spread throughout Italy in the Bronze Age, these shields may have been specifically made for ritual single combat.
Another theory supposes these bucklers to have had ceremonial functions in "war dances", similar to the Greek Pyrrhic dance.

The second is the bilobate shield, believed to have developed from the Mycenaean 8-figure shield.
These shields consisted of two round bodies of wicker, over which one or more layers of ox skin or bronze were superimposed and which were held together by a wooden plank.

This shield would eventually evolve into a new model: The central wooden plank that served as an assembling element became a sort of "backspine", with a horizontal handle being placed in the center.
This is the ancestor of both the 𝑠𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑚 and 𝑡ℎ𝑦𝑟𝑒𝑜𝑠
shields.

It is important to remember that it is in this Villanovan context that Romulus founded the city.
It was not the later legions of professional soldiers that laid the groundworks for the greatest empire the world has seen, but brave warbands of glory-seeking farmers and warriors.