The Etruscans and Alalia (Aleria, Corsica)

[Palando]

Greetings,
I'll try keeping this one rather short. Currently, the Corsican city Alalia has a Greek culture, which is probably based on it being a Greek colony at first (foundation ~565 BC). This, however, changed after the Battle of Alalia (540 BC according to Herodotus), when the Greeks abandoned Corsica, although they had won a Pyrrhic (Cadmean) victory against the allied forces of Etruscans and Carthaginians. Thereafter, Alalia was inhabited by Etruscans (until the Romans later on conquered the whole isle).

Archaeological excavations have at least confirmed the Etruscan occupation of the city for around 300 years. In particular, a circuit wall with bastions, the partition of land and most importantly the necropolises have all been attributed to the Etruscans. A strong trade connection between Alalia and the mainland Populonia can also be deduced.

Thus, Alalia should have Etruscan culture and certainly not a Greek culture (based on written and archaeological sources).

See "The Etruscan World" edited by Jean Macintosh Turfa (2013), chapter "Etruscans and Corsica"; and "An Archaeological History of Carthaginian Imperialism" by Nathan Pilkington (2013).

Spoiler: Relevant text (The Etruscan World):

Spoiler: Relevant text (Pilkington):

 

[Wavey]

A nice post, although one should add that even if for whatever reasons the devs feel it should stay of a Greek culture, it should not be Massalian. Both were founded by colonists from the same Ionian city, rather than Alalia being founded by Massalia. Thus influences of the neighbouring Celts on Massalia would not have been experienced by Alalia or passed on, instead their influences would have been from the Corsicans and Etruscans.