city state · Italy
Perusia
Origins
Perusia, Etruscan Persna, modern Perugia, grew on a group of hills west of the Tiber, near the border with the Umbrians. It developed into a city later than the coastal centres, gaining importance from the 6th century BCE and especially in the 4th and 3rd centuries BCE, when its great walls and gates were built.
Rule and society
Perusia controlled river routes and farmland on the upper Tiber and mixed with Umbrian neighbours. Its aristocratic families buried their dead in chamber tombs with carved urns, the finest being the Hypogeum of the Volumni. The Cippus of Perugia, a stone boundary text of about 130 words, is one of the longest Etruscan inscriptions, and the Arco Etrusco gate still stands.
Decline and legacy
Perusia joined other Etruscan cities against Rome, made truces in 310 and 294 BCE and became a Roman ally after the wars of the early 3rd century. In the Perusine War Octavian besieged Lucius Antonius there in 41–40 BCE; the city was taken and burned. Augustus rebuilt it as Augusta Perusia.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Perusia was part of Etruscan League600 BCE – 295 BCE
- Perusia was conquered by Roman Republic295 BCE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Perusia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/perusia
- MLA
- “Perusia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/perusia. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Perusia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/perusia.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Perusia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/perusia (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻