Etruscans Originated From Steppes

This first theory is based on the earliest surviving record that describes where the Etruscans came from. Herodotus, writing in the fifth century BCE, claimed that the Etruscans came from Anatolia. Specifically, he says they were Lydians, a nation that lived around the middle of the western coast of Anatolia. According to Herodotus’ account, a famine occurred in the reign of King Atys, who lived not long before the Trojan War. Because of the intense scarcity of food, King Atys decided to divide the nation into two. One half of the nation was sent away under the rulership of his son, Tyrrhenus. They settled in Italy and took the name of their leader as their new name (the Etruscans were called “Tyrrhenians” in Greek).