Ravenna

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In 402 AD, following invasions that threatened the imperial government in Milan, Emperor Honorius decided to relocate the capital to Ravenna, a defensible city in the Po estuary. From then until 751 AD, Ravenna served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire, the kingdom of Theoderic the Goth, and later as the center of Byzantine power in Italy. Judith Herrin's account reveals how scholars, lawyers, doctors, craftsmen, and religious figures flocked to Ravenna, transforming it into a cultural and political hub that influenced northern Italy and the Adriatic. By exploring the lives of Ravenna's rulers and inhabitants, Herrin illustrates the city's role as a crossroads of Greek, Latin, Christian, and barbarian cultures, bridging East and West. The narrative provides a new perspective on the period from the fifth to eighth centuries, arguing that it should not be seen as a decline from antiquity but as a time of significant creativity, termed 'Early Christendom.' Despite the crumbling of Ravenna's palaces, its churches endure, showcasing a remarkable concentration of mosaics created by Catholic Romans and Arian Goths. Richly illustrated with new photographs and informed by recent archaeological findings, this work vividly brings the early Middle Ages to life through Ravenna's history.