Ravenna

' Magisterial - an outstanding book that shines a bright light one of the most important, interesting and under-studied cities in European history. A masterpiece. ' Peter Frankopan 'A wonderful new history of the Mediterranean from the fifth to eighth centuries through a lens focussed on Ravenna, gracefully and clearly written, which reconceptualises what was 'East' and what was 'West'. ' Caroline Goodson ' A masterwork by one of our greatest historians of Byzantium and early Christianity. Judith Herrin tells a story that is at once gripping and authoritative and full of wonderful detail about every element in the life of Ravenna. Impossible to put down. ' David Freedberg In 402 AD, after invading tribes broke through the Alpine frontiers of Italy and threatened the imperial government in Milan, the young Emperor Honorius made the momentous decision to move his capital to a small, easy defendable city in the Po estuary - Ravenna. From then until 751 AD, Ravenna was first the capital of the Western Roman Empire, then that of the immense kingdom of Theoderic the Goth and finally the centre of Byzantine power in Italy. In this engrossing account Judith Herrin explains how scholars, lawyers, doctors, craftsmen, cosmologists and religious luminaries were drawn to Ravenna where they created a cultural and political capital that dominated northern Italy and the Adriatic. As she traces the lives of Ravenna's rulers, chroniclers and inhabitants, Herrin shows how the city became the pivot between East and West; and the meeting place of Greek, Latin, Christian and barbarian cultures. The book offers a fresh account of the waning of Rome, the Gothic and Lombard invasions, the rise of Islam and the devastating divisions within Christianity. It argues that the fifth to eighth centuries should not be perceived as a time of decline from antiquity but rather, thanks to Byzantium, as one of great creativity - the period of 'Early Christendom'. These were the formative centuries of Europe. While Ravenna's palaces have crumbled, its churches have survived. In them, Catholic Romans and Arian Goths competed to produce an unrivalled concentration of spectacular mosaics, many of which still astonish visitors today. Beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, and drawing on the latest archaeological and documentary discoveries, Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe brings the early Middle Ages to life through the history of this dazzling city.

' Magisterial - an outstanding book that shines a bright light one of the most important, interesting and under-studied cities in European history. A masterpiece. ' Peter Frankopan 'A wonderful new history of the Mediterranean from the fifth to eighth centuries through a lens focussed on Ravenna, gracefully and clearly written, which reconceptualises what was 'East' and what was 'West'. ' Caroline Goodson ' A masterwork by one of our greatest historians of Byzantium and early Christianity. Judith Herrin tells a story that is at once gripping and authoritative and full of wonderful detail about every element in the life of Ravenna. Impossible to put down. ' David Freedberg In 402 AD, after invading tribes broke through the Alpine frontiers of Italy and threatened the imperial government in Milan, the young Emperor Honorius made the momentous decision to move his capital to a small, easy defendable city in the Po estuary - Ravenna. From then until 751 AD, Ravenna was first the capital of the Western Roman Empire, then that of the immense kingdom of Theoderic the Goth and finally the centre of Byzantine power in Italy. In this engrossing account Judith Herrin explains how scholars, lawyers, doctors, craftsmen, cosmologists and religious luminaries were drawn to Ravenna where they created a cultural and political capital that dominated northern Italy and the Adriatic. As she traces the lives of Ravenna's rulers, chroniclers and inhabitants, Herrin shows how the city became the pivot between East and West; and the meeting place of Greek, Latin, Christian and barbarian cultures. The book offers a fresh account of the waning of Rome, the Gothic and Lombard invasions, the rise of Islam and the devastating divisions within Christianity. It argues that the fifth to eighth centuries should not be perceived as a time of decline from antiquity but rather, thanks to Byzantium, as one of great creativity - the period of 'Early Christendom'. These were the formative centuries of Europe. While Ravenna's palaces have crumbled, its churches have survived. In them, Catholic Romans and Arian Goths competed to produce an unrivalled concentration of spectacular mosaics, many of which still astonish visitors today. Beautifully illustrated with specially commissioned photographs, and drawing on the latest archaeological and documentary discoveries, Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe brings the early Middle Ages to life through the history of this dazzling city.

Im Jahre 402 n. Chr. entschloss sich der weströmische Kaiserhof, seine Residenz von Mailand nach Ravenna zu verlegen. Für Ravenna hatte dies eine mehr als 200 Jahre währende kulturelle Blütezeit zur Folge. Drei Hauptphasen sind dabei zu unterscheiden: die Zeit der weströmischen Kaiserresidenz (1. Hälfte 5. Jh.), das Zeitalter Theoderichs (493-526) und die byzantinische Epoche (540-751), die mit der Eroberung Ravennas durch die Langobarden ihr Ende fand. Bis heute zeugen zahlreiche Kirchen, aber auch profane Bauten, die im Auftrag von Kaisern und Kaiserinnen, Bischöfen und Bankiers entstanden, von dieser frühen Blüte der Stadt. Der Band erschließt einem großen interessierten Publikum in einer Überblicksdarstellung die Bedeutung, den Entstehungskontext und den kulturgeschichtlichen Gesamtzusammenhang der Kunst Ravennas.

Im Jahre 402 n. Chr. entschloss sich der weströmische Kaiserhof, seine Residenz von Mailand nach Ravenna zu verlegen. Für Ravenna hatte dies eine mehr als 200 Jahre währende kulturelle Blütezeit zur Folge. Drei Hauptphasen sind dabei zu unterscheiden: die Zeit der weströmischen Kaiserresidenz (1. Hälfte 5. Jh.), das Zeitalter Theoderichs (493-526) und die byzantinische Epoche (540-751), die mit der Eroberung Ravennas durch die Langobarden ihr Ende fand. Bis heute zeugen zahlreiche Kirchen, aber auch profane Bauten, die im Auftrag von Kaisern und Kaiserinnen, Bischöfen und Bankiers entstanden, von dieser frühen Blüte der Stadt. Der Band erschließt einem großen interessierten Publikum in einer Überblicksdarstellung die Bedeutung, den Entstehungskontext und den kulturgeschichtlichen Gesamtzusammenhang der Kunst Ravennas.