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3 results

  • 34 - Ravenna

  • from Part III - Urbanism and the Countryside
  • Edited by Leonard V. Rutgers, Universiteit Utrecht, The Netherlands, Neil Christie, University of Leicester, Robin M. Jensen, University of Notre Dame, Indiana, Jodi Magness, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Late Antique Art and Archaeology
    Published online:
    04 July 2025
    Print publication:
    31 July 2025, pp 592-603

  • Summary

    This chapter explores the urban and architectural evolution of Ravenna in Late Antiquity, focusing on its transformation from a relatively modest Roman settlement into a major political and religious centre. It examines how Ravenna served as the capital of the Western Roman Empire, the Ostrogothic Kingdom and the Byzantine Exarchate of Italy between 400 and 725 CE. The discussion highlights how Ravenna’s geographical setting – a marshy coastal landscape – shaped its urban development and archaeological record. The study assesses the city’s infrastructure, including its walls, aqueducts, palaces and religious buildings, demonstrating how imperial patronage played a decisive role in its growth. The construction of monumental churches such as the Basilica of San Vitale and Sant’Apollinare in Classe is explored as evidence of Ravenna’s rising Christian prominence. The chapter also details the impact of Theoderic’s rule, particularly in the adaptation of Roman architectural traditions for Ostrogothic purposes. Under Byzantine rule, Ravenna became a centre of ecclesiastical power, reflected in continued church-building projects. Despite political upheavals and economic fluctuations, Ravenna remained a dynamic and influential city. The chapter concludes by pointing out the challenges of archaeological research in the area, emphasising how ongoing excavations continue to refine our understanding of Ravenna’s late antique legacy.

  • 21 - Regional study: Chaco Canyon and the US Southwest

  • from Part II - Trans-regional and regional perspectives
  • Edited by Craig Benjamin, Grand Valley State University, Michigan
  • Book:
    The Cambridge World History
    Published online:
    05 May 2015
    Print publication:
    16 April 2015, pp 572-602

  • Summary

    The name Mediterranean is derived from Latin and means 'in the middle of the earth', a reference to the fact either that it is almost entirely surrounded by land or that it was deemed to be at the center of the known world by ancient West Afro-Eurasian societies. The fall of the Western Roman Empire shapes the way in which Western history is periodized, as it marks the end of the classical era. The cultural influence of the Assyrians and Egyptians, particularly the Hebrews, Phoenicians, Minoans, and Mycenaeans, who occupied the coasts and islands of the Eastern Mediterranean, was substantial. Within both large political structures, such as the Hellenistic and Roman empires, and smaller cultures and states that did not evolve into large-scale empires, such as those of the Hebrews, Phoenicians, Minoans, and Mycenaeans, expansion invariably led to the emergence of more complex social structures, which explicitly situated various groups, including women and slaves, into more sharply delineated hierarchical structures.

  • 26 - Christianisation and the dissemination of Christian teaching

  • from PART III - THEMES AND PROBLEMS
  • Edited by Paul Fouracre, University of Manchester
  • Book:
    The New Cambridge Medieval History
    Published online:
    28 March 2008
    Print publication:
    08 December 2005, pp 710-734

  • Summary

    By the early fifth century Western Roman Empire was theoretically Christian. There were still pagan intellectuals among the upper classes, especially among the lower classes of the countryside, but also among those who lived in the cities, including Rome itself, who continued to perform rituals which were condemned as idolatrous by the church. Nor are the Burgundians and the Franks the only peoples for whom Christianisation entailed hesitation between Arianism and Catholicism. Politics would play a major role in the ensuing Christianisation of the English, with powerful rulers putting pressure on their weaker neighbours, sponsoring them in baptism, and supporting missions to their kingdoms. The chief example of the use of force in evangelisation during the early Middle Ages is the Christianisation of the Saxons, which came to be intimately related to their conquest during the reign of Charlemagne.