Ravenna : Capital Of Empire, Crucible Of Europe

Author: Judith Herrin

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General Fields

  • : $26.99 AUD
  • : 9780241954454
  • : Penguin Books, Limited
  • : Penguin Books, Limited
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  • : 0.368317
  • : September 2020
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  • : Judith Herrin
  • : Paperback
  • : 2107
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  • : English
  • : 945.471
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  • : 576
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Barcode 9780241954454
9780241954454

Description

A glorious history of the jewel-like city on the Adriatic which was a melting-pot of Greek, Latin, Christian and barbarian culture. Winner of the 2020 Duff Cooper Prize 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. 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. 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