Ravenna In Late Antiquity

Description:
Ravenna was one of the most important cities of late antique Europe. Between 400 and 751 AD, it was the residence of western Roman emperors, Ostrogothic kings, and Byzantine governors of Italy, while its bishops and archbishops ranked second only to the popes. During this 350-year period, the city was progressively enlarged and enriched by remarkable works of art and architecture, many of which still survive today. Thus, Ravenna and its monuments are of critical importance to historians and art historians of the late ancient world. This book provides a comprehensive survey of Ravenna's history and monuments in late antiquity, including discussions of scholarly controversies, archaeological discoveries, and new interpretations of art works. A synthesis of the voluminous literature on this topic, this volume provides an English-language entry point for the study of this fascinating city.

Review:
'Ravenna in Late Antiquity,' by Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis, is both a narrative history of the city's ruling elites and a survey of its architectural and artistic treasures. ...[treasures] worth pausing over. The illustrations and diagrams in Ravenna in Late Antiquity add to our understanding of the city's history and iconography-and can even serve as a kind of guidebook to an ambitious tourist' --Wall Street Journal

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction; 2. Roman Ravenna; 3. Ravenna and the western emperors 400-489 AD; 4. Ravenna the capital of the Ostrogothic kingdom; 5. Religion in Ostrogothic Ravenna; 6. Ravenna's early Byzantine period: 540-600 AD; 7. Ravenna capital: 600-850 AD.

Author Biography:
Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis is Assistant Professor of History at Indiana University. She is the editor and translator of Agnellus of Ravenna's Liber pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis, and is the executive editor of The Medieval Review.