Home Region:  Southern Europe (Europe)

Exarchate of Ravenna

D G SC WF HS PT EQ 2020  it_ravenna_exarchate / ItRav**

Preceding:
395 CE 631 CE East Roman Empire (tr_east_roman_emp)    [continuity]
Add one more here.

Succeeding:
711 CE 904 CE Republic of St Peter I (it_st_peter_rep_1)    [vassalage]
Add one more here.

We begin our Exarchate of Ravenna polity in 568 CE, the date of the last praetorian prefect in Italy, although the first ’exarch’ (essentially a governor with political and military authority) known by name dates to the last decades of the 6th century. [1] This year saw Lombard and Germanic tribes invade northern Italy, expelling the Byzantine influence in the area which the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (r. 527-565 CE) had established only about a decade earlier. The Exarchate of Ravenna together with most of central Italy and parts of the south were the only parts of the former Ostrogothic Kingdom to remain under Byzantine authority after this time. Shortly afterwards, perhaps around 575 CE or slightly later, the first exarch of Ravenna was created under the aegis of the Byzantine emperor. [2] The Exarchate period ended when the last exarch, Eutychius, was killed during the Lombard conquest of the territory in 751 CE. However, recognition of the nominal Byzantine authority in the region persisted until 781 CE, when the years of the emperor’s reign were no longer used for dating papal documents or on the coins minted in Rome. [3]
Population and political organization
The Exarchate of Ravenna was essentially a special province of the East Roman Empire and the exarch owed nominal allegiance to the emperor in Constantinople. The Roman Senate was last known operating in 580 CE [4] and many of the senators moved to Constantinople ’to maintain access to court appointments’. [4] In Italy, Ravenna was the undisputed home and capital for the army and civil administration. [5]
The exarch was a ruler who combined civil and military powers, [6] commanding over 50,000 square kilometres of land in Italy after a period of protracted warfare had destroyed the Roman-friendly Ostrogothic governmental system. [4] His duties included leading the army in Italy, publishing and enforcing laws and canons of church councils, and appointing most subordinate officials. [1] Exarchs were appointed by the East Roman Emperor from among the personnel of his palace administration in Constantinople ’and rarely had served in any capacity in Italy before being named exarch’. [1] The criteria for choosing exarchs is not entirely clear, nor is it certain how long they might have expected their official tenure to last. [6] What is clear is that the exarch retained a great deal of authority and autonomy in the region.
Under the exarch, dukes of provinces ruled from cities (e.g. Rome, Naples, Rimini, Venice) and tribunes governed in towns. Like the exarch himself, the role of dukes and tribunes combined both military and civic duties. However, these men, ’along with the lower-level officers and troops, administrators, clerks, and tax collectors were drawn primarily from the local population, including educated laymen, although on occasion an official might be sent from Constantinople’. [7] Ravenna was governed both directly by the exarchal administration [7] and, until the mid-7th century, a city council (curia) responsible for tax collection and certifying and storing legal documents. [8] Decentralization from 600 to 750 CE weakened the authority of the exarch, [9] and as government collapsed, the dukes in the provinces gained power. [10] The 7th century CE saw the development of an ’increasingly closed and hereditary land and officeholding aristocracy’. [11]
Another important rival of the exarch’s authority was the archbishop of Ravenna. The exarch worked with the archbishop of Ravenna ’in legal cases, foreign affairs, papal relations, and other similar sorts of situations’, [12] but sometimes they clashed on ’doctrinal matters’. [13] The Church also financed public works projects, such as building churches and public baths. [14]
Italy experienced a slight population expansion during this period, and had perhaps over one million inhabitants. [15]

[1]: (Noble 1984, 4) Thomas F. X. Noble. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

[2]: (Nicol 1988, 5) Donald M. Nicol. 1988. Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[3]: (Grierson and Blackburn 2007, 259) P. Grierson and M. Blackburn. 2007. Medieval European Coinage, Volume 1: The Early Middle Ages (5th-10th Centuries). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[4]: (Deliyannis 2010, 207) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[5]: (Deliyannis 2010, 207-10) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[6]: (Deliyannis 2010, 208) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[7]: (Deliyannis 2010, 286-87) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[8]: (Deliyannis 2010, 208, 286-87) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[9]: (Deliyannis 2010, 278) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[10]: (Deliyannis 2010, 287) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[11]: (Noble 1984, 7) Thomas F. X. Noble. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

[12]: (Deliyannis 2010, 210, 287) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[13]: (Brown 1979, 26) T. S. Brown. 1979. ’The Church of Ravenna and the Imperial Administration in the Seventh Century’. The English Historical Review 94 (370): 1-28.

[14]: (Deliyannis 2010, 201) Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[15]: (Noble 1984, 8) Thomas F. X. Noble. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter: The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
33 T  
Original Name:
Exarchate of Ravenna  
Capital:
Ravenna  
Alternative Name:
Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna  
Byzantine Exarchate  
Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
640 CE  
Duration:
[568 CE ➜ 751 CE]  
Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
nominal allegiance to [---]  
vassalage to [---]  
Supracultural Entity:
Roman  
Succeeding Entity:
Republic of St Peter  
Relationship to Preceding Entity:
continuity  
Preceding Entity:
Preceding:   East Roman Empire (tr_east_roman_emp)    [continuity]  
Succeeding: Republic of St Peter I (it_st_peter_rep_1)    [vassalage]  
Degree of Centralization:
loose  
confederated state  
nominal  
Language
Linguistic Family:
Indo-European  
Language:
Latin  
Greek  
Religion
Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
30,000 people 600 CE
[100,000 to 125,000] people 700 CE
Polity Territory:
50,000 km2  
Polity Population:
1,000,000 people 600 CE
1,250,000 people 700 CE
Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
6  
Religious Level:
5  
Military Level:
[4 to 5]  
Administrative Level:
[5 to 6]  
Professions
Professional Soldier:
inferred absent  
Professional Priesthood:
present  
Professional Military Officer:
absent  
Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
present  
Merit Promotion:
inferred absent  
Full Time Bureaucrat:
present  
Examination System:
inferred absent  
Law
Professional Lawyer:
present  
Judge:
present  
Formal Legal Code:
present  
Court:
present  
Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present  
Irrigation System:
present  
Food Storage Site:
present  
Drinking Water Supply System:
inferred present  
Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present  
Port:
present  
Canal:
inferred present  
Bridge:
present  
Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
present  
Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present  
Script:
present  
Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
present  
Nonwritten Record:
present  
Non Phonetic Writing:
absent  
Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present  
Sacred Text:
present  
Religious Literature:
present  
Practical Literature:
present  
Philosophy:
inferred present  
Lists Tables and Classification:
present  
History:
inferred present  
Fiction:
inferred present  
Calendar:
present  
Information / Money
Precious Metal:
inferred present  
Paper Currency:
absent  
Indigenous Coin:
present  
Foreign Coin:
inferred present  
Article:
present  
Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
inferred absent  
General Postal Service:
inferred absent  
Courier:
present  
Information / Measurement System
Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
  Wooden Palisade:
inferred present  
  Stone Walls Non Mortared:
present  
  Stone Walls Mortared:
present  
  Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present  
  Modern Fortification:
absent  
  Moat:
present  
  Fortified Camp:
present  
  Earth Rampart:
inferred present  
  Ditch:
inferred present  
  Complex Fortification:
unknown  
Military use of Metals
  Steel:
present  
  Iron:
present  
  Copper:
unknown  
  Bronze:
present  
Projectiles
  Tension Siege Engine:
unknown  
  Sling Siege Engine:
absent  
  Sling:
unknown  
  Self Bow:
present  
  Javelin:
unknown  
  Handheld Firearm:
absent  
  Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent  
  Crossbow:
unknown  
  Composite Bow:
present  
  Atlatl:
unknown  
Handheld weapons
  War Club:
absent  
  Sword:
inferred present  
  Spear:
inferred present  
  Polearm:
absent  
  Dagger:
inferred present  
  Battle Axe:
absent  
Animals used in warfare
  Horse:
present  
  Elephant:
absent  
  Donkey:
unknown  
  Dog:
unknown  
  Camel:
absent  
Armor
  Wood Bark Etc:
present  
  Shield:
present  
  Scaled Armor:
present  
  Plate Armor:
unknown  
  Limb Protection:
present  
  Leather Cloth:
present  
  Laminar Armor:
unknown  
  Helmet:
present  
  Chainmail:
present  
  Breastplate:
unknown  
Naval technology
  Specialized Military Vessel:
present  
  Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
absent  
  Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
absent  
Religion Tolerance Nothing coded yet.
Human Sacrifice Nothing coded yet.
Crisis Consequences Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions Nothing coded yet.

NGA Settlements:

Year Range Exarchate of Ravenna (it_ravenna_exarchate) was in:
 (568 CE 710 CE)   Latium
Home NGA: Latium

General Variables
Identity and Location
Utm Zone:
33 T

Original Name:
Exarchate of Ravenna

Exarchate of Ravenna refers to one of seven regions of this polity/sub-polity. [1]

[1]: (Hutton 1926)


Capital:
Ravenna



Alternative Name:
Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna

Byzantine Exarchate. [1]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 279) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Alternative Name:
Byzantine Exarchate

Byzantine Exarchate. [1]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 279) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Temporal Bounds
Peak Years:
640 CE

Decentralization trend throughout period, as well as a power struggle between the Papacy in Rome and the Exarch of Ravenna, the nominal representative of the East Roman Emperor in Constantinople. The Byzantines appeared to abandon Liguria, the Lazial and Tuscan Maremma in the 640s CE. [1]

[1]: Marazzi, 386


Duration:
[568 CE ➜ 751 CE]

568 CE start date+ the reforms of the East Roman Empire which ended the Praetorian Prefect of Italy and created the Exarchate of Ravenna.
However, "The earliest document that remains to us in which we find definite mention of the exarch is the famous letter, dated October 4, 584, of Pope Pelagius II. to the deacon Gregory, his nuncio in Constantinople." [1]
+Or 575 CE, "The new order was created at the end of the reign of Justin II. (565-578)", [1] when Baduarius commanded the imperial armies in Italy against the Lombards "he was supreme governor of the province. And it seems certain that it was to mark the amalgamation in him of the two offices, military and civil, that the new title of exarch was created." [1]
Ended when the Exarchate was conquered by the Lombards 751 CE who killed Eutychius, the last Exarch. However, formal recognition of nominal Byzantine authority persisted until 781 CE when the years of the Byzantine Emperor’s reign were no longer used for dating Papal documents or on the minting of imperial coins in the mint of Rome. [2]

[1]: (Hutton 1926)

[2]: (Grierson and Blackburn 2007, 259)


Political and Cultural Relations
Suprapolity Relations:
nominal allegiance to [---]

Nominal allegiance to the East Roman Emperor in Constantinople.
"By the year 600, the leader of Byzantine administration was a figure called the exarch." [1] "The exarchs were always sent from Constantinople, but we do not know the criteria by which such officials were chosen, or how long they might have expected their official tenure to last." [1] "The exarch was the emperor’s direct representative in Italy, and in theory he had a very narrow scope for personal inititive. Only on rare occasions did his term of office exceed six or seven years. His duty was to lead the exercitus Italicus, administer the province during the pleasure of his imperial master, publish laws and canons of church councils, and appoint most subordinate officials." [2]
Under the Byzantines, Ravenna had status of provincial capital. [3]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 208) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Noble 1984, 4) Noble, Thomas F. X. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter. The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia.

[3]: (Deliyannis 2010, 210) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Suprapolity Relations:
vassalage to [---]

Nominal allegiance to the East Roman Emperor in Constantinople.
"By the year 600, the leader of Byzantine administration was a figure called the exarch." [1] "The exarchs were always sent from Constantinople, but we do not know the criteria by which such officials were chosen, or how long they might have expected their official tenure to last." [1] "The exarch was the emperor’s direct representative in Italy, and in theory he had a very narrow scope for personal inititive. Only on rare occasions did his term of office exceed six or seven years. His duty was to lead the exercitus Italicus, administer the province during the pleasure of his imperial master, publish laws and canons of church councils, and appoint most subordinate officials." [2]
Under the Byzantines, Ravenna had status of provincial capital. [3]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 208) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Noble 1984, 4) Noble, Thomas F. X. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter. The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia.

[3]: (Deliyannis 2010, 210) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Supracultural Entity:
Roman

Succeeding Entity:
Republic of St Peter

Relationship to Preceding Entity:
continuity

Preceding Entity:
East Roman Empire [tr_east_roman_emp] ---> Exarchate of Ravenna [it_ravenna_exarchate]
Preceding Entity:
Exarchate of Ravenna [it_ravenna_exarchate] ---> Republic of St Peter I [it_st_peter_rep_1]

This needs a bracket, to reflect the extraordinarily tentative hold the Byzantines had on Rome from the early eighth century on; by the beginning of the polity period, the papacy was effectively independent, or at least left to its own devices for defence, due to the Byzantine focus on defending Constantinople from Arab attacks, especially before the last Arab siege of Constantinople, in 717-718 CE. [1]

[1]: For this see Brown, 318-19.


Degree of Centralization:
loose

Decentralization trend throughout period. In 727 CE there was a general rebellion against Byzantine officials, with the Exarchate joined by Venice. In Ravenna, the exarch was killed and cities elected their own Dukes. [1]

[1]: (Daly 1986)

Degree of Centralization:
confederated state

Decentralization trend throughout period. In 727 CE there was a general rebellion against Byzantine officials, with the Exarchate joined by Venice. In Ravenna, the exarch was killed and cities elected their own Dukes. [1]

[1]: (Daly 1986)

Degree of Centralization:
nominal

Decentralization trend throughout period. In 727 CE there was a general rebellion against Byzantine officials, with the Exarchate joined by Venice. In Ravenna, the exarch was killed and cities elected their own Dukes. [1]

[1]: (Daly 1986)


Language
Linguistic Family:
Indo-European

Language:
Latin
Language:
Greek

Religion

Social Complexity Variables
Social Scale
Population of the Largest Settlement:
30,000 people
600 CE

Inhabitants. Estimate for Rome.
Ravenna
[9,000-10,000]: 600 CE; [7,000-7,500]: 700 CE. "S. Cosentino proposes a population for Ravenna in the eighth and ninth centuries of around 7,000-7,500 people, which would represent only a slight decrease from his estimate of 9,000-10,000 in the imperial period." [1]
Rome
[100,000-125,000]: 700 CE. [2]
30,000: 600 CE. [3]
Is the figure for Rome accurate?
"the urban and rural populations of Italy were devestated by the bubonic plague which hit Italy beginning in 543 and returned in successive waves until the 740s. Mortality rates are almost impossible to deduce, but some scholars think that it must have been similar to the Black Death, killing 30 per cent or more of the population, at least in urban areas. Outbreaks of the disease are documented in Ravenna for the 560s, 591-2, and 600-2." [4]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 290) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Modelski 2003)

[3]: (Twine 1992 in Middle States Geographer, Vol 25. http://msaag.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/26_Twine.pdf)

[4]: (Deliyannis 2010, 203) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Population of the Largest Settlement:
[100,000 to 125,000] people
700 CE

Inhabitants. Estimate for Rome.
Ravenna
[9,000-10,000]: 600 CE; [7,000-7,500]: 700 CE. "S. Cosentino proposes a population for Ravenna in the eighth and ninth centuries of around 7,000-7,500 people, which would represent only a slight decrease from his estimate of 9,000-10,000 in the imperial period." [1]
Rome
[100,000-125,000]: 700 CE. [2]
30,000: 600 CE. [3]
Is the figure for Rome accurate?
"the urban and rural populations of Italy were devestated by the bubonic plague which hit Italy beginning in 543 and returned in successive waves until the 740s. Mortality rates are almost impossible to deduce, but some scholars think that it must have been similar to the Black Death, killing 30 per cent or more of the population, at least in urban areas. Outbreaks of the disease are documented in Ravenna for the 560s, 591-2, and 600-2." [4]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 290) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Modelski 2003)

[3]: (Twine 1992 in Middle States Geographer, Vol 25. http://msaag.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/26_Twine.pdf)

[4]: (Deliyannis 2010, 203) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Polity Territory:
50,000 km2

in squared kilometers. Estimate for whole polity/sub-polity area.
Exarchate of Ravenna refers to a region around the capital of this polity/sub-polity. [1]
"Geographically the exarchate of Ravenna was bounded on the north by the Adige, the Tartaro, and the principal branch of the Po as far as its confluence with the Panaro. Hadria and Gabellum were its most northern towns in the hands of the imperialists. The western frontier is more difficult to determine with exactitude; it may be said to have run between Modena and Bologna. On the south the Marecchia divided the exarchate from the Dutchy of the Pentapolis whose capital was Rimini. [1]
"diagonal strip of territory extending from north of Ravenna to south of Rome, the peninsula’s southern extremities, and various coastal enclaves." [2]

[1]: (Hutton 1926)

[2]: (Ring 1994, 556) Ring, Trudy. Salkin, Robert M. La Boda, Sharon. 1994. International Dictionary of Historic Places: Southern Europe. Taylor & Francis.


Polity Population:
1,000,000 people
600 CE

People. Estimated from McEvedy and Jones "Italy" which had 3,500,000 in 600 CE and 3,750,000 in 700 CE. [1] Figures divided by three to roughly approximate population ruled by this polity.
Population recovery/expansion in the seventh century leading to abandoned sites to be reinhabited, new sites to be created and the countryside to be repopulated. [2]

[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 107)

[2]: (Noble 1984, 8) Noble, Thomas F. X. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter. The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia.

Polity Population:
1,250,000 people
700 CE

People. Estimated from McEvedy and Jones "Italy" which had 3,500,000 in 600 CE and 3,750,000 in 700 CE. [1] Figures divided by three to roughly approximate population ruled by this polity.
Population recovery/expansion in the seventh century leading to abandoned sites to be reinhabited, new sites to be created and the countryside to be repopulated. [2]

[1]: (McEvedy and Jones 1978, 107)

[2]: (Noble 1984, 8) Noble, Thomas F. X. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter. The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia.


Hierarchical Complexity
Settlement Hierarchy:
6

levels.
1. Capital - Ravenna
2. Capital of DutchyNew provincial organization had provincial capitals, e.g. Rimini [1]
3. Other cities in Dutchy4. Towns5. Villages / vici6. Hamlets / pagi

[1]: (Hutton 1926)


Religious Level:
5

levels.
"once the court moved to Ravenna, its bishops likewise rose in the hierarchy of the Italian church, eventually holding the rank of archbishop, ranking second after the pope and making periodic bids for autocephaly, or independence from the papal see." [1]
1. Pope
Pope was the fifth patriach. [2]
1. Exarch of Ravenna
701 CE Pope John VI was elected against approval of the Byzantine Exarch. He was the choice of the native Romans. The choice was enforced by the soldiers of the Papacy. [3]
1. Bishop of a patriarchate
"The churches organized themselves along the lines laid down by the geography and political order of the empire. A city (civitas), along with its surrounding rural perimeter, the foundation of imperial organization, also formed the basic unit of ecclesiastical structure. Virtually every Roman city, many of them quite small, had its own bishop. He exercised his authority over a "diocese" that ordinarily coincided with the boundaries of the civitas. These dioceses were then grouped into provinces, over which a metropolitan, the bishop of a province’s principal city, held sway. Eventually, provinces themselves were organized into large "patriarchates," each lead by one of the five preeminent bishops of the church: those in Rome, Constantinople (called "New Rome," second in prestige to the Old), Antioch, Alexandria, and Jerusalem." [4]
2. Metropolitan, with authority over a province
3. Bishop in civitas, with authority over a diocese
4. Presbyters or priests (elders)"Evidence from the second century suggests that a wide variety of models for local clergy existed throughout the Roman Empire. Yet the one to prevail was a three-tiered, hierarchical. In this model, the bishop served as leader of the local community and was assisted by presbyters or priests (elders) and deacons. Again, this model was established in the Antioch of Ignatius, as he underscores emphatically the necessity of gathering for learning, ritual, and teaching around a single bishop. By the end of the century this three-tiered form of ministry had spread to most early Catholic communities throughout the empire, and it would soon become the sole authoritative manner of organizing local ecclesial communities." [5]
5. Deacons

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 3) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Deliyannis 2010, 211) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[3]: (Trevor, 1869, 113)

[4]: (Madigan 2015, 21)

[5]: (Madigan 2015, 14)


Military Level:
[4 to 5]

levels.
Military structure: "Beneath the exarch ... were dukes, who possessed military and civil authority in the duchies... and tribunes or counts, who led individual detachments of troops called numeri and who also had important civil functions in particular localities." [1]
1. Exarch
The Exarch was the commander-in-chief [2]
2. Dukes
3. Tribunes / counts

[1]: (Noble 1984, 5-6) Noble, Thomas F. X. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter. The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia.

[2]: (Hutton 1926)


Administrative Level:
[5 to 6]

levels.
1. Emperor in Constantinople (nominal)

1. Exarch of Ravenna

_Central government_
Note: from the time the Exarchate was created "the central government took on a new form" [1]
2. Prefect of Italy"The new order was created at the end of the reign of Justin II. (565-578) under a new and supreme official. Without doing away with the prefect of Italy the emperor placed over him as supreme head of the new administration the exarch who was both the military commander-in-chief and the governor-general of Italy; and, since the chief need of Italy was defence, without entirely suppressing the civil administration, he placed at the head of each of the re-organised provinces a certain military officer - the duke." [1]
3. In Rome, "The senate ceased to meet sometime after 603" [2]
_Provincial government_
Note: from the time the Exarchate was created "the provincial administration was re-organised." [1] Reformed in response to Lombard invasion of Italy. "By the year 590, then, we see Italy thus divided into seven districts or governments: (1) the Dutchy of Istria, (2) the Duchy of Venetia, (3) the Exarchate to which Calabria is attached, (4) the Dutchy of Pentapolis, (5) the Dutchy of Rome, (6) the Dutchy of Naples, (7) Liguria." [3]

2. Dutchy ruled by a DukeRegion of Ravenna "formed a new province under the direct authority of the governors-general of Italy, that is to say, the exarch of Ravenna." [1]
"Beneath the exarch ... were dukes, who possessed military and civil authority in the duchies... and tribunes or counts, who led individual detachments of troops called numeri and who also had important civil functions in particular localities." [4]
3. Tribunes / counts"Beneath the exarch ... were dukes, who possessed military and civil authority in the duchies... and tribunes or counts, who led individual detachments of troops called numeri and who also had important civil functions in particular localities." [4]
3. CivitasDuring the preceding Ostrogothic period there was a "Prefect of the City": "A nobleman of the very highest rank, Consul, Patrician, and Prefect of the City, Cæcina Maurus Basilius Decius, successfully accomplished this work under the orders of his sovereign..." [5]
4. Vicivillage
5. Pagirural settlements

[1]: (Hutton 1926)

[2]: (Burns 1991, 90)

[3]: Edward Hutton. 1913. Ravenna: A Study. J M Dent & Sons Ltd. London.

[4]: (Noble 1984, 5-6) Noble, Thomas F. X. 1984. The Republic of St. Peter. The Birth of the Papal State, 680-825. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia.

[5]: (Hodgkin 1897)


Professions
Professional Soldier:
absent

If same as the early Republic of St Peter, major cities had an urban militia of adult male citizens, who would volunteer or be pressed into service. [1]

[1]: (Noble 2011, 6-7)


Professional Priesthood:
present

Churches, convents, monasteries. [1]

[1]: (Woods 1921, 47)


Professional Military Officer:
absent

The commanders were Dukes.


Bureaucracy Characteristics
Specialized Government Building:
present

Mints. Imperial mint of Rome continued to issue coins in the name of the Emperor in Constantinople until 781 CE. [1]

[1]: (Grierson and Blackburn 2007, 259)


Merit Promotion:
absent

Full Time Bureaucrat:
present

Examination System:
absent

Law
Professional Lawyer:
present

Judge:
present

Formal Legal Code:
present

Court:
present

Specialized Buildings: polity owned
Market:
present

Irrigation System:
present

Food Storage Site:
present

Drinking Water Supply System:
present

Baths and water supply system still operational at time of Agnellus writing early 9th CE. [1] Water channels used for fresh water in Early Medieval Italy. However, not necessarily built by state. "From the fourth century onward, in fact, water evergetism in the peninsular survived by assuming new forms. Much as was the case in ninth-century Le Mans, in late antique Italy bishops replaced secular builders of aqueducts. Indeed, by Aldric’s day, Italy had developed a distinguished tradition of episcopal involvement in urban water supply. [2] At least until the barbarian invasions Ravenna had a "dense urban fabric that included public amenities such as theaters and baths, acqueducts and sewers, elaborate Roman-style houses for the elite, and evidence of long-distance trade." [3] "Ravenna was not, as far as we know, sacked in any of the invasions or wars that beset the Italian peninsular, perhaps testimony to its perceived invulnerability provided by the swamps of the Adriatic coast." [3]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 297) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Squatriti 2002, 13) Paolo Squatriti. 2002. Water and Society in Early Medieval Italy, AD 400-1000. Cambridge University Press.

[3]: (Deliyannis 2010, 4) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Transport Infrastructure
Road:
present

Via Flaminia linked Ravenna to Rome. [1]

[1]: (Hutton 1926)


Port:
present

Port known as Classis. [1] Ravenna had harbours and ports but the coastline and riverine network underwent major changes. [2]

[1]: (http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/ravenna.html)

[2]: (Deliyannis 2010, 288) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Canal:
present

reference to "canals inside Ravenna". [1] Before late 9th century (aftert this polity’s period) the fossa Asconis was extended. [1] Fossa Augusta. Inland to coast, Ferrara-Padua. Was it still maintained?

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 288) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Bridge:
present

Special-purpose Sites
Mines or Quarry:
present

Information / Writing System
Written Record:
present

Script:
present

Phonetic Alphabetic Writing:
present

Nonwritten Record:
present

Non Phonetic Writing:
absent

Information / Kinds of Written Documents
Scientific Literature:
present

"A school of medical studies that was active from the early sixth century into the seventh produced translations of and commentaries on the works of Hippocrates and Galen, especially by a certain Angellus iatrosofista (’medical scholar,’ not the historian) who worked between 550 and 700." [1] Early 8th CE anonymous geographer "wrote a cosmography, or catalog of world geography, that includes regions, bodies of water, and an exhaustive list of cities from India to Britain." [2]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 289) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

[2]: (Deliyannis 2010, 290) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Sacred Text:
present

Religious Literature:
present

Practical Literature:
present

Philosophy:
present

Lists Tables and Classification:
present

History:
present

Fiction:
present

Poetic epitath composed for Maurus. [1]

[1]: (Deliyannis 2010, 289-290) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Calendar:
present

Information / Money
Precious Metal:
present

Paper Currency:
absent

Indigenous Coin:
present

Foreign Coin:
present

Preiser-Kapeller says present for foreign coins within Byzantine lands for this period. [1] Foreign coins also present under Roman Empire.

[1]: (Johannes Preiser-Kapeller 2015) Institute for Medieval Research, Division of Byzantine Research, Austrian Academy of Sciences)


Article:
present

Information / Postal System
Postal Station:
absent

General Postal Service:
absent

Courier:
present

Information / Measurement System

Warfare Variables (Military Technologies)
Fortifications
Wooden Palisade:
present

General reference for Western Europe 11th and 12th centuries CE: fortifications typically consisted of earth ramparts and timber palisades which were generally surrounded by dry ditches (rather than water-filled for a moat). In the early 12th century CE stone began to replace earth-and-timber defences for walls and for castles (previously often wooden). [1] "Prefect Longinus about 570 built a ’fence in the form of a wall’ to protect Caesarea, the region between Ravenna and Casse. This may have been a stake and ditch palisade, a type of fortification known elsewhere in Italy at the time, and is assumed to have been made in response to Lombard aggression." [2]

[1]: (Jones 1999, 171-172) Richard L C Jones. Fortifications and Sieges in Western Europe, c.800-1450. Maurice Keen. ed. 1999. Medieval Warfare: A History. Oxford University Press. Oxford.

[2]: (Deliyannis 2010, 206) Deliyannis, Deborah Mauskopf. 2010. Ravenna in Late Antiquity. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.


Stone Walls Non Mortared:
present

Stone Walls Mortared:
present

Maintenance of Rome’s walls became a Papal responsibility by end of seventh century. [1] . City wall restoration after 708 CE [2]

[1]: (Partner 1972, 9)

[2]: (Kleinhenz 2004)


Settlements in a Defensive Position:
present

Modern Fortification:
absent

Moat:
present

Fortified Camp:
present

Earth Rampart:
present

General reference for Western Europe 11th and 12th centuries CE: fortifications typically consisted of earth ramparts and timber palisades which were generally surrounded by dry ditches (rather than water-filled for a moat). In the early 12th century CE stone began to replace earth-and-timber defences for walls and for castles (previously often wooden). [1]

[1]: (Jones 1999, 171-172) Richard L C Jones. Fortifications and Sieges in Western Europe, c.800-1450. Maurice Keen. ed. 1999. Medieval Warfare: A History. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


Ditch:
present

General reference for Western Europe 11th and 12th centuries CE: fortifications typically consisted of earth ramparts and timber palisades which were generally surrounded by dry ditches (rather than water-filled for a moat). In the early 12th century CE stone began to replace earth-and-timber defences for walls and for castles (previously often wooden). [1]

[1]: (Jones 1999, 171-172) Richard L C Jones. Fortifications and Sieges in Western Europe, c.800-1450. Maurice Keen. ed. 1999. Medieval Warfare: A History. Oxford University Press. Oxford.


Complex Fortification:
unknown

Military use of Metals
Steel:
present

Iron:
present

Copper:
unknown

Bronze:
present

Projectiles
Tension Siege Engine:
unknown

Use unknown but we know that catapults could be used to throw fire, diseased men or animals over walls. [1]

[1]: Michael Mallett (2009) Mercenaries and their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy. Pen & Sword Military. Barnsley.


Sling Siege Engine:
absent

Sling:
unknown

Self Bow:
present

Javelin:
unknown

Handheld Firearm:
absent

Gunpowder Siege Artillery:
absent

Crossbow:
unknown

Certainly being used in the 15th CE but it is perhaps too long a time gap to infer presence at this time: “In the Papal States Spoleto had developed a considerable arms industry and supplied crossbow bolts, shields and lances to the army.” [1]

[1]: Michael Mallett (2009) Mercenaries and their Masters: Warfare in Renaissance Italy. Pen & Sword Military. Barnsley.


Composite Bow:
present

Atlatl:
unknown

Handheld weapons
War Club:
absent

Sword:
present

Spear:
present

Polearm:
absent

Dagger:
present

Battle Axe:
absent

Animals used in warfare
Horse:
present

Elephant:
absent

Donkey:
unknown

Dog:
unknown

Camel:
absent

Armor
Wood Bark Etc:
present

Shield:
present

Scaled Armor:
present

Plate Armor:
unknown

Limb Protection:
present

Leather Cloth:
present

Laminar Armor:
unknown

Helmet:
present

Chainmail:
present

Breastplate:
unknown

Naval technology
Specialized Military Vessel:
present

Small Vessels Canoes Etc:
absent

Merchant Ships Pressed Into Service:
absent


Human Sacrifice Data
Human Sacrifice is the deliberate and ritualized killing of a person to please or placate supernatural entities (including gods, spirits, and ancestors) or gain other supernatural benefits.
- Nothing coded yet.
- Nothing coded yet.
Power Transitions