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• Alexander the Great's Greek descendents in Pakistan?
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The transition of Italy from the Romans to the wealthy barbarian Gothic Empire, and a look at their resplendent capital Ravenna
by James Mayfield (Chairman, European Heritage Library)

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This essay is twofold: firstly, a historical walkthrough into the internal collapse and conquest of the Roman empire by "barbarian" Germanic empires, and an analysis of the magnificent (yet short-lived) Gothic Empire of Theodoric the Great. Secondly, a first-hand look at the ancient Roman and Gothic capital of Ravenna complete with exclusive photos from my research trip to one of the most archeologically and historically significant cities of European history.

Decline and Conquest of the Western Roman Empire by the Germanic peoples

From the 6th century BCE until the 3rd century CE, the mighty Roman Empire progressively expanded and contracted to dominate most of the known world. After the early 3rd century, however, the Roman domain quickly and irreparably tumbled into obsolescence, infighting, schism, bankruptcy, and perfidity. The last several centuries of the lifespan of the Western Roman Empire were arguably only a tireless struggle to delay the inevitable loss of Roman prestige and total collapse. Much of the periphery of the "Roman Empire" did not even obey the infinite number of emperors who replaced each other in quick succession due to assassinations. Barbarians seized power in a coup to create the Gallic Empire in France and Spain in the 3rd century at the same time as the eastern marches broke off to form the Palmyrene Empire. Later, unable to hold the empire together, Emperor Diocletian of the 3rd century divided the empire into two halves: The Western Roman Empire (ceremonially Italy, Spain, France, western North Africa) and the Eastern Roman Empire, later called the Greek Byzantine Empire. Whilst the eastern state briefly thrived and flourished until it suffered its own centuries-long battle with gradual collapse, the western state tumbled out of control and into bankruptcy.

My photo of a wall-map in Rome of the historical expansion of the Roman Empire. (click to enlarge)

Concomitantly, a series of massive migrations and invasions pushed the already-breaking [Western] Roman Empire towards its end. The invasion of the Huns after the 4th century decimated and starved the many related Germanic peoples and tribal confederations in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. Struggling to survive, many migrating ethnic Germans and polities voluntarily became tributaries or vassals of the Roman state with the promise that their starvation would be alleviated via subsidy and ration. The Romans, desperate to quell infighting and repel the Huns with their dissenting and broken armies, in many ways became under the military and political domination of the barbarians against whom they struggled to repel for so many centuries. The bankrupt Romans failed to fulfill the bargain, pressuring an already-recalcitrant invading Germanic population to revolt. The resultant Gothic Wars (376–382) obliterated an already-faltering Roman military capacity, presaging the end of the empire. The emperor Valens was slain on the battlefield by the Goths at Adrianople in 378. The reaches of the Roman Empire became populated by contumacious Germanic tribal confederacies and small kingdoms, such as the Gepids, the Franks, the Visigoths, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths.

A rough map of the Germanic migration age. (click to enlarge)

With its illusory empire overrun by powerful Germanic kingdoms and chiefdoms, the Roman emperors moved their capital from Rome (which had already been demolished multiple times by the Goths under Alarik) to Milan, and finally to Ravenna in 402CE. This was its last capital. In 476, the Roman Empire was forever destroyed when the last boy king, Romulus Augustus, was deposed by the Gothic sovereign of Italy Odoacer (Audwakar). Italy (Ostrogothic Kingdom), Spain (Visigothic Empire), Carthage (Vandalic Kingdom), France (Frankish Empire), Germany, and the Balkans (Ostrogoths and Gepids) were now ruled by Germanic kingdoms that quickly evolved from barbarian confederacies into resplendent and wealthy Christian kingdoms. Western Europe's civilizations had shifted from Roman hegemony to that of the Germans. The few remaining legions of Huns in Western Europe had been obliterated by late joint military campaigns by the Romans and the Germanic Franks. The Huns' descendents, the Turkic Avars, survived in eastern Europe around Ukraine for several centuries.

A rough map of Europe 500CE, after Rome's obliteration. (click to enlarge)

The wealthy Gothic Empire of Theodoric the Great, sovereign of formerly-Roman Italy

By 451, Iberia (Spain and Portugal) was ruled by the Visigothic Kingdom, North Africa by the Vandals, and Gaul (France) was ruled by the German tribe called the Franks. Italy and the western Balkans were split between warring Ostrogothic tribes, with Odoacer (see above) ruling Italy proper in a very unstable realm. In 451, the Ostrogothic sovereign Thudimir had a son, Theodoric, with a concubine. In 459, as many grandees in the Ostrogothic domain were forging closer relations with the Byzantine [Eastern Roman] Empire, Theodoric was sent to Constantinople as a hostage to guarantee diplomatic agreements between the two polities. At age 18, Theodoric returned to the Ostrogothic territory where, as a powerful grandee in high station, he was given control over several armies in the east.

The Byzantine Empire expressed fervent claim to all of Italy, France, and Spain, believing that it was their former territory as part of the original Roman Empire of Constantine. As a result, the Byzantines officially sponsored and supported the eastern Ostrogothic state of Theodoric to reconquer Italy from the tribal Odoacer. As most of the Goths were pagan (Odinists) whilst Theodoric was a Christian, Theodoric enjoyed great international support. Theodoric's armies were a step beyond the standard images of barbarian hordes, mostly consisting of sword-bearing cavalry with a military class hierarchy [1]. Theodoric sent his legions into Italy (perhaps as many as 100,000 settlers [2]), where he engaged in warfare with the rival Ostrogoths under Odoacer for several years from until 493, when a diplomatic banquet led to Odoacer's murder in a drunken bout.

With Odoacer slain, Theodoric moved his huge armies into Ravenna with valiant success. Theodoric the Great had become the sovereign of the Ostrogoths and king of all Italy and the western Balkans. He was annointed as king by his men with the sponsorship of the Byzantines by 497. Theodoric administered this large and wealthy empire very pragmatically. The kingdom retained its barbarian Germanic character that was meticulously combined with the achievements of Roman architecture, statecraft, the church, and Roman imperial regal traditions. Most of Theodoric's architecture is clearly influenced by Roman designs. Whereas the majority of Goths, Lombards, and most northern Germanic peoples still worshipped the old Germanic gods of "Norse mythology" (especially Odin, Thor, and Tyr), Theodoric's Gothic Empire officially sponsored Arian Christianity, an interpretation of the Christian trinity that considered Jesus Christ to not be co-equal in essence or divinity with God. This religion was eschewed as heterodox by the late Roman Empire and Byzantium, and was opposed bitterly by the Pope. Theodoric's religious dogma, as evident in the ancient Arian churches of Ravenna (see photos below), would become a great source of diplomatic conflict following Theodoric's death. His empire included Odinists, Catholics, Orthodox, and Arians. Initially, Theodoric subsidized and sponsored Arian Christendom but allowed other Christian sects to operate. As Theodoric encountered perfidity and revolt from Orthodox, Catholic, and presumably Jewish minorities in his realm, his administrative policy became more discriminatory.

Theodoric's realm became tremendously wealthy and stable in comparison with the bankrupt and broken Roman state that he sought to re-establish in his name. Some sources show that Theodoric controlled an overflowing treasury that was greater than 2x the total wealth of the former Roman Empire in its declining years [3]. He adorned the many ancient churches, relics, and wonders of Roman Ravenna with jewels and gold, re-Christening them in the Arian faith. Theodoric had stabilized Italy in a time of a power vacuum of infighting and invasion, and contributed significantly to the Christianization of the Germans in southern Europe. His Spirito Santo church, Battistero Degli Ariani, and Sant Apollinare Nuovo churches (shown below, which originally probably had German names) are a testament to his achievements and the wealth of his empire. Theodoric's characteristically Gothic tomb -- built in Greco-Roman style -- is a testament to his legacy and the fact that he never forgot his and his empire's Germanic "barbarian" roots.

The fall of Theodoric's Gothic Empire and the conquest of Italy by the Byzantines, the Lombards, and the Germans

Theodoric the Great proved that the Germanic tribes were far more than mere barbarians (see our article on the ancient Germanic Runic writing system for more examples). He had centralized Italy in a time of habitual instability. Near the end of his reign, however, competing foreign empires began to threaten the Gothic Empire's regional primacy. The empire of the Germanic Franks in Germany and France under Chlodwig (Clovis) had become one of the largest states in post-Roman Europe. The Franks were bitter enemies of the Ostrogoths and Theodoric. The Byzantines, hoping to re-establish Rome's hegemony in Western Europe, allied with the Franks and annointed Chlodwig as honorary consul of the Byzantine Empire. This greatly marginalized Theodoric.

Theodoric the Great died in 526. With the absence of a strong and popular sovereign, and the growing supremacy of their Frankish rival, the Ostrogoths almost immediately fell into decline. Rather than being an ally of Byzantium, the Gothic Empire of Italy was now additionally identified for his heretical Arian faith. The Byzantine Empire, now ruled by the awesome Emperor Justinian and his magnificent general Belisarius, sent the Byzantine armies to Europe and was so successful that southern Visigothic Spain, Vandalic North Africa, and the entire Italian peninsula were conquered. The Gothic Empire was obliterated in the Gothic War of 535-554. Ravenna became an exclave of Byzantine rule called the Exarchate of Ravenna.

By the end of the 7th century, the Byzantine armies in Italy were annihilated by a new incoming "barbarian" power from southern Germany and the Alps, the pagan Odinist Lombards. The Lombards conquered all of Italy except the very southern marches, which the Byzantines ruled until the Norman conquest in the 11th century. The Lombards ruled Italy and Ravenna until the 8th century, when the new continental superpower of Western Europe and the central defender of Catholicism, the German Frankish Empire, conquered the Lombards under Karl the Great (Charlemagne) and incorporated all Italy, France, Germany, and eastern Spain into their dominion.

First-hand look at the Roman and Gothic capital of Ravenna, with my photos

Although most people have never even heard of the small and quiet town of Ravenna, it is one of the most important cities in the history of Western Europe that has some of the most ornate cathedrals, basilicas, and churches of the world. Ravenna possesses near-mint condition historical, architectural, and archeological gems from each phase of its history: the Roman period, the Gothic, and the Byzantine. It demonstrates the role of early divergent Christian movements like Arianism that were subsumed under the dominant Catholic doctrine. Further, it shows how a "barbarian" power forged a civilzed and stable empire before quickly disintegrating into oblivion.

This quiet, comfortable, and clean city offers the chance to walk from a tomb built 1,000 years ago to a restaurant built yesterday, and then to a church built 1,500 years ago. Its ancient heritage and structures remain upright today with fantastic preservation. The city officially administers all of its ancient relics. Paying one expensive ticket gives a vistor the abilty to enter a select number of ancient churches. Cars are not allowed in some parts. A five-minute walk down a few blocks of the city center reveal a horde of unique other churches, monasteries, and tombs.

A walk down the street reveals a very unique and large cathedral with an ancient brick structure next to a large minaret-like spire tower whose appearance is uncommon for Christian churches. This original church, San Apollinare Nuovo (see photos below), was consecrated in the early 5th century under the commission of Theodoric the Great. It was probably originally referred to under an early German name. It functioned as the central main church of the Gothic Empire's capital, and is thus arguably the best-preserved and most resplendent Arian church in history. Its interior is unique and breathtaking, and was originally far more luminous than it is now, with mosaic floors and celings. After the Byzantine conquest, the church was forcibly taken from the Arian heretics and given to the Catholics and the Orthodox. The interior was redesigned to lionize the Byzantine state and its iconography. The walls are decorated with Byzantine mosaics displaying Emperor Justinian. Most of the original included frescos with tales of the life of Jesus, who Theodoric considered a man instead of God. New murals added by the Italian Catholics much later can also be seen next to original 1,500-year-old marble statues, paintings, and frescoes from the Greek and Italian (non-Roman) periods. No photography or filming is allowed therein to prevent the entropy and decay of this bizarrely-unnoticed world monument. When Italy was conquered by the German Lombards and Franks, and eventually merged into Catholic Italy, the church has since become Catholic.

My photo of the exterior of the magnificent and ancient Church of San Apollinare Nuovo. (click to enlarge)

My photo of the interior of his church (click to enlarge)

My photo of the interior walls with mosaics from 500CE, 1000CE, 1600CE, etc. (click to enlarge)

My photo of a wall in the corner. Statues, gold, marble adorn this breath-taking cathedral.

My photo of the central ceiling of Theodoric's cathedral. (click to enlarge)

Leaving the church around the corner, one may find one of the world's sole standing baptisteries of the Arian faith. It was the offiicial baptistry of Theodoric's Gothic Empire, and was built under his commission in the 6th century. This is one of the few baptistery buildings that can be entered in the world from this expunged faith. John the Baptist is praised as its central theme: a massive ceiling mosaic of gold more than 1,500 years old covers this small building in original mint condition. The ceiling decoration shows a number of white-robed holy saints or disciples with halos atop their heads watching John's baptism of Jesus of Nazareth with a white dove atop to, signify the Holy Ghost's presence in the man upon this "true birth" (baptism). In this image, baptism of Jesus was done in the nude at an adult age with the entire body. This may indicate that this was the method of baptism in German Arian-faith tradition. The surrounding room is at this point empty with several recesses in the corners, perhaps to hold separate baptisms at the same time, often to adult converts instead of infants. After the internecine Byzantine conquest under Justinian and the later Catholic authority of the native Italians as seen today, this blasphemous baptistery was closed and converted into a Catholic shrine. Fortunately, its original iconography survives.

My photo of the exterior of the exclusive Arian baptistery.

My photo of the ceiling mosaics from 500CE, with Jesus and John the Baptist at center. Mint condition some 1,500 years later. (click to enlarge)

A drive to the outskirts of the city center reveals a bizarre, huge, and unique basilica well isolated from the rest of Ravenna's treasures. Despite the fact that few people have even heard of Ravenna or seen this church, it is easily one of the most magnificent wonders ever built. This is the Basilica di San Vitale (see below). It is referred to by the official city pamphlet of Ravenna as the "most glorious example of Byzantine art in the west." It was initated by Bishop Ecclesio in 525, a year before King Theodoric the Great's death. No one knows for sure who San Vitale was, but it is officially asserted that he was a Roman soldier who was martyred for his Christian faith. Its exterior and architectural construction are tremendously unique and archaic-looking. This massive sunken semi-underground cathedral, more than 1,400 years old, is breathtaking. Over 50 feet tall, nearly every inch of this domed cathedral is covered in the most lumious original mosaic, gold, gem, jewel, marble, fresco, or statue easily in mint condition. There are endless depictions of saints, apostles, biblical scenes, sacrificial animals (including a strange lamb to symbolize Jesus of Nazareth), stories of the Crucifixion, Revelations, the Great Flood, the revelation of the Ten Commandments to Moses (with a Burning Bush shown), the Assumption of Mary into heaven, the Nativity scene, the incomplete sacrifice of Isaac (or as Muslims claim, Ishmail) by Abraham, etc. The very dark and quiet aura of the ancient cathedral makes for one of the most memorable experiences in European artwork and Christian iconography. Staring at the church's interior for hours would not reveal every depiction or intricate artistic creation this church has to offer. It is sad that a building whose majesty rivals any world wonder and (in my experience) effortlessly surpasses St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican or the Parthenon in Athens is virtually unknown. The puissance and majesty of the basilica did not reach its climax until after the Byzantine destruction of the German empire here. As a result, its imagery has a distinctly Byzantine feel. Justinian's face can be seen on the mosaics on the wall.

My photo of the exterior of the main church of the pre-German period. (click to enlarge)

My photo of the main interior domed hall. (click to enlarge)

My photo of the main ceiling of the cathedral. (click to enlarge)

My photo of the frontal wall of the cathedral with mosaics galore. (click to enlarge)

The dark no-photo ceiling is is as stunning as the Vatican.

The central archway of the cathedral is divided into several arch-set ceilings with separate mosaics (click to enlarge)

A walk outside to a local small church, designed in the traditional shape of a cross, offers a small mausoleum to two figures important to the region. It too was not built by Germans not Greeks. Built too in the 5th century, the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia was intended to honor the assumption of the daughter of Theodosius the Great into heaven (the Roman emperor who required Christendom of all Romans for the first time). The building is 12.75 metres long and 10.25 metres wide as a cross. The interior is small but radiant; there are attractive non-Christian and Christian mosaics all over the interior, though the artwork is more faded than in the glorious Basilica di San Vitale. Entrants may not use cameras and must leave after a few minutes. The artistic design is interesting in that there is little Greek influence here, but rather a pre-Christian Roman style. There are depictions of the Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) inside as well as a number of angels and artistic symbols. The multiple tombs in the room apparently house no corpses, but once did. The original blasphemous inscriptions of the pre-Roman period were forbidden and etched away after the Byzantine conquest of the city from the Goths of Theodoric. No photos are allowed here.

Though the city offers several more monuments dating to the same period more than 1,400 years ago with equally fantastic glory, the most famous monument of the city in its hinterlands is the Tomb of Theodoric the Great, where his body was interned after his death. It is built in a unique Roman architectural style, although it has been associated with the German Goths. It was erected here because of its location in a local German cemetery before Christendom was established. Unfortunately, this location was in a swamp, which caused the tomb to be covered in water for more than 500 years. As a consequence, the exterior is wondrously in great condition, but the interior is literally vacant and empty. A massive dome atop the structure, originally probably entirely covered in gold leaf, was added miraculously as a 500-ton single piece atop the structure, an architectural oddity that surpassed our assumptions of a "barbarian" people. There is also a cross at the peak. A long path to the tomb allows one to enter the lower level and the top level; the lower level is literally empty. None knows what was housed in the lower level originally: perhaps a holy Bible, perhaps hordes of sacrificial treasures for the afterlife, perhaps the bodies of his many slaves who died with him, perhaps simply massive mosaics on the walls that are now vacant. The tomb of Theodoric illustrates that the Germans in Italy and Theodoric himself never forget their "barbarian" and Germanic roots. Sadly, instead of endless hordes of treasure one would expect from a wealthy and powerful despotic king, there is nearly nothing but stone walls and pigeons. There is, however, blatant evidence that elaborate frescoes and mosaics of solid gold, gems, jewels, and marble once adorned this important mausoleum. Faded text can also be seen wrapping around the room in Latin (and likely in German/Gothic). There is a large original cross made of stone in the corner of the room in a strange recess in the wall. The ceiling reveals a washed-away (by the waters of the swamp) "X" shape that was probably actually a cross or a halo to imply his ascent to heaven or divine protection. The center of the room reveals Theodoric's massive original sarcophagus. It is a bizarre and unique red marble coffin with a very large and wide interior. The sides are smashed and cracked; there is no top at this point. The interior is also empty. His body was removed and likely desecrated by the Byzantines after they destroyed his heretical empire. The tomb survived American and British bombing during World War II.

The tomb of Theodoric the Great himself (my photo). (click to enlarge)

My photo of a romantic view of the tomb. (click to enlarge)

A close-up of the tomb of this great king (my photo).

My photo of the main view of the tomb room.

My photo of the sarcophagus of Theodoric the Great.

My photo of the ceiling of Theodoric's tomb, once housing a golden mosaic cross assumably.

My photo of the wall of the main tomb floor. Text can clearly be seen later washed away or destroyed.

________________________________________

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Mayfield is a historian and the Chairman of the European Heritage Library. I have a Cum Laude BA in History with a Minor in Germanic Studies (language and history), am presently working for my Masters in History, and plan to immediately progress to my PhD Doctorate. I have a special academic interest in Europe's diverse ethnic identities, languages, and cultures, and the political struggles of native European and immigrant minority identities. See my staff entry for more information.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES USED:

Personal observations and photos.

When there is no EHL watermark present on a photo, it is not our property. We were unable to isolate the original owners of these images. If you find that you are the owner of one, feel free to notify us.

Ravenna and its History. The official city booklet that I purchased in Ravenna.

[1] Todd, Malcolm. The Early Germans. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Page 42.

[2] The Early Germans, 165.

[3] Wolfram, H. Hstory of the Goths. Berkeley, CA: 1988. Pages 286-90.