RAVENNA TIMELINE

Important moments in the early years of the ancient city

C. 1400 BCE Ravenna occupied by the Etruscans and Gauls

The Etruscans and Gauls both occupy the settlement. Various ancient historians state that a settlement in the area was founded much earlier and attributed to numerous peoples including the Thessalians, Umbrians and Sabines.

89 BCE Ravenna accepted into the Roman Republic

Seeing the potential of the city as a useful harbour defence and port town, Ravenna is made a federated town and accepted into the republic.

49 BCE Caesar gathers forces before crossing the Rubicon

It is in Ravenna that Julius Caesar gathers his army before crossing the River Rubicon. This act is a deliberate breaking of the law that limits his Imperium (a citizen’s authority to hold military and political power). It leads to civil war.

402 CE The new capital

Ravenna is made the new capital of the Western Roman Empire by Honorius following the sacking and fall of Rome itself.

476 CE Battle of Ravenna

Ostrogoth Odoacer defeats the armies of Emperor Romulus Augustulus, signalling the end of the Western Roman Empire. Odoacer names himself the first King of Italy.

490 CE Theodoric the Great comes to power

After assassinating Odoacer, Theodoric becomes king and initiates a 33-year period of peaceful rule.

540 CE Belisarius takes Ravenna

Following several long years of fighting, Belisarius is able to seize Ravenna from the clutches of the Ostrogoths, who never again regain control of the city.

584 CE Exarchate of Ravenna established

Ravenna is made an Exarchate (a lordship) in the Byzantine Empire and a centre of the empire’s power. This ends in 751 when the last Exarch is put to death by the Lombards.