Rome Vs Ravenna

[magpie]

why did the western roman empire abandon rome for ravenna? was there a tactical reason? was ravenna more easy to defend? or was the emperor wanting to distance himself from rome. is there anything left of ravenna? was the schism between the west and east of the empire so great that the east did not come to the west's aid? does any body notice the similarities between the roman empire and the mafia?
i look forward to any comments.

[vetuste_ennemi]

Something to do with the Lombards, possibly. Northern Germanic conquerors.

[vetuste_ennemi]

The capital wasn't chosen by the Romans.

[vetuste_ennemi]

But it's a long time since I read Gibbon.

[boxtops]

Try Anti-Pope Clement 3rd in google, then write your assignment in your OWN words.

[vetuste_ennemi]

I think the split between West and East had already happened. There's a Robert Graves novel on Belisarius from Constantinople. But my memory, eyes (and most other things - unlike Moses according to Deuteronomy) are dim.

[magpie]

boxtops I AM NOT WRITING AN ASSIGNMENT AND TAKE OFFENCE AT YOUR IMPLICATION MOST PEOPLE WHO RESPOND @ ANSWERBANK ARE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTORS WHO ARE DELIGHTED TO SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND HAVE CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS. PLEASE STOP MAKING ASSUMPTIONS!!!!

[shoota]

One for sorrow.....

[vetuste_ennemi]

Am I on your Xmas card list, Magpie? And, Boxtops, is anything as sad as unrequited love?

[BlackadderV]

does any body notice the similarities between the roman empire and the mafia?

Yes. they both started off in Italy.

[jno]

they moved the capital to Ravenna from Milan, not Rome, because it was easier to defend - islands cut off from the land twice a day by tides. (It's all silted up and inland now.)

Lots of early medieval buildings left in Ravenna with fine mosaics.

[Mosaic]

Like Jno said, the move from Milan to Ravenna was part and parcel of the last rulers of the western Empire feeling under pressure from invading armies. Ravenna's site resembled that chosen by the Veneti at around the same date - became Venice.
So, marshy coastline, lots of mosquito swamps, hard to march an army over. also, down the coast a couple of miles was the mighty port of Classis, so not too isolated from essential arteries of communication.

Ravenna was pounded to shreds during the Allied advance in 1944,so a lot of the town is sort of 1960s. It is blisteringly hot in summer. I enjoyed visiting it and wandering round. There's a hostel that provides brilliant accommodation, and good train links although not the fastest line.
As well as the remains of churches and baptistries with mindblowing glass-tesserae mosaics, there is the wonderful mausoleum of Theodoric just over the railway bridge from the town - worth the walk. Enjoy the amazing acoustics inside it.
And excavations are still going on at Classis, so you could enrol and get first hand experience of the past.
I apologise for the general snootiness of some other replies and hope you'll post more questions.