Editing Ravenna (section)

===Ancient era===
The origins of Ravenna are uncertain.<ref>Deborah M. Deliyannis, Ravenna in Late Antiquity (Cambridge University Press, 2010), for this and much of the information that follows</ref> The oldest archaeological evidence found dates the [[Umbri]] presence in Ravenna at least to the 5th century BC, where it was undisturbed until the 3rd century BC, when first contact with Roman civilization began.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mascanzoni|first=Leardo|title=Ravenna: Una storia millenaria|publisher=Giunti Barbera Editore|year=1990|pages=3–50|language=it}}</ref> Its territory was settled also by the [[Senones]], especially the southern countryside of the city (that was not part of the lagoon), the ''Ager Decimanus''. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of small islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar to [[Venice]] several centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of the [[Po River]] Delta, but later accepted it into the [[Roman Republic]] as a federated town in 89 [[Common Era|BC]].<ref name=":0" />

In 49 BC, it was where [[Julius Caesar]] gathered his forces before crossing the [[Rubicon]]. Later [[Augustus|Octavian]], after his battle against [[Mark Antony]] in 31 BC, founded the military harbor of [[Classe, ancient port of Ravenna|Classis]].<ref>From the Latin for "fleet".</ref> This harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the [[Roman Navy|Roman Imperial Fleet]]. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important [[seaport]] on the [[Adriatic]] until the early [[Middle Ages]]. During the Germanic campaigns, [[Thusnelda]], widow of [[Arminius]], and [[Marbod]], King of the [[Marcomanni]], were confined at Ravenna.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Ravenna(Peutinger Map).png|thumb|left|The city of Ravenna in the 4th century as shown on the [[Peutinger Map]]]]
Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule. Emperor [[Trajan]] built a {{convert|70|km|2|abbr=on}} long [[Aqueduct (Roman)|aqueduct]] at the beginning of the 2nd century. During the [[Marcomannic Wars]], [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] settlers in Ravenna revolted and managed to seize possession of the city. For this reason, Marcus Aurelius decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there.<ref>Dio 72.11.4-5; Birley, ''Marcus Aurelius''</ref> In AD 401, [[Emperor Honorius]] transferred the capital of the [[Western Roman Empire]] from [[Mediolanum]] (current Milan) to Ravenna; it subsequently served as the capital of the empire for most of the 5th century and the last de facto western emperor [[Romulus Augustulus]] was deposed there in AD 476. At that time it was home to 50,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/1166147 |title=The Fall and Decline of the Roman Urban Mind |website=Academia |last1=Fischer |first1=Svante |last2=Victor |first2=Helena |access-date=2017-12-28 |archive-date=2022-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601135045/https://www.academia.edu/1166147 |url-status=live }}</ref> The transfer was made partly for defensive purposes: Ravenna was surrounded by swamps and marshes, and was perceived to be easily defensible (although in fact the city fell to opposing forces numerous times in its history); it is also likely that the move to Ravenna was due to the city's port and good sea-borne connections to the [[Eastern Roman Empire]]. In 409, King [[Alaric I]] of the [[Kingdom of the Visigoths|Visigoths]] simply bypassed Ravenna, and went on to [[Sack of Rome (410)|sack]] [[Rome]] in 410 and to take [[Galla Placidia]], daughter of Emperor [[Theodosius I]], hostage.

After many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor [[Valentinian III]], due to the support of her nephew [[Theodosius II]]. Ravenna enjoyed a period of peace, during which time the Christian religion was favoured by the imperial court, and the city gained some of its most famous monuments, including the Orthodox Baptistry, the misnamed [[Mausoleum of Galla Placidia]] (she was not actually buried there), and [[San Giovanni Evangelista, Ravenna|San Giovanni Evangelista]].