Editing Ravenna (section)

=== Ostrogothic Kingdom ===
{{see also|Ostrogothic Ravenna}}

The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, and [[Romulus Augustulus]] was deposed in 476 by the general [[Odoacer]]. Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern Emperor [[Zeno (emperor)|Zeno]] sent the [[Ostrogoth]] King [[Theodoric the Great]] to re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing the [[Battle of Verona (489)|Battle of Verona]], [[Odoacer]] retreated to Ravenna, where he withstood a siege of three years by Theodoric, until the taking of [[Rimini]] deprived Ravenna of supplies. Theodoric took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] of Italy. Theodoric, following his imperial predecessors, also built many splendid buildings in and around Ravenna, including his palace church [[Sant'Apollinare Nuovo]], an Arian cathedral (now Santo Spirito) and Baptistery, and his own [[Mausoleum of Theodoric|Mausoleum]] just outside the walls.

[[File:Mausoleum of Theoderic.JPG|left|thumb|The [[Mausoleum of Theodoric]]]]

Both Odoacer and Theodoric and their followers were [[Arianism|Arian]] Christians, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins, who were largely Catholic Orthodox. Ravenna's Orthodox bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the [[Archbishop's Chapel, Ravenna|Cappella Arcivescovile]]. Theodoric allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law and the Roman judicial system. The Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs. In 519, when a mob had burned down the synagogues of Ravenna, Theodoric ordered the town to rebuild them at its own expense.

Theodoric died in 526 and was succeeded by his young grandson [[Athalaric]] under the authority of his daughter [[Amalasunta]], but by 535 both were dead and Theodoric's line was represented only by Amalasuntha's daughter [[Matasuntha]]. Various Ostrogothic military leaders took the Kingdom of Italy, but none were as successful as Theodoric had been. Meanwhile, the [[Orthodoxy|orthodox Christian]] [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine]] Emperor [[Justinian I]] opposed both Ostrogoth rule and the [[Arianism|Arian]] variety of Christianity. In 535 his general [[Belisarius]] [[Gothic War (535–554)|invaded Italy]] and in 540 conquered Ravenna. After the conquest of Italy was completed in 554, Ravenna became the seat of Byzantine government in Italy.

From 540 to 600, Ravenna's bishops embarked upon a notable building program of churches in Ravenna and in and around the port city of Classe. Surviving monuments include the [[Basilica of San Vitale]] and the [[Basilica of Sant'Apollinare in Classe]], as well as the partially surviving San Michele in Africisco.