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| Battle of Ravenna | |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 April 728 |
| Place | Ravenna, Exarchate of Ravenna |
| Result | Byzantine victory |
| Combatant1 | Byzantine Empire |
| Combatant2 | Lombards |
| Commander1 | Exarch Eutychius |
| Commander2 | King Liutprand |
| Strength1 | 6,000–8,000 |
| Strength2 | 20,000 |
| Casualties1 | unknown |
| Casualties2 | heavy |
Battle of Ravenna
The Battle of Ravenna was fought in April 728 between forces of the Byzantine Empire and the Lombards near the city of Ravenna on the Adriatic coast. The engagement formed a key encounter in the long conflict between the Exarchate of Ravenna and the Kingdom of the Lombards during the reigns of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian and King Liutprand. The clash influenced territorial control in northern Italy and the political dynamics among the Papal States, Longobardia, and the Byzantine Theme system.
Ravenna, seat of the Exarchate of Ravenna since the 6th century, had been a focal point of Byzantine authority in Italy after the Gothic War (535–554). During the early 8th century, the Lombard monarchy under King Liutprand expanded through campaigns against Padua, Bologna, and other cities, threatening the remaining Byzantine enclaves. Tensions were compounded by the iconoclastic policies of Emperor Leo III the Isaurian and papal resistance from Pope Gregory II, which drew the Lombards into shifting alliances with local magnates and with dissident Byzantine subjects. The strategic importance of Ravenna derived from its harbor, fortifications, and symbolic status as residence of the Exarch, linking it to the broader contest involving the Franks, Avars, and maritime actors like Ravenna's Byzantine fleet and trading links with Venice.
The Byzantine contingent was commanded by Exarch Eutychius, drawing troops from the Exarchate of Ravenna, the Theme of Sicily, and contingents of Scholae Palatinae veterans and local garrison units stationed in Ravenna and its environs. Byzantine forces combined heavy infantry, cavalry detachments, and elements of naval marines aboard Adriatic galleys. The Lombard army, led by King Liutprand, assembled warriors from principalities including Benevento, Spoleto, and the northern Lombard duchies, supplemented by foederati and mercenary cavalry. Liutprand fielded a numerically superior force adept at mountain and plains warfare, employing Lombard cavalry lances, infantry shield walls, and mounted skirmishers.
Liutprand sought to pressure Ravenna to force concessions over territorial claims and ecclesiastical influence with Pope Gregory II and to exploit Byzantine preoccupation with threats in the Balkans and Anatolia. The Lombard advance toward Ravenna followed operations around Ferrara and Forlì, aiming to sever communication between Ravenna and the Exarchate's inland holdings. Exarch Eutychius, aware of superior numbers, concentrated on defensive preparations around Ravenna's fortifications, seeking to bring the Lombards into a decisive engagement favorable to Byzantine discipline and combined-arms tactics. Both sides attempted to secure alliances: Liutprand courted support from regional dukes and Frankish traders, while Eutychius negotiated with Papal envoys and sought reinforcements from the Theme of Calabria and maritime support from Byzantine fleets stationed near Ancona and Classis.
The main engagement occurred outside Ravenna's walls on 8 April 728. Liutprand deployed his vanguard to probe Byzantine lines, attempting to exploit gaps between field fortifications and the city defenses. Eutychius arranged his forces in depth, placing cavalry wings to counter Lombard flanking moves and infantry in organized shields and pila to blunt frontal assaults. Byzantine archers and crossbow-armed troops targeted Lombard horsemen while cataphracts and armored cavalry executed countercharges. The battle featured a series of cavalry clashes and infantry melees around hedged fields and near the Po River tributaries. Byzantine tactical use of mobile reserves, coordinated cavalry-counterattacks, and disciplined infantry cohesion gradually wore down Lombard assaults. After heavy fighting marked by breakthroughs and local routs of Lombard detachments, Liutprand withdrew his main force, suffering significant losses and abandoning plans to take Ravenna outright.
The Byzantine victory at Ravenna preserved the Exarchate's control of the city and secured lines of communication with the remaining territories in northern Italy, delaying further Lombard encroachment. Liutprand retained substantial holdings elsewhere but his prestige was dented, altering Lombard strategy toward negotiated settlements and raids rather than sieges of fortified Byzantine centers. The outcome influenced the relations among Pope Gregory II, the Byzantine court, and the Lombard kingship, contributing to episodic diplomacy, truces, and later treaties such as arrangements resembling earlier Edictum Rothari precedents. The battle also affected the military organization within the Exarchate, prompting revisions in garrison allocations, naval patrols, and cooperation with emerging powers like the Duchy of Venice and the Frankish Kingdom.
Although later overshadowed by conflicts like the Sack of Rome (846) and the eventual Lombard collapse under Charlemagne, the clash at Ravenna entered chronicles by Paul the Deacon and Byzantine annalists as evidence of resilient imperial presence in Italy. The battle informed medieval historiography on Byzantine-Lombard relations, appearing in later compilations and influencing perceptions in works linked to the Liber Pontificalis and regional cartularies. Archaeological surveys around Ravenna have sought traces of the battle in topography and material culture, connecting the engagement to the city's evolving status leading up to the rise of the Papacy as a territorial power and the transformation of Italy in the early Middle Ages.
Category:Battles involving the Byzantine Empire Category:Battles involving the Lombards Category:8th-century conflicts