Calabria > History of Calabria

History of Calabria

The Byzantine Calabria, bly hellenlzed, always kept important cultural contacts with both Arabian Sigly, adjusting the coin, the lari and importing huge amounts ofceramic artefacts, and Calabria: Byzantine and Norman Land.

For more than half a millennium, from the first half of VI to second half of XI century AD, the history of Southern regions of Italy results to be strictly linked to Byzantium.

Byzantine domination in Italy began under Justinianwith a conquest war fought against Goths and aimed at establishing sovereignty of that empire, which, founded by Roma, was translated to East by Constantine the Great.

The ancient capital Byzantium, refcxnded with the name of Costantinopie, had for all the High Midde Ages the power on wide areas of Italy, even if its domination .vas ber and more incisive in the South.

The invasion of the Italian land occurred in 535 with the Belisario Sicily and the war between Goths and Romans lasted aoout twenty years, until 553. At the end of the war, the restorator c* toe Byzantine dominion, except for Sicily, considered a property of the emperor, was left to the general Narses.

Under the political and administrative military control Baza experienced different transformations and the maximum expansion war reached at the end of IX century with Calabrian, Lucan and Apulian lands. The events of conditioned by the hegemony of this great Mediterranean power.

While decline of the ancient world Bruttium, which since VII "as ces" called Calabria, once referred to Salento peninafa, was a realy ruralized area with urban centres progressively .гoergong a „"can and demographic contraction. Reasons in socio-economic changes, hydrogeologic salubrity, economy, led from a side to a progressive deppifafcn of those magno-greek urban centres already in crisis img tha Roman age. and from the other side to a gradual process according to a directrix leading to the birth of nearsell Bnienlsinthe wild hill or mountains overlooking the coast. His phenomenon, well-documented in all Calabria, did not rise the intenaloftiemain harbour centres of the region, Reggio decline, kept unchanged their functions even as “am and to East, and of the internal centres, such strictly inked to important road networks.

At the beginning of IX century, the enforcement of Arab power in Sicily allowed the Muslim military force to reach important interventions in the Grand land. All these operations did not lead to a definite military intervention of Byzantium that showed a kind of concern programming the reconquest, only when the Arab presence, spreading in the Adriatic Sea, threatened more clearly Greece and Dalmatia.

Calabria, freed by Muslims settled almost firmly in S. Severina, Amantea and Tropea for about half a century, underwent an administrative and above all ecclesiastic reorganization. Reggio, which was always considered the most important religious centre of Calabria, was elected at the end of IX century as Metropolis with suffragan seats of Vibo, Locri, Taureana, Squillace, Tropea, Amantea, Rossano, Crotone, Cosenza, Bisignano, Nicotera and Nicastro.

The new metropolis of Santa Severina was assigned the seats of Umbriatico, Gallipoli, Cerenzia and Isola.

From the VIII century, and above all from IX century, due to the new entering in the region of the emperor armies, a new set-tlement cycle and a new residence definition begun.

Written sources and archeological and architectural witnesses document the spreading of walled centres, sometimes seat of the Bishop authority, called kastra: Rossano, heir of Thurii; Amend the end of X century Reggio, the Arab conquest of Sicily became the seat of the lu imonym", was officially nominated "cuplli il" of Calabria. Ruled by an East si i aloi |lst, had the difficult task to oppose attacks of Saracens, In,this period, numerous and stately fortified structures were built such as si. Niceto castle, placed on an Inland hill of Reggio.