Ravenne : le déclin d’un avant-poste de Constantinople à la lumière de son monnayage (v. 540-751)

The coinage of Ravenna from the reconquest over the Ostrogoths to 751 documents the decline of the provincial finances and economy. Seat of the Italian praefect, it was for a while responsible for producing all the gold denominations and ­continued to issue small silver coins on the Ostrogothic model. Like bronze, these were widely used north of the Alps and in the Adriatic ports. Siliquae imitations have been found in Byzantine Liguria and in the Po valley, early habitat of the Lombards. Through the late sixth century, Ravenna struck coins in sizable quantities in all three metals. Gold was used for payments to the Lombards and the Franks, as is known through texts and coin finds in Central Europe. In the late sixth century, insecurity and increased territorial fragmentation, coupled with the isolation and financial autonomy of the mint led to irregular and limited issues of gold coins whose distribution area receded. Bronze regained some importance in the second half of the eighth century. Its value differed from that of the Constantinople follis, which barely penetrated into the exarchate. Between 650 and 751, Ravenna coins circulated only in the natural hinterland of the city, the North-Adriatic zone and its Alpine frontier while a major role in minting was now being held by Sicily