Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

526 19. italy, a.d. 425,605
of Italian archaeology over the last three decades. Both excavation and
regional survey have helped qualify the picture presented by the literary
sources, although archaeological survey, because it is most useful in detecting
processes over the longue durée, is less demonstrative in showing shortterm
change than historians might wish. 5 By reading archaeological,
documentary and literary evidence side by side, it is possible to achieve a
wide-ranging picture of Italy’s fate in late antiquity, fitting political developments
– which often seemed cataclysmic to the participants – into a
broader context of Italian social evolution. It will emerge that the process
is one of gradual metamorphosis, which saw the growing entrenchment of
local society, punctuated by moments of sudden rupture, such as the
Justinianic wars or the Lombard invasions.
It cannot be doubted that the fifth and sixth century witnessed a substantial
transformation of Italian society. Under Valentinian III, Italy was
still united by social, economic and communications networks much as it
had been since the days of the late republic. During the middle empire, to
be sure, this unity had come under pressure, but it was only in our period
that Italy split asunder. 6 Italy’s political unity had outlived the ostensible end
of Roman rule and survived intact under Ostrogothic government. In this
sense, the initial serenity of Italy’s post-imperial experience stands in
marked contrast to the instability which engulfed the rest of western
Europe in the fifth century. 7 Only in the decades after Justinian’s decision
to bring Italy back into the empire was the peninsula torn apart by war and
invasion. The social, economic and cultural horizons of local communities
contracted, and although the old Roman roads, which had helped unite the
peninsula, were still used, much of their traffic now consisted of Lombard
and Byzantine armies competing for Italian territory.
i. italian interests and the end of the western empire
(425,76)
Valentinian III’s restoration seemed to guarantee the re-establishment of
the old political order in Italy. But the system was in reality falling apart,
with the relationship between Italy and the rest of western Europe becoming
strained. This facet of imperial collapse was reflected in the tension
between Italian interests and non-Italian, especially Gallic, incumbents of
the throne. Just as Italy was becoming politically isolated from the rest of
the west, so too it had to rely increasingly on its own economic and military
resources. The Vandal conquest of Africa was a crucial catalyst. First,
while trade between Africa and Italy certainly continued, Rome could no
longer depend on the region as the major source of its corn dole. Hence,
the city was forced to rely more on Italian resources, transforming the eco-
5 Barker (1991) 53–4. 6 Dyson (1990) 215–44. 7 Cf. ch. 18 (Wood), pp. 499,517 above.
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