How did Rome (city) deteriorate?

[Viggen]

I always wondered about the process and the dynamics a city goes through when declining in such an extrem (from hundreds of thousands to just 20.000 in 7th century) and also, what happend to all the buildings, infrastructure etc..,

how must one image the city in 650 AD with just 20.000 people living there and buildings like the colloseum, the circus, the forum, scattered around. Were those majestic buildings a constant reminder for the inhabitants of the good ol`times? Would they actually have cared, were the suburubs a ghost town of thousands of empty buildings? Any research or studies on this?

 

cheers

viggen

[Ludovicus]

I always wondered about the process and the dynamics a city goes through when declining in such an extrem (from hundreds of thousands to just 20.000 in 7th century) and also, what happend to all the buildings, infrastructure etc..,

how must one image the city in 650 AD with just 20.000 people living there and buildings like the colloseum, the circus, the forum, scattered around. Were those majestic buildings a constant reminder for the inhabitants of the good ol`times? Would they actually have cared, were the suburubs a ghost town of thousands of empty buildings? Any research or studies on this?

 

cheers

viggen

 

 

There is evidence that public buildings were protected as late as the 6th century. I'll site the sources in another post. By the 7th century, the Forum was the scene of church building in which older public buildings where converted, e.g. the Roman Senate's transformation into the church of San Adriano. The Forum of Trajan still functioned until the early 9th century when a powerful earthquake took it down. If you're ever in Rome, you'll won't want to miss the Museo Crypta Balbi. It will give you an idea how the city survived amid the decay of the post Justinian era and beyond. A lively business in burning marble for lime and in recycling ancient columns (spolia) employed post classical Romans for centuries. Go to any of the very ancient churches in Rome and you will notice the lack of conformity in the marble columns

Edited July 9, 2007 by Ludovicus

[Divi Filius]

I always wondered about the process and the dynamics a city goes through when declining in such an extrem (from hundreds of thousands to just 20.000 in 7th century) and also, what happend to all the buildings, infrastructure etc..,

how must one image the city in 650 AD with just 20.000 people living there and buildings like the colloseum, the circus, the forum, scattered around. Were those majestic buildings a constant reminder for the inhabitants of the good ol`times? Would they actually have cared, were the suburubs a ghost town of thousands of empty buildings? Any research or studies on this?

 

cheers

viggen

 

Keeping in mind that I have yet to study city management or the city of Rome itself:

 

A lot of starvation and deaths must be imagined. Rome is actually a terrible city to live in, especially in the summer; without the proper services very few could survive in those humid and sickening months of July and August. The city is also prone to diseases and infestations through the bad water and bugs. As the sewers systems began to corrode, and, especially, as the water supply dwindled during the terrible wars, the population of Rome died out. The birthrates lowered and lowered until finally reaching the appalling levels. Plus, much of the population probably did not feel safe within the city anymore, or left as the jobs disappeared. As the city ceased to be an economic or social heart, it faded away.

 

We are given a glimpse into the eye of the contemporary with the writings of Pope Gregory(I believe) who writes about the appalling conditions of the classical buildings. He mentions how everyday new buildings are collapsing left and right as there was no wealth there to restore it, or interest. As Belisarius entered Rome he was horrified to find the city looking more like a rural zone then a urban metropolis. The giant mash of the population had taken over the center of the city(near the Colosseum) while all the other houses stood abandoned and collapsing. The Colosseum itself had faded away as a center of entertainment and found itself becoming a cemetery(eventually it would become a fortification).

 

Through the eighth-century various structures were taken down to be reused as churches, since the people lacked the knowledge to recreate old Roman structures. Various statues were melted down(eventually the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon was melted down, leading to the famous phrase: "What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis did.")

Edited July 13, 2007 by Divi Filius

[Lex]

I'm sure a big problem was that many of the buildings were being used as quarry's without much regulation on what the people could take from abandoned buildings and ruins. It was still quite a while before one of the Popes (hundreds of years after the fall) made some laws to protect the public monuments and buildings.

 

Even the Popes used to quarry the Colosseum of it's marble which they used in their churches and it seems used most of it. Eventually it was converted as a religious area and protected by the Church.

 

If you're interested, Gibbon goes into quite a bit of detail on the subject on the fate of the public monuments and buildings in Rome.

[Nerva]

I'm sure a big problem was that many of the buildings were being used as quarry's without much regulation on what the people could take from abandoned buildings and ruins. It was still quite a while before one of the Popes (hundreds of years after the fall) made some laws to protect the public monuments and buildings.

The Emperor Majorian 457-461 attempted to halt the tearing down of monuments as stone quarries. Once he was killed, I'm sure the practice picked up in earnest.

[Ludovicus]

The pockmarks on the Colosseum

[Klingan]

Various statues were melted down(eventually the bronze ceiling of the Pantheon was melted down, leading to the famous phrase: "What the barbarians did not do, the Barberinis did.")

 

They even burned marble statues. When burned they (This is somewhat dubious to me) may be used for concrete.

[Maladict]

The Emperor Majorian 457-461 attempted to halt the tearing down of monuments as stone quarries. Once he was killed, I'm sure the practice picked up in earnest.

 

There are many such edicts, at least as early as the reign of Honorius.

Their repetition could indicate it wasn't working.

 

 

 

They even burned marble statues. When burned they (This is somewhat dubious to me) may be used for concrete.

 

Burning marble creates lime iirc, to be used for mortar.

[Traianus]

it's been said that the half part of the forum is nowadays the St. Peters basilica.(due to the intelligent pope Julio II )

[Nerva]

I was just reading up on Constans II and in the year 663, he visited the city of Rome. Apparently, he stripped many of the city's buildings of their precious metals (including the Pantheon) and took it all back to Constantinople. That certainly didn't help with the deterioration of the city.

[Faustus]

I was just reading up on Constans II and in the year 663, he visited the city of Rome. Apparently, he stripped many of the city's buildings of their precious metals (including the Pantheon) and took it all back to Constantinople. That certainly didn't help with the deterioration of the city.

 

Salve -

 

Unless building were wrecked, this would only mean

Edited October 23, 2007 by Faustus

[Ludovicus]

I was just reading up on Constans II and in the year 663, he visited the city of Rome. Apparently, he stripped many of the city's buildings of their precious metals (including the Pantheon) and took it all back to Constantinople. That certainly didn't help with the deterioration of the city.

 

Salve -

 

Unless building were wrecked, this would only mean