Life in late Byzantine Ravenna in its last 200 years, after Belisarius reconquest of Italy, lasted till 751 A. D. A governor/military commander ruled under the Byzantine emperor of Constantinople. The Greek language dominated. Byzantine Italy with its capital in Ravenna was not ruled by an incoming, ethnically distinct group.

The church had more political power. and it gave more political space to the church. The popes and archbishops of Ravenna played a significant role in government. Their images are seen in the churches. A militarized landed aristocracy developed, ready to go to war to protect society.