A Winter Sea? Exchange and Power at the Ebbing of the Adriatic Connection 600–800

The article explores the role of the Adriatic seaborne exchange in the crucial seventh and eighth centuries. Against the backdrop of the historical narrative, which saw the year 700 as the low point of Adriatic exchange, the author proposes an alternative picture, mostly relying on the recent excavation in Comacchio, together with a reassessment of literary evidence. The article suggests that 700 represented an adjustment in the relations between the Byzantine fringes of the Adriatic and the imperial centre rather than a rupture in seaborne communication. Although relying on imperial identities and conceptions of authority, local aristocracies became growingly independent and increasingly defiant toward the authority of Constantinople. In the eight century, episodes such as the 727 rebellions or the 751 conquest of Ravenna, progressively worsened the relationship between the Adriatic towns and Constantinople until the final break. This was the premise to the rise of Venice and the other Adriatic towns.