8. EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE UNTIL THE PRINCIPLES OF THE KINGDOM OF JUSTINIAN IN BYZANTIUM
I n 298 AD Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into eastern and western. In the following centuries, northern people moved to its territories. Thus, in the period 490-526 AD. the movement of the Visigoths to France and their passage to Spain took place . They also came to the Balkan Peninsula, settled in Bulgaria and descended to the Peloponnese. The Ostrogoths, on the other hand, were Christian Arians. They settled in Northern Italy and Ravenna, which became a major school of architecture in the Middle Ages in the West. The Mausoleum of Gala Placidia (420-430 AD) was built in Ravenna during this period. It was a martyrdom with a cross-shaped plan. The building was made of thick bricks. A tower-like structure was erected at the intersection of its antennas. There were arches on its outer surface. Its square core was housed in a spherical dome. St Apollinaire the newer was built in Ravenna in 490. This is a key-monument to the amazing coexistence of the decoration and the building...
