The medieval history of Taranto began at the beginning of the 7th century. It originated in the Greek-Gothic War. The position of the city turned it into a militarily important port from which it was possible to dominate the inner Gulf of Taranto and give access to Calabria.
The history of this period and the successive one is learned from the Catalogus Provinciarum Italie (dating from the first decades of the 7th century), that included Taranto among the cities ‘satis opulentae’ of the thirteenth province ‘consociata Abulia sibi Calabria’.
In 670-680 Taranto, together with Brindisi, was conquered by the Lombardic Duke of Benevento and remained Lombardic for approximately a century and a half. There is no doubt that the port of Taranto served as port of collection and distribution to East for the valuable trade in slaves.