In the meantime the invasions began, touching the city in 401 with Alaric and in 451 with Attila, then the Gothic War began which found Padua under the tutelage of the Eastern Emperor Justinian. It was still iff Byzantine possession during the Longobard invasion but in 601 Agilulfo occuped it and razed it to the ground: it was the end of Roman Patavium which will undergo further blows during the Hungarian (Magyar ) invasion of 899 A.D. .The permanence of the Bishop s Chair during the Longobard period allowed the city, however, to maintain its urban dimensions and it was also a stimulus for the resurgence, which, from the Tenth Century, marked Paduas re-flowering. The presence of the Cathedral, the Church of Saint Justina, the monasteries and the new parish church were the elements which defined the new physiognomy of the medieval city, in which the increase in population kept in step with the increase in trade and wealth. Thus the city spread despite the earthquake in 1117 and the fire of 1174, and extended to at least five times the original nucleus {the "isle'}. Once again Padua became a centre of trade and commerce for a vast area to which it was linked by a well-organized network of roads and navigable canals, the most famous being the Brenta 'Riviera".
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