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Offhand, you may want to look up Pirenne's work. His study of cities led to the powerful and controversial Pirenne Thesis, but I think that reading his original work would be valuable in itself and relevant to your question.

it was not the invasion of the Germanic tribes that destroyed the civilization of antiquity, but rather the closing of Mediterranean trade by Arab conquest in the seventh century. The consequent interruption of long distance commerce accelerated the decline of the ancient cities of Europe. Princeton University Press

One point to note about the question: describing a 5-6the century cities as "old Roman forts" is a serious oversimplification.

Offhand, you may want to look up Pirenne's work. His study of cities led to the powerful and controversial Pirenne Thesis, but I think that reading his original work would be valuable in itself and relevant to your question.

it was not the invasion of the Germanic tribes that destroyed the civilization of antiquity, but rather the closing of Mediterranean trade by Arab conquest in the seventh century. The consequent interruption of long distance commerce accelerated the decline of the ancient cities of Europe. Princeton University Press

One point to note about the question: describing a 5-6th century cities as "old Roman forts" is a serious oversimplification.

Offhand, you may want to look up Pirenne's work. His study of cities led to the powerful and controversial Pirenne Thesis, but I think that reading his original work would be valuable in itself and relevant to your question.

it was not the invasion of the Germanic tribes that destroyed the civilization of antiquity, but rather the closing of Mediterranean trade by Arab conquest in the seventh century. The consequent interruption of long distance commerce accelerated the decline of the ancient cities of Europe.

One point to note about the question: describing a 5-6the century cities as "old Roman forts" is a serious oversimplification.

Offhand, you may want to look up Pirenne's work. His study of cities led to the powerful and controversial Pirenne Thesis, but I think that reading his original work would be valuable in itself and relevant to your question.

it was not the invasion of the Germanic tribes that destroyed the civilization of antiquity, but rather the closing of Mediterranean trade by Arab conquest in the seventh century. The consequent interruption of long distance commerce accelerated the decline of the ancient cities of Europe. Princeton University Press

One point to note about the question: describing a 5-6the century cities as "old Roman forts" is a serious oversimplification.

Offhand, you may want to look up Pirenne's work. His study of cities led to the powerful and controversial Pirenne Thesis, but I think that reading his original work would be valuable in itself and relevant to your question.

One point to note about the question: describing a 5-6the century cities as "old Roman forts" is a serious oversimplification.

Offhand, you may want to look up Pirenne's work. His study of cities led to the powerful and controversial Pirenne Thesis, but I think that reading his original work would be valuable in itself and relevant to your question.

it was not the invasion of the Germanic tribes that destroyed the civilization of antiquity, but rather the closing of Mediterranean trade by Arab conquest in the seventh century. The consequent interruption of long distance commerce accelerated the decline of the ancient cities of Europe.

One point to note about the question: describing a 5-6the century cities as "old Roman forts" is a serious oversimplification.