Ordelafo Faliero de Doni (also spelled Dodoni;died 1117 in Zadar,then part of the Kingdom of Hungary) was the 34th Doge of Venice,serving from 1102 until his death. His dogeship marked a period of expansion for the Republic of Venice,including military campaigns in Dalmatia and the early development of the Venetian Arsenal.
He was the son of the 32nd Doge,Vitale Faliero de' Doni. He was a member of the Minor Council (minor consiglio),an assembly formed from members of the so-called "apostolic families" that,in oligarchical Venice,assumed the governmental functions of judges,military councilmen,ambassadors and heads of state.
Coat-of-arms of Ordelafo Faliero.
His first name,which is otherwise unknown in Venetian history,is thought to have been derived from a backwards spelling of the Venetian name "Faledro",or from the Ordelaffi family,of which the Faliero family is thought to be a lineage.
In 1105 the new Croatian king,Coloman of Hungary,enabled by the alliance to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos,[1] launched campaign against Venetians,and returned the northeastern Adriatic coast under the crown.
In 1106,a terrible flood happened in Venice. On the island of Malamocco,the old capital of Venice,the entire community was swept away.
In that same year,a great fire destroyed large areas in Rialto. The Basilica of Saint Mark and the then Doge’s Palace escaped with relatively minor damage because of their stone and marble construction. Since then,the use of wood for building was actively discouraged.
In 1110,Faliero fearing the rise of Pisan and Genoese trade in East,was engaged in an expedition to Syria to aid the crusaders,comprising 100 Venetian ships.
In Venice,Faliero established the nucleus of what would become the Arsenal. The shipbuilding became a nationalized industry. For its centre Doge chose two islands in the east of the city.
In 1115,Doge managed to retake some of the disputed area in Dalmatia. According to J.Norwich,Holy Roman Emperor Henry V - who had visited the city before the campaign,and Alexius I Comnenos helped the Venetians. Doge reconquered Zadar and several other towns. However,in 1117 he lost his life in a battle beneath the walls of Zara.
Norwich, John Julius (1982). A History of Venice. New York City: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0141-01383-1.
Stephenson, Paul (2000). Byzantium's Balkan Frontier: A Political Study of the Northern Balkans, 900–1204. Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-0-521-02756-4.
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