The Doge of Venice, sometimes translated as Duke, was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 and 1797.
Enrico Dandolo was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1192 until his death. He is remembered for his avowed piety, longevity, and shrewdness, and is known for his role in the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople.
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic, traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and maritime republic in parts of present-day Italy which existed from 697 AD until 1797 AD. Centered on the lagoon communities of the prosperous city of Venice, it incorporated numerous overseas possessions in modern Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Albania and Cyprus. The republic grew into a trading power during the Middle Ages and strengthened this position in the Renaissance. Citizens spoke the still-surviving Venetian language, although publishing in (Florentine) Italian became the norm during the Renaissance.
Marco Sanudo was the creator and first Duke of the Duchy of the Archipelago, after the Fourth Crusade.
Domenico Selvo was the 31st Doge of Venice, serving from 1071 to 1084. During his reign as Doge, his domestic policies, the alliances that he forged, and the battles that the Venetian military won and lost laid the foundations for much of the subsequent foreign and domestic policy of the Republic of Venice. He avoided confrontations with the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Roman Catholic Church at a time in European history when conflict threatened to upset the balance of power. At the same time, he forged new agreements with the major nations that would set up a long period of prosperity for the Republic of Venice. Through his military alliance with the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos awarded Venice economic favors with the declaration of a golden bull that would allow for the development of the republic's international trade over the next few centuries.
Vitale Faliero Dodoni and usually known in English as Vitale Falier was the 32nd Doge of Venice from 1084 until his death in 1095.
Domenico Contarini was the 30th Doge of Venice. His reign lasted from his election following the death of Domenico Flabanico in 1043 until his own death in 1071. During his reign, the Venetians recaptured Zadar and parts of Dalmatia that had been lost to the Kingdom of Croatia in the previous few decades. The Venetian naval fleet was heavily built up during his reign, the economy thrived, and the Republic of Venice had reasserted its control over much of the Mediterranean Sea.
Domenico Morosini was the thirty-seventh doge of the Republic of Venice, reigning from 1148 until his death in 1156.
Marino Morosini was the 44th doge of Venice. He governed from 1249 to 1253.
Giovanni Dandolo was the 48th Doge of Venice, elected late in his life on 31 March 1280, died on 2 November 1289. During his reign the first Venetian gold ducat was introduced into circulation.
Francesco Dandolo was the 52nd Doge of Venice. He ruled from 1329 to 1339. During his reign Venice began its policy of extending its territory on the Italian mainland.
This article presents a detailed timeline of the history of the Republic of Venice from its legendary foundation to its collapse under the efforts of Napoleon.
Giovanni II Valente was the third doge of the Republic of Genoa. His time in office was marked by the crushing defeat of the city against the Venetians at the naval Battle of Alghero. Giovanni had already asked to succeed the first doge of the Republic in December 1345 but had turn down the responsibility.
The Diocese of Castello, originally the Diocese of Olivolo, is a former Roman Catholic diocese that was based on the city of Venice in Italy. It was established in 774, covering the islands that are now occupied by Venice. Throughout its existence there was tension between the diocese, the Patriarchate of Grado to which it was nominally subordinate, and the Doge of Venice. Eventually in 1451 the diocese and the patriarchate were merged to form the Archdiocese of Venice.
Enrico Dandolo was Patriarch of Grado, Italy, from 1134 to 1182. A member of a noble Venetian family, after his appointment he put the interests of the church ahead of all other concerns.
The Byzantine–Venetian War of 1171 was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice as a result of the Byzantine imprisonment of Venetian merchants and citizens across the Empire. 10,000 Venetians were imprisoned in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, alone. Despite Doge Michiel's apparent will to pursue a peaceful solution, outrage in Venice itself swung popular opinion in the favour of full scale war against Byzantium. Doge Michiel had no choice but to set out for war, which he did in mid-late 1171. After indecisive battles in Euboea, Michiel was forced to withdraw his fleet to Chios. After a number of months on Chios, whilst waiting for a Venetian embassy to be received in Constantinople, plague began to set in. However, the emperor of Byzantium, Manuel I Komnenos, was well aware of the plague, and continued to stall negotiations. The Venetians attempted to move from island to island to avoid the plague. Doge Michiel's efforts, however, were fruitless, and in May 1172, he returned to Venice with what was left of the fleet. The Venetians were decisively defeated.
The Croatian–Venetian wars were a series of periodical, punctuated medieval conflicts and naval campaigns waged for control of the northeastern coast of the Adriatic Sea between the City-state of Venice and the Principality of Croatia, at times allied with neighbouring territories – the Principality of the Narentines and Zahumlje in the south and Istrian peninsula in the north. First struggles occurred at the very beginning of the existence of two conflict parties, they intensified in the 9th century, lessened during the 10th century, but intensified again since the beginning of the 11th century.
The Podestà of Constantinople was the official in charge of Venetian possessions in the Latin Empire and the Venetian quarter of Constantinople during the 13th century. Nominally a vassal to the Latin Emperor, the Podestà functioned as a ruler in his own right, and answered to the Doge of Venice. The podestà was also officially known as Governor of One-Fourth and One-Half of the Empire of Romania and was entitled to wearing the crimson buskins as the emperors.
Jacopo Dondulo was a Venetian sailor, military commander, and politician in the 13th century. He played a distinguished role in the naval conflicts of the War of Saint Sabas against the Republic of Venice, leading the Venetian navy to a crushing victory at the Battle of Trapani in 1266. He served also several tenures as a member of the Great Council of Venice, as Bailo of Negroponte in 1277–1279, and as Duke of Candia in 1281–1283, where he faced the start of the Revolt of Alexios Kallergis.
