Download PDF | David Nicolle, Christopher Rothero - The Venetian Empire, 1200-1670-Osprey Pub (1989).
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The Venetian Empire 1200-1670
Al State Apart ‘The story of Venice is, to some extent, separate from that of the rest of Europe. The same could be said of the city’s military history and organisation. Early in the gth century the Venetians defeated Pepin the Frank’s attempts to overawe them, and_ they remained, at least in theory, subject to Byzantium. Gradually, however, Venice drifted into independence; and subsequently carved out its own empire at the expense of its former Byzantine masters.
Their position on a series of islands set in a marshy lagoon at the head of the Adriatic made the Venetians virtually invulnerable while they steadily built up both their commercial and naval strength. In this the famous Arsenal of Venice played a leading role. Some kind of Byzantine-style shipyard and military depot may have existed as early as the 8th century, though the medieval Arsenal was not crected until 1104. Its name comes from the Arabic Dar al Sina’a, ‘Dockyard’, and the concept clearly owed as much to Islamic inspiration as to the Byzantine model on which the Arsenal was supposed to be based.
By 1202, and the arrival of the Fourth Crusade in Venice, the city already held much territory around the Adriauc. The menace of piracy had led Venetians to seize the pirate-infested eastern shores, where the inhabitants of many towns still spoke a form of Italian, being descended from the Latin peoples of the Roman Empire. The Doge or Duke of Venice already had, among his numerous titles, that of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria while the famous symbolic ceremony of Sposalizio del Mar, ‘Marriage to the Sea’, had also begun. Venetian domination of north-eastern Italy came much later; but Venice did control the lagoon coast and took a close interest in the military affairs ofits neighbours, particularly in the turbulent and only partially Italian Friuli. merchant region of Veneuan ventures were often almost piratical in themselves; and the city’s trade contacts, stretching far beyond the Adriatic, were well established the creation of the Crusader States led to the founding before of semi-autonomous Venctian colonies on the coast of Syria and Palestine.
The military and political structure which supported — these Romania (the Byzantine zone) and Oltremare (the Muslim eastern Mediterranean) was itself a mixture of East and West, Byzantine and Italian systems. ‘These were
The campanile or bell-tower of Koper (Capo d’Istria) which, in the late 12th century, was Venice’s main island stronghold in Istria and fell finally under Venetian rule in 1279. This 15th century tower also served as a lighthouse and observation post against pirates, such tall structures becoming symbols of Venetian sovereignty along the Yugoslav coast.
reflected in the Doge’s Excusati or Guard as well as his ceremonial parasol and sword. Nevertheless, the Venetian social order was strictly feudal. ‘Though within the city no individual held land by knight tenure, various Church and other properties were tied to military service.
The Venetians were soon famous for their roving and warlike spirit, keen business acumen and pride. An almost modern sense of ‘national’ identity unified the city and saved Venice from many of those class struggles which rent the rest of medieval Italy. Even the Serrate— the ‘locking’ or ‘closing’ of the Venetian ruling class at the end of the 13th did not dampen the loyalty of the Venetians, rich and poor, to their Serene Republic, even though it thereafter excluded all other families from political power.
It is worth noting that only one Order of Chivalry, the Cavalieri di San Marco, was ever founded in Venice and no Venetian could join a foreign order without government approval. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent history, while politics and the army were kept firmly separate. Belligerent as they were, the Venetians had a businesslike attitude to war which seems to have been regarded as an extension of commerce by other means. The early appearance of mercenaries, the Italian condottieri, in 12th century Venice was a sign of this attitude and not of any lack of martial spirit. In fact the Venetian Republic normally tried to avoid wars, unless these were obviously going to be profitable. Nevertheless Venice suflered a very wartorn history, frequently clashing with the rival maritime republic of Genoa over the commercial domination of various regions, struggling with Hungary and later with the Ottoman Empire over ancestors of famous
Dalmatia, and being drawn into numerous wars in defence of the Terra Firma, Venice’s mainland possessions. The Terra Firma was taken partly as a buffer against predatory neighbours, partly to guarantee trade routes to the Alpine passes, and partly because Venice relied on mainland wheat for its survival,
Later, of course, the Venetian Empire became locked in a life-or-death struggle with the vast Ottoman Turkish Empire. These VenetianOttoman wars look at first sight like a typical David and Goliath confrontation, butin military terms the Venetians were not so small as they might have appeared. From the very dawn of Venetian history all classes were called upon to fight. Venice was a great city with a population of some 200,000 by the early 15th century; was immensely wealthy, politically united, and diplomatically experienced; and had a huge navy .
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