| |||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Venice | ||||||
| Other cities | Eraclea, Malamocco, Durazzo | ||||||
| Language official |
Latin | ||||||
| others | Venetian, Italian, Southwest Slavic dialects | ||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||
| Doge | Leonardo Loredan, Antonio Grimani, Andrea Gritti, Pietro Lando, Franceso Donato | ||||||
The Most Serene Republic of Venice is one of the last trading republics in the Tudor Line, it is the most important after the Republic of Genoa, whose bankers give loans to various monarchs. The republic has existed since 697 and it had its capital in Venice since 810. The leader of the republic is the Doge of Venice and King of Candia because besides Venice, he also owns Crete, Ionian Islands, west coast of Albania, Dalmatia, Istria and Cyprus.
History[]
Venician Lands in the 16th Century.
Claiming foundation of the first trade post on March 25, 421 it was a loose federation of local people. The Byzantine Empire was withdrawing from Italy pushed by the Lombards. It became the high status power around the year 1000 under the Doge Pietro II Orseolo and owned various lands around the western shore of Croatia and Byzantine Empire, the island of Crete (1207) and Cyprus (1489) and some lands on the eastern shore of Greece. Eventually trade partially stopped due to the rise of Spain, Portugal and England. Eventually they turned to banking like Genoa. In 1568 Mustafa I of the Ottomans declared war for the various venician cities, this was followed by aid of Pope Sixtus V and in 1575 Pietro of Venice had to give up Cyprus, which only stood for this long because they put armies to their islands during the 1540s and yet more after the peace between Suleiman I and Casimir I.