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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Magnus Maximus, post: 4854778, member: 73473&quot;]I&#039;ve always had an interest in medieval Italy and specifically the Republic of Venice.</p><p><br /></p><p>Venice was originally formed in the late 400&#039;s when Roman civilians fled northern Italy to the safety of the marshes on the Italian coast to escape Atilla the Hun&#039;s hoards. When the Lombards invaded Italy in the 560&#039;s, the Venetians behind their lagoon&#039;s were untouchable. On paper the Venetians were subject to the Emperor in Constantinople, but with the loss of the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751 and Imperial priorities focused on&nbsp; holding Anatolia, meant that for the most part Venice was on it&#039;s own. Venice was essentially independent from the Byzantines by the 9th century, but still enjoyed good relations with their Roman cousins.</p><p><br /></p><p>Being stuck on a few lagoon islands off the coast of Italy made the Venetians good mariners by necessity, and excellent merchants by extension. Venice had a prosperous trading agreement with the Byzantines which only improved with Byzantine desperation for naval forces during the reign of Alexius I Komnenos. Unfortunately, Venetian-Byzantine relations were permanently soured due to the Venetian involvement in the Fourth Crusade in 1204, which saw the Byzantine Empire temporally broken up into Latin kingdoms.<i><b> Talk about stabbing your dad in the back!</b></i></p><p><i><b><br /></b></i></p><p>By the time Pietro Gradengo became Doge(Dux) of Venice in 1289, the Byzantines were so ticked off at the Venetians that they granted the Italian city-state of Genoa exclusive trading privileges at Venetian expense. Suffice it to say, this action led open warfare between the two merchant powers that would drag on for about a century and a half. One of the more severe Venetian defeats of the wars occurred under Pietro at the Battle of Curzola on September 8th 1298, where dozens of Venetian ships were lost along with thousands of men. In addition to the disastrous war with Genoa, Pietro also effectively turned Venice into an oligarchy with his declaration that only sons born to current members of the ruling council could hold their father&#039;s positions. To make matters worse for poor Pietro, he got himself and the entire Republic excommunicated by the pope for starting a war with the Papal states over control of a city in northern Italy. Eventually, Pietro embraced the sweet relief of death in 1311, much to the celebration of the Venetians.</p><p><br /></p><p>As for the Republic of Venice; it would reach it&#039;s zenith in the late 1400&#039;s and early 1500&#039;s, then slowly fade into oblivion until a certain Napoleon Bonaparte would finally abolish it in 1797. In the end though it was the rise of Spain and Portugal with their New World Colonies, rich in silver and spices, that would render Venice irrelevant and be the death blow to the Merchant Republic. A city that resisted Attila was eventually conquered by American Silver and Spice!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>One perk for us numismatists is that Venice, by virtue of being a mercantile powerhouse,&nbsp; minted lots of coins. Finding a decent Grosso for under $100 isn&#039;t hard, and the coins have a pleasing art style considering the period they were minted in.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1172255[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1172256[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Obverse</p><p>Doge (duke) stands facing receiving banner from patron saint St. Mark.</p><p>Lettering: . PE • GRADONICO •</p><p><br /></p><p>Reverse</p><p>Facing figure of Nimbate Jesus Christ Pantocrator, enthroned, IC XC field to the left and right.</p><p>Lettering: IC / XC</p><p><br /></p><p>A map fo the major powers in the Mediterranean circa 1300 CE.</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1172262[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>A rare depiction of Doge Pietro</p><p>[ATTACH=full]1172264[/ATTACH]</p><p><br /></p><p>Feel free to post any relevant coins![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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