Giovanni Orseolo (981-1006/7) was the first Venetian to hold power in
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
, holding the title of ''Dux Dalmatiae''.
History
Giovanni's father
Pietro II Orseolo
Pietro II Orseolo (961−1009) was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009.
He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years. He secured his influence in the Dalmatian Romanized settlements from the Croa ...
was the
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...
, and his mother was Maria Candiano.
In 1000 he was sent to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
to work out the details of a plan his father and the
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
had been working on. Under this agreement the Venetians would conquer Dalmatia and then hold it as a protectorate under Byzantine suzerainty.
[(Norwich, John Julius. "Byzantium: The Apogee" (Alfred A. Knopf: New York, 1992) p. 257).]
While in Constantinople he was given a standard to use in his upcoming invasion of Dalmatia by the Bishop of
Olivolo
San Pietro di Castello ( vec, San Piero de Casteło), formerly Olivolo ( it, Olivòlo; vec, Ołivoło), is an island in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy, forming part of the Castello sestiere. It is linked to the main islands of Venice by ...
. He was successful in establishing Venetian power on the Dalmatian coast.
In 1004 Giovanni married
Maria Argyre
Maria Argyra (also Argyre or Argyropoulina) ( el, Μαρία Ἀργυρή or Ἀργυροπουλίνα; died 1007), of the Argyros family, was the granddaughter of the Byzantine emperor Romanos II, niece of the emperors Basil II and Constantine ...
, who was probably niece of Basil II and relative to the latter's second cousin and future emperor
Romanos III Argyros
Romanos III Argyros ( el, Ρωμανός Αργυρός; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople whe ...
. By this time Giovanni had been advanced to the rank of co-doge of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
.
In 1006 or 1007 Giovanni, along with his wife and son Basilio, died of plague.
References
Sources
*
981 births
1006 deaths
10th-century Venetian people
11th-century Venetian people
11th-century deaths from plague (disease)
Giovanni Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
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