The Venetian army was the army of the city-state of

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, and later of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

and its dominions. During the Republic's early centuries, it was a force comprising an urban

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. During Venice's imperial age in the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...

and the Venetian expansion into mainland Italy (

Terraferma The ( vec, domini de terraferma or , ) was the hinterland territories of the Republic of Venice beyond the Adriatic coast in Northeast Italy. They were one of the three subdivisions of the Republic's possessions, the other two being the origina ...

) in the 15th century, its conflicts with the Duchy of Milan, the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, and even

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, required the Venetian government to raise armies of tens of thousands. Given Venice's small population and the Venetians' traditional preoccupation with naval affairs, these armies were mostly composed of mercenaries (such as the Balkan or the companies of the various ). Venetian noblemen served as commanders in or accompanied these armies as representatives of the Republic, but for most of subsequent Venetian history, their captain-generals were usually distinguished mercenary captains. A further problem for Venice was the need to station permanent garrisons in their overseas colonies. During the Ottoman–Venetian Wars, primacy was usually held by the commanders of the Venetian navy, and the army forces served without distinction as shipborne infantry, in the field, or as garrisons of fortresses. During these conflicts, the Venetian forces also incorporated a number of allied forces from other Italian states. In the 16th century, the local militias were organized into the system and a small permanent peacetime force of professional soldiers was created, to be augmented with mercenaries in wartime. During the 17th century, the Republic hired foreign regiments—usually from Germany or Switzerland—for service by treaty with foreign princes. By the early 18th century, the regimental system had been firmly established, with the Venetian units separated into (recruited in Italy), (Swiss, Germans, and other from 'beyond the mountains'), and (recruited from the Republic's overseas possessions in the Balkans). This system lasted, with some changes, until the

Fall of the Republic of Venice The fall of the Republic of Venice was a series of events that culminated on 12 May 1797 in the dissolution and dismemberment of the Republic of Venice at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte and Habsburg Austria. In 1796, the young general Napoleo ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

in 1797.

Sources

* * * * * * * {{Republic of Venice topics 1797 disestablishments Disbanded armies Army Medieval armies

See also

Sources