Orio Mastropiero (died 13 June 1192), forename sometimes rendered as Aurio and surname as Malipiero, was a Venetian statesman who served as 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 ...

from 1178 to 1192. He was elected by the

Council of Forty The Council of Forty ( it, Consiglio dei Quaranta), also known as the ''Quarantia'', was one of the highest constitutional bodies of the Republic of Venice, with both legal and political functions as the supreme court. Origins and evolution By some ...

in 1178 following the retirement of

Sebastiano Ziani Sebastiano Ziani was Doge of Venice from 1172 to 1178. He was one of the greatest planners of Venice. During his short term as Doge, Ziani divided the city-state into many districts. He realised that the government headquarters were too close ...

. Prior to this he had been an ambassador to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

in 1175, tasked with drawing up a treaty with King William II. He had also been the electors' first choice for Doge following the death of

Vitale II Michiel Vitale II Michiel (also spelled ''Vital II Michiel'') was Doge of Venice from 1156 to 1172. Vitale Michiel became Doge of Venice at a time when Venice's relations with the Byzantine Empire were becoming increasingly strained. At the same time, ...

in 1172, but stepped aside in favour of Sebastiano Ziani, an older and wealthier man. His time in office was mostly unremarkable, apart from a revolt against Venetian rule in Zara, supported by King

Béla III of Hungary Béla III ( hu, III. Béla, hr, Bela III, sk, Belo III; 114823 April 1196) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1172 and 1196. He was the second son of King Géza II and Géza's wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev. Around 1161, Géza granted Béla a ...

. For a long while Venice remained passive, being in financial difficulty; but took action at last in 1187 or 1188 when, having secured loans from the Venetian nobility, Mastropiero launched a siege against the Zaratines. This was short-lived, however, owing to an order from

Pope Gregory VIII Pope Gregory VIII ( la, Gregorius VIII; c. 1100/1105 – 17 December 1187), born Alberto di Morra, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States for two months in 1187. Becoming Pope after a long diplomatic career as Aposto ...

that their warring cease immediately: the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

was about to begin and Christian soldiers would be required in plenty. In May 1192, having taken ill, he abdicated as doge and retired to the monastery of San Croce. He died there on 13 June 1192.

Notes

Sources

* Hodgson, Francis Cotterell (1901). ''The early history of Venice, from the foundation to the conquest of Constantinople, A.D. 1204''.

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George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

. * Oliphant, Margaret (1887). ''The makers of Venice: doges, conquerors, painters, and men of letters''. London: Macmillan. * Smedley, Edward (1832). ''Sketches from Venetian History, Volume 1.'' London: John Murray. * Queller, Donald E., & Madden, Thomas F. (1999). ''The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople''.

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

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. 12th-century Doges of Venice 1192 deaths Year of birth unknown Ambassadors to the Kingdom of Sicily {{Italy-noble-stub