Early Venice
Venice didn’t appear out of nothing – there was something before which led to the Venice we know as the Serenissima.
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The letters of Cassiodorus
The earliest written source related to the inhabitants of the Venetian lagoons, is a letter from Cassiodorus, written in 537.
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The demise of the Exarchate
The events around the demise of the Exarchate of Ravenna only involved the Venetians marginally. It is nevertheless important to the history of Venice.
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The Exarchate and the Papacy
Venetia existed within the Exarchate of Ravenna, as part of the Byzantine Empire, and what happened in the Exarchate mattered to Venetia.
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Marcellus — Byzantine or Venetian?
The second doge of Venice, Marcellus, might not have been a Venetian duke, but a Byzantine official.
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The Dogado and the first doges
Venice started as a Byzantine duchy, ruled by a “dux”, but at some point, they started choosing their own dux — or doge. When, or even who, is not clear.
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Paulicius — the first doge of Venice?
Was the first doge really the first? Did he even exist? And if he didn’t, why is he there? There are some serious questions about doge Paulicius (697·717) to be examined.
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The “Chronica per extensum descripta” by Andrea Dandolo
The “Chronica per extensum descripta” by doge Andrea Dandolo was an influential early chronicle for the history of Venice.
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Venetia et Histria
The name Venice is from the ancient tribe of the Veneti, whose lands became a Roman province, with the name of “Venetia et Histria”
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The Medieval Landscape
There were more lagoons on the coast of Venetia than what exists today, and even the lagoon landscapes were different. In fact, had it been left to nature, there would have been no lagoons today.
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Exarchs of Ravenna
An incomplete list of the Byzantine exarchs (vice-emperors) of the Exarchate of Ravenna.