Venice, strategically positioned at the head of…

Venice, strategically positioned at the head of the Adriatic, has from the ninth century developed into a city state (an Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara, the other three being Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi).

The city has become a flourishing trade center between Western Europe and the rest of the world, especially the Roman Empire of Constantinople and the Islamic world.

At the beginning of the twelfth century, the foundations of Venice's naval and commercial power begin to be laid: the state naval yard known as the Arsenal has been under construction in 1104.

The joining of the Croatian and Hungarian crowns in 1102 has automatically made Venice and Hungary rivals for domination of Dalmatia.

Hungary seeks access to the sea, while Venice wishes to secure its trade routes to the eastern Mediterranean and to use Dalmatian timber for shipbuilding.

From 1115 (and lasting until 1420), the two powers will wage twenty-one wars for control of the region and Dalmatian cities will change hands repeatedly.