Orso Ipato (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: ''Ursus Hypatus''; died 737) was the third traditional

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 ...

(726–737) and the first historically known. During his eleven-year reign, he brought great change to the Venetian navy, aided in the recapture of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

from Lombard invaders, and cultivated harmonious relations with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. He was murdered in 737 during a civil conflict.

History

Perhaps a native of

Eraclea Eraclea () is a small city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy. It is located on the Adriatic coast between the towns of Caorle and Jesolo. History From its founding until 742 AD, the Republic of Venic ...

, Orso was elected Doge in 726 following the death of

Marcello Tegalliano Marcello Tegalliano ( Latin: ''Marcellus Tegalianus''; died 726) was, according to tradition, the second Doge of Venice (717–726). He is described as having hailed from Eraclea, and during his nine-year reign was apparently in great disag ...

. The Venetian people had elected him against the will of the Byzantine Empire, a consequence of the Byzantines' unwelcome attempts to institute

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be consid ...

in the West. Virtually nothing is known of his life before his accession, though it is reasonable to assume that he was born in the latter part of the seventh century. Doge Orso Ipato

Described by one historian as being a 'warlike man',Knight, p. 234 his reign saw much innovation in the way of martial and naval matters. He focused especially on strengthening the navy against the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

and other like-minded invaders active at the time. Additionally he strove to highlight the importance of military exercises, and to this end established schools in Eraclea where the town's youth were coached in bow and

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar ...

shooting.Wiel, p. 6 Of note was Orso's involvement in the recovery of

following its capture by the Lombard king Liutprand. It is said that, at the request of Exarch Eutychius, Orso sent a fleet of eighty ships to the fore, successfully relieving the city of Lombard control. This feat served to ease relations with the Byzantine Empire, and while Venice by no means accepted its supremacy, the two co-existed in relative concord. For his efforts Orso was awarded the prestigious title ''

hypatos ''Hypatos'' ( gr, ὕπατος; plural: , ''hypatoi'') and the variant ''apo hypatōn'' (, "former ''hypatos''", literally: "from among the consuls") was a Byzantine court dignity, originally the Greek translation of Latin ''consul'' (the litera ...

'' by Emperor Leo the Isaurian. The surname ''Ipato'' is thought to be derived from this imperial honorific. His reign came to an end in 737 in the midst of mounting conflict between

and

Equilio Jesolo or Iesolo (; vec, Gèxoło) is a seaside resort town and '' comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Italy of 26,447 inhabitants. With around six million visitors per year, Jesolo is one of the largest beach resorts in the country, an ...

, described by some as being a full-blown civil war. It is said that the Doge, rather than attempt to calm the situation, sided with the Eracleans and partook in the war – leading a number of his disgruntled subjects to take matters into their own hands and violently kill him. In the years following his death there was an interregnum filled by five ''

magistri militum ( Latin for "master of soldiers", plural ) was a top-level military command used in the later Roman Empire, dating from the reign of Constantine the Great. The term referred to the senior military officer (equivalent to a war theatre commander ...

'', the first of these being

Domenico Leoni Domenico Leoni ( Latin: ''Dominicus Leo Abrogatis''; life dates unknown) was a Byzantine '' magister militum per Venetiae'' in charge of Venice in 738. Following the murder of the doge Orso Ipato in 737, the Exarch of Ravenna imposed administration ...

. The office of doge was later restored with the election of Orso's son, Teodato, in 742.

Notes

Sources

* Norwich, John Julius. ''A History of Venice''.

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers i ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 1982. *''The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: Volume 26''. Charles Knight:

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 1843. *Wiel, Alethea. ''The Navy of Venice''. E. P. Dutton:

, 1910. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ipato, Orso 8th-century Doges of Venice Assassinated Italian politicians Byzantine Empire–Republic of Venice relations 726 births 742 deaths