The siege of Lastovo in 1000 was part of the

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of Doge

Pietro II Orseolo Pietro II Orseolo (961−1009) was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009. He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years. He secured his influence in the Dalmatian Romanized settlements from the Croa ...

in southern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and its bloodiest armed conflict between the citizens of

Lastovo Lastovo (; it, Lagosta, german: Augusta, la, Augusta Insula, el, Ladestanos, Illyrian: ''Ladest'') is an island municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 p ...

island and the army 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 ...

. The siege resulted in a Venetian victory and Lastovo was annexed into the Venetian republic.

Background

After the death of Croatian King

Stjepan Držislav Stjepan is a Croatian masculine given name, variant of Stephen, used by ijekavian speakers. In Croatia, the name Stjepan was among the top ten most common masculine given names in the decades up to 1969. Notable people with the name include: * S ...

in 997, an ally of 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 ...

, who ruled in the last three

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s of the 10th century and was recognized by Byzantine emperor as the king of Croatia and Dalmatia, his eldest son and successor Svetoslav Suronja continued the pro-Byzantine policy, but his younger sons

Krešimir Krešimir () is a Croatian given name. It may refer to: *Krešimir Ćosić (1948–1995), Croatian professional basketball player, member of FIBA Hall of Fame and Basketball Hall of Fame * Krešimir Ćosić (politician) (born 1949), Croatian soldie ...

and Gojslav started to organize a rebellion. With the aid of Bulgarian emperor

Samuil Samuel (also Samuil; bg, Самуил, ; mk, Самоил/Самуил, ; Old Church Slavonic: Самоилъ; died October 6, 1014) was the Tsar (''Emperor'') of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 977 to 997, he was ...

, Krešimir and Gojslav managed to remove Svetoslav Suronja from the Croatian throne in 1000 and forced him to seek refuge in Venice. At the same time, Doge Pietro II Orseolo prepared Venetian forces to take control over Dalmatian cities that were part of the Byzantine Empire, Croatia, and Narentines. Since the maritime city populations were mostly

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

, the majority of cities welcomed the Venetian ruler, but some of them did not. In particular, the island of Lastovo fiercely resisted the Venetian incursion.

Siege

The exact date of the siege of Lastovo is not known. According to John the Deacon, Orseolo's chronicler, the doge attended the

Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

on Ascension Day (9 May 1000) in Venice. Then he led his fleet towards

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to visit the

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and on 11 May he sailed southwards. As the fleet reached Lastovo, the residents of the town did not welcome it, but waited behind the city walls, ready to resist. Orseolo ordered them to surrender but they refused, so he started to attack the town. His troops besieged it, trying to break the town gate as well as to seize the towers of the wall. They succeeded in capturing the tower with the water cistern, which was a big setback for the remaining defenders. Finally they were forced to surrender and to lay down their weapons. The doge spared their lives, but gave the order to his soldiers to destroy the defensive walls and to burn down the town. The citizens were moved away to the other side of the island, where they built a new settlement.

Aftermath

Pietro II Orseolo subjected Lastovo to Venetian authority. Then he moved further with his fleet towards

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...

, whose dignitaries showed loyalty to him, and returned subsequently to Venice. He started to carry the title of ''Dux Dalmatianorum'' (Duke of the Dalmatians). For the next few decades, the island of Lastovo remained a Venetian possession. It came back and stayed under Croatian rule during the reign of King Stjepan I (ruled 1030-1058) and his successors. In 1252 the residents of Lastovo decided to join the Community of Dubrovnik (ital. ''Ragusa''), (later

Republic of Dubrovnik hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

References

External links

Doge Pietro II Orseolo concentrated his forces against the islands of Korčula and Lastovo

Doge Orseolo took over many Dalmatian towns and islands

Venetians captured Vis in 998 and Lastovo in 1000

* ttp://www.enciklopedija.hr/Natuknica.aspx?ID=58162 King Stjepan I of Croatia continued policy of integrating Dalmatia into the Kingdom of Croatia {{DEFAULTSORT:Lastovo (1000) 1000 in Europe 10th century in the Republic of Venice Lestovo Battles involving medieval Croatia Lestovo 10th century in Croatia Venetian period in the history of Croatia Sieges involving Croatia Siege of Lastovo 10th-century military history of Croatia 1000

Background

Siege

Aftermath

See also

References

External links