Dolfin Dolfin or Delfino Delfin, was a Venetian nobleman who served during the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Origin and career

Dolfin Dolfin, was born into the powerful Dolfin family of Venice, one of the oldest and most recognized noble families of the Serenissima. From a young age, he followed the "

cursus honorum The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The '' ...

" of young Venetian noblemen, training in the army, the naval fleet, the law, and affairs of State. When the time came, Dolfin began to serve the Venetian navy, which had the most powerful fleet of its day. His family had a long tradition in the Navy, reaching special notoriety when

Giovanni Dolfin Giovanni Dolfin, also known as Giovanni Delfino or Delfin (died 12 July 1361) was the fifty-seventh Doge of Venice, appointed on August 13, 1356. Despite his value as general, during his reign Venice lost Dalmatia. He was blind from one eye after ...

broke the Hungarian siege of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...

in order to be crowned as

Doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

in 1356. In the 15th century, Venice controlled most of the Mediterranean, and had important interests in the rump

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 ...

. Therefore, when the Ottomans began their siege of the Byzantine capital,

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, the Venetian fleet was immediately involved in its defence. During the siege, Dolfin was commanded to defend the north gate of the city walls, which he managed with great success. When Giacomo Coco, admiral of the Christian fleet died while trying to burn the Turkish fleet, Dolfin was put in charge of it. Dolfin Dolfin survived the fall of the city.

External links

Article about the Siege of Constantinople at deremilitari.org
originally from ''Diary of the Siege of Constantinople 1453'' by

Niccolò Barbaro Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The fe ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dolfin, Dolfin 15th-century Venetian people House of Dolfin Fall of Constantinople People of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars