The Venetikà (, ) was a district of the

Exarchate of Ravenna The Exarchate of Ravenna (; ), also known as the Exarchate of Italy, was an administrative district of the Byzantine Empire comprising, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the territories under the jurisdiction of the exarch of Italy (''exarchus ...

founded in 584 by

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, divided from the previous Roman

eparchy Eparchy ( ''eparchía'' "overlordship") is an Ecclesiology, ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. An eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the administra ...

. In 697 the district was raised to the

Duchy of Venice The ''Dogado'', or the Duchy of Venice, was the metropolitan territory of the Republic of Venice, headed by the Doge, traditionally from 697, and up to 1797. It comprised the city of Venice and the narrow coastal strip from Loreo to Grado, tho ...

History and territory

The creation of the district took place in the context of a more general reorganization of the Byzantine imperial possessions in Italy following the disastrous invasion of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, which having started in 568, quickly caused the expulsion of the Byzantines from much of northern and central Italy. However, the lombards were not able to take the Venetian coastal area. The Mauritian reform came just four years after the previous reorganization wanted by

Tiberius II Tiberius II Constantine (; ; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman emperor from 574 to 582. Tiberius rose to power in 574 when Justin II, prior to a mental breakdown, proclaimed him ''caesar'' and adopted him as his own son. In 578, the dying J ...

, resulting in a fragmentation of the provinces that were actually smaller and more self-sufficient from a defensive point of view. The ''Venetikà'' then extended only to the Adriatic coast, with the new lagoon centers arising as a result of the invasions, and a few Roman cities, including

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

Monselice Monselice (; ) is a town and municipality (comune) located in northeastern Italy, in the Veneto region, in the province of Padua about southwest of the city of Padua, at the southern edge of the Euganean Hills (''Colli Euganei''). ''Monselic ...

, Opitergio and Altino. The latter were however soon removed from the Byzantines by Lombard pressure, forcing them to retreat to the lagoons. Even the patriarch, the highest ecclesiastical authority, moved from

Aquileia Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small ( ...

Grado Grado may refer to: People * Cristina Grado (1939–2016), Italian film actress * Jonathan Grado (born 1991), American entrepreneur and photographer * Francesco De Grado (fl. 1694–1730), Italian engraver * Gaetano Grado, Italian mafioso * Grad ...

. In the face of the relentless decline of imperial control over Italy and the growing weakness of Exarchate, threatened in its own capital,

Ravenna Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) 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 during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...

, around 697 the Venetia was, like many other Italic possessions, assigned to the government of a duke. As imperial control weakened, the new duchy acquired more and more independence until it became the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

. The ''Venétikoi'', the inhabitants of the ''Venetikà'', through ingenuity and hard work, were able to turn a poor and unappealing land into a conglomerate of industrious islands. They are the ancestors of the modern Venetians.

References

{{Reflist History of Venice History of Veneto Provinces of the Byzantine Empire 584 establishments