The Venetian army was the army of the city-state of Venice, and later of the Republic of Venice and its dominions. During the Republic's early centuries, it was a force comprising an urban militia.
During Venice's imperial age in the Late Middle Ages and the Venetian expansion into mainland Italy (Terraferma) in the 15th century, its conflicts with the Duchy of Milan, the Papacy, and even France and Hungary, required the Venetian government to raise armies of tens of thousands. Given Venice's small population and the Venetians' traditional preoccupation with naval affairs, these armies were mostly composed of mercenaries (such as the Balkan stradioti or the companies of the various condottieri). Venetian noblemen served as commanders in or accompanied these armies as representatives of the Republic, but for most of subsequent Venetian history, their captain-generals were usually distinguished mercenary captains. A further problem for Venice was the need to station permanent garrisons in their overseas colonies. During the Ottoman–Venetian Wars, primacy was usually held by the commanders of the Venetian navy, and the army forces served without distinction as shipborne infantry, in the field, or as garrisons of fortresses. During these conflicts, the Venetian forces also incorporated a number of allied forces from other Italian states.
In the 16th century, the local militias were organized into the cernida system and a small permanent peacetime force of professional soldiers was created, to be augmented with mercenaries in wartime. During the 17th century, the Republic hired foreign regiments—usually from Germany or Switzerland—for service by treaty with foreign princes. By the early 18th century, the regimental system had been firmly established, with the Venetian units separated into italiani (recruited in Italy), oltramontani (Swiss, Germans, and other from 'beyond the mountains'), and oltramarini (recruited from the Republic's overseas possessions in the Balkans). This system lasted, with some changes, until the Fall of the Republic of Venice to Napoleon in 1797.
The Venetianarmy was the army of the city-state of Venice, and later of the Republic of Venice and its dominions. During the Republic's early centuries...
Morean war (Italian: Guerra di Morea), also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as...
of Maximilian I, King of the Romans, crossing into Venetian territory in February 1508 with his army on the way to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the...
remained uncommitted when, on 25 June 1685, the Venetianarmy, 8,100 men strong, landed outside the former Venetian fort of Koroni and laid siege to it. The...
Republic of Venice (Italian: Repubblica di Venezia; Venetian: Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic, traditionally known as La Serenissima, was...
of the Venetianarmy in defence of Cyprus against invasion by Ottoman Turks. He had recently married Desdemona, a beautiful and wealthy Venetian lady younger...
Venetian Dalmatia (Latin: Dalmatia Veneta) refers to parts of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries...
Venetian red was adopted as the primary uniform colour of the New Model Army, to ease mutual identification on the battlefield. In addition, Venetian...
recruited in western armies is not known. However, under 1371 state decrees of the Venetian Republic those Greeks that lived in Venetian controlled territories...
The Republic of Venice (Venetian: Repùbrega Vèneta; Italian: Repubblica di Venezia) was a sovereign state and maritime republic in Northeast Italy, which...
of Agnadello, the Venetianarmy seemed destined to fall with the Republic of Venice. During the summer, the League of Cambrai's armies, the Holy Roman Empire...
Franco-Venetianarmy led by the Venetian provveditore Zaccaria Sagredo and the French commander Duc de Candale on one side and the Imperial army of Mathias...
his Grand Vizier, Mahmud Pasha Angelović, with an army against the Venetians. To confront the Venetian fleet, which had taken station outside the entrance...
Liberation Army.: 43 The Venetian was built on reclaimed land and its foundation is supported by 1,530 concrete pilings.: 44 The Venetian's facilities...
husband relieved the city. The Venetian fleet withdrew and entrenched while it waited for the arrival of the Venetianarmy. Sforza trapped the fleet behind...
In 1797, the French Army of Italy, commanded by the 28-year-old General Napoleon Bonaparte, occupied Venice, forced the Venetian Republic to dissolve...
the Pope died while the armies were still gathering and the greater European crusade never took place. Together with Venetians, he fought against the Ottomans...
rebelled and surrendered to the Venetianarmy. Padua itself finally fell to the Venetians in November 1405. After the Venetian victory, the Carrara domains...
1499: Venetian invasion of the Duchy of Milan and anti-Sforza revolt inside the city of Milan; the rebels opened the gates to the Venetianarmy commanded...
(Crete) in 1669, the Venetian reconquest of Morea (Peloponnese) in the 1680s and its loss again in 1715. The island of Venetian-ruled Corfu remained the...
which were both a result and cause of Venetian involvement in the power politics of mainland Italy, found Venetian territory extended to the banks of the...
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