Orso II Participazio
Encyclopedia
Orso II Participazio was the Doge of Venice
from 912 to 932.
In 912 he was kidnapped in the Adriatic by a Serb prince of Zachlumia
by the name of Mihailo Višević
while returning with the Doge's son from an official visit to Constantinople
. Bulgaria
was at war with Byzantium, the sovereign of Venice, so the coastal prince dispatched him to Emperor Simeon of Bulgaria
, hoping he would push off Petar Gojniković's domination in the area.
He was the eighteenth doge of the Republic of Venice
, by tradition (historically, he was the sixteenth). He was elected by the popular assembly. It seems that he was not related to the Participazio family that had already given many dogi to the city. (There was a prior Orso II Participazio who vied for Dogeship in about 887 but appears to have been entirely unrelated.) As soon as elected, he sent his son Pietro to Constantinople in order to re-establish the relationships with the emperor, which his predecessors had neglected; Pietro was named protospatario. The Adriatic was still plagued with Dalmatian, Saracen, and Narentine pirates, but the Doge took no action. He was proclaimed Baduario in Constantinople; his family took this title and modified it, over time, to Badoer , which became a prominent name among successive generations of Veneziana nobility. Under his leadership, Venice acquired a mint. In 932, he withdrew to the monastery of Saint Felice in Ammiana, where he led a monastic life until his death. He was buried there. His portrait is placed in the church of the Madonna of the Garden.
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...
from 912 to 932.
In 912 he was kidnapped in the Adriatic by a Serb prince of Zachlumia
Zachlumia
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
by the name of Mihailo Višević
Mihailo Viševic
Michael of Zahumlje, also known as Michael Višević or rarely as Michael Vuševukčić , was an independent Slavic ruler of Zahumlje , in present-day western Herzegovina and southern Croatia, who flourished in the early part of the 10th century...
while returning with the Doge's son from an official visit to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. Bulgaria
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
was at war with Byzantium, the sovereign of Venice, so the coastal prince dispatched him to Emperor Simeon of Bulgaria
Simeon I of Bulgaria
Simeon I the Great ruled over Bulgaria from 893 to 927, during the First Bulgarian Empire. Simeon's successful campaigns against the Byzantines, Magyars and Serbs led Bulgaria to its greatest territorial expansion ever, making it the most powerful state in contemporary Eastern Europe...
, hoping he would push off Petar Gojniković's domination in the area.
He was the eighteenth doge of the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, by tradition (historically, he was the sixteenth). He was elected by the popular assembly. It seems that he was not related to the Participazio family that had already given many dogi to the city. (There was a prior Orso II Participazio who vied for Dogeship in about 887 but appears to have been entirely unrelated.) As soon as elected, he sent his son Pietro to Constantinople in order to re-establish the relationships with the emperor, which his predecessors had neglected; Pietro was named protospatario. The Adriatic was still plagued with Dalmatian, Saracen, and Narentine pirates, but the Doge took no action. He was proclaimed Baduario in Constantinople; his family took this title and modified it, over time, to Badoer , which became a prominent name among successive generations of Veneziana nobility. Under his leadership, Venice acquired a mint. In 932, he withdrew to the monastery of Saint Felice in Ammiana, where he led a monastic life until his death. He was buried there. His portrait is placed in the church of the Madonna of the Garden.