ABSTRACT
When called to the aid of the Crusaders aer the Ager Sanguinis in 1119, Doge Domenico Michiel of Venice provided a eet to assist in the conquest of Tyre. He also seized the opportunity to further Venetian interests. On both its outbound and return voyages, the Venetian Crusading expedition raided Byzantine islands in an attempt to force Emperor John II Comnenus (1118-1143) to restore trading privileges revoked a few years earlier. is essay investigates the particulars of this conict, which set the tone for later relations. Although tensions had existed between Venice and the Byzantine Empire before this time, they had maintained a close military and economic association, in which Byzantium was the senior partner. However, Venice’s successful campaign to force John II into granting concessions established a new hierarchy in the relationship. ough later emperors sought to contain the Venetians, they would not again be able to treat them as inferior partners. Further, the conict created an atmosphere of mistrust that would taint all future interactions.
