Stato da Màr
| State of the Sea Stato da Màr (Venetian) | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overseas colonies of the Republic of Venice | |||||||||||||||||
| c. 992–1797 | |||||||||||||||||
Map of the Venetian overseas domains | |||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages – Early Modern | ||||||||||||||||
• Pietro II Orseolo's expedition | Late 10th century | ||||||||||||||||
| 1202–04 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1463–79 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1645–69 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1684–99 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1714–18 | |||||||||||||||||
| 12 May 1797 | |||||||||||||||||
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The Stato da Màr or Domini da Mar (lit. 'State of the Sea' or 'Domains of the Sea'), sometimes described as a maritime empire or overseas empire, comprised the maritime and overseas territories controlled by the Republic of Venice from approximately 1000 until 1797. At various points, these territories included parts of present-day Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece—notably Istria, Dalmatia, the Ionian Islands, the Peloponnese, Crete, the Cyclades, Euboea, and Cyprus.
It was one of the three subdivisions of the Republic of Venice's possessions, the other two being the Dogado, i.e. Venice proper, and the Domini di Terraferma in northern Italy.
The overseas possessions, particularly islands such as Corfu, Crete, and Cyprus, played a critical role in Venice's commercial and military leadership. In his landmark study on the Mediterranean world in the 16th century, historian Fernand Braudel described these islands as "Venice's motionless fleet".