Europe · High and late Middle Ages
Republic of Ragusa
1358–1808
1358–1808. An aristocratic maritime republic centered on Dubrovnik in southern Dalmatia. It gained independence from Venice at the Peace of Zadar (1358).
- Existed
- 1358–1808
- Shown on the map
- 1385–1808
- Peak area
- 1k km²
- Region
- Europe
Overview
1358–1808. An aristocratic maritime republic centered on Dubrovnik in southern Dalmatia. It gained independence from Venice at the Peace of Zadar (1358). Governed by a patrician Senate and a Rector (Knez) whose term lasted only one month to prevent tyranny, its motto was "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro" ("Liberty is not well sold for all the gold"). Following an initial arrangement in 1458, it became an Ottoman tributary, owing the sultan "fidelity," "truthfulness," and "submission," plus an annual tribute (initially 1,500 ducats, defined at 12,500 gold coins by 1481) in exchange for extensive trading privileges throughout the Ottoman realm, while retaining full internal autonomy. Its commercial peak came in the 15th–16th centuries (population ~90,000 in the 16th century). The earthquake of 6 April 1667 killed around 3,000–5,000 people (Robin Harris's Dubrovnik: A History cites ~3,000), including Rector Simone Ghetaldi — the only Rector in the republic's history to die in office — and destroyed most of the city, beginning the republic's decline. Napoleon's forces occupied it in 1806, and Marshal Marmont abolished the republic in 1808, annexing it to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.
Common questions
- What was the Republic of Ragusa?
- 1358–1808. An aristocratic maritime republic centered on Dubrovnik in southern Dalmatia. It gained independence from Venice at the Peace of Zadar (1358).
- When did the Republic of Ragusa exist?
- The Republic of Ragusa existed 1358–1808. On this map it is drawn 1385–1808.
- How large was the Republic of Ragusa?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Republic of Ragusa covered about 1,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each territory as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, academic works (John Fine on the Balkans, Halperin and Martin on Muscovy, Rady and Veszprémy on Hungary) and, for a few entries, the medieval Livonian Chronicle of Henry itself. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Republic of Ragusa en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ragusa
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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