Domenico Selvo was the 31st Doge of Venice, serving from 1071 to 1084. During his reign as Doge, his domestic policies, the alliances that he forged, and the battles that the Venetian military won and lost laid the foundations for much of the subsequent foreign and domestic policy of the Republic of Venice. He avoided confrontations with the Byzantine Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Roman Catholic Church at a time in European history when conflict threatened to upset the balance of power. At the same time, he forged new agreements with the major nations that would set up a long period of prosperity for the Republic of Venice. Through his military alliance with the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos awarded Venice economic favors with the declaration of a Golden Bull that would allow for the development of the republic's international trade over the next few centuries. Within the city itself, he supervised a longer period of the construction of the modern St Mark's Basilica than any other Doge. The basilica's complex architecture and expensive decorations stand as a testament to the prosperity of Venetian traders during this period. The essentially democratic way in which he not only was elected but also removed from power was part of an important transition of Venetian political philosophy. The overthrow of his rule in 1084 was one of many forced abdications in the early history of the republic that further blurred the lines between the powers of the Doge, the common electorate, and the nobility.
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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1099: First Crusade: Godfrey of Bouillon was elected the first Protector of the Holy Sepulchre in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_of_Bouillon)
1793: Two days after becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing north of Mexico, Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander MacKenzie reached the westernmost point of his journey and inscribed his name on a rock using a reddish paint made of vermilion and rendered bear fat. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_MacKenzie)
1812: Peninsular War: Near Salamanca, Spain, an Anglo-Portuguese force led by Arthur Wellesley inflicted a severe defeat on Marshal Auguste Marmont and his French troops in the Battle of Salamanca. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Salamanca)
1933: Wiley Post became the first pilot to fly a fixed-wing aircraft solo around the world. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiley_Post)
1946: An Irgun bomb destroyed the headquarters of the British Mandate of Palestine at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, killing about 90 people and injuring 45 others. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel_bombing)
2003: Coalition forces attacked a compound in Mosul, Iraq, killing two of Saddam Hussein's sons, Uday and Qusay, the "aces of hearts and clubs" on the U.S. list of most-wanted Iraqis after the invasion of Iraq. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uday_Hussein)
_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:
malinger: To feign illness, injury, or incapacitation in order to avoid work or obligation. (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/malinger)
_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:
Life is not lost by dying! Life is lost Minute by minute, day by dragging day, In all the thousand, small, uncaring ways, The smooth appeasing compromises of time, Which are King Herod and King Herod's men, Always and always. Life can be Lost without vision but not lost by death, Lost by not caring, willing, going on Beyond the ragged edge of fortitude To something more — something no man has ever seen. -- Stephen Vincent Benét -- (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stephen_Vincent_Ben%C3%A9t)
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