A 1277 treaty between Venice and Byzantium paused centuries of naval rivalry
The signing of a 1277 treaty between the Republic of Venice and the Byzantine Empire temporarily halted a brutal maritime rivalry that had redefined power in the Mediterranean.
In March 1277, the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus and Venetian envoys signed a critical two-year extension of their peace agreement. This treaty was a diplomatic chess move designed to prevent Venice from joining a crusade against the recently restored Byzantine capital of Constantinople.
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