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A map of the Venetian Lagoon (Laguna Veneta) and the surrounding cities of Venice, Murano, and Lido.
Three wars between Hungary and Venice that took place during the reign of Hungarian king Louis I (“The Great,” 1342–1382). At that time both the Hungarian kingdom and the Venetian republic were prosperous and major powers in southern Europe. Dalmatia was the major flash point between them. Louis sought to extend Hungarian power into the Balkans and, on the basis of dynastic right, to secure the throne of Naples. Louis’s aspirations in Italy were unacceptable to Venice and to the papacy.
The first war was fought during 1345–1348, with Genoa on Louis’s side. Doge of Venice Andrew Dandolo ordered the siege of Zara, under Hungarian rule, and a rival trading city to Venice on the Adriatic. The city was well fortified and resisted. In July 1348 Louis attacked the Venetian siege positions but was defeated. His army, which was principally of mounted knights, was unable to achieve any significant success against the Venetian fortified positions, and Louis decided to return home. The decision was also forced by the situation in Naples, where the king, Louis’s younger brother, had been murdered. Zara continued to resist the Venetians but finally had to surrender in December. The first war ended with a cease-fire concluded on 5 August 1348, under the terms of which Hungary accepted Venetian rule in Dalmatia in return for which the trade and logistics routes between Hungary and Naples would remain open.
The second war occurred during 1356–1358. Peace talks started in Buda in 1349, but no agreement was possible because both parties wanted to rule Dalmatia. Louis began this second war in 1356. He divided his forces near Zagreb and sent the viceroy of Croatia to besiege Zara, while he led the main forces against the Venetian continental territories known as Terra Ferma. Following a few successful minor battles and sieges, in July Louis initiated a siege of Treviso. The city was close to capitulation when in November papal mediation brought about a cease-fire.
Louis’s plan to attack Venice’s mainland territories, where it could not use its formidable fleet, was brilliant, but the Hungarian forces lacked adequate siege equipment. Treviso pinned down the stronger Hungarian land forces, and they were unable to engage the Venetians in open battle.
Peace talks were again unsuccessful, and Louis changed his strategy. Instead of a large heavy force, he sent smaller cavalry units to raid the Venetian hinterland. He also ordered the viceroy of Croatia John Csuzi to carry out the same tactics in Dalmatia. These were successful, as the exhausted Dalmatian cities changed sides. The war ended with a peace agreement on 18 February 1358, with Venice giving up its claims to Dalmatia; Louis’s forces departed Terra Ferma and freedom of the trade on the Adriatic was established.
In 1370 Louis acquired Poland from his uncle. The third war with Venice occurred during 1372–1381. Venice attacked Louis’s ally Prince Francis Carrara of Padua in 1371, and the Hungarians came to his rescue in 1372. Carrara and the Hungarians defeated the Venetian forces at the Battle of Piave di Sacco but failed to take Treviso. This led to a disadvantageous peace for Padua.
Hungary, Genoa, and Padua formed a new alliance against Venice in 1378, but after a Venetian victory at sea, the allies turned to the old strategy of raiding the Venetian land supply lines. The year 1379 brought successes to the allies. They defeated the Venetian fleet at Pola, and Charles of Durazzo, the new Hungarian commander in chief, besieged Treviso. Finally, the allied forces occupied Choggia, the “gateway to Venice.” An exhausted Venice sued for peace, but the alliance broke up and Venice was able to retake Choggia.
The wars between Hungary and Venice ended by the peace of Turin on 8 August 1381. Its terms were advantageous to Hungary. Venice had to pay an annual tribute to Hungary and lost Dalmatia. But it had survived the war and maintained a leading role in Adriatic trade.
References and further reading:
Bánlaki, József, of Doberdo. A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme (The Military History of the Hungarian Nation).Vol. 8. Budapest: Grill, 1934.
Kristó, Gyula. Az Anjou kor háborúi (The Wars of the Anjou Era). Budapest: Zrínyi, 1988.
Molnár, Erik, ed. Magyarország története (History of Hungary).Vol. 1. 2d ed. Budapest: Gondolat, 1967.
Ráth, Károly. Magyar királyok hadjáratai utazásai és tartózkodási helyei (Campaigns, Travels, and Residences of the Hungarian Kings). Gyor,Hungary: Sauervein, 1861.
