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The 'Repubbliche Marinare' (Italian for "'Maritime Republics'") is the collective name of a number of important city-states which flourished in Italy and Dalmatia in the Middle Ages. Traditionally the major four are taken to be Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa and Venice, whose coats of arms appear in the flag of the Marina Militare (Italian Navy). These states^[1] competed with each other both militarily and commercially. From the 10th to the 13th centuries these cities built fleets of ships both for their own protection and to support extensive trade networks across the Mediterranean, and had an essential role in the Crusades. As they found themselves in competition, these republics engaged in shifting alliances and warfare.
The four classic Maritime Republics in Italy are the ones given above, and they are always given in that order, reflecting the temporal sequence of their dominance. However, other towns in Italy also have a history of being Maritime Republics, though historically less prominent. These include Gaeta, Ancona, Molfetta, Trani and, in Dalmatia, Ragusa and Zara.
The Maritime Republics were city-states. They were generally republics in that they were formally independent, though most of them originated from territories once belonging to the Byzantine Empire (the main exceptions being Genoa and Pisa). All these cities during the time of their independence had similar (though not identical) systems of government in which the merchant class had considerable power.
The Maritime Republics were heavily involved in the Crusades, providing support but most especially taking advantage of the political and trading opportunities resulting from these wars. The Fourth Crusade, notionally intended to "liberate" Jerusalem, actually entailed the Venetian conquest of Zara and Constantinople.
Each of the Maritime Republics over time had dominion over different overseas lands, including many of the islands of the Mediterranean and especially Sardinia and Corsica, lands on the Adriatic, and lands in the Near East and North Africa.

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Notes

1. The definition of "republic" can be deceptive, since the type of government varied from city and city, as well as by the epoch.

See also

★ Historical states of Italy

★ Byzantine Empire

★ Crusades

★ Battle of Meloria

★ Outremer