Editing Doge of Venice (section)

===Byzantine era===
The first Doge of Venice, [[Paolo Lucio Anafesto]], was elected in 698 and served until 717.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Bertolizio |first=Giorgio |title=Dogi: Nullità al potere |language=it}}</ref> Anafesto was not a typical Venetian Doge, as he was a subject of [[Byzantium]].<ref name=":0" /> While he is considered to be the first Doge of Venice, Venetians were not truly free from the Byzantine Empire until 742.

While it is not known for certain, historians widely accept that Anafesto was born in [[Oderzo]], a city in modern-day Veneto.<ref name=":0" /> Historians are unsure of how and where Anafesto died. According to some, he was the victim of a conspiracy hatched by the nobles of [[Malamocco]] in 717.<ref name=":0" /> Others suggest that he died in the ducal residence of [[Eraclea]].<ref name=":0" /> Another theory suggests he died in battle in 728, after being promoted to [[exarch]] of [[Ravenna]].<ref name=":0" />

Not much is known about the second Doge of Venice, [[Marcello Tegalliano]], who ruled from 717 to 726.<ref name=":0" /> At the time of his appointment, the duchy was in turmoil as a result of growing tensions between pro-Lombard bishop of Aquileia and the pro-Byzantine leaders of Grado.<ref name=":0" />

In the latter half of the eighth century, [[Maurizio Galbaio|Mauritius Galba]] was elected duke and took the title {{lang|la|magister militum, consul et imperialis dux Veneciarum provinciae}}, 'master of the soldiers, consul and imperial duke of the province of Venice'.{{sfn|Nicol|1988|pp=10–12}} Doge [[Giustiniano Participazio|Justinian Partecipacius]] (d. 829) used the title {{lang|la|imperialis hypatus et humilis dux Venetiae}}, 'imperial ''hypatos'' and humble duke of Venice'.<ref>[[J. B. Bury]], ''A History of the Eastern Roman Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil I (A.D. 802–867)'' (Macmillan, 1912), p. 327.</ref>

These early titles combined [[Byzantine bureaucracy and aristocracy|Byzantine honorifics]] and explicit reference to Venice's subordinate status.{{sfn|Nicol|1988|p=24}} Titles like {{Transliteration|el|hypatos}}, {{Transliteration|el|[[spatharios]]}}, {{Transliteration|el|[[protospatharios]]}}, {{Transliteration|el|[[protosebastos]]}} and {{Transliteration|el|[[protoproedros]]}} were granted by the emperor to the recipient for life but were not inherent in the office ({{lang|grc|ἀξία διὰ βραβείου}}, {{Transliteration|el|axia dia brabeiou}}), but the title {{Transliteration|el|doux}} belonged to the office ({{lang|grc|ἀξία διὰ λόγου}}, {{Transliteration|el|axia dia logou}}). Thus, into the eleventh century the Venetian doges held titles typical of Byzantine rulers in outlying regions, such as [[Byzantine Sardinia|Sardinia]].<ref name=Pertusi>Agostino Pertusi, "L'Impero bizantino e l'evolvere dei suoi interessi nell'alto Adriatico", in ''Le origini di Venezia'' (Florence: Sansoni, 1964), pp. 57–93, at 75–76.</ref> As late as 1202, the Doge [[Enrico Dandolo]] was styled {{Transliteration|el|protosebastos}}, a title granted to him by [[Alexios III Angelos]].{{sfn|Marin|2004|p=124}}

As Byzantine power declined in the region in the late ninth century, reference to Venice as a province disappeared in the titulature of the doges. The simple titles {{lang|la|dux Veneticorum}} (duke of the Venetians) and {{lang|la|dux Venetiarum}} (duke of the Venetias) predominate in the tenth century.<ref>{{cite book|first=Yves|last= Rénouard|language = fr|title = Les Villes d'Italie, de la fin du Xe sìècle au début du XIVe siècle|volume= 1 |publisher=Société d'édition d'enseignement supérieur|date= 1969|page= 88}}</ref> The plural reflects the doge's rule of several federated townships and clans.<ref name=Hazlitt>[[William Carew Hazlitt]], ''The Venetian Republic: Its Rise, Its Growth, and Its Fall, 421–1797'', Vol. 2 (A. and C. Black, 1900), p. 416.</ref>