Editing Pisa (section)

===12th century===
In 1113, Pisa and [[Pope Paschal II]] set up, together with the count of [[Barcelona]] and other contingents from [[Provence]] and Italy (Genoese excluded), [[1113-1115 Balearic Islands expedition|a war to free the Balearic Islands]] from the [[Moors]]; the queen and the king of [[Mallorca]] were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the [[Almoravides]] soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the [[Piazza del Duomo, Pisa|cathedral]], and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the [[Western Mediterranean]].

In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop [[Pietro Moriconi]], drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with [[Languedoc]], [[Provence]] ([[Noli]], [[Savona]], [[Fréjus]], and [[Montpellier]]) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as [[Hyères]], [[Fos-sur-Mer|Fos]], [[Antibes]], and [[Marseille]].

The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults.

In June 1135, [[Bernard of Clairvaux]] took a leading part in the [[Council of Pisa (1135)|Council of Pisa]], asserting the claims of Pope [[Innocent II]] against those of Pope [[Anacletus II]], who had been elected pope in 1130 with [[Normans|Norman]] support, but was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king [[Roger II of Sicily]]. [[Amalfi]], one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from [[Aversa]]. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked [[Salerno]].
[[File:Pisa.Campo.wall.jpg|thumb|right|New city walls, erected in 1156 by Consul Cocco Griffi]]
In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the [[Ghibelline]] party. This was much appreciated by [[Frederick Barbarossa|Frederick I]]. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from [[Civitavecchia]] to [[Portovenere]], a half of [[Palermo]], [[Messina]], [[Salerno]] and [[Naples]], the whole of [[Gaeta]], [[Mazara del Vallo|Mazara]], and [[Trapani]], and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the [[Kingdom of Sicily]]. Some of these grants were later confirmed by [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]], [[Otto IV]], and [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]]. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as [[Lucca]], [[Massa, Tuscany|Massa]], [[Volterra]], and [[Florence]], thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of [[Montignoso]] and mainly the control of the {{lang|it|[[Via Francigena]]}}, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa.

Genoa had acquired a dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the [[Rhône]], when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of [[Toulouse]], failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was [[Sicily]], where both the cities had privileges granted by [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]]. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of [[Syracuse, Italy|Syracuse]] in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new [[Pope Innocent III]], though removing the [[excommunication]] cast over Pisa by his predecessor [[Pope Celestine III|Celestine III]], allied himself with the [[Guelphs and Ghibellines|Guelph League]] of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated{{what|reason=Wrong word?|date=August 2023}} a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy.

To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, [[Narbonne]], [[Barcelona]], etc.) and tried to defy the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] rule of the [[Adriatic Sea]]. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor [[Manuel Comnenus]] in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with [[Ancona]], [[Pula]], [[Zadar|Zara]], [[Split, Croatia|Split]], and [[Brindisi]]; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town.

{{wide image| File:Piazza del Duomo Pisa 7.jpg|540px|align-cap=center|''View of the [[Piazza dei Miracoli]]''}}

One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans violated it by blockading the [[port of Brindisi]] in [[Apulia]]. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople.