,*'|; 



%x 





,i^ 



■JM 



Bl 



A G1.IA1PSE: OF the; murai. di;corations of ST. mark's 



After the Venetians found themselves able to repel the forces of Pepin, they began their 

 career of conquest by taking the coasts of Istria and Dalmatia, later acquiring territory in 

 the_ Levant and the Greek archipelago, and finally conquering Constantinople. The Crusades, 

 which impoverished the rest of Europe, doubly enriched Venice. She had the carrying and 

 transport trade in her own hands, and her conquests gave her the spoil of many Eastern 

 States. 



604 



