Relations with Byzantium In 992 Pietro II Orseolo concluded a treaty with the Byzantine emperor
Basil II to transport Byzantine troops in exchange for commercial privileges in
Constantinople. Following repeated complaints by the
Dalmatian city-states in 997, the Venetian fleet under Orseolo attacked the Neretvian
pirates of
Neretva (
Narentines) on
Ascension Day in 998. Pietro then took the title of
Dux Dalmatianorum (Duke of the Dalmatians), associating it with his son
Giovanni Orseolo.
Scorched earth policy On 9 May 1000 Doge Pietro II decided to finally
pacify the Croatians and the Narentines during the last
Croatian-Bulgarian wars, protecting Venetian trade colonies and the interests of Romanized Dalmatians. Without difficulties, his fleet of six ships scorched the entire eastern half of the Adriatic coast, with only the Neretvians offering resistance. After the Neretvians stole goods and captured forty traders from
Zadar, the Doge dispatched ten ships that caught the Neretvians near the island of Kača. He captured them all and brought them triumphantly to
Split. There, Neretvian emissaries requested the release of the prisoners. Pietro II agreed provided that the Neretvian Archont himself agreed to bow before him. Moreover, the Neretvians would also have to renounce the old tax that Venetia had to pay since 948, and guarantee safe passage to Venetian ships in the Adriatic. Pietro II released all prisoners except for six Narentines, whom he kept as hostages. The mainland Narentines were thus pacified; the citizens of
Korčula decided to wage war against Orseolo, but were eventually conquered.
Lastovo however, continued to resist Venetian incursions. The island was infamous for being a pirate haven. In the effort to decisively quell further opposition, Pietro II ordered the evacuation of the island city. Despite continuing opposition, he eventually
razed Lastovo to the ground. At the same time that Pietro II subjugated Lastovo, the former Croatian king
Svetoslav Suronja fled to Venice after being deposed by his two brothers. To bolster his weakened position, King
Stephen I of Croatia married Pietro II Orseolo's daughter, Joscella (Hicela) Orseolo. Their son
Peter Krešimir IV became king in Croatia in 1059. Pietro II Orseolo was married to Maria Candiano, the daughter of doge
Vitale Candiano and niece of doge
Pietro IV Candiano. Their son Giovanni was associated with his father in the dogeship in 1003, and on his death in 1007 his brother
Ottone took his place. Ottone later succeeded his father as the doge of Venice until 1026, while his son
Peter reigned as
King of Hungary. Pietro's younger son Domenico Orseolo's children settled in
Ravenna and became the stem of the
Orsini family. == Legacy ==