sailing in a ship flying the cross of
St George The territory subjected to the Republic of Pisa has had important variations over the centuries. During the period of great political and economic expansion, the republic had its own consoles with commercial farms and warehouses in many seaside cities:
Gaeta,
Naples,
Salerno,
Messina,
Palermo,
Trapani,
Mazara del Vallo and in
Tunis. Pisan troops were among the first to
conquer Jerusalem in 1099, and were led by their archbishop,
Dagobert, the future
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. With significant presences in the
Levant, in the
Byzantine Empire and in the Crusader states of
Palestine, particularly in
Constantinople (where the Byzantine Emperor
Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights),
Antioch,
Latakia,
Tyre,
Acre,
Jaffa,
Tripoli,
Alexandria and
Cairo. In all these cities the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to their defense in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. The well-known "Società dei Vermigli" was established in
Tyre and was reported in the defense of the city against the attack by
Saladin in 1187. After the
defeat of Meloria in 1284, the territory of the Republic gradually became more continental, limiting itself to the coast and to the immediate hinterland that from
Migliarino to
Piombino, with the islands of
Elba,
Gorgona,
Pianosa,
Giglio and
Giannutri and the exclaves of
Castiglione della Pescaia and
Porto Ercole. The important Pisan port, key to the entire state economy, was defended by some towers on the sea and on the land side by a fortified system of fortresses on the hills behind, having
Lari as the seat of the captaincy of the upper hills,
Crespina,
Fauglia, Castellina,
Rosignano and finally
Livorno with the plan of
Porto Pisano, essential outlet to dominate the western Mediterranean, while the area that intersected the Arno with the Valdera was defended by the castles of Appiano, Petriolo, Montecuccoli and finally, by order of foundation, that of
Ponte di Sacco (1392). Inland, in perennial struggle with the
Republic of Lucca, the
Republic of Florence and
Volterra, its borders were very fluctuating having as contested castles those of
Buti,
Palaia,
Peccioli,
Montopoli (until 1349),
Lajatico,
Chianni ( until 1325),
Santa Maria a Monte,
Pontedera and in
Vecchiano. The main strongholds were the Verruca fortress, near
Calci, which served as the cornerstone of the mountain defensive system on the Lucca border that ran from the ancient
lago di Bientina to the
Serchio with the castles of
Caprona,
Vicopisano,
Asciano and
Agnano. On the Florentine road to block the access to Pisa there was the castle of
Cascina, the scene of important
Battle of Cascina.
Castelnuovo di Val di Cecina was long disputed by Volterra. The Maremma territory south of the port of
Vada was administered in the name of the republic by the Pisan counts of
Della Gherardesca family with the castles located in numerous cities such as of
Guardistallo,
Bibbona,
Riparbella and
Suvereto. File:Marciana Marina - Pisanischer Wachtturm 1.jpg|Pisan watchtower on
Elba built by the Republic as a defence against Saracen pirates File:Arte islamica, ippogrifo, XI sec 03.JPG|The
Pisa Griffin – a spoil from one of Pisa's many campaigns against Islamic strongholds File:A Classical View of Leaning Tower in Pisa.jpg|The flag of Pisa (
Pisan cross) flying on the
Leaning Tower of Pisa (built 12th–14th century) == Decline==