Srednjovjekovno djelo Obsidio Iadrensis / Opsada Zadra kao povijesni izvor za prikaz vojnopomorske moći Venecije u 14. stoljeću
The medieval work Obsidio Iadrensis (The Siege of Zadar) as a historical source on the naval power of Venice in the 14th century

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the structure and functioning of the Venetian military using the example of the siege of Zadar from 12 August 1345 to 21 December 1346. The research was conducted on the basis of a textual analysis of the work Obsidio Iadrensis (The Siege of Zadar) as the primary source that describes the wartime events in that period. In the course of research, use was made of existing data on the siege of Zadar in 1345-1346 which remained recorded in individual Venetian and Hungarian narrative sources and in the decisions of the Venetian Senate from the State Archives in Venice (Archivio di Stato di Venezia).The objective of the research was to determine the key data contained in the work Obsidio Iadrensis for descriptions of the military and naval power of the Venice in the fourteenth century. The intent of this analysis is to ascertain the quantity of data and its credibility in relation to other sources which speak of the same event.Research has shown that the data in Obsidio Iadrensis pertaining to the Venetian preparatory military and diplomatic activities are meagre and do not provide sufficient insight into the extensive military preparations undertaken by the Venetian authorities. However, Obsidio Iadrensis is the only historical source that contains transcripts of the doge’s official letters to the denizens of Zadar, which testify to the existence of a secret plan by the Venetian authorities to send an army against Zadar. The decisions of the Venetian Senate also attest to this. The data on the Venetian command are also scant and do not provide enough insight into the overall Venetian military organization. The most important data in Obsidio Iadrensis are those which pertain to the description of military operations (battles and military tactics) and the military potential of the Venetian military (personnel, military equipment and arms).

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