Dandalo, Andreas

   Doge of Venice (q.v.) from 1343-1354; chronicler. Byzantium (q.v.) progressively tottered on the brink of collapse while he was doge. His response was to loan Byzantium yet more money (30,000 ducats), for which Anne of Savoy (q.v.), regent for the young John V (q.v.), pawned the crown jewels as security. He continued to wage war in Byzantine waters against arch-rival Genoa (q.v.), which dominated trade in the Black Sea (q.v.). In 1352 an indecisive battle was fought in the Bosporos (q.v.) between the two foes, with John V providing 14 ships to help the Venetians. Dandalo's chronicle (q.v.) begins with the foundation of Venice (q.v.) and goes down to 1354. Up to 1008 it relies on the Chronicon Venetum (q.v.), the oldest history of Venice. But thereafter its importance as an historical source increases, especially for the years Dandalo was in power. As one might expect, he idolizes his ancestor, doge Enrico Dandalo (q.v.).