History of the Republic of Venice of the Sea" ceremony was established in this period. Orseolo died in 1008. Venice's control over the Adriatic was strengthened by an expedition by Pietro's son Ottone in 1017, by which time Venice had assumed a key role in balancing power between the Byzantine and Holy Roman Empires. During the long Investiture Controversy, an 11th-century dispute between Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Gregory VII over who would control appointments of church officials, Venice remained neutral, and this caused some attrition of support from the Popes. Doge Domenico Selvo intervened in the war between the Normans of Apulia and
Gulf of Sirte Gulf of Sirte Gulf of Sirte (, "Khalij Surt"), or Gulf of Sidra (, "Khalij as-Sidra") after the port of Sidra, is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya. Historically it has been also known as the Great Sirte or Greater Syrtis (Latin: "Syrtis Major", Greek: , contrasting with "Syrtis Minor" in Tunisia). The Gulf of Sirte has been a major centre for tuna fishing in the Mediterranean for centuries. It gives its name to the city of Sirte situated on its western side. The gulf measures from the promontory of Boreum (now