History of the Republic of Venice and his dogeship was marked by the expansion of Venice towards the sea via the construction of bridges, canals, bulwarks, fortifications, and stone buildings. The modern Venice, at one with the sea, was being born. Agnello was succeeded by his son Giustiniano, who brought the body of Saint Mark the Evangelist to Venice from Alexandria and made him the patron saint of Venice. During the reign of the successor of the Participazio, Pietro Tradonico, Venice began to establish its military might which would influence many a later crusade and dominate the Adriatic for centuries, and signed a trade agreement with
Captain of the Gulf appointment of a Captain of the Gulf and the galley captains ("sopracomiti") for the galleys to be outfitted in Venice. The commanders of the galleys equipped by Venetian colonies were decided by the local colonists. In the 16th century, the Captain of the Gulf, at the head of a squadron that in peacetime numbered 7 to 12 galleys, patrolled the seas around the Venetian Ionian Islands. In wartime, the Great Council authorized the creation of a fleet under the Captain-General of the Sea, who led the fleet on overseas campaigns, e.g. in the Aegean Sea or the Levant; the Captain