ADRIATIC SEA neighbors, such as Hungary, Bulgaria, and Albania, all of whom wanted the land. Th e arrival of the Ottoman Turks created another hostile member to the region. Th e rivalry between Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christianity is still being played out today, albeit complicated by the addition of Islam by the Ottomans. Historically, however, the importance of the Adriatic has been trade. Inland from Dalmatia, Hungary was rich in gold, silver, and base metals such as copper, lead, and iron. Trade either went through land-based routes over the top of the Adriatic Sea to Venice, or followed river valleys down to the coast. For most of the Middle Ages, local lords controlled the lands immediately along the Balkan side of the Adriatic, only rarely on behalf of one of the major powers. Th is meant that maritime commerce, especially for the great emporium of Venice, required treaties, resident diplomats in commercial enclaves, or outright domination of the ports. Oftentimes, Venice tried to exert its infl uence, diplomatically and militarily, by dictating to the Dalmatian cities how they should conduct their business. A prime example of their aggressive attitude is their use of the Fourth Crusade’s warriors to bring Zara under Venetian control in  c.e. Th e Ottomans threatened to make the Adriatic a Muslim sea when they Map of the Adriatic Sea
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