An early 16th-century illustration of Venice by Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis, published in his navigational 'Kitab-i-Bahriye'.

For centuries Venice was Europe's prime trading partner with the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire in particular. Venetian naval and commercial power was unrivalled in Europe until it lost a series of wars to the Ottoman armies in the 15th century. The city lost some 50,000 people to the Black Death in 1575-77, but remained a major manufacturing center and port well into the 18th century. (Photo by: Pictures From History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)