The Doge of Venice (/doʊdʒ/; Venetian: Doxe de Venexia [ˈdɔːze de veˈnɛsja]; Italian: Doge di Venezia [ˈdɔːdʒe di veˈnɛttsja]; all derived from Latin dūx, "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian Duca), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for 1,100 years (697-1797). Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the man selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city. The doge was neither a du...