The article is devoted to the study of the activities of the famous cardinal Bessarion of Nicaea in the initial period of the Ottoman-Venetian war of 1463-1479. Open accession of the Republic of St. Mark to a crusade against the Turks was a significant achievement of papal diplomacy and a serious step towards the implementation of the decisions of the Council of Mantua (1459-1460). An analysis of official documents, business and personal correspondence shows that Bessarion, who was in Venice as legatus de latere , tried to establish interaction between the ecclesiastical and secular authorities of La Serenissima and made contribution to the spiritual and material support of the military campaign by available means.
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