Doge

doj, the chief magistrate of Venice. The term is derived from the Latin dux, and corresponds to duke. The duties of the doge were akin to those of mayor, except that he held his position for life and exercised nearly absolute power. The doge of Venice not infrequently declared war or made peace entirely on his own motion. He rewarded his friends, imprisoned and executed his enemies almost as absolutely as the Sultan of Turkey. The term is first heard of about the year 697. The dignity was extinguished by the army of the French Revolutionists in 1797. The term was similarly used, though for a shorter time, in the city of Genoa. See Venice; Bridge Of Sighs