BY MEHMET HASAN BULUT ARTS JUL 04, 2021 The winged lion of Venice tried to assassinate Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, the great eagle, following his rapid advance towards Italy, seizing the Venetian colonies one by one Venice, whose name we hear only as a popular tourist destination today, was once one of the richest and most powerful states in history, and it used to be a republic. Don’t let the name republic fool you (it is almost synonymous with democracy in the present day), as the common people had no say in the administration. The government was in the hands of a merchant aristocratic class who retain their power and wealth even today.