Battle of Makarska
The Battle of Makarska was a major confrontation on the sea between Slavic Narentine pirates and Republic of Venice, which occurred on 18 September 887.
Prelude
In 887, Pietro I Candiano was elected as a Doge of Venice. The Slavic Narentine pirates dominated Adriatic Sea for a long time, which was something Candiano wanted to put an end to. Candiano sent fleet to deal with the Slavic pirates, but these brought no result. However, Candiano wasn't deterred and decided to lead the expedition himself. On August 887, Venetian fleet reached Makra country town and achieved initial success, where they destroyed 5 Narentine ships.Battle
On 18 September, Narentines organised for a battle and were led by Duke Branimir. Doge Candiano had 12 well-equipped large ships at his command and was confident about his expedition. Branimir likely had a similar fleet equipment under his command, as he wouldn't have been able to stand a chance otherwise. Branimir intended to ambush the Venetian fleet and attack them when they least expected it, to avoid enormous damage from Venetian heavy artillery. The size of Branimir likely had more ships under his command.With all factors taken into account, Narentines were likely aware of the movement of the Venetian fleet, which they used to their advantage. Narentines at first sent out a few ships towards Venetian fleet, as part of the ambush. The course of the battle was going in Venetian favour, until the rest of Nerentine fleet appeared and surrounded the Venetian fleet, forcing them to move in the direction of Makarska. The Venetians were in unfavourable position and were ultimately defeated.