1 to cheer for

2 to encourage

3 to boost the morale of

1 Venice

2 Venezia

1 might

2 formidable

1 to threaten

2 to menace

1 rich and powerful person

1 tyrannical abuse (idiom); riding roughshod over people

1 local bosses, shady gentry (idiom); dominant local mafia

1 to exercise power arbitrarily (idiom)

1 to inspire awe throughout the empire (idiom)

1 to employ both kindness and severity (idiom)