''Socii navales'' or "naval allies", were a class of the ''

socii The ''socii'' ( in English) or '' foederati'' ( in English) were confederates of Rome and formed one of the three legal denominations in Roman Italy (''Italia'') along with the Roman citizens (''Cives'') and the '' Latini''. The ''Latini'', who ...

'' or '' foederati'' (allies) of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, that provided naval support. A large number of them were Greek cities in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and mainland Greece. They were often used to augment the main fleet, often with lighter ships that the Romans or their adversaries had, such as

triremes A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean ...

pentekonters The penteconter (alt. spelling pentekonter, pentaconter, pentecontor or pentekontor; el, πεντηκόντερος, ''pentēkónteros'', "fifty-oared"), plural penteconters, was an ancient Greek galley in use since the archaic period. In a ...

. The number of ships provided by the ''socii navales'' is disputed, with some saying that by 260 BC 42 ships were being supplied however others agree that by 210 BC only 12 were supplied, and that by 195 BC 25 ships were being supplied. The men provided by the ''socii navales'' were sailors and rowers.

Known Socii Navales

Cumae Cumae ( grc, Κύμη, (Kumē) or or ; it, Cuma) was the first ancient Greek colony on the mainland of Italy, founded by settlers from Euboea in the 8th century BC and soon becoming one of the strongest colonies. It later became a rich Ro ...

References

{{Reflist Navy of ancient Rome Socii