Ancient navies and vessels
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Ancient navies had a large impact on the navies of today. The outcomes of battles between ancient navies have been studied by the military to learn tactics that would help in their conquests. The ships that these civilizations created were what many ship designs were based on and allowed the vessels to become better built. The Punic Wars are some of the most notorious wars in history, and the naval vessels and tactics used in all three became a major part of naval military history.


Egyptian Navy

Ships and boats were an important part of the ancient Egyptian's life. The earliest
boats A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...
in Egypt were made during the time of the
Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...
where they were used along the Nile River. Because of the lack of wood, boats were made with bundled papyrus reeds. The boats were 25 meters long, two to three meters wide, and sixty centimeters deep which allowed seating for 30 rowers with one to two rudder oars. Hulls were sickle shaped and often had masts and deck houses. Over time the Egyptians tried to transport heavier loads and this brought about the desire for stronger boats. Trade and war also assisted in the desire to have stronger, sturdier vessels. The wooden vessels were similar to those made of reeds but the main difference was the eventual adoption of a single square mast that was fastened to the
gunwale The gunwale () is the top edge of the hull of a ship or boat. Originally the structure was the "gun wale" on a sailing warship, a horizontal reinforcing band added at and above the level of a gun deck to offset the stresses created by firin ...
. After being reinforced, it was able to carry 300 ton loads up and down the Nile River. These vessels, despite being reinforced, were unable to be used in the Mediterranean or Red Seas. The use of ships in Egyptian Warfare is as old as conflict in Egypt itself but there was very little ability for sea travel to be achieved. When sea travel was obtained, the vessels and the wars they were in were depicted in red on pottery of that time period.


Persian Navy

The Achaemenid Empire, also known as the Persian Empire, had primarily a land based
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
but around 5th century BC, at the time of Cambyses II, the Empire started to develop a navy to allow for expansion. Their first ships were built by
Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
in their
shipyards A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
. These ships were 40 meters in length and 6 meters in width and able to carry 300 soldiers. Shortly after these ships were made,
arsenals An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
were made to make new ships as well as improve and repair the vessels. These ships were used to sail the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, the
Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...
, and coastal areas. The mariners of these vessels were Phoenicians,
Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
, Cypriots, and Egyptians. The Phoenicians however became the primary mariners of the vessels they made. These ships also had a metal blade in the front to cut enemy ships in half when
ramming In warfare, ramming is a technique used in air, sea, and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum, and ultimately from male sheep. Thus, ...
. They also had hooks which were used to catch and stop enemy ships. The Empire had three different major naval bases. The first was along the Shaat aI-Arab waterway. The second was to protect the eastern and southern parts of the Mediterranean Sea. The third was located in Cilicia and had a main goal of influencing the Greeks. These bases were kept on constant battle readiness in the case they had to project their power.


Roman Navy

Prior to the Punic Wars the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
classis or
fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...
was limited to minor coastal operations and support for
trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...
. The Romans concentrated on land based operations until this period in order to conquer and consolidate the Italian peninsula. The wars with
Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
forced the Romans to adapt to naval operations in order to compete and defend themselves. These fleet were built in several different places such as the coast of Italy and Southern Tuscany.


First Punic War

During the First Punic War a large fleet was built allegedly using a stranded Phoenician vessel as a prototype. The Romans lacked the skill of other maritime powers such as the Greeks and
Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...
and had to resort to technology for advantages. The traditional naval tactic of ramming wasn't abandoned, but the Roman ships were fitted with a
corvus ''Corvus'' is a widely distributed genus of medium-sized to large birds in the family Corvidae. It includes species commonly known as crows, ravens and rooks. The species commonly encountered in Europe are the carrion crow, the hooded crow ...
to accommodate their strengths in land combat. This movable boarding bridge enabled the Romans to transform naval combat from ramming and sinking to boarding with
marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
through capturing and plundering the vessels. In its initial stages this new combat style enabled the Romans to win some overwhelming successes against the Carthaginian fleet, but the added weight of the corvus made their vessels less maneuverable and seaworthy resulting in heavy losses with violent weather conditions. A tactic that the Romans used were the use of
fireships A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...
and combustibles. The combustibles were thrown on board the enemy ships to damage the ship and its personnel.


Second Punic War

During the Second Punic War, Hannibal abandoned the once formidable Carthaginian fleet to focus on land operations. This was caused by a victory that bred confidence and led to the eventual invasion of North Africa. Their newly founded sea prowess enabled the Roman legions to land on the coast of North Africa and bring the war out of Italy and into the laps of the Carthaginians.


Post Punic War Roman Navy

With the final destruction of Carthage, and the end of the
Third Punic War The Third Punic War (149–146 BC) was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between Carthage and Rome. The war was fought entirely within Carthaginian territory, in modern northern Tunisia. When the Second Punic War ended in 201  ...
in 146 BC, Rome was the master of sea power in the
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
. In both the Second and Third Punic Wars, Roman sea power was predominant, though not vigorously exercised. This caused restrictions for the Carthaginian communication forces and forced them to keep strong defensive garrisons in Spain and their home territory. However, the conquest of Carthage also eliminated the threat of maritime warfare as there was no longer any sea powers left to challenge Roman supremacy. As a result, the navy slipped into the logistical role of support to the legions and providing escort for trade vessels and grain shipments, with the adverse effect of drastically increasing piracy.


Imperial Roman Navy and Beyond

The imperial navy after
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, aside from the occasional conflicts in civil wars, once again was primarily charged with the protection of shipping and deterring piracy. Rome maintained two large fleets, the Classis Praetoria Misenensis and Classis Praetoria Ravennatis based in the Mediterranean with smaller squadrons operating on the North Sea, Black Sea and along the major rivers running throughout the provinces. Misenum, built by Agrippa in 31 BC, was the main naval base of the Mediterranean, joined by Ravenna, Aleria on Corsica and other temporary ports. The military situations on the Rhine and the Danube necessitated the construction of several dedicated fleet installations for the provincial fleets, classis Germanica, Pannonia and Moesica, but most were attached to the existing forts of Provincial Legions. In the English Channel and the North Sea (Oceanus Britannicus and Oceanus Germanicus), the Classis Britannica was stationed at Portus Itius (Boulogne) in Gaul and later also used the Saxon Shore forts of Britannia as bases. As Roman power waned in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, so went the Roman navy. In 429 AD, the Vandals embarked on ships from southern Gaul and landed in North Africa, where they established their own kingdom. Within a couple of decades, the Roman Empire consisted of little more than the city of Rome itself and its original territories in Latium and Central Italy. The Vandals' powerful navy contributed to the fall of the Western Empire when Vandal pirate King Gaiseric not only eliminated Roman shipping on the Mediterranean, but also invaded Rome itself. By the mid 5th century, the Vandals were the masters of the sea, and by 476 AD, Rome had fallen completely from power in Western Europe.


See also

* Galley *
Hellenistic-era warships From the 4th century BC on, new types of oared warships appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, superseding the trireme and transforming naval warfare. Ships became increasingly large and heavy, including some of the largest wooden ships hitherto con ...


References

{{Reflist Naval history Ancient ships