The lemb, ''lembus'' or ''lembos'' ( grc, λέμβος, ''lembos''; la, lembus) was an ancient wide term covering a range of small ships, which were used for different purposes, both civilian and military. It was small and light, with a low

freeboard In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...

. It was a fast and maneuverable warship, capable of carrying 50 men in addition to the rowers. It was the galley used by Illyrian pirates. Illyrians used them at

Medion Medion AG is a German consumer electronics company, and a subsidiary of Chinese multinational technology company Lenovo. The company operates in Europe, Turkey, Asia-Pacific, United States and Australia regions. The company's main products are ...

under Agron, and at Elis, Messene, Phoenice, Issa, Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Paxus under

Teuta Teuta ( Illyrian: *''Teutana'', 'mistress of the people, queen'; grc, Τεύτα; lat, Teuta) was the queen regent of the Ardiaei tribe in Illyria, who reigned approximately from 231 BC to 228/227 BC. Following the death of her spouse Agr ...

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon a ...

used lembi during the First Macedonian War.Walbank
p. 69

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

5.109
The lemb was more common among the Illyrians of the southern

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to the ...

, while in the northern Adriatic the more common ship was the

liburna A liburna was a type of small galley used for raiding and patrols. It was originally used by the Liburnians, a pirate tribe from Dalmatia, and later used by the Roman navy.. History A stone tablet (''Stele di Novilara'') found near ancient Pis ...

which originated from the

Liburnians The Liburnians or Liburni ( grc, Λιβυρνοὶ) were an ancient tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers ''Arsia'' ( Raša) and ''Titius'' ( Krka) in what is now Croati ...

. The lemb appears in several Illyrian coins of the southern Adriatic communities, which were politically connected with the Illyrian kingdom, like the

Labeatae The Labeatae, Labeatai or Labeates ( grc, Λαβεᾶται; la, Labeatae) were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria, between modern Albania and Montenegro, around Lake Scodra (the ancient ''Lacus Labeatis'') ...

, the

Daorsi Daorson ( Ancient Greek: Δαορσών) was the capital of the Illyrian tribe of the Daorsi ( Ancient Greek Δαόριζοι, Δαούρσιοι; Latin ''Daorsei''). The Daorsi lived in the valley of the Neretva River between 300 BC and 50 BC. Th ...

, and the cities of Scodra and Lissus.

Name

The term λέμβος, ''lembos'' has been recorded in Classical sources since the 4th century BC onwards. The Illyric-

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

term λέμβος was later

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

ized as ''lembus''. The ultimate source of the term is obscure. An Illyrian origin have been suggested.

Usage

The lembi were small ships used originally for civilian purposes, and thereafter adapted to warfare usages, with at least three sub-types: *small ship used in the Aegean as towing boat, ship's boat, transportation boat, and platform for the catapults; *southern

(Illyrian) lemb for

naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

, piracy (also attacking unarmed ships), trade, and swift transport of the troops: the southern Adriatic shipbuilders most likely adopted and developed an already existing small and fast Aegean type of ship; *upgraded Macedonian fighting lemb: a

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled ...

ian prototype of the Illyrian lemb was built at the behest of king

, who ordered one hundred lembs to be built by Illyrian shipbuilders, in order to transport his toops in 216 BC. Philip's shipbuilders further developed in 214 BC this ship type by enlarging it into a bireme warship. Those warships were even fitted with rams.

Notes

References

''Histories''

Evelyn S. Shuckburgh Evelyn Shirley Shuckburgh (12 July 1843 – 10 July 1906) was an English academic and schoolmaster, known as classical scholar and translator. Life Born at Aldborough, Norfolk on 12 July 1843, he was the third and eldest surviving son in the fa ...

(translator); London, New York. Macmillan (1889); Reprint Bloomington (1962). * * * * * Walbank, F. W., ''Philip V of Macedon'' Cambridge University Press, 2013. . *Wilkes, John, ''The Illyrians (Peoples of Europe)'', Blackwell Publishers, (December 1, 1995) Ship types Ancient piracy {{ship-stub