The ''Classis Germanica'' was a

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fleet in

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...

and

Germania Inferior ''Germania Inferior'' ("Lower Germania") was a Roman province from AD 85 until the province was renamed ''Germania Secunda'' in the 4th century AD, on the west bank of the Rhine bordering the North Sea. The capital of the province was Colonia Cl ...

. Besides the Channel Fleet (''

Classis Britannica The ''Classis Britannica'' (literally, ''British fleet'', in the sense of 'the fleet in British waters' or 'the fleet of the province of Britannia', rather than 'the fleet of the state of Britain') was a provincial naval fleet of the navy of an ...

''), it was one of the largest

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

forces of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, ranking above all other provincial fleets. The fleet was assembled in 13 BC, and was responsible for monitoring the entire Rhine from the confluence of the Vinxtbach and its navigable

tributaries A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ('' main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which the ...

as well as the

Zuiderzee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee''), historically called Lake Almere and Lake Flevo, was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands. It extended about 100 km (60 miles) inla ...

and

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

coastlines in the

Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta The Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta is a river delta in the Netherlands formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse () and the Scheldt rivers. In some cases, the Scheldt delta is considered a separate delta to the Rhine–Meuse delta. The resu ...

. Later on, the estuaries on the right bank of the Rhine were also included in its charter in order to maintain a smooth flow of transportation and commerce on the river. The allegiance of the Classis Germanica to the Army of Germania Inferior (''Exercitus Germaniae Inferioris'') was confirmed by a Roman military diploma (located in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

) during

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

's reign. Besides specifying the local auxiliary troops involved, it also lists the Rhine fleet, that likely was still in existence (in altered form) until the 4th century.

Fleet operations

The Rhine fleet was formed in 13 BC, when Roman supreme command started gathering legions and ancillary troops along the banks of the river Rhine. From the beginning, the fleet, too, was involved in Roman campaigns. Its objective changed in 17 AD when Emperor Tiberius relinquished plans to invade the tribes east of the Rhine.

1st to 2nd century

In Augustan times larger offensives were set in motion by the Romans. There were several large-scale landing operations of Roman troops from the North Sea, which were closely coordinated with land forces. In 12 BC, Drusus led the Rhine fleet through the canals of the Zuiderzee in the North Sea (fossa Drusiana). As the

Frisii The Frisii were an ancient tribe, who were neighbours of the Roman empire in the low-lying coastal region between the Rhine and the Ems (river), Ems rivers, in what what is now the northern Netherlands. They are not mentioned in Roman records af ...

and

Chauci The Chauci were an ancient Germanic tribe living in the low-lying region between the Rivers Ems and Elbe, on both sides of the Weser and ranging as far inland as the upper Weser. Along the coast they lived on artificial mounds called '' terpen'' ...

had only primitive canoes, he sailed unhindered with his vastly superior forces into the mouth of the

Weser The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports o ...

(Visurgis) and forced both tribes into submission. The advance of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

at the

Elbe The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...

(Albis) in 5 AD was accomplished by means of a combined land and sea operation. His fleet sailed the river to the area of

Lauenburg Lauenburg (), or Lauenburg an der Elbe (; ), is a town in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the northern bank of the river Elbe, east of Hamburg. It is overall the southernmost town of Schleswig-Holstein and belongs to ...

and met up with the land army. During the same year, the Romans pushed even further north, reaching the

Cimbri The Cimbri (, ; ) were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic, Gaulish, Germanic, or even Cimmerian people. Several ancient sources indicate that they lived in Jutland, which in some classical texts was ...

. The exact route and end point of the expedition are unknown. It is thought that they came up to the Skaw. The

were settled at that time in the north of

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

. After circling the cape they found a large sea front, one the Romans, according to the chronicler

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; ) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the period from the death of ...

, "partly saw and partly knew from hearsay". In 15 AD, a Roman army under the leadership of

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

advanced into

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

. The fleet transported four legions on the river Ems, who then marched to the site of the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...

to bury the desecrated Roman soldiers that had died in the battle. After sustaining heavy losses fighting the Germanic tribes, they moved back to the Ems, where they were taken back on board the Classis Germanica. One year later under the command of legate Silius, Anteius and Caecina a fleet of a thousand ships were sent to dock at

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

. The fleet included special innovations such as landing craft with flat bottoms and rudders at the stern and bow,

ballista The ballista (Latin, from Ancient Greek, Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an Classical antiquity, ancient missile weapon tha ...

transporters, wide arks for cavalry horses, bridge material and food and gear. This transport fleet struck in spring 16 AD with Germanicus and an 8,000-strong army. From the island of the Batavi (present-day Beveland and

Walcheren Walcheren () is a region and former island in the Dutch province of Zeeland at the mouth of the Scheldt estuary. It lies between the Eastern Scheldt in the north and the Western Scheldt in the south and is roughly the shape of a rhombus. The two ...

in the Netherlands) the fleet pushed forward to the mouth of the Ems, where the Army was heading towards present-day Jemgum. After the battles at the Weser River and Angrivarian Wall (located between the

and Steinhuder Meer) in which the

Angrivarii The Angrivarii (or ''Angrivari'') were a Germanic people of the early Roman Empire, who lived in what is now northwest Germany near the middle of the Weser river. They were mentioned by the Roman authors Tacitus and Ptolemy. They were part of t ...

Bructeri The Bructeri were a Germanic people, who lived in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, just outside what was then the Roman Empire. The Romans originally reported them living east of the lower Rhine river, in a large area centred around present day ...

and

Cherusci The Cherusci were a Germanic tribe that inhabited parts of the plains and forests of northwestern Germania in the area of the Weser River and present-day Hanover during the first centuries BC and AD. Roman sources reported they considered thems ...

tribes were defeated, a part of the army should have been returned to their garrisons. However, almost the entire fleet as well as everyone on board fell victim to a storm. Germanicus himself was stranded in the settlement area of the

tribe, but remained unharmed. In 28 AD the

rebelled against Roman rule. The Rhine fleet brought an expeditionary force in the revolting area, including to the besieged Roman port facility Flevum (Velsen). However, the

frisii The Frisii were an ancient tribe, who were neighbours of the Roman empire in the low-lying coastal region between the Rhine and the Ems (river), Ems rivers, in what what is now the northern Netherlands. They are not mentioned in Roman records af ...

could not be stopped. The Romans lost control of the North Sea coast to the mouth of the Rhine. Between 46 AD and 47 AD the Romans tried to subdue the Frisians but despite the use of the fleet, the Romans could not maintain their gains. The legate Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo built a 27 kilometer canal ( Fossa Corbulonis) in 48 AD between the mouths of the Oude Maas and the Oude Rijn. It was used primarily for troop and supply transport. During the Roman civil war (

Year of the Four Emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the change from the ...

) in 68/69 AD, a riot among the allied Batavians under Julius Civilis spread to almost all other Germanic tribes along the Rhine. All forts north of Mogontiacum were besieged or destroyed. The ''Classis Germanica'' was severely limited by the low water level of the Rhine. Many of the Batavian and Roman auxiliaries proved unreliable and began deserting in large numbers to join the insurgents. The fleet contributed little to the hard-pressed Rhine legions. Among the legions sent to Lower Germany to crush the revolt were Adiutrix I and II, recruited from sailors. A whole squadron of ''Classis Germanica'' fell in 70 by treachery at the hands of the Batavians and was subsequently used against the Romans. The supreme commander of the army of the Rhine,

Quintus Petillius Cerialis Quintus Petillius Cerialis Caesius Rufus ( AD 30 — after AD 83), otherwise known as Quintus Petillius Cerialis, was a Roman general and administrator who served in Britain during Boudica's rebellion and went on to participate in the civil wars ...

, was transported by the fleet of ''

'' with the Legio XIV Gemina and invaded the rebels on land. They fell into an ambush set by the Batavians Caninefaten's and were almost completely wiped out. Although Cerialis hurried from Novaesium with the ''Classis Germanica'' to assist, they were attacked during the night by the Batavians and lost all his ships, including Cerialis' own

trireme A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...

. However, the lost ships were quickly replaced. The Batavians used their new fleet in an attempt to stop the supply transports of the Romans from Gaul in the Rhine delta. At the mouth of the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

(Mosa), the numerically inferior but better trained Classis Germanica fought the Batavian fleet in a brief skirmish. Civilis retreated to the northern bank of the Rhine and the Romans ravaged the area of the Batavians. The fleet was never able to achieve decisive successes in the Batavian revolt. In 89 AD large sections of the army of the Rhine mutinied against Emperor Domitian. The ''Classis Germanica'' remained loyal to Domitian and helped to defeat the rebels. It was given the honorary title classis pia fidelis Domitiana.

3rd to 4th century

After the end of the so-called

Gallic Empire The Gallic Empire or Gallo-Roman Empire are names used in modern historiography for a secession, breakaway part of the Roman Empire that functioned ''de facto'' as a separate state from 260 to 274. It originated during the Crisis of the Third Cent ...

under

Postumus Marcus Cassianius Latinius Postumus ( 259–269) was a Roman commander of Batavian origin, who ruled as emperor of the splinter state of the Roman Empire known to modern historians as the Gallic Empire. The Roman army in Gaul threw off its al ...

and after numerous heavy incursions by the

Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...

, the Classis Germanica collapsed in the last third of the 3rd century. During this time, the Rhine legions employed their own naval detachments (''milites liburnarii''). Roman river warships were mentioned on the Rhine for the first time in 280 again, when Germanic invaders succeeded in setting several of the new '' navis lusoriae'' on fire.

Constantius I Flavius Valerius Constantius ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was a Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as ''caesar'' from 293 to 3 ...

led the Rhine fleet against the

Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...

in 298 AD, who had settled on a river island. His son and successor

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

modernized the Rhine fleet and replaced the ''liburnarii'' entirely with ''lusoriae''. This made the Upper Rhine fleet operational. In 306 Constantine brought troops across the Rhine and ravaged the settlement areas of the

tribe, before returning the Rhine fleet back into Germanic territory in 313. In 355 AD Julian was named Caesar of the west. Under his rule the defense effort was increased. It was used for several campaigns and Rhine crossings: 356/357 found defensive battles take place on the Rhine and Main. In the winter of 357/358 Julian's troops joined a large group of

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties * Francia, a post-Roman ...

marauders on the island in the

(). Constantly patrolling, Lusorien prevented the permanent formation of a solid sheet of ice, so that the Franks were unable to escape across the river and had to finally surrender to the Romans after two months of siege. In 359 AD a squadron of 40 ships was used against the

. In the time of

Valentinian I Valentinian I (; 32117 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. He ruled the Western Roman Empire, Western half of the empire, while his brother Valens ruled the Byzantine Empire, East. During his re ...

, effort was put into making the fleet operational again. Around that time there was a new frontier defense concept that was based on the Rhine fleet and a string of left-bank bases and a large number of heavily fortified border forts. Warships patrolled from here almost constantly on the Rhine. Ports and forts in

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

and Altrip built and the right bank borders Burgi in , and

Ladenburg Ladenburg () is a town in northwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies on the right bank of the river Neckar, northwest of Heidelberg and east of Mannheim. The town's history goes back to the Celtic and Roman Ages, when it was called L ...

were built. There were repeated clashes with Germanic invaders, as some dedicatory inscriptions of the Rhine frontier testify. After the invasion of the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

Suebi file:1st century Germani.png, 300px, The approximate positions of some Germanic peoples reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 1st century. Suebian peoples in red, and other Irminones in purple. The Suebi (also spelled Suavi, Suevi or Suebians ...

and

Alans The Alans () were an ancient and medieval Iranian peoples, Iranic Eurasian nomads, nomadic pastoral people who migrated to what is today North Caucasus – while some continued on to Europe and later North Africa. They are generally regarded ...

on New Year's Eve in 407, the fleet disbanded permanently.

Officers and crew

Little is known about the chain of command of the Rhine fleet. The commander was a ''praefectus classis'' from the equestrian order, a '' procuratores centenarii'', which meant he earned 100,000

sesterce The ''sestertius'' (: ''sestertii'') or sesterce (: sesterces) was an Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Roman currency, coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large ...

s a year. Below the prefect rank was the ''praepositus classis'', each fleet usually having two of them. The future Emperor

Pertinax Publius Helvius Pertinax ( ; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. Born to the son of a freed sl ...

served in the Classis Germanica as prefect. The officers each had their own staff and aides. In the 3rd century the rank of fleet tribunes was created ('' tribunus classis'') who took over the duties of the first Nauarchs. Later he was called also '' tribunus liburnarum'' (tribune of warships). The crew consisted of the officers ('' trierarchus''), the rowers (''

remiges Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those on the ta ...

'') and a centuria Marines ('' manipulares''/'' milites liburnarii''). The team ('' classiari''/'' classici'') were divided into two groups, the technical staff and the Marines. The service was 26 years (as opposed to the 20 to 25 years for a legionary). From the 3rd century it was 28 years, although occasionally it was even longer. After their honorable discharge (''

honesta missio The ''honesta missio'' was the honorable discharge from the military service in the Roman Empire. The status conveyed particular privileges (''praemia militiae''). Among other things, an honorably discharged legionary was paid discharge money fr ...

'') they were provided with either money or land and were also usually granted citizenship if they were free subjects of the Empire (''

peregrini In the early Roman Empire, from 30 BC to AD 212, a ''peregrinus'' () was a free provincial subject of the Empire who was not a Roman citizen. ''Peregrini'' constituted the vast majority of the Empire's inhabitants in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. ...

''). The ability to marry was also given to them after this.

Type of ships

The types of vessels that made up the Rhine fleet consisted of freighters ('' navis actuaria''), rafts, transports as well as some heavy warships. They could be rowed and sailed. The most common type of ship in the 1st and 2nd centuries was the bireme or liburna (double-breasted), originally used by Illyrian pirates. It was quick and extremely manoeuvrable and equipped like all ancient battleships with a battering ram at the bow. Liburna were usually about 21 meters long, 3.30 meters wide and had a depth of about 0.7 meters. The crew consisted of 44 rowers, 4 sailors and 16 marines. Larger than the liburna were the

s, which were very similar to the liburnians, but distinguished by a third, additional sail. Cargo and load rafts could be up to 30m long, based on finds from Alphen Zwammerdam. Numerous wrecks on the Rhine and on Lake Neuchatel testify to the use of barge boats in Roman times. These were box-shaped ships with mast, shallow draft and ramped ends on both sides of the fuselage, which had a payload up to 30t. From the 3rd century, the much smaller '' navis lusoria'' formed the backbone of the late Roman fleet.

Role

The main role of the fleet was to ensure freedom of navigation along the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Scheldt The Scheldt ( ; ; ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old Englis ...

and

rivers and their tributaries, and continuing on up the coastline to

and the

. With the end of plans to conquer the right bank of

Germania Magna Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Super ...

under

, the Romans altered the role of the Classis Germanica to deal chiefly with daily patrols on the Rhine, and operations along the North Sea Coast dwindled in importance. Even more important than its use in military campaigns was the logistical role of the Rhine fleet ever since the period of Drusus's

offensives. From Vetera (Modern day

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...

) the forts were supplied. The docks were often fortified. The fleet was also used for civil transport, for example moving stones were obtained from the quarries of Brohl Valley in

Siebengebirge The (), occasionally Sieben Mountains or Seven Mountains, are a hill range of the German Central Uplands on the east bank of the Middle Rhine, southeast of Bonn. Description The area, located in the municipalities of Bad Honnef and Königswin ...

. Even foods like corn and wine, which could be moved only with difficulty by land, were transported.

Tactics

With the beginning of the reign of the

Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty, lasting from 69 to 96 CE, was the second dynastic line of emperors to rule the Roman Empire following the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Julio-Claudians, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian. Th ...

in the last third of the 1st century, the situation had largely stabilized at the Rhine frontier again. The fleet was mostly concerned now with the extraction and transportation of building materials, since the freight cost by water were much lower than by land (approximately 1/6 of road tariffs), although they continued to provide a river patrol service. In 270 AD, the Classis Germanica in its original format was dissolved. Its area of operations had been largely confined until then on the

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

. After abandoning Agri Decumates the strategic situation changed. A concentration of the fleet on a few key points was no longer useful. Due to the new situation on the Rhine, wide sections of the river, but also the mouths of the

Barbaricum Barbaricum (from the , "foreign", "barbarian") is a geographical name used by historical and archaeological experts to refer to the vast area of barbarian-occupied territory that lay, in Roman times, beyond the frontiers or '' limes'' of the Rom ...

waters now had to be strictly monitored. Unlike the high and middle Rhine, the tortuous course of the

Upper Rhine Upper Rhine ( ; ; kilometres 167 to 529 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between the Middle Bridge, Basel, Middle Bridge in Basel, Switzerland, and the Rhine knee in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen, Germany. It is surrounded by the Upper Rhine P ...

and its dense

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high Discharge (hydrolog ...

made effective monitoring by castles impossible. These new challenges were overcome only through constant military presence on the river and on its banks. This promising new approach to border protection along the Rhine was therefore a decentralized forward defense. By giving up the doctrine of central massing of the fleet and their distribution to smaller castles and '' burgi'', numerous units were concentrated at focal points of the border in case of need within a few hours. These were quick to alert in case of emergency by the neighboring castles or watchtowers. This was best achieved with the smaller and more mobile '' navis lusoria'', with which one could also deal with potential intruders either right on the Rhine or in amphibious operations, together with land forces. The daily range of river battleships was up to . The distance between forts or border ''burgi'' averaged 15 to . Downriver a ''navis lusoria'' could reach the nearest base in about 75–150 minutes. Upriver would require 2–4 hours. With effective communication, it was possible for the High Command to bring at least four patrol boats to vulnerable locations in this time and so at the beginning of the battle up to 100 naval detachments (''milites liburnarii'') could be deployed. It was therefore possible that the aggressor could be under engaged shortly after their appearance on the Rhine from the Roman border protection. Due to the superiority of their ''lusoriae'', under the right conditions the ''Limitanei'' were able to confront even vastly numerically superior Barbarian forces. Due to the flat bottom construction of the Roman ''lusoria'' it was also possible, during an armed reconnaissance mission for example, to venture into

waters. These inflows were often used by the

Germanic tribes The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts ...

as an approach route for their surprise attacks on Roman territory. The findings from this kind of "maritime warning system" were certainly highly valued by the Roman commanders. Another protection were the then widely ramified, sometimes almost impenetrable and marshy floodplain of the Upper Rhine and the presence of numerous meandering tributaries, which also considerably more difficult to approach the border zone. Furthermore, in a fight the Germanic tribes on the Rhine couldn't muster anything remotely equivalent to the Romans' highly developed river-going battleships. Had the invaders somehow managed to overcome all these difficulties, there was still the possibility that they could be intercepted at the very last moment back on the Rhine again on the return trip from one of their marauding attacks, and have all their booty confiscated, just to see it redistributed among the border soldiers who had taken part in the battle (see also ).

Naval bases

The headquarters of the Classis Germanica was originally located in Castra Vetera (in

), later in the about 1,5 km south of ancient Cologne. The main city of

was

Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium was the Roman colony in the Rhineland from which the city of Cologne, now in Germany, developed. It was usually called ''Colonia'' (colony) and was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and ...

(CCAA - nowadays

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

), capital of the province, an important economic center and a trading center of great national importance. The Rhine in turn served not only as an important transport route for the transport of goods produced in

, but also for the import of goods from other provinces.

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

bases included

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Straubing Straubing (; Central Bavarian: ''Strauwing'') is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the Districts of Germany, district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Ba ...

and

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

. After the Battle of Mursa Major in 351 AD the naval port in Mainz was expanded and became a major base for the Rhine fleet. The naval base in Mainz was used mainly in the second half of the 3rd and the 4th century. The newly organized Rhine fleet in the first third of the 4th century was their primary source of power the central portion of the Rhine was occupied periodically with castles as supply bases and safe havens. Without this support, an effective use of the Rhine fleet would have been impossible. It is believed that the late antiquity (left bank) fortifications between Bingen and

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

were built during the reign of

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

's sons (ca. 320–350) according to a uniform plan.Höckmann 1986, pp. 369–416.

References

Bibliography

* Bechert, Tilmann (2007). ''Germania Inferior, eine Provinz an der Nordgrenze des Römischen Reiches'' ermania Inferior, a province on the northern border of the Roman Empire Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, . * Bockius, Ronald (2006).
Die spätrömischen Schiffswracks aus Mainz. Schiffsarchäologisch-technikgeschichtliche Untersuchung spätantiker Schiffsfunde vom nördlichen Oberrhein
' he late Roman shipwrecks from Mainz. Ship-archaeological and technical-historical investigation of late antique ship finds from the northern Upper Rhine Monographien des RGZM, vol. 67. Mainz: Verlag des RGZM, . * Bockius, Ronald; Baatz, Dietwulf (1997). ''Vegetius und die römische Flotte'' egetius and the Roman fleet Monographien des RGZM, vol. 39. Bonn: Habelt, . * D'Amato, Raffaele; Sumner, Graham (2009). ''Imperial Roman Naval Forces 31 BC – AD 500.'' Oxford: Osprey Publishing, . * Heukemes, Berndmark (1981). "Der spätrömische Burgus von Lopodunum, Ladenburg am Neckar, Vorbericht der Untersuchung von 1979" he late Roman burgus of Lopodunum, Ladenburg am Neckar, preliminary report of the 1979 investigation In: ''Festschrift für Hartwig Zürn.'' Fundberichte aus Baden-Württemberg, vol. 6. Stuttgart: Schweizerbart, . * Höckmann, Olaf (1986). "Römische Schiffsverbände auf dem Ober- und Mittelrhein und die Verteidigung der Rheingrenze in der Spätantike" oman ship formations on the Upper and Middle Rhine and the defence of the Rhine border in Late Antiquity In: ''Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz'' 33, pp. 369–416. * Konen, Heinrich Clemens (2000). ''Classis Germanica. Die römische Rheinflotte im 1.–3. Jahrhundert n. Chr.'' lassis Germanica. The Roman Rhine fleet in the 1st-3rd century AD Pharos, vol. 15. St. Katharinen: Scripta Mercatura, . * Pflaum, H.G. (1950). ''Les procurateurs équestres sous le Haut-Empire romain.'' * Prammer, Johannes (1987). ''Gäubodenmuseum, Straubing. Abteilung Vorgeschichte'' äuboden museum at Straubing: Department for prehistory Straubing. * Prammer, Johannes (1996). ''Länden, Hafenanlagen und Hafenprojekte in Straubing'' oorage places, harbour facilities and port projects in Straubing Straubing. * Schäfer, Christoph (2008). ''Lusoria, ein Römerschiff im Experiment'' usoria, a Roman ship in experiment Hamburg: Koehlers, . *{{Citation , last=Tacitus , first=Publius Cornelius , author-link=Tacitus , editor1-last=Church , editor1-first=Alfred John , editor2-last=Brodribb , editor2-first=William Jackson , title=Annals of Tacitus (translated into English) , publisher=MacMillan and Co. , publication-date=1895 , publication-place=London , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GXhfAAAAMAAJ Military history of ancient Rome Naval units and formations of ancient Rome