The ''Classis Misenensis'' ("Fleet of

Misenum Miseno is one of the ''frazione, frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italy, Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port. Geography Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northw ...

"), later awarded the honorifics ''praetoria'' and ''Pia Vindex'', was the senior fleet of the imperial

Roman navy The naval forces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman state () were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans remained a primarily land ...

History

The was founded by

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

in 27 BC, when the fleet of Italy, until then based mostly at Ostia, was moved to the new harbour of

Portus Julius (alternatively spelled in the Latin ) was the first harbour specifically constructed to be a base for the Imperial Rome, Roman western Roman navy, naval fleet, the . The port was located near Baiae and protected by the Misenum peninsula at the n ...

in the

Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

.''A Companion to the Roman Army'', p. 209 It was commanded by a , drawn from the highest levels of the equestrian class, those earning more than 200,000 sesterces a year. Its mission was to control the western part of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and, as the honorific awarded by

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

for its support during the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

of 69''Age of the Galley'', p. 80 suggests, the , together with the , formed the naval counterpart of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

, a permanent naval force at the emperor's direct disposal. The recruited its crews mostly from the East, especially from

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Since Rome did not face any naval threat in the Mediterranean, the bulk of the fleet's crews were idle. Some of the sailors were based in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

itself, initially housed in the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, but later given their own barracks, the near the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

. There they were used to stage mock naval battles (), and operated the mechanism that deployed the canvas canopy of the

. Among the sailors of this fleet,

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

levied the and used some of its leading officers in the murder of his mother

Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Agrippina was one of the most prominent ...

. In 192, the Misenum fleet supported

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dalmatia (Roman province) ...

, and then participated in the campaign of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

against

Pescennius Niger Gaius Pescennius Niger (c. 135 – 194) was a Roman usurper from 193 to 194 during the Year of the Five Emperors. He claimed the imperial throne in response to the murder of Pertinax and the elevation of Didius Julianus, but was defeated by a ...

, transporting his legions to the East. The fleet remained active in the East for the next few decades, where the emergence of the Persian

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

posed a new threat. In 258–260, the was employed in the suppression of a rebellion in North Africa. In 324 the fleet's ships participated in the campaign of

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 ...

against

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Λικίνιος; c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign, he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that ...

and his decisive naval victory in the

Battle of the Hellespont The Battle of the Hellespont, consisting of two separate naval clashes, was fought in 324 between a Constantinian fleet, led by the eldest son of Constantine I, Crispus; and a larger fleet under Licinius' admiral, Abantus (or Amandus). Despit ...

. Afterwards, the bulk of the ships were moved to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, Constantine's new capital.

''Praefecti classis Misenensis''

The following list is based on Werner Eck and Hans Lieb
"Ein Diplom für die Classis Ravennas vom 22. November 206"
''

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik The (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "the world's leading and certainly most prolific ...

'', 96 (1993), pp. 86–88

List of known ships

The following ship names and types of the ''classis Misenensis'' have survive

* 1 Hellenistic-era warships#Hexareme, hexeres: ''Ops'' * 1

quinquereme 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 ...

: ''Victoria'' * 9 quadriremes: ''Fides'', ''Vesta'', ''Venus'', ''Minerva'', ''Dacicus'', ''Fortuna'', ''Annona'', ''Libertas'', ''Olivus'' * 50

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 ...

s: ''Concordia'', ''Spes'', ''Mercurius'', ''Iuno'', ''Neptunus'', ''Asclepius'', ''Hercules'', ''Lucifer'', ''Diana'', ''Apollo'', ''Venus'', ''Perseus'', ''Salus'', ''Athenonix'', ''Satyra'', ''Rhenus'', ''Libertas'', ''Tigris'', ''Oceanus'', ''Cupidus'', ''Victoria'', ''Taurus'', ''Augustus'', ''Minerva'', ''Parthicus'', ''Euphrates'', ''Vesta'', ''Aesculapius'', ''Pietas'', ''Fides'', ''Danubius'', ''Ceres'', ''Tibur'', ''Pollux'', ''Mars'', ''Salvia'', ''Triumphus'', ''Aquila'', ''Liber Pater'', ''Nilus'', ''Caper'', ''Sol'', ''Isis'', ''Providentia'', ''Fortuna'', ''Iuppiter'', ''Virtus'', ''Castor'' * 11 liburnians: ''Aquila'', ''Agathopus'', ''Fides'', ''Aesculapius'', ''Iustitia'', ''Virtus'', ''Taurus Ruber'', ''Nereis'', ''Clementia'', ''Armata'', ''Minerva'' By 79 this fleet had probably nothing larger than a quadrireme in service,

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

, ''Letters'', VI.16 for

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

, commander of the fleet, investigated the eruption of Vesuvius in a quadrireme, presumably his flagship and the largest class of vessel in the fleet.

References

Sources

* * {{The Age of the Galley , last = Rankov , first = Boris , chapter = Fleets of the Early Roman Empire, 31 BC–AD 324 , pages = 78–85 Misenensis 27 BC establishments Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC Military history of Naples

History

''Praefecti classis Misenensis''

List of known ships

See also

References

Sources