The naval forces of the ancient Roman state (Latin: classis, lit. 'fleet') 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-based people and relied partially on their more nautically inclined subjects, such as the Greeks and the Egyptians, to build their ships. Because of that, the navy was never completely embraced by the Roman state, and deemed somewhat "un-Roman".[1]
In antiquity, navies and trading fleets did not have the logistical autonomy that modern ships and fleets possess, and unlike modern naval forces, the Roman navy even at its height never existed as an autonomous service but operated as an adjunct to the Roman army.
During the course of the First Punic War, the Roman navy was massively expanded and played a vital role in the Roman victory and the Roman Republic's eventual ascension to hegemony in the Mediterranean Sea. In the course of the first half of the 2nd century BC, Rome went on to destroy Carthage and subdue the Hellenistic kingdoms of the eastern Mediterranean, achieving complete mastery of the inland sea, which they called Mare Nostrum. The Roman fleets were again prominent in the 1st century BC in the wars against the pirates, and in the civil wars that brought down the Republic, whose campaigns ranged across the Mediterranean. In 31 BC, the great naval Battle of Actium ended the civil wars culminating in the final victory of Augustus and the establishment of the Roman Empire.
During the Imperial period, the Mediterranean became largely a peaceful "Roman lake". In the absence of a maritime enemy, the navy was reduced mostly to patrol, anti-piracy and transport duties.[2] By far, the navy's most vital task was to ensure Roman grain imports were shipped and delivered to the capital unimpeded across the Mediterranean. The navy also manned and maintained craft on major frontier rivers such as the Rhine and the Danube for supplying the army.
On the fringes of the Empire, in new conquests or, increasingly, in defense against barbarian invasions, the Roman fleets were still engaged in open warfare. The decline of the Empire in the 3rd century took a heavy toll on the navy, which was reduced to a shadow of its former self, both in size and in combat ability. As successive waves of the Völkerwanderung crashed on the land frontiers of the battered Empire, the navy could only play a secondary role. In the early 5th century, the Roman frontiers were breached, and barbarian kingdoms appeared on the shores of the western Mediterranean. One of them, the Vandal Kingdom with its capital at Carthage, raised a navy of its own and raided the shores of the Mediterranean, even sacking Rome, while the diminished Roman fleets were incapable of offering any resistance. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century. The navy of the surviving eastern Roman Empire is known as the Byzantine navy.
of the First Punic War, the Romannavy was massively expanded and played a vital role in the Roman victory and the Roman Republic's eventual ascension...
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the Byzantine Empire. Like the state it served, it was a direct continuation from its Roman predecessor, but...
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...
century BC, the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), Roman Republic (509–27 BC), Roman Empire (27 BC– 395 AD), and the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the...
from those of the merchant navy. The crown, corona rostrata, was proposed in 1939 as a conjectural link to the Romannavy by Admiral Domenico Cavagnari...
punishment by the Porcian Laws.[citation needed] Centurions also served in the Romannavy. They were professional officers, analogous to modern NCOs in terms of...
highest level of structure, the forces were split into the Roman army and the Romannavy, although these two branches were less distinct than in many...
elected to equip and repair the Romannavy. Equites singulares Augusti – Elite cavalry unit tasked to guard the Roman Emperors. Usually commanded by a...
The Roman army (Latin: exercitus Romanus) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom...
thermae or naval bases of the Romannavy. Estimated values Excavated parts Roman architecture Roman engineering Roman technology Döring 2002, pp. 310–319...
By the size of the Roman army is meant the changes (increases and reductions) in the number of its contingents: legions, auxiliaries, Praetorian cohorts...
distances. The Roman ships used would have been easy prey for pirates had it not been for the fleets of liburna galleys and triremes of the Romannavy.[citation...
capacity to carry them, navy warfare primarily involved ramming and boarding actions. In the time of ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, naval warfare...
Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of Britannia after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island...
agricultural estates, imperial palaces, thermae or naval bases of the Romannavy. Roman dam construction began in earnest in the early imperial period. For...
Structural history of the Roman military The branches of the Roman military at the highest level were the Roman army and the Romannavy. Within these branches...
The Roman legion (Latin: legiō, Latin: [ˈɫɛɡioː]), the largest military unit of the Roman army, was composed of Roman citizens serving as legionaries...
the provincial army, comprising the Roman legions and the auxiliaries provided by the provinces (auxilia); the navy. Through his military reforms, which...
was developed from the ancient liburnian, which was the mainstay of the Romannavy during the Empire. Middle English dromond and Old French dromont are derived...
Romannavy. Originally, the liburna was similar to the ancient Greek penteconter. It had one bench with 25 oars on each side, while in the late Roman...
transportation, although this was to a great extent carried out by the Romannavy due to the ease and low costs of transporting goods via sea and river...
of the Roman auxilia may be summarised as follows: NOTE: Regular land forces only. Excludes citizen-militias, barbarian foederati, and Romannavy effectives...
other tribes who dwelt on both sides of the Elbe are subjugated. 5, The Romannavy reaches the Cimbrian peninsula for the first time. Cimbri, Charudes, Semnones...
objective. There were exceptions when the armies were transported by the Romannavy but even then in most instances this was followed by a march of several...
The Bangladesh Navy (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী, romanized: Bangladesh Nou Bahini) is the naval warfare branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, responsible...
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval...
video games. Dragon beard hook Grapple (tool) Kaginawa Line thrower "The RomanNavy and the Grappling Hook". Patent Pending. Retrieved 14 September 2019....
Oplontis. The Romannavy (based at Misenum), commanded by Pliny the Elder, evacuates refugees. Pliny dies after inhaling volcanic fumes. Roman conquest of...
the Roman army of the Principate may be summarised as follows: Note: Figures are based on official (not actual) unit strengths and exclude Romannavy effectives...
(Greece) Romannavy Byzantine navy (Eastern Roman Empire) Fatimid navy Ottoman Navy (Turkey) History of the Royal Navy History of the French Navy History...
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