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Julius Caesar taken captive by Cilician pirates (Henri De Montaut, 1865). Piracy in the ancient Mediterranean dates back at least as far as the Bronze Age.The roots of the word "piracy" come from the ancient Greek πειράομαι, or peiráomai, meaning "attempt" (i.e., of something illegal for personal gain).
The Greek civil wars of 1824–1825 and the decline of the Hellenic Navy made the Aegean quickly become a haven for pirates who sometimes doubled as privateers. American merchant vessels were attacked and so the Mediterranean Squadron began escort and patrol duties. The operations terminated in 1828, as piracy ceased. [1] [2]
Cilician pirates dominated the Mediterranean Sea from the 2nd century BC until their suppression by Pompey in 67–66 BC. Because there were notorious pirate strongholds in Cilicia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), the term "Cilician" was long used to generically refer to any pirates in the Mediterranean.
The Irish Sea was infamous for being frequented by Barbary pirates, although most British captives were sailors and crews of ships around the Mediterranean. In 1620–1621, the government of James VI and I maintained long negotiations to prevent attacks, but did not succeed.
Most pirates in this era were of Welsh, English, Dutch, Irish, and French origin. Many pirates came from poorer urban areas in search of a way to make money and of reprieve. London in particular was known for high unemployment, crowding, and poverty which drove people to piracy. Piracy also offered power and quick riches. [citation needed]
The wars were largely a reaction to piracy by the Barbary states. Since the 16th century, North African pirates had captured ships and even raided European coastal areas across the Mediterranean Sea. Originally starting out with the goal of capturing individuals for the domestic North African slave trade, the focus later shifted to kidnapping ...
Jasón, a Jewish archer on the prow of a pirate ship (a painting from Jason's Tomb). Jewish pirates were Jewish people who engaged in piracy.While there is some mention of the phenomenon in antiquity, especially during the Hasmonean period (c. 140–37 BCE), most Jewish pirates were Sephardim who operated in the years following the Alhambra Decree of 1492 ordering the expulsion of Iberia's Jews.
Their empire was centered on this sea and all the area was full of commerce and naval development. For the first time in history, an entire sea (the Mediterranean) was free of piracy. For several centuries, the Mediterranean was a "Roman Lake", surrounded on all sides by the empire. The empire began to crumble in the 3rd century.