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Roman ships are named in different ways, often in compound expressions with the word Latin: navis, lit. 'ship'.These are found in many ancient Roman texts, and named in different ways, such as by the appearance of the ship: for example, navis tecta (covered ship); or by its function, for example: navis mercatoria (commerce ship), or navis praedatoria (plunder ship).
Mogontiacum soon became the capital of the Roman province of Germania Superior and ships from its harbor could travel up and down the Rhine and east to the Main river. [3] The military fleet was upgraded when the Emperor Julian increased defensive measures along the Rhine in the 4th century, and Marcellinus reported that the Emperor had 40 ...
Larger ships also had wooden castles on either side between the masts, which allowed archers to shoot from an elevated firing position. [14] On Byzantine galleys, the brunt of the fighting was done by heavily armed and armored troops called hoplites or kataphraktoi. These would attempt to stab the rowers through the oarports to reduce mobility ...
Larger ships replaced triremes during the 5th century BCE. These larger ships utilized the corvus to board and attack enemy ships. There were 40 marines and a 100 legionaries on Roman ships. These soldiers, called classiarii, used overwhelming force to win battles. Many ships would be painted blue for camouflage purposes. [143] [144] [145] [146]
The name bireme comes from "bi-" meaning two and "-reme" meaning oar. It was typically about 80 feet (24 m) long with a maximum beam width of around 10 feet (3 m). It was modified from the penteconter, a ship that had only one set of oars on each side, the bireme having two sets of oars on each side. The bireme was twice the triaconter's length ...
The ship also had two masts, a main (histos megas) and a small foremast (histos akateios), with square sails, while steering was provided by two steering oars at the stern (one at the port side, one to starboard). Classical sources indicate that the trireme was capable of sustained speeds of ca. 6 knots at relatively leisurely oaring. [31]
Ships operating in the geographical area of the Roman Empire, from the foundation of the Republic in 509 BC to the end of the Imperial period in the 5th century AD. Pages in category "Ancient Roman ships"
It was stepped slightly to the side to allow for the recoil of the heavy guns; the other was placed roughly in the center of the ship. A third smaller mast further astern, akin to a mizzen mast, was also introduced on large galleys, possibly in the early 17th century, but was standard at least by the early 18th century. [143]