Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
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"
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]
Ballistae on a Roman ship. In classical antiquity, a ship's main weapon was the ram (rostra, hence the name navis rostrata for a warship), which was used to sink or immobilize an enemy ship by holing its hull. Its use, however, required a skilled and experienced crew and a fast and agile ship like a trireme or quinquereme.
Larger ships also had wooden castles between the masts on either side of the upper decks, which allowed archers to shoot from an elevated firing position. [ 129 ] Later medieval navies continued to use similar tactics, with a line abreast formation as standard, as galleys were intended to be fought from the bow.
[22] [23] A pavesade (kastellÅma), on which marines could hang their shields, ran around the sides of the ship, providing protection to the deck crew. [24] Larger ships also had wooden castles (xylokastra) on either side between the masts, similar to those attested for the Roman liburnians, providing archers with elevated firing platforms. [25]
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 ...