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Roman Quinquereme
The main warship type of the Roman Republic through the early Empire, named for five tiers of oarsmen per side (the exact arrangement remains debated…
Timeline
- c. -260–-146Waters off Sicily · SicilyRome rapidly built a quinquereme fleet by copying Carthaginian warships, winning decisive victories at Mylae and Ecnomus and establishing naval supremacy in the western Mediterranean.
- c. 1–200Mediterranean · MediterraneanIn the early Empire the Roman navy operated from bases such as Misenum and Ravenna, using quinqueremes and lighter warships to patrol the Mediterranean, suppress piracy, and secure the grain route from Egypt.
- c. 200–400Western Roman imperial waters · Western MediterraneanAfter the third century the imperial navy shrank, with large galleys giving way to more maneuverable sailing ships and light warships; after the rise of the Vandals and similar powers the traditional western Roman fleet system gradually disintegrated.
Sources
- The Roman War Machine — John Peddie (1996)
- Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World — Lionel Casson (1971)