A French galley and Dutch men-of-war off a port by Abraham Willaerts, painted 17th century

A galley (from Greek γαλέα - galea) is an ancient ship which can be propelled entirely by human oarsmen, used for warfare and trade. Abraham Willaerts (c 1603 Utrecht - October 18, 1669, Utrecht was a Dutch Baroque painter mostly of marine and harbor scenes As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 17th Century was that Century which lasted from 1601 - 1700 in the Gregorian calendar Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size With regard to Watercraft, rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of Oars in the water Warfare refers to the conduct of conflict between opponents and usually involves escalation of aggression from the proverbial "war of words" between politicians Trade is the willing exchange of goods, services, or both Trade is also called Commerce. Oars are known from at least the time of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. An oar is an implement used for water-borne propulsion. Oars have a flat blade at one end The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BCE when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement Many galleys had masts and sails for use when the winds were favourable.

Various types of galleys dominated naval warfare in the Mediterranean Sea from the time of Homer to the development of effective naval gunnery around the 15th and 16th centuries. Naval warfare is Combat in and on Seas Oceans or any other major bodies of water such as large Lakes and wide Rivers History Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Galleys fought in the wars of ancient Persia, Greece, Carthage and Rome until the 4th century. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC As a means of recording the passage of Time, the 4th century (per the Julian calendar and Anno Domini / Common era) was that Century After the fall of the Roman Empire galleys remained in use to a lesser extent by the Byzantine Navy and other successors of the Roman Empire, and by new Muslim states. The Decline of the Roman Empire, leading to the Fall of the Roman Empire, or the Fall of Rome, was the end of the Western Roman Empire. The Byzantine navy comprised the naval forces of the Byzantine Empire. A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion Medieval Mediterranean states, notably the Italian maritime republics including Venice, Pisa, and Genoa, used galleys until the ocean-going man-of-war made them obsolete. The Most Serene Republic of Venice ((Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta or Repùblica de Venesia Serenissima Repubblica Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. Genoa ( Genova, ˈdʒɛːnova in Italian; Zena in Genoese and Ligurian; Genua in Latin and archaically in English A man-of-war (also man of war, man-o'-war or simply man) is an armed naval vessel The Battle of Lepanto (1571) was one of the largest naval battles in which galleys played the principal part. The Battle of Lepanto ( Greek: Ναύπακτος Naupaktos, pron A naval battle is a Battle fought using Ships or other waterborne vessels Galleys continued in mainstream use until the introduction of broadside sailing ships of war into the Mediterranean in the 17th Century, and continued to be used in minor roles until the advent of steam propulsion. A broadside is the side of a Ship; the battery of Cannon on one side of a Warship; or their simultaneous (or near simultaneous fire in A steam engine is a Heat engine that performs Mechanical work using Steam as its Working fluid.

Ancient galleys

The first galleys

Galleys traversed the Mediterranean from around 3000 BC. The 30th century BC is a Century which lasted from the year 3000 BC to 2901 BC The Phoenicians and the Greeks built and operated the first known ships to navigate the Mediterranean: merchant vessels with square-rigged sails. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal Spars which are perpendicular or square The first military vessels, as described in the works of Homer and represented in paintings, had a single row of oarsmen along each side (in addition to the sail) to provide speed and maneuverability. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the These were very popular for merchant use.

Early sailors had few navigational tools. Navigation is the process of reading and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another Most ancient and medieval shipping remained in sight of the coast for ease of navigation, the availability of trading opportunities, and coastal currents and winds that could be used to work against and around prevailing winds. It was more important for galleys than sailing ships to remain near the coast because they needed more frequent re-supply of fresh water for their large, sweating, crews and were more vulnerable to storms. Unlike sailing ships they could use small bays and beaches as harbors, travel up rivers, operate in water only a meter or so deep, and be dragged overland to be launched on lakes, or other branches of the sea. This made them suitable for launching attacks on land. In antiquity the most famous portage was the diolkos of Corinth. Portage refers to the practice of carrying a Canoe or other Boat over land to avoid an obstacle on the water route (such as Rapids or a Waterfall The Diolkos &mdashfrom the Greek dia (across and holkos (portage&mdashwas a paved trackway in Ancient Greece which enabled boats to be At least as early as 429 BC (Thucydides 2. 56. 2), but probably earlier (Herodotus 6. 48. 2, 7. 21. 2, 7. 97), galleys were adapted to carry horses to provide cavalry support to troops also landed by galleys.

The compass did not come into use for navigation until the 13th century AD, and sextants, octants, accurate marine chronometers, and the mathematics required to determine longitude and latitude were developed much later. A compass, magnetic compass or mariner's compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the earth's Magnetic poles It consists This article is about the sextant as used for Navigation. For the astronomer's sextant, see Sextant (astronomical. An octant is one of eight divisions Octant in the plane An octant is one of 8 parts of the two-dimensional Euclidean coordinate system A marine chronometer is a timekeeper precise enough to be used as a portable Time standard; it can therefore be used to determine Longitude by means of Celestial Longitude (ˈlɒndʒɪˌtjuːd or ˈlɒŋgɪˌtjuːd symbolized by the Greek character Lambda (λ is the east-west Geographic coordinate measurement Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the Ancient sailors navigated by the sun and the prevailing wind. By the first millennium BC they had started using the stars to navigate at night. The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of successive empires By 500 BC they had the sounding lead (Herodotus 2. A sounding line or lead line is a length of thin Rope with a Plummet, generally of Lead, at its end 5).

As ships hugged the coast and threaded through archipelagos rather than risking the open sea, they had to be designed for maneuverability. The ability to travel without regard to the direction or strength of the wind daylight expeditions across open water. Massed oars provided maneuverability and reliable propulsion.

Penteconters

The development of the ram in about 800 BC changed the nature of naval warfare, which had until that point involved boarding and hand-to-hand fighting. A ram bow or Rostrum ( Latin for ' Beak ' or ' Prow ' is form of bow on naval Ships which allows one ship The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC. Now a more maneuverable ship could render a slower ship useless by staving in its sides. We do not know for sure if the winners of naval battles usually actually sank their opponents; the same Greek word can mean "sunk" or "waterlogged", and reports survive of victorious galleys towing the defeated ship away after a battle. The few archaeological remains of sunken ships compared to the many galleys in use according to the writings of contemporaries suggests that victors may not usually have sunk the vanquished. The most famous part of any galley to survive in the sea, from antiquity, is the Athlit bronze ram. [1]. The only other parts of ancient galleys to survive are parts of two Punic biremes off western Sicily (see Basch & Frost, & Frost). These Punic galleys are estimated to have been 35 m long, 4. 80 m wide, with a displacement tonnage of 120 tonnes. These biremes had evidence of an easily breakable pointed ram, more like the Assyrian image than the Athlit ram. This type of ram may have been designed to break off to protect the ramming vessel from damaging itself.

Galleys were hauled out of the water whenever possible to keep them dry, light and fast and free from worm, rot and seaweed. Galleys were usually overwintered in ship sheds which leave distinctive archeological remains. [2] There is evidence that the hulls of the Punic wrecks were sheathed in lead.

Building an efficient galley posed difficult technical problems. A ship traveling at high speed creates a bow-wave and has to expend considerable energy climbing this wave instead of increasing its speed. A bow wave is the Wave that forms at the bow of a ship when it moves through the water The longer the ship, the faster it can travel before this effect hampers it, but the available technology in the ancient Mediterranean made long ships difficult to construct. Through a process of trial and error, the monoreme — a galley with one row of oars on each side — reached the peak of its development in the penteconter, about 38 m long, with 25 oarsmen on each side. Historians believe that it could reach speeds of about 9 knots (18 km/h), only a knot or so slower than modern rowed racing-boats. To maintain the strength of such a long craft tensioned cables were fitted from the bow to the stern; this provided rigidity without adding weight. This technique also kept the joints of the hull under compression - tighter, and more waterproof. The tension in the modern trireme replica anti-hogging cables was 300 kNewtons (Morrison p198).

Biremes and Triremes

Main article: Trireme

Assyrian warship, a bireme with pointed bow. Trireme ( τριήρης sing τριήρεις pl triremis sing Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture A bireme is a ship probably invented by the Phoenicians whose best known use was as an Ancient greek Naval ship that was 80 feet (24 metres long with a 700 BC

Around the 7th or 6th century BC the design of galleys changed. The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC. The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. Shipbuilders, probably Phoenician (seafaring people who lived on the southern and eastern coasts of the Mediterranean), added a second row of oars above the first, creating the ship widely known by its Greek name, biērēs (English: bireme). Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States These terms were probably not used until later. The idea was copied around the Mediterranean. Soon afterwards a third row of oars was added, by adding an outrigger to the hull of a bireme. These new galleys became known as triērēis ("three-fitted", Sing. triērēs) in Greek; the Romans later called this design the triremis (in English, "trireme"). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Trireme ( τριήρης sing τριήρεις pl triremis sing The origin of these changes remains uncertain; Thucydides attributes the innovation to the boat-builder Ameinoklēs of Corinth in about 700 BC, but some scholars distrust this and suggest that the design also came from Phoenicia. Thucydides ( C 460 BC &ndash C 395 BC) ( Greek Θουκυδίδης Thoukydídēs) was a Greek Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. Herodotus (484 BC - ca. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash Events By place Persian Empire Xerxes I quells the Egyptian revolt against Persian rule 425 BC) provides the first mention of triremes in action: he mentions that Polycrates, tyrant of Samos from 535 BC to 515 BC, had triremes in his fleet in 539 BC. Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes I, Achaemenid king of Persia, is succeeded by his son Xerxes II Polycrates (Πολυκράτης son of Aeaces, was the Tyrant of Samos from c In modern usage a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute power over a State or within an Organization. Samos (Σάμος is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off Events and trends 539 BC — Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, defeating Nabonidus; noted in such documents as that of Africanus Events and trends 519 BC — Zhou Jing Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. Events and trends 539 BC — Babylon is conquered by Cyrus, defeating Nabonidus; noted in such documents as that of Africanus

In the early 5th century BC the city-states of Greece and the expansionist Persian Empire under Darius (reigned 521 - 485 BC) and Xerxes (reigned 485 - 465 BC) came into conflict. The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Darius I the Great (c 549 BC&ndash486 BC 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavahuš: "Possessing goodness" Having ascended to power amidst controversy and bloodshed Xerxes I of Persia was a King of Persia (reigned 485–465 BC of the Achaemenid dynasty.

The Persians hired ships from their Phoenician satrapies. See also the related deity Satrapes. Satrap (Persian ساتراپ was the name given to the governors of the Provinces of ancient The Athenians defeated the first invasion force on land at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, but saw the waging of land battles against the more numerous Persians as hopeless in the long term. The Battle of Marathon ( Greek: Μάχη τοῡ Μαραθῶνος Machē tou Marathōnos) during the Greco-Persian Wars took place in 490 Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across When news came that Xerxes had started to amass an enormous invasion force in Asia Minor, the Greek cities expanded their navies: in 482 BC the Athenian leader Themistocles started a program for the construction of 200 triremes. Events By place Greece The Athenian Archon Themistocles secures the Ostracism of his opponents Themistocles ( Greek:; c 524&ndash459 BC was an Athenian soldier and statesman The project must have met with considerable success, as 150 Athenian triremes are said to have fought in the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and participated in the defeat of Xerxes' invasion fleet there. The Battle of Salamis ( Ancient Greek:) was a decisive naval battle between the Greek City-states and Persia in September 480 BC in the Events By place Greece May — King Xerxes I of Persia marches from Sardis and onto Thrace

Triremes fought in the naval battles of the Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC), including the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, which sealed the defeat of the Athenian Empire by Sparta and her allies. The naval Battle of Aegospotami took place in 404 BC and was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. Events By place Greece After their victory in the Battle of Arginusae over the Spartans the Athenian fleet follows The Delian League was an association of approximately 150 5th-century BC Greek City-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη

Quinqueremes and polyremes

Main article: Quinquereme

Considerable skill was required to row the ships used at the time of the Peloponnesian War, and there were not enough skilled oarsmen to man large numbers of triremes in the 4th century BC. A quinquereme (Latin or penteres (Greek is a type of ancient oar-propelled warship that was used by the Greeks of the Hellenistic period and later by the Carthaginians Trireme ( τριήρης sing τριήρεις pl triremis sing The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. The search for designs that would allow oarsmen to use muscle-power instead of skill led Dionysius of Syracuse (ruled 405 - 367 BC) to build tetreres (quadriremes) and penteres (quinqueremes).

According to modern historians, the numbers used to describe these larger galleys counted the number of rows of men on each side, and not the numbers of oars. Thus quadriremes had three possible designs: one row of oars with four men on each oar, two rows of oars with two men on each oar or three rows of oars with two men pulling the top oars on each side. Probably galleys of all three designs existed. Scholars believe that quinqueremes had three rows of oars, with two men pulling each of the top two oars.

Along with the change in galley design came an increased reliance on tactics such as boarding and using warships as platforms for artillery. Artillery (from French artillerie) is a military Combat Arm which employs any apparātus machine In the wars of the Diadochi (322 - 281 BC), the successors to the empire of Alexander the Great built increasingly bigger and bigger galleys. The Diadochi (plural of Latin Diadochus, from Greek Διάδοχοι, Diadokhoi, "successors" were the rival successors Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Macedon in 340 BC built sexiremes (probably with two men on each of three oars) and in 315 BC septiremes, which saw action at the Battle of Salamis in Cyprus (306 BC). Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most Events By place Persian Empire Rhodes falls to Persian forces Events By place Macedonian Empire Antigonus claims authority over most of Asia seizes the treasury at Susa and enters Babylon The naval Battle of Salamis took place in 306 BC near Salamis Cyprus between the fleets of Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius, two of the Demetrius I of Macedon (reigned 294 - 288 BC), involved in a naval war with Ptolemy of Egypt (reigned 323 - 283 BC), built eights (octeres), nines, tens, twelves and finally sixteens! Later Ptolemies continued this trend of expansion, creating twenties and thirties and, during the reign of Ptolemy IV, a monstrous forty over 400 feet long that was probably intended as a showpiece. Demetrius I (337-283 BC Greek: Δημήτριος) called Poliorcetes (Greek Πολιορκητής) ("The Besieger" son of For the astronomer see Ptolemy; for others named "Ptolemy" or "Ptolemaeus" see Ptolemy (disambiguation. According to a detailed description of the forty, the ship had two prows and two sterns, and this and other evidence has led some to believe that the forty, and probably the twenties and thirties, were constructed like huge catamarans with enough space between the hulls for the rowers in the middle to operate. A catamaran (From Tamil 'kattumaram' is a type of Multihulled Boat or Ship consisting of two hulls or vakas joined by some The deck above them, stretching across the two hulls, could accommodate a couple of thousand marines. Marines (from the English adjective marine, meaning of the sea, from Latin language mare, meaning sea via French adjective

The political unification of the entire Mediterranean sea by the Roman Empire reduced the need for warships. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial By AD 79 the Roman navy probably had nothing larger than a quadrireme in service, as Pliny the Elder, commander of the fleet, investigated the eruption of Vesuvius in a quadrireme (Pliny the younger 6,16) which was presumably his flagship and the largest class of vessel in the fleet. Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61/63 - ca We last hear of triremes, from Zosimus, in 324 when Constantine's son Crispus defeated Licinius in the battle of the Hellespont: allegedly 200 triremes were defeated by 80 30-oared vessels (Morrisson p8 who gives the wrong year). Events By Place Roman Empire July 3 — Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, forcing him Flavius Julius Crispus, also known as Flavius Claudius Crispus and Flavius Valerius Crispus was a Caesar of the Roman Empire. For other Romans of this name see Licinius (gens. Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c The Battle of the Hellespont consisting of two separate naval clashes was fought in 324 between a Constantinian fleet led by the eldest son of Constantine I Galleys with two banks of oars were known in the 9th and 12th centuries but no continuity of development through the Dark Ages can be established. Ships in the ancient world, presumably including galleys, were constructed skin first, with the frame inserted later. Medieval ships, including galleys, were constructed frame first. For this intermediate period see the Roman Navy and Byzantine Navy articles. The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state The Byzantine navy comprised the naval forces of the Byzantine Empire.

Medieval galleys

Medieval galley specifications

The earliest galley specification comes from an order of Charles I of Sicily, in 1275 AD (in both Bass & Pryor). Charles I ( 21 March 1226 &ndash 7 January 1285) commonly called Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily by conquest Overall length 39. 30 m, keel length 28. In boats and ships keel can refer to either of two parts a structural element or a hydrodynamic element 03 m, depth 2. 08 m. Hull width 3. 67 m. Width between outriggers 4. An outrigger is a part of a boat's Rigging which is rigid and extends beyond the side or Gunwale of a boat 45 m. 108 oars, most 6. 81 m long, some 7. 86 m, 2 steering oars 6. 03 m long. Foremast and middle mast respectively heights 16. 08 m, 11. 00 m; circumference both 0. 79 m, yard lengths 26. 72 m, 17. 29 m. Overall deadweight tonnage approximately 80 metric tons. This type of vessel had two, later three, men on a bench, each working his own oar. This vessel had much longer oars than the Athenian trireme which were 4. 41 m & 4. 66 m long (Morrison p269). The Athenian vessel, of about the same size, was very different in almost every respect. These galleys were really big.

Medieval galleys like this pioneered the use of naval guns, pointing forward as a supplement to the above-waterline beak designed to break the enemies outrigger. Naval Artillery or naval rifles refers to Warship -mounted Guns used in Naval warfare for attacking enemy vessels Waterline refers to an imaginary line marking the level at which Ship or Boat floats in the Water. Only in the 16th century were ships called galleys developed with many men to each oar (Pryor p67).

At the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the standard Venetian war galleys were 42 m long and 5. 1 m wide (6. 7 m with the rowing frame), had a draught of 1. 7 m and a freeboard of 1. Freeboard or FREEBOARD may refer to Sporting Goods. The six-wheeled skateboard which acts like a snowboard (on pavement 0 m, and weighed empty about 140 tons. The larger flagship galleys (or lanterns) were 46 m long and 5. 5 m wide (7. 3 m with the rowing frame), had 1. 8 m draught and 1. 1 m freeboard. and weighed 180 tons. The standard galleys had 24 rowing benches on each side, with three rowers to a bench. (One bench on each side was typically removed to make space for platforms carrying the skiff and the stove. The term skiff is used and has been used to refer to many various types of small boats A stove is an enclosed heated space The term is commonly taken to mean an enclosed space in which fuel is burned to provide heating either to heat the space in which the stove is situated ) The crew typically comprised 10 officers, about 65 sailors, gunners and other staff plus 138 rowers. An officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority The lanters had 27 benches on each side, with 156 rowers, and a crew of 15 officers and about 105 other sailors, gunners and soldiers. The regular galleys carried one 50-pound cannon or a 32-pound culverin at the bow as well as four lighter cannon and four swivel guns. | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural A culverin was a simple ancestor of the Musket, and later a medieval Cannon of relatively long barrel and light construction that fired solid Round shot The larger lanterns carried one heavy gun plus six 12 and 6 pound culverins and eight swivel guns. These guns were really big.

Surviving galleys

The naval museum in Istanbul contains the galley Kadirga (Turkish for "galley"), dating from the reign of Mehmed IV (1648-1687). Istanbul (historically Byzantium and later Constantinople; see the other Names of Istanbul) is the largest city of Turkey She was the personal galley of the sultan, and remained in service until 1839. Year 1839 ( MDCCCXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common She is presumably the only surviving galley in the world, albeit without its masts. It is 37 m long, 5. 7 m wide, has a draught of about 2 m, weighs about 140 tons, and has 48 oars powered by 144 oarsmen.

A 1971 reconstruction of the Real, the flagship of Don Juan de Austria in the Battle of Lepanto 1571, is in the Museu Marítim in Barcelona. The Real, built in Barcelona was the largest Galley of its time and the flagship of Don Juan de Austria in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 the The Battle of Lepanto ( Greek: Ναύπακτος Naupaktos, pron Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia The ship is 60 m long and 6. 2 m wide, has a draught of 2. 1 m, weighs 239 tons empty, was propelled by 290 rowers, and carried about 400 crew and fighting soldiers at Lepanto. She was substantially larger than the typical galleys of her time.

Medieval Merchant Galleys

In the 14th and 15th centuries merchant galleys traded high-value goods and carried passengers. Major routes were the pilgrim traffic to the Holy Land, around the Mediterranean, between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and between the Mediterranean and Bruges and Southampton. Bruges (Brugge is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England Although primarily sailing vessels, they used oars to enter and leave many trading ports of call. In 1447, for instance, Florentine galleys planned to call at 14 ports on their way to and from Alexandria (Pryor p57). The availability of oars enabled these ships to navigate close to the shore where they could exploit land and sea breezes and coastal currents, to work reliable and comparatively fast passages against the prevailing wind. The large crews also provided protection against piracy. These ships were very seaworthy; a Florentine great galley left Southampton on 23 February 1430 and returned to its port at Pisa in 32 days. They were so safe that merchandise was often not insured (Mallet). These ships increased in size during this period, and were the template from which the galleass developed. A galley (from Greek γαλέα - galea is an ancient Ship which can be propelled entirely by human oarsmen, used for Warfare

Galleys in northern Europe

There is good archaeological evidence for Dark Age northern galleys from ship burials, unlike ancient Mediterranean galleys. The most stunning is the Gokstad ship. The Gokstad ship is a late 9th century Viking ship found in a Ship burial beneath a Burial mound at Gokstad farm in Sandar, Sandefjord A development of the Viking longships and knarrs, medieval north European galleys, clinker-built, used a square sail and rows of oars, and looked very like their Norse predecessors. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Longships, or longboats were ships primarily used by the Scandinavian Vikings and the Saxon people to raid coastal and inland settlements during the European A knarr is a type of Norse Merchant Ship famously used by the Vikings The knarr (also known as knorr or knörr) is of the Clinker building is a method of constructing hulls of Boats and Ships by fixing Wooden planks and in the early nineteenth century

In the waters off the west of Scotland between 1263 and 1500, the Lords of the Isles used galleys both for warfare and for transport around their maritime domain, which included the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, the Hebrides, and Antrim in Ireland. The designation Lord of the Isles (Triath nan Eilean or Rí Innse Gall now a Scottish title of nobility, emerged from a series of hybrid Viking / Gaelic The Scottish Highlands ( Scottish Gaelic: A' Ghàidhealtachd, Scots: Hielans) include the rugged and Mountainous See also Hebrides (disambiguation The Hebrides (ˈhɛbrɨˌdiːz "HEB-ri-deez" Gaelic: Innse Gall) comprise a widespread and diverse County Antrim ( Contae Aontroma or simply Aontroim in Irish) is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, and one of nine counties Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world They employed these ships for sea-battles and for attacking castles or forts built close to the sea. As a feudal superior, the Lord of the Isles required the service of a specified number and size of galleys from each holding of land. Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed For examples the Isle of Man had to provide six galleys of 26 oars, and Sleat in Skye had to provide one 18-oar galley. The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical Sleat is a Peninsula on the Isle of Skye in the Highland council area Scotland. Skye or the Isle of Skye ( Scottish Gaelic An t-Eilean Sgitheanach əɲ tʰʲelan s̪kʲiə

Carvings of galleys on tombstones from 1350 onwards show the construction of these boats. From the 14th century they abandoned a steering-oar in favour of a stern rudder, with a straight stern to suit. From a document of 1624, a galley proper would have 18 to 24 oars, a birlinn 12 to 18 oars and a lymphad fewer still. A Birlinn comprised a class of small Galleys with 12 to 18 Oars used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle A Birlinn comprised a class of small Galleys with 12 to 18 Oars used especially in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland in the Middle

Galleass

A galleass as depicted in Architectura Navalis, 1620

The galleass or "galliass" (known as a "mahon" in Turkey) developed from large merchant galleys.

Converted for military use they were higher and larger than regular ("light") galleys. They had up to 32 oars, each worked by up to 5 men. They usually had three masts and a forecastle and aftcastle. Forecastle, also spelled fo'c's'le (ˈfoʊksəl originally meant the upper deck of a Sailing ship, forward of the Foremast. An aftcastle is the upper deck of a sailing ship positioned behind the Mizzenmast. Much effort was made in Venice to make these galleasses as fast as possible to compete with regular galleys. The gun-deck usually ran over the rowers' heads, but there are also pictures showing the opposite arrangement.

Galleasses usually carried more sails than true galleys, and were far deadlier; a galley caught broadside lay all but helpless, but coming broadside to a galleass, as with a ship of the line, exposed an attacker to her gunfire. The galleass exemplified an intermediate type between the galley and the true man-of-war. Relatively few galleasses were built — one disadvantage was that, being more reliant on sails, their position at the front of the galley line at the start of a battle could not be guaranteed — but they were used at the Battle of Lepanto (7 October 1571), their firepower helping to win victory for the Christian fleet, and some sufficiently seaworthy galleasses accompanied the Spanish Armada in 1588 (e. The Battle of Lepanto ( Greek: Ναύπακτος Naupaktos, pron Events 3761 BC - The epoch (origin of the modern Hebrew calendar ( Proleptic Julian calendar) The Spanish Armada ( Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada, "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or Armada Invencible, "Invincible g. La Girona). La Girona was a galleass of the 1588 Spanish Armada which foundered and sank off Lacada Point, County Antrim, Ireland,

In the Mediterranean, with its shallower waters, less dangerous weather and fickle winds, both galleasses and galleys continued in use, particularly in Venice and Turkey, long after they became obsolete elsewhere. Later, "round ships" and galleasses were replaced by galleons and ships of the line which originated in northern Europe. The first Venetian ship of the line was built in 1660.

Galliots and fustas

Fusta from a book by Jan Huygen van Linschoten

The galliot emerged as a smaller, lighter type of galley. The fusta or fuste (also called foist or galliot) was a narrow light and fast ship with shallow draft powered by both oars and sail -– For the Dutch city see Linschoten. Jan Huyghen van Linschoten (1563 Haarlem - Feb 8 1611, Enkhuizen Galiots (or galliots) were types of ships from the Age of Sail. The number of oars or sweeps varied from 18 to 22 per side, the larger ones having twenty-five on each side.

The fusta or fuste, likewise, was in essence a small galley -- a narrow, light and fast ship with shallow draft, powered by both oars and sail. The fusta or fuste (also called foist or galliot) was a narrow light and fast ship with shallow draft powered by both oars and sail -– It had 12 to 15 two-man rowing benches on each side, and a single mast with a lateen (triangular) sail. A lateen (from a la trina, meaning triangular or latin-rig is a triangular Sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast The fusta was the favorite ship of the North African corsairs of Salé and the Barbary Coast. Corsairs were French Privateers from the north-western French port of St-Malo, located on the northern coast of Brittany. For the Canadian figure skater see Jamie Salé. For the Finnish Union of Sex Workers see Salli. The Barbary Coast, or Barbary, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to the middle and western coastal regions of North Africa—what Its speed, mobility, capability to move without wind, and its ability to operate in shallow water made it an ideal vessel for war and piracy.

Galley slaves

Main article: Galley slave

Contrary to the popular image of the chained convict, conveyed by movies such as Ben Hur, there is no evidence that ancient navies ever made use of condemned criminals as oarsmen. " Galley slave " is a term used to refer to prisoners condemned (in an obsolete form of punishment to man the oars of a Galley. Ben-Hur (or Benhur is a 1959 Movie directed by William Wyler, and is the third film version of Lew Wallace 's novel Ben-Hur ^[1]

The literary evidence indicates that Greek and Roman navies generally preferred to rely on freemen to man their galleys. The History of Greece traditionally encompasses the study of the Greek people, the areas they ruled historically and the territory now composing the modern state of The Roman Navy ( Latin: Classis, lit "fleet" comprised the naval forces of the Roman state ^{[2] [3]} Slaves were put at the oars only in exceptional circumstances. In some cases, these people were given freedom thereafter, while in others they began their service aboard as freedman.

In early modern times, it became the custom among the Mediterranean powers to sentence condemned criminals to row in the war-galleys of the state, initially only in time of war. Galley-slaves lived in very unhealthy conditions, and many died even if sentenced only for a few years, even if they escaped shipwreck and death in battle.

Prisoners of war were often used as galley-slaves. Several well-known historical figures served time as galley slaves after being captured by the enemy, the Ottoman corsair and admiral Turgut Reis, the Maltese Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valette, and the author of Don Quijote, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, among them. Turgut Reis ( 1485 - June 23, 1565) was a Turkish Privateer and Ottoman Admiral as well as Bey of The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St Jean Parisot de Valette (born in 1494 died in Malta 21 August 1568) was born into a noble family in Quercy. es '''''Don Quixote''''' (, see spelling and pronunciation below fully titled es '''''El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha''''' ("The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( in modern Spanish; September 29, 1547 &ndash April 22, 1616) was a Spanish Novelist

The last galleys

Stern of the Réale, the prestige galley of Louis XIV. Notes and references Early years Birth and ancestry Louis XIV was born in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye on September 5 1638 and bore the Heir apparent

The decline of the galley was extremely protracted, beginning before the development of cannon and continuing slowly for centuries. As early as 1304 the type of ship required by the Danish defence organisation changed from galley to cog, a flat-bottomed sailing ship (Bass p191). Cogs (or cog-built vessels are ships that first appeared in the 10th century, and were widely used from around the 12th century on Large high-sided sailing ships had always been very formidable obstacles for galleys. As early as 413 BC defeated triremes could seek shelter behind a screen of merchant ships (Thucydides (7, 41), Needham 4, pt3, p693). Thucydides ( C 460 BC &ndash C 395 BC) ( Greek Θουκυδίδης Thoukydídēs) was a Greek In the Mediterranean, the decline of the galley began at around 1595-1605 AD. This corresponds to an influx of Dutch and English merchantmen. These were so heavily armed and manned and were so seaworthy that they could compete simultaneously by trade and theft, as pirates. Venetian galleys could barely cope with their piracy in summer, and were no answer to their piracy in winter (Tenenti).

Because of their low freeboard and lack of storage capacity, war-galleys were always somewhat fair weather, inshore and short-range vessels. As the merchant marine became more numerous, open-water and winter-sailing, galleys became irrelevant before they became obsolete in battle. The galleass developed into the sailing carrack and then the Mediterranean galleon, the galleons of Northern Europe having evolved concurrently from cog-like ships. A carrack or nau was a three- or four- masted Sailing ship developed in the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th century by the Portuguese A galleon was a large multi-decked Sailing ship used primarily by the nations of Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries Northern Europe is a term for the northern part of Europe. The United Nations defines Northern Europe as (Finland

The late 15th century saw the beginning of the development of the man-of-war, a truly ocean-going warship, carrying advanced sails that permitted tacking into the wind, and heavily armed with cannon. A man-of-war (also man of war, man-o'-war or simply man) is an armed naval vessel | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural The man-of-war eventually rendered the galley obsolete except for operations close to shore in calm weather. Galleys had already become unusual by the end of the 17th Century, when Captain Kidd chose this design for his privateering ship, the Adventure Galley. William " Captain " Kidd ( c 1645 &ndash May 23, 1701) was a Scottish sailor remembered for his Adventure Galley, aka Adventure, was an English Ship captained by William Kidd, the notorious Privateer turned

Galleys remained a mainstay of North African corsair fleets and continued to play a significant role in the Mediterranean well into the 18th century. Corsairs were French Privateers from the north-western French port of St-Malo, located on the northern coast of Brittany. They made one of their final appearances in a Mediterranean battle in the Battle of Chesma in 1770; they lingered on in the shallow Baltic Sea and took part in the Russo-Swedish War in 1790. The naval Battle of Chesma took place on 5 - 7 July 1770 near and in Çeşme (Chesma Bay in the area between Asia Minor Year 1770 ( MDCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Friday The Baltic Sea is a Brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N Latitude and from 20°E to 26°E Longitude. The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–90, known as Gustav III's Russian War in Sweden, Gustav III's War in Finland and Catherine II's Swedish Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Galleys were used, ineffectively, by the Knights of Malta during Napoleon's siege of Valetta in 1798

In America they were used in the Battle of Valcour Island in 1776. The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Valletta ( Belt Valletta or Città Umilissima) is the capital city of Malta. Year 1798 ( MDCCXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The naval Battle of Valcour Island, also known as the Battle of Valcour Bay, took place on 11 October 1776, on Lake Champlain in a narrow Year 1776 ( MDCCLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Galleys were also used during the Revolutionary War by whalers who used their ships to raid British shipping along the American coast. These raiding parties were useful in supplying the Continental Army with many much needed supplies.

Appearances in modern media

Galleys appear in Ensemble Studio's strategy game series, Age of Empires. Originally founded as an independent developer in 1995 Ensemble Studios has been a Microsoft -owned developer since 2001 Age of Empires is a series of computer Video games developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Galleys are used as warships in Age of Empires, with the addition of Fire Galleys in The Rise of Rome, and as a unique Ottoman war ship in Age of Empires III. Age of Empires (often abbreviated to AoE or AofE) is a History -based Real-time strategy computer game New features Few noteworthy changes were made to the gameplay most notably the addition of the Roman architectural style Age of Empires III (also called AOE III) is a real-time strategy (RTS game developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Also, these ships appear in the Civilization series of games. Specifically, triremes in Civilization (I), and galleys in Civilization III. Sid Meier's Civilization is a Turn-based strategy computer game created by Sid Meier for MicroProse in 1991 Sid Meier's Civilization III is a turn-based strategy Computer game by Firaxis Games, the sequel to Sid Meier's Civilization II

WAR GALLEY is a boardgame from GMT Games that is a simulation of galley warfare in ancient times.

References

Sources

• George F. Bass, ed. , A History of Seafaring, Thames & Hudson, 1972
• L. Basch & H. Frost Another Punic wreck off Sicily: its ram International journal of Nautical Archaeology vol 4. 2, 201-228, 1975
• Bicheno, Hugh, Crescent and Cross: The Battle of Lepanto 1571, Phoenix Paperback, London, 2004, ISBN 1-84212-753-5
• Lionel Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, Princeton University Press, 1971
• H. Frost et al. Lilybaeum supplement to Notizae Scavi d'Anichita 8th ser vol 30 1981 (1971)
• Brian Lavery, Maritime Scotland, B T Batsford Ltd. , 2001, ISBN 0-7134-8520-5
• Michael E. Mallett, The Florentine Galleys in the Fifteenth Century, Oxford, 1967
• J. S. Morrison et al. , The Athenian Trireme 2000 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press
• John H. Pryor Geography, Technology and War, Cambridge University Press, 1988
• Alberto Tenenti, Piracy and the Decline of Venice 1580-1615, English transl. 1967
• William Ledyard Rodgers, Admiral, Naval Warfare Under Oars: 4th to 16th Centuries, Naval Institute Press, 1940. William Ledyard Rodgers (1860 - 1944 was a Vice Admiral of the United States Navy.

External links

• John F. Guilmartin, "The Tactics of the Battle of Lepanto Clarified: The Impact of Social, Economic, and Political Factors on Sixteenth Century Galley Warfare". A very detailed discussion of galley warfare at the Battle of Lepanto