The ''Classis Misenensis'' ("Fleet of
Misenum
Miseno is one of the ''frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port.
Geography
Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northwestern end of the Ba ...
"), later awarded the honorifics ''praetoria'' and ''Pia Vindex'', was the senior fleet of the imperial
Roman navy
The naval forces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman state ( la, Classis, lit=fleet) were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans re ...
.
History
The was founded by
Caesar Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
in 27 BCE, when the fleet of Italy, until then based mostly at
Ostia, was moved to the new harbour of
Portus Julius
(alternatively spelled in the Latin ) was the first harbour specifically constructed to be a base for the Roman western naval fleet, the ; the eastern fleet was based in the Port of Ravenna. The port was located at Misenum on a peninsula at th ...
at
Misenum
Miseno is one of the ''frazioni'' of the municipality of Bacoli in the Italian Province of Naples. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port.
Geography
Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northwestern end of the Ba ...
in the
Bay of Naples
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
.
[''A Companion to the Roman Army'', p. 209] It was commanded by a , drawn from the highest levels of the
equestrian class
The ''equites'' (; literally "horse-" or "cavalrymen", though sometimes referred to as "knights" in English) constituted the second of the property-based classes of ancient Rome, ranking below the senatorial class. A member of the equestrian o ...
, those earning more than 200,000 sesterces a year. Its mission was to control the western part of the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
, and, as the honorific , awarded by
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
for its support during the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
of 69 CE,
[''Age of the Galley'', p. 80] suggests, the , together with the , formed the naval counterpart of the
Praetorian Guard
The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...
, a permanent naval force at the emperor's direct disposal.
The recruited its crews mostly from the East, especially from
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
[ Since Rome did not face any naval threat in the Mediterranean, the bulk of the fleet's crews were idle. Some of the sailors were based in ]Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
itself, initially housed in the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, but later given their own barracks, the near the Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...
.[ There they were used to stage mock naval battles (), and operated the mechanism that deployed the canvas canopy of the ]Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...
. Among the sailors of this fleet, Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
levied the , and used some of its leading officers in the murder of his mother Agrippina the Younger
Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius.
Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Claud ...
.[
In 192, the Misenum fleet supported ]Didius Julianus
Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dal ...
, and then participated in the campaign of Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...
against Pescennius Niger, transporting his legions to the East. The fleet remained active in the East for the next few decades, where the emergence of the Persian Sassanid Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
posed a new threat. In 258–260, the was employed in the suppression of a rebellion in North Africa.
In 324 the fleet's ships participated in the campaign of Constantine the Great
Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
against Licinius
Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...
and his decisive naval victory in the Battle of the Hellespont. Afterwards, the bulk of the ships were moved to Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, Constantine's new capital.
''Praefecti classis Misenensis''
The following list is based on Werner Eck and Hans Lieb
"Ein Diplom für die Classis Ravennas vom 22. November 206"
''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik
The ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "th ...
'', 96 (1993), pp. 86–88
List of known ships
The following ship names and types of the ''classis Misenensis'' have survive
* 1 Hellenistic-era warships#Hexareme, hexeres: ''Ops''
* 1 quinquereme: ''Victoria''
* 9 quadrireme
From the 4th century BC on, new types of oared warships appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, superseding the trireme and transforming naval warfare. Ships became increasingly large and heavy, including some of the largest wooden ships hitherto con ...
s: ''Fides'', ''Vesta'', ''Venus'', ''Minerva'', ''Dacicus'', ''Fortuna'', ''Annona'', ''Libertas'', ''Olivus''
* 50 trireme
A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...
s: ''Concordia'', ''Spes'', ''Mercurius'', ''Iuno'', ''Neptunus'', ''Asclepius'', ''Hercules'', ''Lucifer'', ''Diana'', ''Apollo'', ''Venus'', ''Perseus'', ''Salus'', ''Athenonix'', ''Satyra'', ''Rhenus'', ''Libertas'', ''Tigris'', ''Oceanus'', ''Cupidus'', ''Victoria'', ''Taurus'', ''Augustus'', ''Minerva'', ''Parthicus'', ''Euphrates'', ''Vesta'', ''Aesculapius'', ''Pietas'', ''Fides'', ''Danubius'', ''Ceres'', ''Tibur'', ''Pollux'', ''Mars'', ''Salvia'', ''Triumphus'', ''Aquila'', ''Liber Pater'', ''Nilus'', ''Caper'', ''Sol'', ''Isis'', ''Providentia'', ''Fortuna'', ''Iuppiter'', ''Virtus'', ''Castor''
* 11 liburnian
The Liburnians or Liburni ( grc, Λιβυρνοὶ) were an ancient tribe inhabiting the district called Liburnia, a coastal region of the northeastern Adriatic between the rivers ''Arsia'' ( Raša) and ''Titius'' ( Krka) in what is now Croatia ...
s: ''Aquila'', ''Agathopus'', ''Fides'', ''Aesculapius'', ''Iustitia'', ''Virtus'', ''Taurus Ruber'', ''Nereis'', ''Clementia'', ''Armata'', ''Minerva''
By 79 this fleet had probably nothing larger than a quadrireme in service,Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...
, ''Letters'', VI.16 for Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
, commander of the fleet, investigated the eruption of Vesuvius in a quadrireme, presumably his flagship and the largest class of vessel in the fleet.
See also
* Roman navy
The naval forces of the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman state ( la, Classis, lit=fleet) were instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean Basin, but it never enjoyed the prestige of the Roman legions. Throughout their history, the Romans re ...
References
Sources
*
* {{cite book , editor-first = Robert , editor-last = Gardiner , title = AGE OF THE GALLEY: Mediterranean Oared Vessels since pre-Classical Times , publisher = Conway Maritime Press , year = 2004 , isbn = 978-0-85177-955-3
Misenensis
27 BC establishments
Military units and formations established in the 1st century BC
Military history of Naples