The lemb, ''lembus'' or ''lembos'' ( grc, λέμβος, ''lembos''; la, lembus) was an ancient wide term covering a range of small ships, which were used for different purposes, both civilian and military. It was small and light, with a low freeboard. It was a fast and maneuverable warship, capable of carrying 50 men in addition to the rowers. It was the galley used by Illyrian pirates. Illyrians used them at Medion under Agron, and at Elis, Messene, Phoenice, Issa, Epidamnus, Apollonia, Corcyra and Paxus under Teuta. Philip V of Macedon used lembi during the First Macedonian War.Walbank
p. 69

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

5.109
The lemb was more common among the Illyrians of the southern

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

, while in the northern Adriatic the more common ship was the liburna which originated from the Liburnians. The lemb appears in several Illyrian coins of the southern Adriatic communities, which were politically connected with the Illyrian kingdom, like the Labeatae, the

Daorsi Daorson (Ancient Greek: Δαορσών) was the capital of the Illyrian tribe of the Daorsi (Ancient Greek Δαόριζοι, Δαούρσιοι; Latin ''Daorsei''). The Daorsi lived in the valley of the Neretva River between 300 BC and 50 BC. They ...

, and the cities of Scodra and

Lissus Lissus or Lissos ( el, Λίσσος) could be: * Lissus (Crete), an ancient Greek city in Crete * Lissos (Illyria), an ancient city in Illyria, the present day city of Lezhë in Albania * Lissus, a river in Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη ...

Name

The term λέμβος, ''lembos'' has been recorded in Classical sources since the 4th century BC onwards. The Illyric- Greek term λέμβος was later Latinized as ''lembus''. The ultimate source of the term is obscure. An Illyrian origin have been suggested.

Usage

The lembi were small ships used originally for civilian purposes, and thereafter adapted to warfare usages, with at least three sub-types: *small ship used in the Aegean as towing boat, ship's boat, transportation boat, and platform for the catapults; *southern

(Illyrian) lemb for

naval warfare Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other battlespace involving a major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years. Even in the interior of large la ...

, piracy (also attacking unarmed ships), trade, and swift transport of the troops: the southern Adriatic shipbuilders most likely adopted and developed an already existing small and fast Aegean type of ship; *upgraded Macedonian fighting lemb: a Macedonian prototype of the Illyrian lemb was built at the behest of king Philip V of Macedon, who ordered one hundred lembs to be built by Illyrian shipbuilders, in order to transport his toops in 216 BC. Philip's shipbuilders further developed in 214 BC this ship type by enlarging it into a bireme warship. Those warships were even fitted with rams.

Notes

References

''Histories''

Evelyn S. Shuckburgh Evelyn Shirley Shuckburgh (12 July 1843 – 10 July 1906) was an English academic and schoolmaster, known as classical scholar and translator. Life Born at Aldborough, Norfolk on 12 July 1843, he was the third and eldest surviving son in the fam ...

(translator); London, New York. Macmillan (1889); Reprint Bloomington (1962). * * * * * Walbank, F. W., ''Philip V of Macedon'' Cambridge University Press, 2013. . *Wilkes, John, ''The Illyrians (Peoples of Europe)'', Blackwell Publishers, (December 1, 1995) Ship types Ancient piracy {{ship-stub