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.

History

The was founded by Caesar Augustus 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 ...

in the Bay of Naples.''A Companion to the Roman Army'', p. 209 It was commanded by a , drawn from the highest levels of the equestrian class, 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 ...

, 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 Medit ...

. 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 t ...

. There they were used to stage mock naval battles (), and operated the mechanism that deployed the canvas canopy of the

. 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 unti ...

levied the , and used some of its leading officers in the murder of his mother Agrippina the Younger. 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 Da ...

, 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. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

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 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 convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...

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 " ...

'', 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, ''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.

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

History

''Praefecti classis Misenensis''

List of known ships

See also

References

Sources