Archive Results For: Mediterranean
Note: A Good Man in Every Sense of the Word: The reputation of Admiral Robert Man
A revision of the reputation of Admiral Robert Man, who obeyed orders and was rewarded for having done so. Read More
Filed under: Napoleonic War | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Administration | Battles & Tactics | Biography
A New Battle Fleet: The evolution of the Ottoman sailing navy, 1650–1718, revealed through Venetian sources
Between 1650 and 1718 the Ottoman navy developed a new fleet of sailing warships in response to similar developments in the Venetian navy. The Venetian government was kept informed of Ottoman naval developments through ambassadors’ reports from Constantinople and accounts from admirals during wartime. The files in the Archivio di Stato di Venezia therefore preserve […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Navies | Shipbuilding & Design | Strategy & Diplomacy
Vegetius and Taccola: Was medieval writing on war at sea of any practical use?
For much of the medieval period little time was devoted to the discussion of how war should be waged at sea. Discussion on war was often based on the writings of Flavius Vegetius Renatus, from the late fourth or early fifth century. His short treatise De re militari is based on the works of earlier […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Strategy & Diplomacy | Weapons
Note: An Offshore Hydrographic Survey by the Royal Navy in 1798
In 1798 St Vincent ordered an urgent examination of an alternative anchorage for the Mediterranean fleet south of Cape Spartel. This account describes the methods used to carry out the survey and its shortfalls. Read More
Filed under: French Revolution | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Science & Exploration
The Case of the Roman Transom Bow
The discovery of a Roman boat with a transom end during the construction of a Metro line in Naples has reopened the discussion about whether this end is the bow or the stern of the boat. This issue was debated through the twentieth century and still continues today. Discussion so far has mainly been focused […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology | Shipbuilding & Design
‘So Complete Was Our Victory! So Complete Their Ruin!’: An analysis of the battle of Çeşme, 1770
This article presents an analysis of why a technically advanced Ottoman fleet of overwhelming numerical superiority operating in its home waters should have been decisively defeated by a Russian fleet operating in totally unfamiliar waters and hampered by a divided command structure, with no truly safe harbour to fall back on and with ships manned […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics
Did Vessels Beach in the Ancient Mediterranean? An assessment of the textual and visual evidence
The practice of beaching seafaring ships in the ancient Mediterranean is a widely accepted phenomenon. This paper examines the evidence for beaching and outlines the various methods, tools and technology employed. While habitual beaching for seafaring vessels is testi ed for the Geometric Period Aegean, for later periods the evidence is primarily negative. With the […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Ship Handling & Seamanship
Note: A Close Examination of an Ancient Naval Artefact
An identification of an ancient bronze artefact as a secondary ram. Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Weapons
From galleys to square riggers: The modernization of the navy of the Kingdom of Sardinia
By the middle of the eighteenth century most navies operating in the Mediterranean had replaced their galley fleets with sailing navies. The Kingdom of Sardinia was one of the last to make the transition, acquiring its first square rigged ships in 1763. The galleys were decommissioned and a completely new naval administration was created. The […] Read More
Filed under: Mediterranean | Other (Eighteenth C)
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Manpower & Life at Sea | Merchant Marines | Navies | Strategy & Diplomacy
Caesar’s crossing of the Adriatic Countered by a Winter Blockade During the Roman Civil War
During the Roman Civil War that broke out in 49 bc between Julius Caesar and Pompey naval operations played a critical role. In order to confront Pompey’s army quickly in the Balkans, a major amphibious crossing of the Adriatic was undertaken by Caesar’s army. The text of Caesar’s Civil War and other sources, including Lucan’s […] Read More
Filed under: Antiquity | Mediterranean
Subjects include: Archaeology | Battles & Tactics | Navies