Byzantine navy: Encyclopedia II - Byzantine navy - Ships

Byzantine navy - Ships

Literary sources and accounts reveal that there were at least three varieties of dromon. These were, firstly the ousiakooo which took its name from one company or ousia of one hundred men. This was a two-banked galley with the lower rank rowing only, and the upper rank rowing or disengaging to fight when required. Secondly the slightly larger pamphylos with a crew of between 120-160. Thirdly the dromon proper, which had a crew of two hundred, fifty on the lower bank, and one hundred on the upper bank in two files, together with fifty marines.

A description of some of the ships is given by Anna Comnena:

The emperor knew that the Pisans were skilled in warfare at sea and was afraid to clash with them. Thus he ordered the construction on all the ships of bronze and iron heads of lions and other wild animals of all types, with open mouths and covered in gold leaf, so that their appearance alone was enough to spread fear. The liquid fire that was to attack the enemy would pass through the mouths of these heads, so that it would appear verily that they were vomiting forth flames...

The variety of ships mentioned in the Alexiad by Anna Comnena is most striking: monoremes, biremes, triremes, corsairs, dromons (a generic term for warships), galleys (including one set apart for the use of empresses), merchantmen of heavy tonnage, cargo vessels, horse-transports, skiffs, dinghies, sermones (the exact nature of which eludes us, but they were probably fast, small craft), rowing boats, scout-ships, tiny boats for use on river or lake, fire-ships with flame-throwing apparatus and the vessel reserved for the `Second Count' and called by the sailors eveoussaton. The latter may refer to a ship immune from tax (the Latin excusatum) but there is no general agreement on that derivation.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Ships", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki