Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon, between the Lebanon Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. Phoenician civilization was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread right across the Mediterranean during the first millennium BC. Though ancient boundaries of such city-centered cultures fluctuated, the city of Tyre seems to have been the southernmost. Sarepta between Sidon and Tyre, is the most thoroughly excavated city of the Ph ...

Including:

• Phoenicia - Origins
• Phoenicia - The cultural and economic empire
• Phoenicia - Phoenician trade
• Phoenicia - Decline
• Phoenicia - Persian and Hellenistic Phoenicia
• Phoenicia - Important Phoenician cities and colonies
• Phoenicia - Language and literature
• Phoenicia - External links
• Phoenicia - Phoenicians in the Bible

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Attalus I (Soter "Savior") (269 BCE–197 BCE)1 ruled Pergamon, a Greek city state in present-day Turkey, from 241 BCE to 197 BCE. He was the second cousin and the adoptive son of Eumenes I2, whom he succeeded, and was the first of the Attalid dynasty to assume the title of king.3 He won an important victory over the Galatians, newly arrived Celtic tribes from Thrace, who had been, for more than a generation, plundering and exacting tribute thr ...

Including:

• Attalus I - Early life
• Attalus I - Defeat of the Galatians
• Attalus I - Conquests in Seleucid Asia Minor
• Attalus I - First Macedonian War
• Attalus I - Macedonian hostilities of 201 BCE
• Attalus I - Second Macedonian War
• Attalus I - Wife and sons
• Attalus I - The introduction of the cult of the Magna Mater to Rome
• Attalus I - Notes

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A navy (often Navy) is the branch of a country's military forces principally designated for naval warfare, namely lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includes operations conducted by surface vessels (ships), submarine vessels, and seaborne aviation, as well as ancillary support, communications, training, and other fields; recent developments have included space-related operations. The strategic offensive role of a Navy is projection-of-force into areas beyond a country's shores (for example, to prot ...

Including:

• Navy - History
• Navy - Contemporary naval forces
• Navy - Naval tactics and strategy
• Navy - Naval powers
• Navy - Operations
• Navy - Traditions
• Navy - Naval organisation
• Navy - Naval vessels
• Navy - Navy units
• Navy - Naval ranks
• Navy - Marine troops
• Navy - Additional reading

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The Battle of Actium was a naval battle of the Roman Civil War between Mark Antony and Octavian. It was fought on September 2, 31 BC, near the Roman colony of Actium in Greece (near the modern-day city of Preveza), on the Ionian Sea. The fleet of Octavian was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and the fleet of Antony supported by the fleet of his wife, Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. The battle was won by the forces of Octavian, whose victory led him to become the Princeps Augustus, later considered to be the first Roman Emperor ...

Including:

• Battle of Actium - Prelude
• Battle of Actium - The battle
• Battle of Actium - Aftermath

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Naval warfare first developed whenever humankind conducted fighting from water-borne vessels. Prior to the introduction of the cannon, and ships with sufficient capacity to carry the large guns, naval warfare primarily involved ramming and boarding actions. In the time of Ancient Greece and the Roman empire, naval warfare centred around long, narrow vessels powered by banks of oarsmen (such as triremes and quinqueremes) designed to ram and sink enemy vessels, or come alongside the enemy vessel so its occupants could be attacked hand-to-hand. ...

See also:

Navy, Navy - History, Navy - Contemporary naval forces, Navy - Naval tactics and strategy, Navy - Naval powers, Navy - Operations, Navy - Traditions, Navy - Naval organisation, Navy - Naval vessels, Navy - Navy units, Navy - Naval ranks, Navy - Marine troops, Navy - Additional reading

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Naval history is the area of military history concerning war at sea. The focus is on direct combat between ships at sea rather than the use of ships to transport armies or military supplies, although frequently naval strategy hinges on the need to protect transport shipping. Naval history is of special interest not only because of the value of learning how societies of the past dealt with the double challenge of human enemies and the implacable sea, but also because ships were the first technology to enable a global civilization. In the days before radio, naval officers at remote locations were frequently called upon to singleha ...

See also:

Naval warfare, Naval warfare - History, Naval warfare - Oarsmen of the Mediterranean Sea, Naval warfare - Dark and Middle Ages, Naval warfare - Sails and empire, Naval warfare - From wood to steel, Naval warfare - Above and below the surface, Naval warfare - Modern naval tactics

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The two fleets met outside the gulf of Actium, on the morning of September 2, 31 BC, with Mark Antony led 220 warships through the straits toward the open sea. There he met the fleet of Octavian, led by Admiral Agrippa, arranged to block his exit in an arc from the south. Mark Antony's warships were mostly massive quinqueremes, huge galleys with massive rams that could weigh up to three tons. The bows of the galleys were armored with bronze plates and square-cut timbers making it difficult to successfully ram them with similar equipment. Unf ...

See also:

Battle of Actium, Battle of Actium - Prelude, Battle of Actium - The battle, Battle of Actium - Aftermath

Read more here: » Battle of Actium: Encyclopedia II - Battle of Actium - The battle

By then, Roman naval tactics were already improved. The fleet advanced through the Sicilian coast in full battle formation, with the military ships deployed in three squadrons (see figure). I and II, commanded by the consuls, led the way arrayed in wedge. The bulk of the transport ships was right behind them and the third squadron covered the rear, adding protection. The Carthaginians expected them and the two fleets met in the southern coast of Sicily, offshore Mount Ecnomus. Carthage initial battle disposition was the traditional long line, with the centre commanded by Hamilcar, and the two flanks, the right one commanded by the ...

See also:

Battle of Cape Ecnomus, Battle of Cape Ecnomus - Prelude, Battle of Cape Ecnomus - Battle, Battle of Cape Ecnomus - Aftermath

Read more here: » Battle of Cape Ecnomus: Encyclopedia II - Battle of Cape Ecnomus - Battle

Later that summer Laevinus seized the main town of Zacynthus, except for its citadel, and the Acarnanian town of Oeniadae and the island of Nasos which he handed over to the Aetolians. He then withdrew his fleet to Corcyra for the winter.29 Upon hearing of the Roman alliance with Aetolia, Philip's first action was to secure his northern borders. He conducted raids in Illyria at Oricum and Apollonia and seized the frontier town of Sintia in Dardania or perhaps Paionia. He marched rapidly so ...

See also:

First Macedonian War, First Macedonian War - Demetrius urges war against Rome, First Macedonian War - Philip makes peace with Aetolia, First Macedonian War - Philip builds a fleet, First Macedonian War - Philip allies with Carthage, First Macedonian War - War breaks out in Illyria, First Macedonian War - Rome seeks allies in Greece, First Macedonian War - Campaign in Greece, First Macedonian War - Attempt at Peace fails, First Macedonian War - Hostilities resume, First Macedonian War - The war ends, First Macedonian War - Notes

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The first dateable recorded sea battle occurred about 1210 BC: Suppiluliumas II, king of the Hittites, defeated a fleet from Cyprus, and burned their ships at sea. Assyrian reliefs from the 700s BC show Phoenician fighting ships, with two levels of oars, fighting men on a sort of bridge or deck above the oarsmen, and some sort of ram protruding from the bow. No written mention of strategy or tactics seems to have survived. The Greeks of Homer just used their ships as transport for land armies, but in 664 BC there is a menti ...

See also:

Naval warfare, Naval warfare - Oarsmen of the Mediterranean Sea, Naval warfare - Dark and Middle Ages, Naval warfare - Sails and empire, Naval warfare - From wood to steel, Naval warfare - Above and below the surface, Naval warfare - Modern naval tactics

Read more here: » Naval warfare: Encyclopedia II - Naval warfare - Oarsmen of the Mediterranean Sea

Roman Navy - Early history. The Romans were originally a land power based in the Italian mainland, and were wary of the sea. In the First Punic War (264 BC - 241 BC), the Carthaginians, a power rooted in sea trade, were able to exploit their strength at sea in their struggles with the Roman Republic. Since most of the conflict in the war was overseas (especially in Sicily), Rome saw that it needed to build a fleet in order to develop an effective military response. The result was the rapid construct ...

See also:

Roman Navy, Roman Navy - History, Roman Navy - Early history, Roman Navy - Late Republic, Roman Navy - Major events, Roman Navy - Admirals, Roman Navy - Roman Navy composition, Roman Navy - Fleets, Roman Navy - Ports

Read more here: » Roman Navy: Encyclopedia II - Roman Navy - History

Rome won the First Punic War after 23 years of conflict and in the end replaced Carthage as the dominant naval power of the Mediterranean. In the aftermath of the war, both states were financially and demographically exhausted. To determine the final borders of their territories, they drew what they considered a straight line across the Mediterranean. Hispania, Corsica, Sardinia and Africa remained Carthaginian. All that was north of that line was signed over to Rome. Rome's victory was greatly influenced by its persistent refusal to admit d ...

See also:

First Punic War, First Punic War - Background, First Punic War - Land warfare, First Punic War - Naval warfare, First Punic War - Aftermath, First Punic War - Casualties, First Punic War - Peace terms, First Punic War - Political results, First Punic War - Notable leaders, First Punic War - Chronology

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In 200 BCE, Attalus became involved in the Second Macedonian War. Acarnanians with Macedonian support invaded Attica, causing Athens, which had previously maintained its neutrality, to seek help from the enemies of Philip.36 Attalus, with his fleet at Aegina, received an embassy from Athens, to come to the city for consultations. Informed that Roman ambassadors were also at Athens, Attalus went there in haste. His reception at Athens was extraordinary.37 Polybius writes: … ...

See also:

Attalus I, Attalus I - Early life, Attalus I - Defeat of the Galatians, Attalus I - Conquests in Seleucid Asia Minor, Attalus I - First Macedonian War, Attalus I - Macedonian hostilities of 201 BCE, Attalus I - Second Macedonian War, Attalus I - Wife and sons, Attalus I - The introduction of the cult of the Magna Mater to Rome, Attalus I - Notes

Read more here: » Attalus I: Encyclopedia II - Attalus I - Second Macedonian War

The years preceding the battle of the Aegates Islands were of relative quiet development of the First Punic War. Rome lacked a fleet - the one it had at the beginning of the war had been destroyed in the Battle of Drepana and in the storm that followed - however Carthage made little use of this advantage. The war was stalled, concentrated in small scale land operations in Sicily. Nevertheless, Carthage's general Hamilcar Barca was slowly building an advantage on the island and probably due to this, in 242 BC Rome d ...

See also:

Battle of the Aegates Islands, Battle of the Aegates Islands - Prelude, Battle of the Aegates Islands - Aegates Islands, Battle of the Aegates Islands - End of the First Punic War

Read more here: » Battle of the Aegates Islands: Encyclopedia II - Battle of the Aegates Islands - Prelude

Herodotus's account (written c. 440 BC) refers to a faint memory from 1000 years earlier, and so may be subject to question (History, I:1): "According to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began to quarrel. This people, who had formerly reached the shores of the Erythraean Sea, having migrated to the Mediterranean from an unknown origin and settled in the parts which they now inhabit, began at once, they say, to adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the ...

See also:

Phoenicia, Phoenicia - Origins, Phoenicia - The cultural and economic empire, Phoenicia - Phoenician trade, Phoenicia - Decline, Phoenicia - Persian and Hellenistic Phoenicia, Phoenicia - Important Phoenician cities and colonies, Phoenicia - Language and literature, Phoenicia - External links, Phoenicia - Phoenicians in the Bible

Read more here: » Phoenicia: Encyclopedia II - Phoenicia - Origins

As Sicily was a hilly island, with geographical obstacles and a terrain where lines of communication are difficult to maintain, land warfare played a secondary role in the First Punic War. Land operations were mostly confined to small scale raids and skirmishes between the armies, with hardly any pitched battle. Sieges and land blockades were the most common operations for the regular army. The main targets of blockading were the important naval ports, since neither of the belligerent parties were based in Sicily and both needed a continuous supply of rei ...

See also:

First Punic War, First Punic War - Background, First Punic War - Land warfare, First Punic War - Naval warfare, First Punic War - Aftermath, First Punic War - Casualties, First Punic War - Peace terms, First Punic War - Political results, First Punic War - Notable leaders, First Punic War - Chronology

Read more here: » First Punic War: Encyclopedia II - First Punic War - Land warfare

Due to the difficulty of operating in Sicily, most warfare of the First Punic War was fought at sea, including the most decisive battles. Moreover, naval warfare permitted an efficient blockade of enemy ports, and consequently of reinforcement and supply for the inland troops. Both sides of the conflict had publicly funded fleets. This fact compromised Carthage and Rome's finances and eventually decided the course of the war. At the beginning of the First Punic War, Rome had virtually no experience in naval warfare, whereas Carthage h ...

See also:

First Punic War, First Punic War - Background, First Punic War - Land warfare, First Punic War - Naval warfare, First Punic War - Aftermath, First Punic War - Casualties, First Punic War - Peace terms, First Punic War - Political results, First Punic War - Notable leaders, First Punic War - Chronology

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In the centuries following 1200 BC, the Phoenicians formed the major naval and trading power of the region. Perhaps it was through these merchants that the Hebrew word kena'ani ('Canaanite') came to have the secondary, and apt, meaning of "merchant". The Greek term "Tyrian purple" describes the dye they were especially famous for, and their port town Tyre. Phoenician trade was founded on this violet-purple dye derived from the Murex sea-snail's shell, once profusely available in coastal waters but exploited to local extinction. James ...

See also:

Phoenicia, Phoenicia - Origins, Phoenicia - The cultural and economic empire, Phoenicia - Phoenician trade, Phoenicia - Decline, Phoenicia - Persian and Hellenistic Phoenicia, Phoenicia - Important Phoenician cities and colonies, Phoenicia - Language and literature, Phoenicia - External links, Phoenicia - Phoenicians in the Bible

Read more here: » Phoenicia: Encyclopedia II - Phoenicia - Phoenician trade

In the middle of the 3rd century BC, the power of Rome was growing. Following centuries of internal rebellions and disturbances, the whole of the Italian peninsula was tightly secured under Roman hands. All enemies — such as the Latin league or the Samnites — had been overcome, and the invasion of Pyrrhus of Epirus was repelled. Romans had an enormous confidence in their political system and military. Across the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Sicily, Carthage was already an established naval and commercial power, controlling most of th ...

See also:

First Punic War, First Punic War - Background, First Punic War - Land warfare, First Punic War - Naval warfare, First Punic War - Aftermath, First Punic War - Casualties, First Punic War - Peace terms, First Punic War - Political results, First Punic War - Notable leaders, First Punic War - Chronology

Read more here: » First Punic War: Encyclopedia II - First Punic War - Background

Although Philip considered Attalus' escape a bitter defeat,46 it proved to be the turning-point of the war. Attalus was forced to return to Pergamon, when he learned at Opus that, perhaps at the urging of Philip, Prusias I, king of Bithynia and related to Philip by marriage, was moving against Pergamon. Sulpicius returned to Aegina. Free from the pressure of the combined Roman and Pergamon fleets, Philip was able to resume the offensive against the Aetolians. He captured Thronium, follo ...

See also:

First Macedonian War, First Macedonian War - Demetrius urges war against Rome, First Macedonian War - Philip makes peace with Aetolia, First Macedonian War - Philip builds a fleet, First Macedonian War - Philip allies with Carthage, First Macedonian War - War breaks out in Illyria, First Macedonian War - Rome seeks allies in Greece, First Macedonian War - Campaign in Greece, First Macedonian War - Attempt at Peace fails, First Macedonian War - Hostilities resume, First Macedonian War - The war ends, First Macedonian War - Notes

Read more here: » First Macedonian War: Encyclopedia II - First Macedonian War - The war ends