| Achaemenid Navy | |
|---|---|
| Active | 525 BC–330 BC |
| Country | Persia |
| Type | Ancient navy |
| Size | 36,000–42,000 men at least (modern estimates) |
| Central Base | |
| Fleet |
|
| Engagements | |
| Insignia | |
| Ensign |  |
TheAchaemenid navy (Old Persian:𐎴𐎠𐎺nāva) was the principalnaval force of theAchaemenid Empire which existed between 525 BC and 330 BC.
InOld Persian, the written language of Achaemenid inscriptions, the word used to refer to the 'navy' or 'fleet' was "nāva", anoun inpluralfemininenominative form. It is of the same root of Indo-European for words such as "navy" and "navigate". In modern usage ofPersian language, the word has retained its form and meaning (lit. 'warships').[citation needed]
No relevant primary documents have been found about it, nor have any ruins of Persian naval installations or remains of ships been excavated. While independent Persian tradition is lost, all we know about the Achaemenid navy is recorded byancient Greek historians likeHerodotus.[1]
Scholars categorize the record of operation of the navy to two distinct periods from 525 to 479, and from 479 to 330 BC.[1]
Cambyses founded the navy for conquest ofEgypt in theBattle of Pelusium. After him,Darius I deployed the navy to strengthen dominance over the coast ofAsia Minor, as well as its adjacent islands.[1] During reign of Darius, Persians capturedSamos (c. 517 BC), conqueredThrace, waged war onScythia (c. 512 BC), and suppressed rebellions started in 500 BC, leading to theBattle of Lade (494 BC).[1]
The navy had lost its presence in theAegean Sea, and its strength was reduced. In theBattle of the Eurymedon (c. 468 BC), the Persians were defeated and lost 200 ships according to the account ofThucydides. The next significant defeat occurred inc. 450 BC, when they lost a war in Cyprus (near modern-dayLarnaca).[1]
The creation the organization, infrastructure, and financial basis of the Achaemenid navy is attributed toDarius I.[1]
The coasts ofPhoenicia, as well asCyprus andCilicia, always played a strategic role in the Achaemenid navy.[2]Strabo andHerodotus mentioned two central bases for the navy: one inCilicia and the other inKyme–Phocaea (both located in modern-day Turkey).[1] Centers that trained crew for vessels were isolated from the central bases.[1] The Cilician base was heavily guarded by a large number of troops, whose payments were financed by the local tributes in thatsatrapy.[1] It is likely thatAcco served as the third main base.[1]
According toKaveh Farrokh, the first naval headquarters that hosted high command of the navy was located along theShatt al-Arab, where it leads to thePersian Gulf (located in the modern-dayKhuzestan Province of Iran).[3] However, Cilicia was the main base and was always ready for deployment because unlike Shatt al-Arab, it was intended forpower projection.[3]
Smaller squadrons were stationed elsewhere, like those ofSidon andHalicarnassus,[1] as well asSamos.[4] An important base was a shipyard located atTripolis, whereLebanese timber were nearby.[2] TheNile valley also served as a strategic base of operation, whenEgypt was a satrapy.[5] The same situation applied toCyprus.[6] Achaemenid settlements likeBahrain,Oman,Yemen and theIndian subcontinent were regular destinations for naval ships.[3]
It is thought likely that bases existed inAbdera andMyus, though this is uncertain.[4]
The naval forces had an active presence in theBlack Sea, theAegean Sea, theMediterranean Sea and thePersian Gulf among others.[3] They operated patrols in river or littoral environments likeShatt al-Arab andEuphrates in Mesopotamia,Nile in Egypt andSind in the Indian subcontinent.[3]
Thecommand hierarchy of the navy is not certain, but Greek sources indicate that high commanders were selected from the imperial aristocracy.[1] There are reports of commanders of ships, and commanding officers of fleets with various non-Persians backgrounds, such as those ofCarians.[1] Commanders of Greek origin are also reported to have served in the navy, including even oneAthenian.[1] Almost nothing is known about sailors of lower rank.[1] In the wake of creating the navy, Persians hiredPhoenician rowers and sailors, but later recruited from other subject peoples.[1] Themarines standing in the forces were either Persians,Medes, orScythians.[7]
The servicemen were probably employed with full payment, because lengthy deployments imposed a drastic change to their communities especially if it included one or two harvests.[8]
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The first Achaemenid naval vessels, which were built at Phoenician shipyards, measured 40 meters (130 ft) in length and 6 meters (20 ft) width, and were capable of carrying 300 troops at best.[3] According to Christopher Tuplin,Cypriot ships "appear a significant element in Persian fleets on various occasions".[9]
The Persians were the first nation to usetriremes in significant numbers.[10] The first large trireme was commissioned byCambyses.[10] By 490 BC, the backbone of the fleet was consisted of triremes.[4] Some triremes were modified as troopers, as well as some for carrying horses and supplies or building bridges.[4]
Persian triremes differed from those of the Greek, and usedPhoenician design. The third level of rowers in Greek vessels was accommodated by adding aoutrigger, but the Persians added to the height of thecompartment instead.[4]
They reportedly were 110 feet (34 m) to 120 feet (37 m)long and had abeam of 15 feet (4.6 m).[4] The ships were most likely capable of reaching 12 knots (22 km/h) under good sailing conditions.[11] They could reach full speed in 30 seconds from a dead stop.[12]
Equipped with onemast withsquare sail, the triremes hadrudders made up of two bladedoars, one on each side ofstern, united by a crossbar.[4] Theram was made out ofbronze, and was long and tapered to a single point.[4]
The metal rams were designed to slice into the hulls of enemy ships after an impact.[3] Equipment includedgrappling hooks (used to catch and halt enemy ships) and twomangonels, the latter throwing stones or flammable projectiles.[3]
A typical Persian trireme is reported to have had 170 rowers, with the upper file carrying 62, and the middle and lower files each 54.[4] In addition to the rowers, other personnel aboard triremes included 14 marines and some spare rowers and oars in case they were needed.[4] In 480 BC, each trireme carried 200 men and 30 marines, according to Herodotus.[4] Triremes were too crowded to store their own supplies, and relied on support vessels for food and water.[12] It was normal for the crew to disembark in the evening for eating and sleep.[12]
Achaemenid navy later used more advanced vessels likequinqueremes.[1] Other types of vessel in the fleet weretriaconters,penteconters and light boats.[4] Smaller vessels used for river patrols could carry a maximum of 100–200 troops.[3]
The navy operated a large number of vessels used to carry food and other supplies, which commonly had adisplacement of 100 to 150 tons, at the time they invadedEgypt in 373 BC.[13] Ships capable of carrying 350 to 500 tons were also used in significant numbers.[13] They also hadhorse transporters (hippagogoi) specifically built for this purpose,[4] that could easily carry 30 horses.[14] Persian horse transport ships were good sailing ships that took advantage of the favorable winds, according to Anthony J. Papalas, who adds they were probably designed to match the speed of a trireme.[11] It is probable that horse transports were galleys with a shallowdraft, that allowed horses get off in the waters and embark via a ramp.[11]
The Achaemenids are known to have used vessels for connecting the banks of rivers. The bridges were built by joining vessels to one another and lashing them together, to erect a roadway with planks.[3] Xenophon reports such bridges, one made using 37 boats onTigris, and another using seven onMaeander.[3]
During its early years underCambyses, the Achaemenid navy is assumed to possess about 300 triremes, which was equal to the sum of the fleet of Egypt and its allyPolycrates ofSamos.[1] This number was later doubled, with 600 triremes mentioned in 494 and 490 BC.[1] The initial set-up of the navy (300 triremes) may have had up to 51,000 rowers and thousands of sailors and marines.[8]
The original number of vessels in the fleet was eventually quadrupled, according to Greek sources.[1]Herodotus' account of naval forces underXerxes I, put the number of warships in service at 1,207, in addition to 3,000 transport ships. Contemporary academic estimates range from 500 to 1,000 vessels, according to Matt Waters.[15] Scholars maintain that this number included large numbers of reserve ships, and the navy had not enough full oar crews to operate them all.[1] Herodotus also states that Persians arrived for theBattle of Marathon (490 BC) with 600 triremes and some horse transport vessels. Though the number is rejected by some academics, Anthony J. Papalas states that evidence does support this report.[11] Considering that each ship had an average of 50 oarsmen (the absolute minimum for a trireme) and 10 to 20 seamen and marines were also aboard, the navy compromised 36,000 to 42,000 men, at least.[8]
After theBattle of Salamis (480 BC), the fleet began to decline and never regained its peak numbers.[1] The largest figure estimated after 404 BC is 400 triremes.[1] The number was still equal to, if not more than, the fleets of theAthenian alliance.[1]
Xenophon wrote inAnabasis, "his (Cyrus the Younger) ensign was a golden eagle with outspread wings mounted upon a long shaft and this continues even unto this day as the ensign of the Persian king".[16] While there is not much to confirm this, some scholars maintain thatAlexander Mosaic contained a depiction of the standard (on the part which is now damaged), head of a bird in yellow on a red cloth. There is also a square plaque found atApadana in plain, and it is quite possible that it shows the eagle.[16]
The Achaemenid navy was the first true "imperial navy" that appeared in history.[3] Persians are also credited for establishing the 'trireme navy' as the naval standard of their time.[10] The establishment of the Achaemenid navy set the basis of Iraniannaval engineering, as well as "a powerful Persianmaritimetradition that remained in the region until the arrival of theBritish East India Company and theRoyal Navy by the mid-19th century AD".[3]
The naval forces affected the coastal subjects of the Achaemenid Empire to a great extent. They were put under much tighter control from the capital, and were heavily involved in military campaigns of the Achaemenids.[8] The Sidonians profited financially from the naval base stationed in their city.[17]
