Thedromon (fromGreek δρόμων,dromōn,lit. 'runner'), a type ofgalley, became the most important type ofwarship of theByzantine navy[2] from the 5th to 12th centuries AD, after which the Italian-style galley superseded it. It developed from the ancientliburnian,[3] which was the mainstay of theRoman navy duringclassical antiquity.[4]
TheMiddle English worddromond and theOld French worddromont derive from the Greek word; these names identified any particularly large medieval ship.[5]
%2c_left-_Bireme_of_the_Neumagen_Type_(220_-_230_AD)%2c_Museum_f%25C3%25BCr_Antike_Schiffahrt%2c_Mainz_(34729616210).jpg)
The appearance and evolution of medieval warships is a matter of debate and conjecture; until recently, no remains of an oared warship from either ancient or early medieval times had been found and information had to be gathered by analyzing literary evidence, crude artistic depictions and the remains of a few merchant vessels (such as the 7th-century Pantano Longarini wreck fromSicily, the 7th-century Yassi Ada ship and the 11th-centurySerçe Limanı wreck). Only in 2005–2006 did archaeological digs for theMarmaray project in theHarbor of Theodosius (modern Yenikapi) uncover the remains of over 36 Byzantine ships from the 6th to 10th centuries, including four light galleys of thegalea type.[6]
The accepted view is that the main developments which differentiated the early dromons from the liburnians and that henceforth characterized Mediterranean galleys, were the adoption of a fulldeck (katastrōma), the abandonment of therams on the bow in favor of an above-water spur and the gradual introduction oflateen sails.[7] Authors have suggested that the latter was introduced into the Mediterranean by Arabs, possibly with an ultimate origin inIndia. The discovery of new depictions and literary references in recent decades has led scholars to antedate the appearance of the lateen sail in the Levant to the lateHellenistic or early Roman period.[8][9] Not only the triangular, but also the quadrilateral version were known, used for centuries (mostly on smaller craft) in parallel with square sails.[8][10]
The reasons for the abandonment of the ram (Latin:rostrum,Greek:ἔμβολος) are unclear. Depictions of upward-pointing beaks in the 4th-centuryVatican Vergil manuscript may well illustrate that the ram had already been replaced by a spur in late-Roman galleys.[11] Byzantinists John Pryor and Elizabeth Jeffreys argue that the purpose of the spur was to allow the dromon to ride up on an enemy's oars and crush them, destroying its propulsion, and point out that one of the medieval Latin terms for spur, "calcar", is derived from the verb "to trample".[12] One possibility is that the change occurred because of the gradual evolution of the ancientshell-firstmortise and tenonhull construction method, against which rams had been designed, into the skeleton-first method, which produced a stronger and more flexible hull, less susceptible to ramming.[13] By the early 7th century, the ram's original function had been forgotten, if we judge byIsidore of Seville's comments that they were used to protect against collision with underwater rocks.[14]
Belisarius's fleet during theVandalic War, as described byProcopius of Caesarea, was apparently at least partly fitted with lateen sails, making it probable that by that time the lateen had become the standard rig for the dromon, with the traditional square sail gradually falling from use in medieval navigation.[15][10] These 6th-century dromons were single-banked ('monoreme') ships of probably 50 oars, arranged with 25 oars on each side.[16] Again unlikeHellenistic vessels, which used anoutrigger, these extended directly from the hull.[17] In the later two-banked ('bireme') dromons of the 9th and 10th centuries, the two oar banks (elasiai) were divided by the deck, with the first oar bank below and the second oar bank above deck; these rowers were expected to fight with the ship'smarines in boarding operations.[18] The historian Christos Makrypoulias suggests an arrangement of 25 oarsmen beneath and 35 on the deck on either side for a dromon of 120 rowers.[19] The length of these ships was probably about 32 meters.[20] Most contemporary vessels had a single mast (histos orkatartion), the larger bireme dromons probably needed at least two masts to maneuver, assuming that a lateen sail for a ship this size would have reached unmanageable dimensions.[21][22] The ship was steered by means of twoquarter rudders at thestern (prymnē), which also housed a tent (skēnē) that covered the captain's berth (krab[b]at[t]os).[23] The prow (prōra) featured an elevated forecastle (pseudopation), below which the siphon for the discharge ofGreek fire projected; secondary siphons could also be carried amidships on either side.[24][25] A pavesade (kastellōma), on which marines could hang their shields, ran around the sides of the ship, providing protection to the deck crew.[26] Larger ships also had wooden castles (xylokastra) on either side between the masts, similar to those attested for the Roman liburnians, providing archers with elevated firing platforms.[27] The bow spur (peronion) was intended to ride over an enemy ship's oars, breaking them and rendering it helpless against missile fire and boarding.[28]
The fourgaleai ships uncovered in the Yenikapi excavations, dating to the 10th–11th centuries, are of uniform design and construction, suggesting centralized manufacturing. They have a length of about 30 metres (98 ft), and are built ofEuropean Black Pine andOriental plane.[29]
By the 10th century, there were three main classes of bireme warships of the general dromon type, as detailed in the inventories for the expeditions sent against theEmirate of Crete in 911 and 949: the[chelandion] ousiakon ([χελάνδιον] οὑσιακόν), so named because it was manned by anousia of 108 men; the[chelandion] pamphylon ([χελάνδιον] πάμφυλον), crewed with up to 120–160 men, its name either implying an origin in the region ofPamphylia as a transport ship or its crewing with "picked crews" (fromπᾶν+φῦλον, 'all tribes'); and thedromōn proper, crewed by twoousiai.[30][31] InConstantine VII'sDe Ceremoniis, the heavydromōn is said to have an even larger crew of 230 rowers and 70 marines; the naval expertJohn H. Pryor considers them as supernumerary crews being carried aboard, while Makrypoulias suggests that the extra men correspond to a second rower on each of the upper-bank oars.[32][33] A smaller, single-bank ship, themonērēs (μονήρης, 'single-banked') orgalea (γαλέα, from which the term "galley" derives), withc. 60 men as crew, was used for scouting missions but also in the wings of the battle line.[34]
Three-banked ('trireme') dromons are described in a 10th-century work dedicated to theparakoimōmenosBasil Lekapenos. However, this treatise, which survives only in fragments, draws heavily upon references on the appearance and construction of a classical Greektrireme, and must therefore be used with care when trying to apply it to the warships of the middle Byzantine period.[35][36] The existence of trireme vessels is, however, attested in theFatimid navy in the 11th and 12th centuries, and references made by Leo VI to large Arab ships in the 10th century may also indicate trireme galleys.[37]
For cargo transport, the Byzantines usually commandeered ordinary merchantmen as transport ships (phortēgoi) or supply ships (skeuophora). These appear to have been mostly sailing vessels, rather than oared.[38] The Byzantines and Arabs also employedhorse-transports (hippagōga), which were either sailing ships or galleys, the latter certainly modified to accommodate the horses.[39] Given that thechelandia appear originally to have been oared horse-transports, this would imply differences in construction between thechelandion and thedromōn proper, terms which otherwise are often used indiscriminately in literary sources. While thedromōn was developed exclusively as a war galley, thechelandion would have had to have a special compartment amidships to accommodate a row of horses, increasing itsbeam andhold depth.[40]
Byzantine Empire topics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
