Navy of the Byzantine Empire

 [[About the Fleet of the Byzantine Empire...] The Byzantine cannot leave out the Navy. Not only the empire itself, but also the capital Constantinople, cannot be fully defended without the help of the Navy. Therefore, the importance of the Navy is very great. The Byzantine Navy was veiled more than the Roman Navy.-0 - In terms that are completely different from the Roman Navy, weapons from other officers... It was no joke. Anyway, I overcame all these difficulties and finally got to post this.Lol, then I'll start the content. At the end of Rome... As the Western Roman Empire declined, the entire Roman Empire's naval power weakened. However, the surviving Eastern Roman Empire still needed naval power. As the Byzantine Empire survived for the 11th century, the Byzantine Army fleet also existed.  (Silver twin eagles, the symbol of the Bezantium Empire) <The fall of the Western Roman Empire... And the Byzantine Empire Fleet... (The Western Mediterranean situation in the early days of the Empire)> The Western Empire collapsed, but the Fleet remained the same. It was just that the owner changed. This is because the post-Republican Roman fleet was mainly occupied by foreigners as flight attendants, so the Germanic entry is no different. Several ports of the empire are also occupied by the Germans. Ostia Port was occupied by the Visigoths and anchored their navy, while the Ostrogoths occupied Ravenna, the base of the imperial central fleet. Meanwhile, in the western Mediterranean Sea, the vandalists rapidly occupy ports on the Spanish coast, expanding their naval power. In 460 AD, the Vandalists occupied Cartagena, the last remaining base of the Roman Empire fleet, and later occupied Carthage. Eventually, the Byzantine Empire couldn't stand still, and in 468 AD, the Imperial Fleet was dispatched. At that time, the fleet that participated in was a huge fleet consisting of 1,113 ships. However, the Imperial Fleet was conceited of its power and anchored and stationed in a bay about 40 miles from Carthage. However, the Vandal fleet, which had more numbers at night, loaded their galley with flammable substances (pigeon or hay), dragged it to the front of the bay where the Byzantine Empire fleet was stationed, and then lit it. By the wind, the galley ships were pushed into imperial ships, and about 600 fleets were sunk, burned, or captured by the wind. One of the half-moon people said: Classis gravis est, extendingemur in belloterrestri (our navy is very impressive). But we will soon be destroyed in the ground war.) As mentioned above, despite the victory in the naval battle in 468 AD, the kingdoms of the Vandal and East Goth lost to the overwhelming number of Byzantine Empire troops. Eventually, the western Mediterranean Sea was dominated by Byzantine. <Main Fleet: Dromon> The main fleet of the Byzantine Navy changes as follows. Trireme → The early Byzantine Fleet, like the ancient Roman Fleet, played the role of Tririm as its main fleet. However, in the 5th century AD, it was destroyed by a fleet of half-moon people in Carthage. As the empire continued to need naval power, it came from the new warship Dromon (Greek word for edramon). means "I run (I run) ,, because the speed of this ship is very fast...) is rushed. (He set a record of defeating 120 half-moon navy in 533 and 47 Dongot fleets in 551 due to sudden dromon strikes.) Dromon becomes the new flagship of the empire. This Dromon is a type of ship belonging to the aforementioned Rivurnian (one of the two-stage galley ships). The structure is said to be a more advanced structure for Byrem. There were about 100 to 200 crew members in one ship, and the total length was about 33m to 80m. (Later, even the same Dromons are divided into different sizes.) In the Byzantine Empire, the sails of the leading Dromons were painted red, and the rest of the ships followed well (Later Venice, often for similar purposes). The flow (depth submerged in water) was about 1m long and consisted of two stages of rowing. There are about 100 crew members.(300 people in 43m) There were also dromons 55m long and 6m wide. The Dromon Fleet did not change much except for the chair and weapons during its long period of Byzantine existence. "Other battleships...">[Chelandion] In the 9th century AD, a ship called Kelandion appeared. The ship was proved to be a competent battleship in the naval battle of Basileios Paracoimomenos (for the second half century of the 10th century AD...) and the ship's name comes from the word 'chetys' as a name related to its long shape.이This word means "eel" in Greece.≫ [[Dromons-Chelandia] It was certainly used as a horse transport ship capable of transporting 12 competent horses. ③[Pampyloi] It's a smaller Dromon, but nevertheless, according to Emperor Leo VI, it was used as a flagship of the Imperial Fleet. The ship was very fast, well-equipped, and there were selected crew members and experienced marines on board. <Local Fleet> The fleet's organizational system in the 7th century AD went through a gradual reorganization of naval management. The Byzantine Empire managed the local navy as part of the theme system (theata). The theme of Kibyrhaiotai was created around the 8th century, and shortly thereafter, Aegean Sea, Samos, and Kapalonia provinces in Europe survived under the theme (around the 9th century AD), and the local fleet was created (strate). <Central Fleet and Command System> The Central Fleet existed separately from the local Fleet, and its official name is Ploimon. It can be said to be the main force of the empire by forming a pair with the army's central army (Tagmata). In the center, there was a command system for each military. Among them, the command of the central fleet is as follows. ①Great Domestci (commanded by all regardless of the Army and Navy) ↓'Drowungarios Touplomou, High Admiral, and Great Drungaire. 아Admiral is still in English words, but it was originally used as the name of the admiral of the Byzantine Navy. Drowungario Thou Floimou - This official position had the ranking of "Stratarchos" and was authorized to command the entire Byzantine fleet. In the 11th century, most of the members of the Byzantine fleet were filled with mercenaries, and during the invasion of the small Asian region by the Seljuk Turks, the themed navies retreated little by little in succession and as a result they collapsed. Thus, the remaining themed fleets and the central fleet of the capital merged and were led by Doux or Admiral on behalf of the fleet's Drawungario Thou Floimou. The latter now has the name great droungario and was the commander of the Dromon fleet of the entire empire. In addition, Doukes-katepano commanded a fleet stationed in the province. <Vizantium Navy Organization and Officers> Topoteretai (service-admirals): They existed for "Drowngaryos Tou Floimou." Sometimes he commanded the Navy instead. Drungarioi (Drungair): These officers carried out specific missions. The officer failed to overcome the status of "Droungario." The Fleet's Tourmarchs of the Fleet: The officers commanded the Tourmai (Navy Unit), part of a local theme fleet. COUNTS (Counts, Count?): The commander of the dispatch fleet. (One dispatch fleet has three to five ships.) In the Imperial Fleet, the officers had the names "Protosparios" or "Spatharokandidatos." Counts of the Hetaireia: A commander of a foreign mercenary unit. Sakellarius: The person in charge of finance and supplies of the fleet. Cartoularios: the commander and chief secretary of the fleet. Protomandator: Person in charge of contact and errands. Mandators: Protokaravos, an officer in charge of delegating delivery orders and information: the conductor of the furnace transport unit. Kentarchos: The captain of the battleship leading from the bow, and his barracks (the krabbatos). In the "Arms of Crews and Marines on the Ship" Byzantine, the trade with Venice and Amalfi served as sailors training centers for the Imperial Fleet.

Or the fleet's Teforeus was responsible for training soldiers. Usually, about 100 people were on board the small Dromon, and the normal size Dromon (43m long) had about 230 assistants and 70 marines. It is said that it was able to transport and support about 300 marines to the large Dromon. The top, that is, the top rowers were always armed and played the same role as the Marine Corps of the Roman era. Afterwards, the hydrants will also be armed and play the same role as a soldier graduate. Mostly used on upper decks.  In addition, the marines were able to fire liquid fire (Greek fire) and used small automatic launchers made available by one person. This is "Cheiroziphones" (in short, personal flamethrower...) <The Finance of the Vizantium Navy> At the end of the 11th century, the Byzantine fleet gradually declined in its heyday. However, by the beginning of the 12th century, the fleet was able to receive finances in certain areas as it imposed a special tax (the navy service), which was considered unnecessary. This tax was used to build ships, install equipment, and pay the navy. Mainly managed the finances of the fleet's "Secreton to the Sea," which manages things related to the fleet's "Secreton to the Ploimou," "parathalassites," or usually commercial fleets. <Vizantium Navy's tactics> The Byzantine fleet held a ceremony before participating. Before the fleet entered, soldiers and battleships were blessed by priests, and officers issued various orders that day. After that, when he participated and met the enemy fleet, the Byzantine fleet began the battle when it was a certain distance from the enemy. For now, they fought using catapult on the ship. They put flammable substances, snakes, or scorpions in clay pots and threw them into enemy ships to fight long distances. After that, as he approached the enemy's ship, he shot a bow and threw a spear to attack the enemy ship. The standard size of battleships used by the Byzantine fleet in battle was semicircle. The flagboat sailed from the center while the most powerful dromons were located at the ends. This type of naval formation is known as "aspelagoliman." Another form of attack was to attack the enemy's ship with their boats by arranging the formation of complex ships long and long. And the navy division consisted of three parts, one of which was the attack part in the center and divided into two parts. Often used tactics to defeat their enemies. Also, the Byzantine Marines were well trained in the occasional simulated naval battle. ①The tactics of the Idromon fleet before Chunggak were quite similar to those of ancient times. Once it has a crescent shape, it moves forward to the enemy. Then, find vulnerabilities in the enemy fleet and attack it with loyalty. ②The White Army sometimes moved troops directly to enemy ships, and cranes were used to act as "crows" used in the ancient Roman Empire fleet. The crane was equipped with a large basket or something for several soldiers to board, and soldiers of the Empire landed on the enemy ship and attacked it. ③In the signal system Byzantine Empire, there was a more advanced signal than the Roman Empire fleet. It is said that various command flags were used during the day and signals such as tracking, attack, Jeongseon (stop), retreat, departure, and alignment were sent to the fleet at night. <Vizantium Navy weapon> 투Scene of throwing a Greek fire with a projectile launcher (dialysis machine, old gun) dialyzer. In the Byzantine era, the size of the dialyzer becomes very large. It is said that there was a dialyzer that fired a projection weighing 450 kilograms up to 685 meters away. ②Greek fire ☆ is such a famous weapon.-_-;; This weapon is a liquid fire and is called "Greek fire," "Sea fire," and "Persian fire." It is said that this weapon was made by the Greeks in the 7th century or earlier. The Greek fire was invented by a Syrian-born Jewish Kalinikos (Calinikos), a technician from Helioupolis of Syria who fled Arabs during the period of Constantine IV Pogonatus. This weapon could be put in a jar and blown away with a projection launcher, and it could be fired using a tube (using a pump...) If a Greek fire catches fire, it cannot be extinguished by water, and the fire automatically caught. It is said that it is a semi-liquid substance mixed with sulfur, tin, resin, rock salt, diesel, and refined oil, but it is not accurate. Sulfur, nitrogen, and naphtha (petrole, petroleum) were put in and made of other materials. (Other arguments: Some say that oil is a raw material, others claim that naphtha is a mixture of liquid backwash and sulfur and wood oil, and they also speculate that it was a mixture of gasoline and backwash, resin, sulfur, oil, and raw lime. However, it is said that this secret was later leaked to Islam and used to defend against the Crusades.-_-; For your information, similar weapons were also used during Delium's siege in 424 BC. --Greek fire firing equipment and soldiers--Tube-bearing dromons with tubes belonging to the Imperial Fleet used Greek fire. These dromons also had soldiers called Siphonarius, who used tubes and pumps to fire the "fire of Greece," a combustible liquid that could catch fire even on the water. The devices mounted on the ship to fire this material are well described in Alexias (Alexiad, Anna Comnena's daughter), written by Anna Komnena (the daughter of Alexius l), and 15 historical books written by Anna Komnena (uncompleted. "Pisans, who is the emperor?"-_-) found out that he was familiar with the sea as he engaged in a battle in the sea, and was afraid to collide with them. So he ordered all ships to be dried in bronze, made iron lion heads on their belly, or made them into the appearance of other wild animals. They could open their mouths and put gold on them. So that their appearance could scare the enemy enough by themselves. Liquid fire (Greek fire) attacking the enemy passed through the head and mouth of objects, and they emitted fire forward as if they were actually alive...' xylokastron' Dromon was each equipped with xylokastron. It was a kind of tower and was around the main mast. From the tower, the marines threw their spears, shot bows, or threw stones or metal chunks at the enemy. ④It is a kind of toxobolistres mechanical device installed on the bow and stern. It was used to blow small flaming arrows. <Bizantium Fleet's siege weapon> The Byzantine Fleet creates two special and important structures to surround ports or enemy castles. One of the two structures was constructed by joining two or more battleships. A wooden shooting tower was installed on the bonded battleship and used for shooting at the top. Above this tower, catapult and armed marines were preparing to climb up and occupy the walls and ports of the enemy. Other structures were used to smash the port walls or wooden gates. Therefore, it was equipped with two combined "Ram (or the impact of a battleship)." The crew consisted of two or more soldiers and moved the device. <Bizantium Fleet's Battle in the Mediterranean Sea> Until the 7th century AD, the Byzantine Fleet maintained control of the Mediterranean Sea. However, from the middle of the 7th century, it was attacked by the Islamic world. In the 7th century, Alexandria briefly entered Islamic hands, but soon regained it with the activities of the Byzantine fleet. Since then, Arab countries have quickly strengthened their naval power and soon created a huge number of fleets, amounting to 2,000. Eventually, in 655 AD, more than 1,000 Byzantine fleets were defeated, and the Mediterranean sea zone was transferred to the Islamic world. (물Of course, the Islamic fleet modeled after the Byzantine fleet, and the ship is also very similar to the Byzantine.) Then Umayazo's Calif Mouawiya (reigned 661-680) siege and attack Constantinople for 674-5 years to destroy the Byzantine Empire. However, at this time, the aforementioned "fire of Greece" is used to defeat the Islamic army. Source: History of the Roman Empire - Everything in the Roman Empire -