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The navy of Achaemenids was the ancient navy
of Persian Empire that existed between 525 and 330 .
Etymology:
In Old Persian, the written language of Achaemenid inscriptions, the word used
to refer to the 'navy' or 'fleet' was "nava", a noun in plural
feminine nominative form. It is of the same root of Indo-Europian for words
such as "navy" and "navigate". In modern usage of Persian
language, the word has retained its form and meaning (lit. 'warships').
Historiography:
No relevant primary documents have been found about it, nor ruins of Persian
naval installations or remains of ships have been excavated. While independent
Persian tradition is lost, all we know about Achaemenid navy is recorded by
ancient Greek historians like Herodotus. As a result, contemporary perception
regarding this navy is plausible hypothesis.
History:
Scholars categorize the record of operation of the navy to two distinct periods
from 525 to 479, and from 479 to 330.
The First Period (525–479):
Cambyses founded the navy for conquest of Egypt in the Battle of Pelusium (525
). After him, Darius I deployed the navy to strengthen dominance over the coast
of Asia Minor, as well as its adjacent islands. During reign of Darius,
Persians captured Samos (c. 517), conquered Thrace, waged war Scythia (c. 512),
and suppressed rebellions started in 500 leading to Battle of Lade (494).
The Second Period (479–330)
The navy had lost its presence in the Aegean Sea, and its strength was reduced.
In the Battle of the Eurymedon (c. 468), the Persians were defeated and lost
200 ships according to the account of Thucydides. The next defeat occurred in
c. 450 , when they lost war in Cyprus (near modern-day Larnaca).
Organization:
Creating the organization, infrastructure, and financial basis of the
Achaemenid navy is attributed to Darius I.
Bases:
Achaemenid navy is located in Near East Cilicia Cilicia Phocaea Phocaea Acco
Acco Halicarnassus Halicarnassus Sidon Sidon Tripolis Tripolis Samos Samos Nile
Valley Nile Valley Cyprus Cyprus Shatt al-Arab Shatt al-Arab Bahrain Bahrain
Oman Oman Approximate location of Achaemenid naval bases
Headquarters Coasts of Phoenicia, as well as Cyprus and Cilicia, always played
an strategic role in Achaemenid navy.[3] Strabo and Herodotus have mentioned
two central bases for the navy: one in Cilicia and the other in
Kyme–Phocaea (both located in modern-day Turkey).
Centers that trained crew for vessels were isolated from the central bases. The
Cilician base was heavily guarded by a large number of troopers stationed at a
garrison, whose payments were financed by the local tributes in that satrapy.
It is likely that Acco served as the third main base. According to Kaveh
Farrokh, the first naval headquarters that hosted high command of the navy was
located along the Shatt al-Arab, where it leads to the Persian Gulf (located in
the modern-day Khuzestan Province of Iran).
However, Cilicia was the main base and was always ready for deployment because
unlike Shatt al-Arab, it was intended for power projection.
Other naval bases: Smaller squadrons were stationed elsewhere, like those of
Sidon and Halicarnassus, as well as Samos. An important base was a shipyard
located at Tripolis, where Lebanese timber were nearby. The Nile valley also
served as an strategic base of operation, when Egypt was a satrapy. The same
situation applied to Cyprus. Achaemenid settlements like Bahrain, Oman, Yemen
and the Indian suontinent were regular destinations for naval ships. It is
likely that bases existed in Abdera and Myus, though this is uncertain.
Area of operations:
The naval forces had active presence in the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, the
Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf among others. They operated patrols in
river or littoral environments like Shatt al-Arab and Euphrates in Mesopotamia,
Nile in Egypt and Sind in the Indian subcontinent.
Command hierarchy and personnel:
For commanders of the navy, see Category:Admirals of the Achaemenid Empire.
The command hierarchy of the navy is not certain, but Greek sources indicate
that high commanders were selected from the imperial aristocracy. There are
reports of commanders of ships, and commanding officers of fleets with various
non-Persians backgrounds, such as those of Carians. Commanders of Greek origin
are also reported to have served in the navy, including even one Athenian.
Almost nothing is known about sailors of lower rank. In the wake of creating
the navy, Persians hired Phoenician rowers and sailors, but later recruited
from other subject peoples. The marines standing in the forces were either
Persians, Medes, or Scythians. 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.
Fleet:
The first Achaemenid naval vessels which were build 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. According to Christopher Tuplin,
Cypriot ships "appear a significant element in Persian fleets on various
occasions".
Persian triremes:
The Persians were the first nation to use triremes in enormous scale. In fact,
the first to commission a large trireme was Cambyses. By 490 , the backbone of
the fleet was consisted of triremes while Athens had a few after 483. Some
triremes were modified as troopers, as well as some for carrying horses and
supplies or building bridges. Design and dimensions Persian triremes differed
from those of the Greek, and used Phoenician design. The third level of rowers
in Greek vessels by adding a outrigger, but the Persians added to the height of
the compartment to accommodate them. They reportedly were 110 feet (34 m) to
120 feet (37 m) long and had a beam of 15 feet (4.6 m). The ships were most
likely capable of reaching 12 knots (22 km/h) under good sailing conditions.
They could reach full speed in 30 seconds from a dead stop. Equipped with one
mast with square sail, the triremes had rudder made up of two bladed oars, one
on each side of stern, united by a crossbar. The ram was made out of bronze,
and was long and tapered to a single point.
Armaments:
The metal rams were designed to slice into the hulls of enemy ships after an
impact. Equipment in the vessels included grappling hooks (used to catch and
halt enemy ships) and two mangonels, the latter throwing stones or flammable
projectiles.
Crew:
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. In addition to the
rowers, other personnel aboard triremes included 14 marines and some spare
rowers and oars in case needed. In 480 , each trireme carried 200 men and 30
marines, according to Herodotus. Triremes were too crowded to store their own
supplies, and relied on support vessels for food and water. It was normal for
the crew to disembark in the evening for eating and sleep.
Other warships:
Achaemenid navy later used more advanced vessels like quinqueremes. Other types
of vessel in the fleet were triaconters, penteconter and light boats. Smaller
vessels used for river patrols could carry a maximum of 100–200 troops.
Transport vessels:
The navy operated a large number of vessels used to carry food and other
supplies, which commonly had a displacement of 100 to 150 tons, at the time
they invaded Egypt in 373. Ships capable of carrying 350 to 500 tons were also
used in significant numbers. They also had horse transporters (hippagogoi)
specifically built for this purpose, that could easily carry 30 horses. 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. It is probable that horse transports
were galleys with a shallow draft, that allowed horses get off in the waters
and embark via a ramp.
Bridge vessels:
See also: Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges:
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, in order to erect a roadway with planks. Xenophon reports such
bridges, one made using 37 boats on Tigris, and another using seven on
Maeander.
Size:
During its early years under Cambyses, the Achaemenid navy is assumed to
possess about 300 triremes, which was equal to the sum of the fleet of Egypt
and its ally Polycrates of Samos. This number was later doubled, with 600
triremes mentioned in 494 and 490. The initial set-up of the navy (300
triremes) may have had up to 51,000 rowers and thousands of sailors and
marines. The original number of vessels in the fleet was eventually quadrupled,
according to Greek sources. Herodotus' account of naval forces under Xerxes 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. Scholars maintain that this number included large
numbers of reserve ships, and the navy had not enough full oar crews to operate
them all. Herodotus also states that Persians arrived for the Battle of
Marathon (490) 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. Considering that each ship had an average of 50
oarsmen (the absolute minimum for a tririme) and 10 to 20 seamen and marines
were also aboard, the navy compromised 36,000 to 42,000 men, at least.[9] After
the Battle of Salamis (480 ), the fleet began to decline and never regained its
status at peak. The largest figure estimated after 404 is 400 triremes. The
number was still equal to, if not more than, fleets of the Athenian alliance.
Flag:
Xenophon wrote in Anabasis, "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". While there is not much
to confirm this, some scholars maintain that Alexander 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 at Apadana in plain,
and it is quite possible that it shows the eagle.
Impact and legacy:
See also: Canal of the Pharaohs, Xerxes Canal, and Achaemenid inscription in
the Kharg Island:
Achaemenid navy was the first true "imperial navy" that appeared in
the history. Persians are also credited for establishing the 'trireme navy' as
the new naval standard of their time. The establishment of the Achaemenid navy
set the basis of Iranian naval engineering, as well as "a powerful Persian
maritime tradition that remained in the region until the arrival of the British
East India Company and the Royal Navy by the mid-19th century AD". 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. The Sidonians
profited financially from the naval base stationed in their city.
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