1. Sea Power and Maritime Affairs
                                             
This is the only picture I have of a boat, so if you have any…
Interesting history, sets stage for the beginning of naval doctrine and all of our themes
This is “fun” history
If I’m going to fast, please let me know
Lesson 2
Sea Power in the Ancient Mediterranean World, from the Phoenicians to the Battle of Lepanto (1571)

2. Learning Objectives:
The student will comprehend the importance of sea power and navies to the peoples of the Mediterranean basin during antiquity. Special emphasis will be placed on Crete, the Phoenicians, Persia, Greece, Rome and the Italian city-states of the Middle Ages and early Renaissance
The student will understand the crucial role of the galley in naval warfare up to the Battle of Lepanto (October, 1571).

4. EXHIBIT A: AN ANCIENT GALLEY

5. Remember our Themes: The Navy as an Instrument of Foreign Policy
Interaction between Congress and the Navy
Interservice Relations
Technology
Leadership
Strategy and Tactics
Evolution of Naval Doctrine
You’ll see the beginning of all of these

6. Remember our Themes: The Navy as an Instrument of Foreign Policy
Interaction between Congress and the Navy
Interservice Relations
Technology
Leadership
Strategy and Tactics
Evolution of Naval Doctrine
These are the ones that will factor
Panhellenic Congress
Congress didn’t exist, but when we get to the British, parliament and the kings- if you did the reading

7. Mediterranean Sea Power Milestones:
Crete Develops 1st Navy (2500 – 1200 B.C.)
The Phoenicians (2000 – 300 B.C.) develop a seafaring empire
Early Greek Sea Power / The Greco-Persian Wars (492 B.C. – 480 B.C.)
The Rise and Fall of Roman Sea Power (264 B.C. – c 410 A.D.)
Sea Power during and after the Pax Romana (27 B.C. – 1500 A.D.)
The Battle of Lepanto (1571)

8. Early Mediterranean Navies:
Water transportation was cheaper than overland routes, and especially in the Mediterranean basin.
The Mediterranean Sea was the natural locale for much of the war fighting that resulted the commercial/national/ethnic rivalry that characterized the ancient world.
From the outset, commercial or trading vessels were lumbering sailing ships; naval vessels were galleys.
Med- big lake over in Europe- you’ll go if you’re lucky
Our focus is the Western World, because that’s where we inherit our traditions from
It was the western world- pre Age of Discovery
Early dichotomy of warships versus cargo ships

9. Circa 2,000 BC until the 16th Century
Age of Galleys
Circa 2,000 BC until the 16th Century
Predecessed the Age of Sail

10. Galley Warfare:
Need for defense of merchant shipping gives rise to a new type of ship, the galley.
Primary Secondary
Propulsion Oars Sails
Weapons Infantry Rams/Projectiles
Formation Line-Abreast N/A
There was no true naval doctrine. Battles were fought with a land-based mindset—primarily infantry and ramming--and there was no destruction from afar.
The first kind of naval warfare
Big rowboat
Galley developed for the purpose of protecting shipping
Oars- no swells
No Naval doctrine- Developed with land-based mindset
No ship to ship destruction from afar

11. A Typical Galley

12. This is the important one: the trireme -->
A Greek Trireme

13. Trireme
up to 7 knots
all rowers required to be naked

14. Greek Trireme:
- Galley with 3 banks of oars

15. Principal Functions of Navies:
1. Protect sea trade routes.
2. Block or disrupt enemy’s sea trade routes.
Command & Control of the Sea
1. Defend against sea-borne attack
2. Isolate the enemy’s land forces
3. Carry the attack across the sea to the enemy
Pre-Mahanian
Put some ships out there to protect the trade
From protection of trade routes came philosophy of Command & Control of the Sea

16. Line Abreast Formations: - Battles at sea were fought primarily as infantry battles
Galley concept
Vs. “Line Ahead”

17. Line Abreast Formations

18. Line Abreast Formations
The idea was to get close enough to capture the other guy’s ship.
The concept of ships destroying other ships from afar did not exist.
Naval infantry used to board and capture enemy galleys.

19. Use of the Ram
The idea of ships destroying other ships with a ram did, however.
This was still a primitive concept, as it did not allow for maneuver or line tactics.

20. Use of the Ram

21. Rams used to sink or immobilize enemy galleys.
Use of the Ram
Ship contact!
Next week we do squares attacking squares.
Rams used to sink or immobilize enemy galleys.

22. Early Naval Powers The Greeks The Persians The Romans
The Greeks, the Persians, and The Romans

23. Early Naval Powers: Crete:
The Greeks, the Persians, and The Romans
Rocky island in the middle of the Mediterranean; a choke point
Analagous to Britain (English Channel/North Sea) or US (Pacific/Atlantic)
Perfect to became the first naval power:
an island with a trade interest = Navy
Their only option was to take to the sea to trade their natural resources
Here she was strategically placed not only for carrying commerce but also for attacking and limiting the operations of her commercial rivals
Crete:
First maritime-oriented civilization - use of the sea
World’s first Navy established (Circa 2,000 BC).
Mahanian geographical position
Natural resources- copper ore

24. Early Naval Powers: Phoenicians
Seafaring peoples in eastern Mediterranean
Colonies in southern and western Mediterranean
The Phoenicians invented glass!
Robust maritime trade
Came out of Persian (Iran)
Ports of Sidon and Tyre on eastern-most shore of Mediterranean (modern Israel and Lebanon).
Traded as far overseas as Britain (tin), the Baltic (amber), western Africa (slaves, ivory).
Established trading stations and colonies, e.g., Carthage in northern Africa, across from Sicily.
Never built much of a Navy, but enjoyed unopposed control of the sea lanes. Analagous to the Dutch in the 17th and 18th century

26. The Greco-Persian War (c. 492-480 B.C.):
Status of Greece:
By 5th century B.C., Greeks dominated Black and Aegean Seas and held trading monopoly on eastern Mediterranean.
The Greeks exported olives, wine, and products of their gifted artisans and craftsmen, establishing settlements and colonies as far away as the north shore of the Black Sea and Spain.
The Greeks were chronically weakened by divisions into warring city-states.
Only natural that the two biggest sea powers will find a way to go to war
Greeks kicked butt
Dominated all of the inland seas
Not a lot of resources
All that prevented the ancient Greeks from founding one of the mightiest maritime empires of history was the fatal defect of disunity
Had it all

27. This modern country was once known as “Persia”?
POP QUIZ:
This modern country was once known as “Persia”?

28. HINT: check out 2400 years of this country’s progress…
AND NOW.
THEN…

29. WHAT IS IRAN? (I’ll take pesky, fanatical third-world countries for 200...)

30. The Greco-Persian War (c. 492-480 B.C.):
Background of Persia:
- Persia, a unified kingdom and empire, overwhelmed Phoenicians, Egyptians and all others in its path
The Persians were attempting to expand their massive empire, and by 492 B.C. they faced determined resistance from the Greek city-states to further expansion into Europe.
The Persians easily conquered the Phoenicians, who were then conscripted to supply naval power for the advancing Persian armies. The Phoenicians supplied ships, men and shipbuilding facilities.
The Persian advance was effectively an attack on Europe by Asia; the conquering of the Greeks would have effectively eliminated the basis for western civilization as we know it.
- This was one of the most significant wars in the history of the world.
- The Persians had powerful armies but were not originally a naval power.
- Phoenicians: previously conquered by Egyptians, Assyrians and Babylonians (modern day France).
- Greeks only thing stopping them from domination of Europe
- How does this compare to other “holy wars”? Modern events? Crusades? Etc.?

31. Map of Eastern Mediterranean
MAP OF EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA & SURROUNDING AREAS

32. Three Major Campaigns:
492 BC:
Storm destroys Persian fleet.
Persians unable to supply their vast army without shipping; 2/3 of Persian Army returns to Persia for the winter
50,000 troops left behind were slaughtered before reinforcements arrived
490 BC:
Defeated by Athenians at the Battle of Marathon (amphibious invasion)
10,000 Greeks marched from Athens—not bothering to wait for their Spartan allies—and threw Persians back into the sea
POP QUIZ: How far is it from Athens to Marathon?
23 miles
26 miles 285 yards
42 miles
Persians pour out of Iran
Take the Phoenicians easily, get all of their ships
Greeks march 23 the way from Athens and kick them back into the sea

33. King Xerxes versus Thermistocles:
After a 10 year hiatus, King Xerces musters an army of 150,000 men and renews attacks against the Greeks in 480 B.C.)
Thermistocles (Greek politician) rallied Greeks to build 200-ship Navy
Opening Action: The Battle of Thermoplylae (150,000 Persians v. 300 Spartans)
10 years later more methodically
Still a land-based philosophy

34. RUMBLE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN:V.
THERMISTOCLES VERSUS XERXES:
- Themistocles: Athenian leader of Panhellenic council
- Knew the Persian Army was no stronger than the fleet that protected its communications back to base
- READ: he knew why this boring
Convinced the Greeks to build a big Navy- this guy’s got a big army with a big vulnerability
Mahan “Communications dominate war.”
What theme?
Two Battles: Thermopylae and Salamis
Thermistocles knew why this <expletive deleted> course is important!
He knew that the Persians could not fight without a seaborne supply system
Mahanian Principle: “Communications dominate war”

35. Battle of Salamis – 480 BC:

36. The Battle of Salamis (480 B.C.):
310 Greek triremes stood against 600 Persian galleys in the constricted bay of the Island of Salamis.
Thermistocles used a double agent to trick Xerxes
Technology: bronze rams by Greeks to great advantage
Salamis was absolutely decisive and a classically Mahanian sea battle.
The battle for the West was won: the Persians lost at least 200 Triremes; no Persian invader ever again entered Greece
With insecure sea-borne lines of communication (SLOC), Xerxes retreated back to Asia Minor.
Greeks soon reopened all sea lanes of communication to Bosphorus and Black Sea.
Dominance in Greek alliance passed to Athens, which then established an empire or confederation based exclusively on sea power.

38. (But that is another story)
The Persians were later conquered by the armies of Alexander the Great…
(But that is another story)

39. Roman Sea Power (c. 264-410 A.D.):

40. The Punic Wars: Romans v. Carthaginians (264-201 B.C):
For two centuries after Salamis, the Greek colonists of Southern Italy and Sicily, backed by the mainland Greeks, and the descendants of the ancient Phoenicians in Carthage held one another at bay in the contest for domination of the western Mediterranean
Then, Rome began to expand southward to the tip of Italy and across Sicily, threatening Carthage itself and its settlements on Sicily.
The Punic Wars of Rome and Carthage ensued.

41. Roman Galley Corvus: Boarding device.
- Allowed Roman soldiers to board Carthaginian ships.
Corvus
Carthage was originally successful because of superiority at sea. Rome then developed a navy and successfully wrestled control of Sicily from Carthage. Maritime superiority, although not complete, shifted to Rome.
How did they do it?
Highly evolved Carthaginian tactics: ramming, sideswiping, flanking, and breaking the line. Naval tactics.
The Romans invented the corvus to fight the land battle on the sea: New technology to regain old tactics. Technology triumphs!

43. Punic Wars (264-201 B.C.) Goal: domination of Sicily
1st Punic War: Roman corvus tactics prevail, but Carthage is not destroyed
2nd Punic War: Hannibal marches through Spain to attack Italy, prompting Mahan to write his hoary volume of naval lore: what if Hannibal had control of the seas and had attacked accordingly. Ultimately, Rome destroys Carthage and burns all of its ships.
For domination of Sicily
First War: Romans won with corvus tactics, but Carthage still in the game
Second Punic War: Hannibal marches through Spain and attacks Italy, an event that inspired Mahan to write his book The Influence of Sea Power upon History. What would have happened if Hannibal had controlled the seas and attacked Rome directly?
Rome cut off Hannibal’s line of communications (ie, no food), then kicked his butt on land (attacking from Spain)
Rome destroys Carthage and burned all its ships. Roman Empire was complete. So began the Pax Romana, which lasted until 410 A.D.

44. Roman Navy: Remained second to Roman Army, but…
Enabled Roman empire to expand east to the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf.
Cleared the Mediterranean Sea of pirates.
Adapted Roman Army’s missile tactics: use of catapults to hurl stones, javelins, and combustible projectiles.

45. Roman Civil Wars:
Fascinating events, including Cleopatra and Mark Antony sailing into battle together
(Please feel free to read about this if you are interested.)

46. (p.s. – The Pax Romana, or “Roman Peace” was from 27 B.B. to 410 A.D.)
Mediterranean Sea Power After Pax Romana
(p.s. – The Pax Romana, or “Roman Peace” was from 27 B.B. to 410 A.D.)

47. The Players and the Action
Roman Empire divided between East and West
Germanic barbarian invasions of the West
Byzantine Empire continues in the East
Crusades (1095)
Last 2 centuries
Crusaders are transported by merchant ships from Italian city-states, few naval battles
Vikings - Invasions of Europe from Scandinavia in 900s
Venice establishes itself as the premier sea power in the Mediterranean by 1381 and maintained that role for more than 200 years
The Huns invade, and Rome falls
West: Western Roman Empire: capital in Rome
East: Byzantine Empire: Constantinople
Then: The Muslims invade Byzantium and take over everything
The Dark Ages for Europe (the Enlightenment for Byz.& Muslim World)
Pope Urban II: The Crusades
Not navally significant- troop transport
Bosporus: a strait 17 miles across, joining the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and separating Europe from Asia Minor

48. Challenges Venetian control of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Ottoman Empire:
At the same time, there is a post-Crusade Muslim resurgence.
On one side: Venice
On the other: the Ottomans- they overrun and destroy the Byzantine Empire.
There is a new world order.
Challenges Venetian control of the Mediterranean Sea.

49. The Final Muslim Invasion of Europe:
The powerful Ottoman Turks make one final play to conquer the West, but the Venetian Navy stands in the way
The war is a classic stalemate between a land power (Turks) and a sea power (Venetians)
The culmination was the Battle of Lepanto (1571)
Spain: the bastion of Christendom

50. Battle of Lepanto (1571): Last battle of the Age of Galleys
Combined Christian fleet defeats Ottoman Turks
Use of cannon mounted on front of galleys to supplement naval infantry
Sea battle of epic proportions, 80,000 men on each side, 25,000 Muslims and 8,000 Christians killed.
Ottoman Empire’s domination of Mediterranean ends.
“Barbary” system remains in North Africa. (European powers forced to pay tribute for safe passage)
Brings us finally to the Battle of Lepanto
Pope Pius V sponsors creation of Muslim Holy League
Spain and Italy roger up, Portugal and the HRE say “no thanks”
Both sides have the same kind of boats: long, slim, galleys with an above-water 18-foot spur
But:
Christians have arquebus (musket), Turks had bows
galleases: heavy, sluggish vessel with guns on bow and in broadside
A close victory for the Christians that ended the Age of the Galley.
Muslims maintained Cyprus, and demanded tribute: the “Barbary System”

51. Battle of Lepanto:

52. Transitions Battle of Lepanto last galley battle
Shift from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic
Spain and Portugal
New Naval Ships
Galleon
Age of Mediterranean preeminence in European sea power ends
(1) Spain and Portugal, especially, were investing their maritime resources in the Atlantic and overseas exploration, especially after the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) by which they divided between themselves the entire unexplored world beyond the Mediterranean.
(a) Here the ship of choice was a square-rigged vessel.
(b) Commercial: Round-hulled of North Atlantic design for long-distance voyages of exploration.
(c) Naval: Galleon, a multi-masted floating fortress mounting up to 80 cannon in castles and on broadside gun decks for salvo firing; also carried up to 800 troops for boarding; gradually began to change tactics to line-ahead, broadside formations, “ships-of-the-line.”

53. Why was today’s lesson important?
We discussed the nature and practice of sea power in a closed body of water as exemplified by the ancient kingdoms and empires in the Mediterranean Sea.
In studying this information, the student should consider and assess whether there are lessons to be learned from the experiences of antiquity that have some relevance to the current war on terrorism in the same region.
Always remember our themes!

54. QUESTIONS? NEXT LESSON:
The Age of Sail, Oceanic Sea Power and the Emergence of European Nation States

55. READING FOR NEXT CLASS:
(The Spanish Galleon)
Potter: chapter 1 (review) and chapter 2 (next topic)