A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 18 / Historical Sketch of the Progress of Discovery, Navigation, and / Commerce, from the Earliest Records to the Beginning of the Nineteenth / Century, By William Stevenson

by Robert Kerr; William Stevenson

In order to complete the maritime history of Rhodes, we have rather advanced beyond the period to which we had brought down our notices of the Roman navigation and commerce: these therefore we shall now resume at the war between Perseus king of Macedonia and the Romans. Perseus harassed the coasts of Italy, plundered and sunk all their ships, while they found it difficult to oppose him by sea, or protect their coasts, for want of a fleet. This induced them to prepare for service fifty vessels; but though their allies augmented this number, the Romans do not seem to have performed any thing of consequence by sea. This is attributed principally to the circumstance, that the fleet, on examination, was discovered to be in bad condition, neither equipped sufficiently in stores or provisions, and the seamen who were to have navigated it were either dead or absent, while those who did appear were ill paid and worse clothed; these facts sufficiently demonstrate the little care which the Romans, even at this period, bestowed on maritime affairs. The defeat of Perseus at Pidna, and his subsequent capture by the Romans in the island of Samothrace, rendered it unnecessary for them to supply the deficiences of their fleet. The immense ship, which, as we have already mentioned, Philip, Perseus's father, employed in his war against the Romans, was taken on this occasion; and Paulus Emilius, the consul, sailed up the Tiber in it: it had 16 banks of oars. Many other ships of large size were also captured; these were brought to Rome, and drawn into the Campus Martius.

One of the allies of the unfortunate Perseus was the king of Illyria, who was powerful at sea, and ravaged the coasts of Italy opposite to his dominions. While the consul was sent against Perseus, the management of the naval war against the Illyrians was committed to the praetor: as he was well aware of the maritime force of his opponent, he acted with great caution; his first success, in capturing some of their snips, induced him to land all his forces in Illyria, where, after an obstinate battle, he compelled the king to surrender at discretion. Macedonia and Illyria were thus reduced to the state of Roman provinces; but the Romans regarded these victories as of importance, more on account of the accession they made to their territories, than on account of the advantages which they might thence derive to their commerce or their naval power: so little, indeed, did they regard them in the latter point of view, that they gave the 220 ships which were surrendered to them by the king of Illyria, to the inhabitants of Cephalonia, of Apollonia, and Dyrrhachium, who at the time were much celebrated for their trade and navigation. Although their seacoasts had been repeatedly ravaged, we are informed by Polybius, that, from the time of Philip, king of Macedonia, till long after the defeat of Perseus, they entirely neglected the coasts of Illyria, from which, till this country was subdued by them, their own coasts were generally invaded, and by means of the ports and produce of which, after it became a Roman province, they might greatly have augmented their navy and commerce.

The Carthaginians had been gradually recovering from the losses which they had sustained during the second Punic war, and witnessed with satisfaction their enemies involved in constant hostilities, in the hope that the issue of these would prove fatal to them, or, at least, so far weaken them, as to enable them to oppose Rome with more success than they had hitherto done. While the war was carried on between the Romans and the Macedonians, they made great, but secret, preparations to regain their former power; but the Romans, who always kept a watchful and jealous eye on the operations of all their rivals, were particularly nearsighted with regard to whatever was doing by the Carthaginians. They received information that at Carthage there was deposited a large quantity of timber, and of other naval stores: on learning this, Cato, their inveterate enemy, who had been sent into Africa, to mediate between them and Masinissa, with whom they were at war, went to Carthage himself, where he examined every thing with a malicious eye. On his return to Rome, he reported that Carthage was again become excessively rich,--that her magazines were filled with all kinds of warlike stores,--that her ports were crowded with ships, and that by her war with Masinissa, she was only preparing to renew the war against Rome. His exhortations to his countrymen to anticipate the Carthaginians, by immediately commencing hostilities, had no effect at first; but being frequently repeated, and intelligence being received, that preparations were making at Carthage for an open declaration of war, and that the Carthaginians were fitting out a fleet, contrary to the terms of their treaty with the Romans; and this information being confirmed by the report of deputies sent to Carthage; war was declared against Carthage in the year of Rome 605. The Carthaginians endeavoured to pacify the Romans by surrendering to them their cities, lands, rivers, &c., in short, by a complete surrender of whatever they possessed, as well as of themselves. At first the Romans appeared disposed to abstain from war on these conditions; and the Carthaginians actually delivered up all their arms and warlike engines, and witnessed the burning of their fleet; but the Romans, having thus degraded them, and stript them in a great measure of the means of defence, now insisted that Carthage itself should be destroyed, and that the inhabitants should build a city at the distance of five leagues from, the sea. Indignant at these demands, they resolved to sustain a siege; and, in a very short time, they made immense preparations for defending their city. At first they gained some success over the Romans; for their fleet having come very near the shore, to transport the troops, who were suffering from the vicinity of the marshes, to a healthier spot, the Carthaginians fitted out a great number of fire ships, filled with tar, sulphur, bitumen, &c., and taking advantage of a favourable wind, they sent them among the Roman fleet, great part of which was thus destroyed.

But these and other successes did not ultimately avail them: Scipio who had been chosen consul, arrived in Africa, and Carthage was immediately strictly blocked up by sea and land. His exertions were indeed astonishing; as the new port of Carthage was effectually shut up by the Roman fleet, so that no assistance or provisions could enter by it; and as lines of circumvallation were formed on land, the consul's great object was to block up the old port. The Romans were masters of the western neck of land, which formed one side of its entrance; from this to the other side they built a mole, ninety feet broad at bottom, and eighty at top; when this was completed, the old port was rendered quite inaccessible and useless.

The Carthaginians on their part, imagined and executed works as surprising as those of the Romans: deprived of both their ports, they dug, in a very short time, a new harbour, from which they cut a passage to the sea; and they built and equipped a fleet of fifty ships, which put to sea through this new harbour. The Romans were astonished when they beheld a fleet, of the existence or possibility of which they had no conception, advancing out of a harbour, the formation of which equally astonished them, and this fleet daring to hazard an engagement. The battle continued during the whole day, with little advantage on either side; but, notwithstanding all their efforts, and some partial and temporary successes, Carthage was at length compelled to submit to Scipio, and was at first plundered, and afterwards destroyed. The Romans burnt the new fleet which the Carthaginians had built: indeed, in general, instead of augmenting their own naval force, when they subdued any of their maritime enemies, they either destroyed their ships or bestowed them on some of their allies; a certain proof, as Huet remarks, of the very little regard they paid to sea affairs.

We are expressly informed, in the Life of Terence, generally ascribed to Suetonius, that before the destruction of Carthage, the Romans did not trade to Africa: but though his words are express, they must not be taken literally; for we have already proved, that in the treaties between Rome and Carthage at a very early period, the voyages undertaken by the Romans, on account of trade, to Sicily, Sardinia, and parts of Africa are expressly mentioned in diem, and the people of Utica are particularized as the allies of the Romans, and a people with whom they traded. It is certain, however, that the author of the Life of Terence is correct, if he merely meant, that till after the destruction of Carthage the Romans had no regular commerce with Africa. From the date of this event, it became of great importance, though confined chiefly to slaves, most of whom were brought from Africa, to the island of Delos: this, as has been already stated, was a great depôt for them, as well as other kinds of merchandize. The capture of Carthage and of Corinth, which took place nearly at the same time, increased considerably the number of slaves for sale.

Still, however, though the Romans now began to be sensible of the value of commence, they did little to protect it; for soon after the termination of the third Punic war, the Mediterranean swarmed with pirates, who plundered the merchant ships of all nations. These pirates belonged principally to the Balearic islands, to Cilicia and to Crete. In one of the Balearic islands, called Minor by the ancients, the present Minorca, there were two cities built near the mouths of convenient harbours; the inhabitants of these carried on a considerable commerce, and at the same time engaged in piracy. They were uncommonly active and daring in this pursuit, attacking and robbing every ship they met with; they even had the courage, or the rashness, to oppose the Roman fleet, under the command of the consul Metellus; but they were beaten, and for a time obliged to abstain from their piratical proceedings.

They were soon again, however, emboldened to resume them, by the assistance and example of the inhabitants of Crete and Cilicia. This latter country, situated in Asia Minor, and possessing a sea-coast which extended along the Mediterranean, from east to west, nearly 250 miles, was fertile beyond most parts of Asia Minor; though on the coast, it was reckoned unhealthy. The principal commercial town was Alexandria, built by Alexander the Great, between Issus and the straits that lead from Cilicia into Syria; its situation being very favourable for carrying on trade to all the western parts of the Mediterranean, as well as to Egypt, the Euxine, &c. it soon became one of the most flourishing cities in the world. But the Cilicians were not content with lawful and regular trade: in the time of the Mithridatic war, and even before it, they began to plunder the neighbouring coasts; and being successful in these predatory expeditions, they extended them as far as the coasts of Greece and Italy, on which they landed, and carried off a great number of the inhabitants, whom they sold as slaves. The Romans at length deemed it absolutely necessary to act with vigour against them. Publius Servilius, who was employed on this occasion, defeated them in a sea-battle, and took most of their strong-holds. For a short time afterwards, they abstained from their predatory excursions; but, as we shall soon have occasion to notice, they resumed them whenever they had repaired their losses, and thought the Romans otherwise employed.

The island of Crete was regarded by the ancients as difficult of access; most of its harbours were exposed to the wind; but as it was easy for ships to sail out of them, when the wind was moderate and favourable, they were convenient for commerce to almost any part of the then commercial world. The ancients, according to Strabo, reckoned that ships which sailed from the eastern part of Crete would arrive in Egypt in three or four days; and, according to Diodorus Siculus, in ten days they would arrive at the Pulus Mæotis. The principal seaports were Bithynia, which had a very convenient haven; and Heracles, the seaport of the Gnossians. To these, merchants from all parts of the world resorted. There were, besides, a great many creeks and bays. This island would have been much more commercial and flourishing than it actually was, considering its favourable situation, &c., had it not been divided into a great number of independent states, who were jealous of each other's prosperity, and almost constantly at war amongst themselves. In very early times, when the whole island was subject to one sovereign, the Cretans were powerful at sea; they had subjected even before the Trojan war, some of the islands in the Egean Sea, and formed colonies and commercial establishments on the coasts of Asia Minor and Europe. At the breaking out of the Trojan war, they sent eighty ships to the assistance of the Greeks. But as soon as the island was divided into independent republics, their navigation and commerce seem to have declined. Their piratical expeditions were conducted with so much boldness and success, especially at the time when the Romans were engaged in hostilities with Mithridates, that they determined to curb them. Anthony, the father of Marc Anthony, was appointed to execute their vengeance; but, too confident of success, he was beaten by the Cretans in a sea-battle. This naturally encouraged them to carry on their piracies on a greater scale, and with more boldness; but their triumph was of short duration, for Metellus, the proconsul, having defeated their forces, united with those of the Cilician pirates, landed on the island, and subdued the whole of it.

In the meantime, Mithridates, who had been very instrumental in encouraging the pirates to commit depredations on the Roman vessels and coasts, was vigorously preparing for war with the republic. His naval force, formed partly of his own ships, and partly from those of most of the maritime states, all of whom were jealous and afraid of the Romans, and regarded Mithridates as their protector and deliverer, insulted even the coasts of Italy. We have already noticed his unsuccessful sea-fight with the Rhodians, almost the only people who continued faithful to the Romans. The latter, at length, were fully sensible of the absolute necessity of forming such a fleet as would enable them successfully to oppose Mithridates, who was master, not only of Asia, but of all Greece, and the adjacent islands, except Rhodes. Sylla was employed against him; but as he had very few ships, he sent Lucullus to Syria, Egypt, Lybia, and Cyprus, to collect a fleet. From Ptolemy, who was afraid of the power of Mithridates, and, perhaps, jealous of the Romans, he received no vessels; but from the other quarters he received considerable supplies of ships and experienced mariners. It is probable, however, that by sea the Romans would not have been able to cope with Mithridates, had not that monarch been beaten by land, and had not his admiral, Archelaus, delivered up the fleet under his command to Sylla. In the meantime, Mithridates was blocked up in Pitane, a city near Troy, from which he could not have escaped, if Lucullus had brought his fleet against it; this, however, out of jealousy to the Roman general Fimbria, he refused to do, contenting himself with naval operations. In these he was successful, gaining two victories over Mithridates's fleet, near the coast of Troy. These defeats, and the treachery of Archelaus, nearly annihilated the maritime force of Mithridates. But this monarch was not easily dispirited; in a short time he collected another fleet, and invaded Bithynia. It was therefore necessary for the Romans to send a fleet thither, which they did, under the command of Cotta. This fleet, however, was far inferior to that of the king, which consisted of 400 ships of thirty oars, besides a great many smaller vessels. On learning this, Lucullus, who had the chief command, ordered Cotta to remain in the harbour of Chalcedon; but Mithridates, relying on his strength, sailed into the very harbour, and burnt the Roman fleet. The loss of the Romans consisted of sixty ships, and 8000 of their mariners slain, besides 4500 taken prisoners. As this success of Mithridates encouraged the cities of Asia to revolt, Lucullus resolved, if possible, to counterbalance it with still more decisive success on his part by land; he accordingly besieged him in his camp. Being reduced to great straits, Mithridates was forced to escape by sea towards Byzantium; but on his voyage he was overtaken by a violent storm, in which sixty of his ships were sunk; he himself must have perished, if he had not been rescued by a pirate, who landed him safe in Pontus. Mithridates still had a small float of fifty ships, on board of which were 10,000 land forces. These were at sea; but with what object does not appear: they were met, however, near Lemnos, by a Roman squadron, and entirely defeated; thirty-two of them being captured, and the rest sunk. On receiving information of this victory, the Roman senate ordered Lucullus to be paid 3000 talents to repair and augment his fleet; but he refused them, answering, "that with the succours he could get from their allies, he should be able to gain the dominion of the sea, and conquer Mithridates:" at the same time he sent to Rome 110 galleys, armed with beaks. Mithridates, however, was still formidable at sea, and continued so, till the Romans gained another victory over him, near the island of Tenedos, in which they took and sunk sixty ships: after this, he was not able to fit out another fleet. As the remainder of the war between him and the Romans was entirely confined to land operations, we shall pass it by, and proceed to the other naval enterprizes of the Romans about this period.