Английская Википедия:Dromon
A dromon (from Greek δρόμων, Шаблон:Transl,Шаблон:Lit.) was a type of galley and the most important warship of the Byzantine navy from the 5th to 12th centuries AD, when they were succeeded by Italian-style galleys. It was developed from the ancient liburnian, which was the mainstay of the Roman navy during the Empire.[1]
Middle English dromond and Old French dromont are derived from the dromon, and described any particularly large medieval ship.[2]
Evolution and features
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 from Sicily, the 7th-century Yassi Ada ship and the 11th-century Serçe Limanı wreck). Only in 2005–2006 did archaeological digs for the Marmaray project in the Harbor of Theodosius (modern Yenikapi) uncover the remains of over 36 Byzantine ships from the 6th to 10th centuries, including four light galleys of the galea type.Шаблон:Sfn
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 full deck (Шаблон:Transl), the abandonment of the rams on the bow in favor of an above-water spur and the gradual introduction of lateen sails.Шаблон:Sfn The reasons for the abandonment of the ram (Шаблон:Lang-la, Шаблон:Lang-gr) are unclear. Depictions of upward-pointing beaks in the 4th-century Vatican Vergil manuscript may well illustrate that the ram had already been replaced by a spur in late-Roman galleys.Шаблон:Sfn Byzantinists John Pryor and Elizabeth Jeffreys argue that the purpose of the spur was to allow the dromon to ride up on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".Шаблон:Sfn One possibility is that the change occurred because of the gradual evolution of the ancient shell-first mortise and tenon hull 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.Шаблон:Sfn By the early 7th century, the ram's original function had been forgotten, if we judge by Isidore of Seville's comments that they were used to protect against collision with underwater rocks.Шаблон:Sfn Authors have suggested that it was introduced into the Mediterranean by Arabs, possibly with an ultimate origin in India. 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 late Hellenistic or early Roman period.[3][4] Not only the triangular, but also the quadrilateral version were known, used for centuries (mostly on smaller craft) in parallel with square sails.[3][5]
Belisarius's fleet during the Vandalic War, as described by Procopius 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.Шаблон:Sfn[5] These 6th-century dromons were single-banked ('monoreme') ships of probably 50 oars, arranged with 25 oars on each side.Шаблон:Sfn Again unlike Hellenistic vessels, which used an outrigger, these extended directly from the hull.Шаблон:Sfn In the later two-banked ('bireme') dromons of the 9th and 10th centuries, the two oar banks (Шаблон:Transl) 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's marines in boarding operations.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn The length of these ships was probably about 32 meters.Шаблон:Sfn Most contemporary vessels had a single mast (Шаблон:Transl or Шаблон:Transl), 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.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The ship was steered by means of two quarter rudders at the stern (Шаблон:Transl), which also housed a tent (Шаблон:Transl) that covered the captain's berth (Шаблон:Transl).Шаблон:Sfn The prow (Шаблон:Transl) featured an elevated forecastle (Шаблон:Transl), below which the siphon for the discharge of Greek fire projected; secondary siphons could also be carried amidships on either side.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn A pavesade (Шаблон:Transl), on which marines could hang their shields, ran around the sides of the ship, providing protection to the deck crew.Шаблон:Sfn Larger ships also had wooden castles (Шаблон:Transl) on either side between the masts, similar to those attested for the Roman liburnians, providing archers with elevated firing platforms.[6] The bow spur (Шаблон:Transl) was intended to ride over an enemy ship's oars, breaking them and rendering it helpless against missile fire and boarding.Шаблон:Sfn
The four Шаблон:Transl 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 Шаблон:Convert, and are built of European Black Pine and Oriental plane.Шаблон:Sfn
Variants
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 the Emirate of Crete in 911 and 949: the Шаблон:Transl (Шаблон:Lang), so named because it was manned by an Шаблон:Transl of 108 men; the Шаблон:Transl (Шаблон:Lang), crewed with up to 120–160 men, its name either implying an origin in the region of Pamphylia as a transport ship or its crewing with "picked crews" (from Шаблон:Lang, 'all tribes'); and the Шаблон:Transl proper, crewed by two Шаблон:Transl.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn In Constantine VII's De Ceremoniis, the heavy Шаблон:Transl is said to have an even larger crew of 230 rowers and 70 marines; the naval expert John 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.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn A smaller, single-bank ship, the Шаблон:Transl (Шаблон:Lang, 'single-banked') or Шаблон:Transl (Шаблон:Lang, from which the term "galley" derives), with Шаблон:Circa men as crew, was used for scouting missions but also in the wings of the battle line.Шаблон:Sfn
Three-banked ('trireme') dromons are described in a 10th-century work dedicated to the Шаблон:Transl Basil Lekapenos. However, this treatise, which survives only in fragments, draws heavily upon references on the appearance and construction of a classical Greek trireme, and must therefore be used with care when trying to apply it to the warships of the middle Byzantine period.[7]Шаблон:Sfn The existence of trireme vessels is, however, attested in the Fatimid 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.[8]
For cargo transport, the Byzantines usually commandeered ordinary merchantmen as transport ships (Шаблон:Transl) or supply ships (Шаблон:Transl). These appear to have been mostly sailing vessels, rather than oared.Шаблон:Sfn The Byzantines and Arabs also employed horse-transports (Шаблон:Transl), which were either sailing ships or galleys, the latter certainly modified to accommodate the horses.Шаблон:Sfn Given that the Шаблон:Transl appear originally to have been oared horse-transports, this would imply differences in construction between the Шаблон:Transl and the Шаблон:Transl proper, terms which otherwise are often used indiscriminately in literary sources. While the Шаблон:Transl was developed exclusively as a war galley, the Шаблон:Transl would have had to have a special compartment amidships to accommodate a row of horses, increasing its beam and hold depth.Шаблон:Sfn
Citations
General and cited sources
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
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- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, 565–1204
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:The Age of the GalleyШаблон:Sfn whitelist
- Шаблон:Citation
Шаблон:Sailing Vessels and Rigs Шаблон:Byzantine Empire topics
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvnb.
- ↑ The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, "Dromond".
- ↑ 3,0 3,1 Шаблон:Harvnb.
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvnb.; Шаблон:Harvnb.; Шаблон:Harvnb.
- ↑ 5,0 5,1 Шаблон:Harvnb.
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvnb.
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvnb.
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvnb.
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