Description
The waterline ram was first mounted on a vessel in around 850BC. Warships and naval tactics were transformed. Ships were no longer platforms for infantry battles on the water; the ship itself became the weapon. Galleys changed as the new reality sank in. Ramming at speed would hole and sink an enemy, therefore slimmer, faster, handier ships were required. More speed on demand obviously required more oars a fast ship with a single row of oars ended up being stupidly, impractically long. The solution, then, was to put in a second set of oars above the first, but slightly offset to allow for rowers' benches. These biremes, a Latin word meaning 'two oars', or dieres, the Greek equivalent, were no longer than previous designs but had twice the number of rowers. They were fast, manoeuvrable, and could carry a fighting contingent. Some nations also gave their bireme crews fire pots; these clay pots filled with oil and pitch were hurled at enemy ships in the entirely reasonable hope of setting them ablaze.
Auxiliaries supplemented the Legions of the late Republic and Principate and were recruited from non-citizens, usually provincial volunteers or from allied kingdoms. With the pressures of war requiring increasing numbers, especially in the aftermath of the Social War of 91-88BC, recruitment from Rome’s expanding provinces became a necessity. To limit the risk of rebellion, auxiliary units were recruited from a single province but always stationed far from home. Auxiliaries could be infantry, cavalry or specialists such as archers, and retained their own cultural identities and equipment. Being stationed in Roman provinces, under Roman rule, had an inevitable Romanising effect on auxiliaries, as did the rewards of service: land and citizenship. Some units eventually had 'Civium Romanorum' as a title, meaning they were Roman citizens. From as early as Caesar’s Gallic campaigns auxiliaries accounted for nearly all Roman cavalry, and during the 2nd century AD auxiliary numbers actually exceeded those of the Legions.
