Description
There is a good deal of debate as to how large ancient warships worked; the principles are understood, but the details are not always so clear. A Roman 'quadreme' or Greek 'tetreres' would seem to have four rows of oars if the name is translated literally. However, it is unclear how four sets of oars each with one rower apiece could be used without them getting in a terrible tangle even with a magnificently trained crew, or how the top set of rowers would be able to handle the extremely long oars pitched at a steep angle and still produce any power. The chances are that the term 'oar' had become synonymous with 'rower' and that the lowest bank had more than one man per oar. The other option was to go back to a double row of oars, with two men apiece. Two banks of oars would also have made for a cheaper construction task for each ship. Either way, the result was a ship that could rival the lighter trireme in speed, yet had more deck space for a large fighting contingent or artillery pieces.
These fierce axemen came from the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli, a region that sat on the divide between east and west. The kingdom of Kartli remained mostly independent until its association with both Pontus and Armenia led it into direct conflict with Rome during Pompey’s eastern campaigns. They were then treated as a subject state, eventually becoming formally allied to Rome following the disputes between Emperor Hadrian and Pharasmanes, the king of Kartli. Kartli did supply axemen as both mercenaries and auxiliaries to the Romans. In battle these axemen used one-handed axes that could inflict horrible wounds, and carried round shields. They also wore helmets, scale shirts and, later, chainmail. They were, by the standards of the day, rather well equipped.
