1.
Amazon River
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The Amazon River, usually abbreviated to Amazon, in South America is the largest river by discharge of water in the world and, according to some authors, the longest in length. Brazilians call this section the Solimões River above its confluence with the Rio Negro to form what Brazilians call the Amazon at the Meeting of Waters at Manaus, the rivers largest city. The Amazon basin is the largest drainage basin in the world, the portion of the rivers drainage basin in Brazil alone is larger than any other rivers basin. The Amazon enters Brazil with only one-fifth of the flow it finally discharges into the Atlantic Ocean, during what many archaeologists call the formative stage, Amazonian societies were deeply involved in the emergence of South Americas highland agrarian systems. Early human settlements were based on low-lying hills or mounds. Shell mounds were the earliest evidences of inhabitation, they represent piles of refuse and are mainly dated between 7500 and 4000 years BP. They are associated with ceramic age cultures, no preceramic shell mounds have been documented so far by archaeologists, artificial earth platforms for entire villages are the second type of mounds. They are best represented by the Marajoara culture, figurative mounds are the most recent types of occupation. There is ample evidence that the surrounding the Amazon River were home to complex and large-scale indigenous societies, mainly chiefdoms who developed large towns. Archeologists estimate that by the time the Spanish conquistador De Orellana travelled across the Amazon in 1541 and these pre-Columbian settlements created highly developed civilizations. For instance, pre-Columbian indigenous people on the island of Marajó may have developed social stratification, in order to achieve this level of development, the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest altered the forests ecology by selective cultivation and the use of fire. Scientists argue that by burning areas of the forest repetitiously, the people caused the soil to become richer in nutrients. This created dark soil areas known as terra preta de índio, further research has hypothesized that this practice began around 11,000 years ago. Some say that its effects on forest ecology and regional climate explain the otherwise inexplicable band of rainfall through the Amazon basin. Many indigenous tribes engaged in constant warfare, james Stuart Olson wrote, The Munduruku expansion dislocated and displaced the Kawahíb, breaking the tribe down into much smaller groups. First came to the attention of Europeans in 1770 when they began a series of attacks on Brazilian settlements along the Amazon River. In March 1500, Spanish conquistador Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first documented European to sail up the Amazon River. Pinzón called the stream Río Santa María del Mar Dulce, later shortened to Mar Dulce, literally, sweet sea, because of its fresh water pushing out into the ocean
2.
Naval Station Rota, Spain
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Naval Station Rota, also known as NAVSTA Rota, is a Spanish naval base commanded by a Spanish Rear Admiral and fully funded by the United States of America. Located in Rota in the Province of Cádiz, near the town of El Puerto de Santa María, NAVSTA Rota is the largest American military community in Spain and houses US Navy, there are also small US Army and US Air Force contingents on the base. NAVSTA Rota has been in use since 1953 when Spanish dictator Francisco Franco strengthened relations with the United States in order to local economies. The installation now covers more than 6,000 acres on the shore of Cadiz. The Chief of Naval Operations deployed Submarine Squadron 16 to Rota on 28 January 1964, USS Lafayette completed its first Fleet Ballistic Missile deterrent patrol with the Polaris missile and commenced the first refit and replenishment at Rota. During the early 1970s, the assigned to SUBRON16 were completing conversion to the Poseidon missile. That transition was completed when USS Francis Scott Key returned to Rota on 14 January 1974, the U. S. Senate ratified the treaty in June 1976, it called for the squadrons withdrawal from Spain by July 1979. In November 1976 the Secretary of the Navy announced Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, vQ-2 was based at Rota from 1959 until 2005, when it relocated to NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. During VQ-2s tenure at Rota, it flew the P4M Mercator, EC-121 Super Constellation, EA-3 Skywarrior, vR-22 flew the C-130F and was based at Rota from 1982 until its inactivation in 1992. The patrol squadrons would rotate assignment to Rota and Lajes every six months and were augmented by Naval Air Reserve patrol squadrons for shorter durations on a periodic basis. With the downsizing of the US Navy during the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially after the end of the Cold War, the US Navy maintains approximately 5,200 acres of the 6, 000-acre complex. There are about 4,000 Americans in Rota, including military, civilians, Rear Admiral Tony Gaiani relieved Mosk for lost confidence in his ability to command, specifically, to handle issues related to the investigation. As of 2015, four US destroyers, including USS Carney, USS Ross, USS Donald Cook, Naval Station Rota is home to an airfield and a seaport, the airfield has often caused the base to be misidentified as Naval Air Station Rota. The base is the headquarters for Commander, U. S. Naval Activities Spain, Naval Station Rota is strategically located near the Strait of Gibraltar and at the halfway point between the United States and Southwest Asia. The Base and its tenant commands are located within the boundaries of the 6, under the guidance of the Agreement for Defense Cooperation, the US and Spanish navies work together and share many facilities. The US Navy has the responsibility for maintaining the infrastructure, including a 670-acre airfield. From Naval Station Rota Spain, the VLF-transmitter Guardamar, which uses Torreta de Guardamar, the Naval Station is the only base in the Mediterranean capable of supporting Amphibious Readiness Group post-deployment wash-downs. The base port also offers secure, pier-side maintenance and back-load facilities, Rota supports Amphibious Readiness Group turnovers and hosts Sailors and Marines from visiting afloat units
3.
Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
4.
Navy
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A navy or maritime force is a fleet of waterborne military vessels and its associated naval aviation, both sea-based and land-based. It is the branch of an armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare, namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations. The strategic offensive role of a navy is projection of force into areas beyond a countrys shores, the strategic defensive purpose of a navy is to frustrate seaborne projection-of-force by enemies. The strategic task of the navy also may incorporate nuclear deterrence by use of submarine-launched ballistic missiles. In most nations, the naval, as opposed to navy, is interpreted as encompassing all maritime military forces, e. g. navy, marine / marine corps. First attested in English in the early 14th century, the navy came via Old French navie, fleet of ships, from the Latin navigium, a vessel. The word naval came from Latin navalis, pertaining to ship, cf. Greek ναῦς, ship, ναύτης, seaman, the earliest attested form of the word is in the Mycenaean Greek compound word
5.
Army
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An army or ground force is a fighting force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the military branch. It may also include other branches of the such as the air force via means of aviation corps. Within a national force, the word army may also mean a field army. They differ from army reserves who are activated only during such times as war or natural disasters, in several countries, the army is officially called the Land Army to differentiate it from an air force called the Air Army, notably France. In such countries, the army on its own retains its connotation of a land force in common usage. By convention, irregular military is understood in contrast to regular armies which grew slowly from personal bodyguards or elite militia, regular in this case refers to standardized doctrines, uniforms, organizations, etc. Regular military can also refer to full-time status, versus reserve or part-time personnel, other distinctions may separate statutory forces, from de facto non-statutory forces such as some guerrilla and revolutionary armies. Armies may also be expeditionary or fencible, india has had some of the earliest armies in the world. During the Indus Valley Civilization however, there was just a small force as they didnt fear invasion at the time. After the Aryan invasion, kingdoms and city-states started forming armies to protect their cities, one of the first known recorded battles, the Battle of the Ten Kings, happened when a Hindu king defeated an alliance of ten kings. During the Iron Age, the Maurya and Nanda Empires had large armies, in the Gupta age, large armies of longbowmen were recruited to fight off invading horse archer armies. Elephants, pikemen and cavalry were other featured troops, in Rajput times, the main piece of equipment was iron or chain-mail armour, a round shield, either a curved blade or a straight-sword, a chakra disc and a katar dagger. China has existed as a culture for thousands of years, the states of China raised armies for at least 1000 years before the Spring and Autumn Annals. By the Warring States period, the crossbow had been perfected enough to become a military secret, thus any political power of a state rested on the armies and their organization. China underwent political consolidation of the states of Han, Wei, Chu, Yan, Zhao and Qi, until by 221 BCE, Qin Shi Huang, sun Tzus The Art of War remains one of Chinas Seven Military Classics, even though it is two thousand years old. Since no political figure could exist without an army, measures were taken to only the most capable leaders could control the armies. Civil bureaucracies arose to control the power of the states
6.
Troupes de marine
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The Troupe de marine are a corps of the French Army which regroups several specialties, infantry, artillery, armoured and airborne. Despite their designation, they are a part of the Army. The troupe de marine have been professionalized progressively since 1970, the Troupe de marine were formerly known as the Troupes Coloniales, with origin dating back to the Troupes de la marine. The French colonies were under the control of the Ministère de la Marine, accordingly and these companies were destined to embark on royal naval ships to service the naval artillery and participate to the boarding of naval ships engaged in combats at sea. Simultaneously, these companies were also in charge in guarding the sea ports. In the 18th century, they constituted the Compagnies Franches de la Marine who mainly swarmed essentially in Nouvelle France, an evolution was followed and which deemed more and more pronouncing vis-à-vis the ship boarding marines and their officers. A tentative close-up merger was attempted by two naval ship corps including their troops in 1786 with the companies of sailors, however the experience came to little conclusions. The Régiment Royal–La Marine and Régiment de lAmiral de France founded by Colbert dispersed their companies between Dunkerque, Le Havre, Brest, Rochefort and Toulon and they adorned for a first time the white and grey uniform with the blue vest. The four regiments of la marine were transferred from the secretariat of La Marine to that of the secretariat of La Guerre, such was put in effect to meet the successive military war demands of the reign of Louis XIV, wanting to control all French units. The regiments have left the French Navy conserved then, only that of a naval designation, the Marine Royale had proud allure in 1671, France was able to align 196 naval vessels. Colbert decided accordingly to create 100 companies of guardian-soldiers destined to defend the naval vessels, however, these men were redirected again towards the French Army by Louvois in 1673. Starting this date, the naval and marine officers were obliged to recruit themselves their crew, owing to the presence of « levées » on the war or commercial sea ports, similar to the « marine press », the officers garrisoned their naval ships with defenders. However, the system found its limits quickly, the recruits were often lacking discipline and experience. A vicious circle and a pride for the performing French naval, Compagnies franches de la Marine created in 1690. Each company was tasked to guard a military harbor and its immediate coastline, beginning in 1695, the Companies were organized in battalions around the major harbors. The Marine Companies and Battalions were suppressed in 1761, Corps dartillerie de Marine, created in 1692 to oversee the training and use of coastal artillery. The Corps was suppressed in 1761, the Infantry and Artillery Marine units were re-organized into a single marine corps by a short-lived merger in 1769. Some colonial units were created at the time, organized along the same lines of artillery and infantry units
7.
Givati Brigade
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The Givati Brigade is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade, and serves as its amphibious force. Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets, the Brigades symbol is the fox, alluding to Shualei Shimshon, a unit in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. At the start of the 1948 Palestine war, the brigade was charged with operations in the region of Israel, participating in operations Hametz, Barak. As the war entered its second stage, Givati became the 5th Brigade, was moved to the south, one battalion fought on the Jerusalem front, participating in Operation Nachshon and the Battles of Latrun. When Israel declared independence, Givati consisted of 5 battalions, with commanders such as Jehuda Wallach, Yaakov Pri, Yitzhak Pundak, Tzvi Tzur. A sixth battalion was founded on May 30,1948 from Irgun veterans, the brigade or parts thereof subsequently participated in the Battle of Nitzanim, Operation An-Far, Operation Yoav, etc. It was converted into a brigade in 1956 and its 51st HaBokim HaRishonim infantry battalion transferred to the Golani Brigade. Givati was reestablished as a infantry brigade and then proceeded on to amphibious warfare in 1983. In 1986 the brigades purple beret was officially approved, since 1999 it serves under Israels Southern Command. The Givati Brigade served under the Southern Command and was deployed in the Gaza Strip, the brigade was awarded a medal of honor for its service in the Gaza Strip during the last two years of the Al-Aqsa Intifada, when under the command of Imad Fares. Under Fares command, Givati carried out thousands of operations in the Gaza Strip, the brigade continued its operations in the Gaza Strip under the command of Eyal Eisenberg and the new head of Southern Command, Dan Harel. Givatis Recon Battalion, the Dolev combat engineering platoon and the Bedouin scouts battalion, won a recommendation of honor, Givati forces, combined with a special combat engineering tunnels unit, and IDF Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozers, managed to suppress most of Rafahs tunnels. On May 11 and May 12,2004, two armored personnel carriers of Givatis Dolev engineering battalion were destroyed by Palestinian militants, the two separate attacks, in Gaza Citys Zeitoun neighbourhood and the Philadelphi Route near Rafah and the Egyptian border, claimed the lives of 11 soldiers. Islamic Jihad militants captured some of the remains, causing outrage in Israel, following international pressure and further Israeli operations in Zeitoun, the bodies of soldiers were returned to Israel. In the Zeitoun incident, UNRWA ambulances were used as transport by healthy Palestinian fighters, UNRWA has described the May 11 incident as a hijacking. After two more soldiers were killed in Rafah, Israel launched Operation Rainbow and this involved Givati forces reinforced by Golani Brigade soldiers with IDF Achzarit HAPCs, a battalion of officers from the class-commanders school and several IDF Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozers. The stated aim of Operation Rainbow was to destroy the infrastructure of Rafah, destroy smuggling tunnels. The brigades Shaked battalion, under the command of a Lt. Col. Ofer was rocked by scandals in the half of 2004 while stationed in the southern Gaza Strip
8.
Military branch
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Military branch is according to common standard the subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. In classical terminology, the three military branches are the Army, Air Force, and Navy. Countries which do not have access to any of the seas or any oceans generally do not have a national navy. In some countries there might be other military branches, while it has three environmental commands - namely Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force - it remains a single military service. The military branches came into being in line with military technical progress and have been developed permanently, with that background, the air force was established early in the 20th century as one of the latest armed service. The army is traditionally the oldest – and in countries the biggest armed service. Branch of service refers, according to NATO standards, to a branch, employment of combined forces or parts of a service, below the level of service, military serviced or armed service
9.
United States Marine Corps
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The U. S. Marine Corps is one of the four armed service branches in the U. S. Department of Defense and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military officer in the U. S. Armed Forces, is a Marine Corps general, the Marine Corps has been a component of the U. S. Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834, working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, two battalions of Continental Marines were formed on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a service branch of infantry troops capable of fighting for independence both at sea and on shore. The role of the Corps has since grown and evolved, expanding to aerial warfare and earning popular titles such as, Americas third air force, and, second land army. By the mid-20th century, the U. S. Marine Corps had become a major theorist of and its ability to rapidly respond on short notice to expeditionary crises gives it a strong role in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. As of 2016, the USMC has around 182,000 active duty members and it is the smallest of the U. S. The USMC serves as an expeditionary force-in-readiness and this last clause, while seemingly redundant given the Presidents position as Commander-in-chief, is a codification of the expeditionary responsibilities of the Marine Corps. It derives from similar language in the Congressional acts For the Better Organization of the Marine Corps of 1834, in 1951, the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee called the clause one of the most important statutory – and traditional – functions of the Marine Corps. In addition to its duties, the Marine Corps conducts Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure operations, as well as missions in direct support of the White House. The Marine Band, dubbed the Presidents Own by Thomas Jefferson, Marines from Ceremonial Companies A & B, quartered in Marine Barracks, Washington, D. C. The Executive Flight Detachment also provides transport to Cabinet members. The relationship between the Department of State and the U. S. Marine Corps is nearly as old as the corps itself, for over 200 years, Marines have served at the request of various Secretaries of State. After World War II, an alert, disciplined force was needed to protect American embassies, consulates, in 1947, a proposal was made that the Department of War furnish Marine Corps personnel for Foreign Service guard duty under the provisions of the Foreign Service Act of 1946. A formal Memorandum of Agreement was signed between the Department of State and the Secretary of the Navy on December 15,1948, during the first year of the MSG program,36 detachments were deployed worldwide. Continental Marines manned raiding parties, both at sea and ashore, the Advanced Base Doctrine of the early 20th century codified their combat duties ashore, outlining the use of Marines in the seizure of bases and other duties on land to support naval campaigns. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, Marine detachments served aboard Navy cruisers, battleships, Marine detachments served in their traditional duties as a ships landing force, manning the ships weapons and providing shipboard security. Marines would develop tactics and techniques of amphibious assault on defended coastlines in time for use in World War II, during World War II, Marines continued to serve on capital ships
10.
Royal Marines
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The Corps of Royal Marines is the United Kingdoms amphibious light infantry force, forming part of the Naval Service, along with the Royal Navy. The Royal Marines were formed in 1755 as the Royal Navys infantry troops, as a highly specialised and adaptable light infantry force, the Royal Marines are trained for rapid deployment worldwide and capable of dealing with a wide range of threats. The Royal Marines have close ties with allied marine forces, particularly the United States Marine Corps. Today, the Royal Marines are a fighting force within the British Armed forces. The Royal Marines can trace its origins back as far as 28 October 1664 when at the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company the Duke of York and Albanys maritime regiment of foot was first formed. On 5 April 1755, His Majestys Marine Forces, fifty Companies in three Divisions, headquartered at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, were formed by Order of Council under Admiralty control. Initially all field officers were Royal Navy officers as the Royal Navy felt that the ranks of Marine field officers were largely honorary and this meant that the furthest a Marine officer could advance was to lieutenant colonel. It was not until 1771 that the first Marine was promoted to colonel and this attitude persisted well into the 1800s. During the rest of the 18th century, they served in numerous landings all over the world and they also served in the American War of Independence, being particularly courageous in the Battle of Bunker Hill led by Major John Pitcairn. In 1788 a detachment of four companies of marines, under Major Robert Ross, due to an error the Fleet left Portsmouth without its main supply of ammunition, and were not resupplied until the Fleet docked in Rio de Janeiro midway through the voyage. In 1802, largely at the instigation of Admiral the Earl St. Vincent, the Royal Marines Artillery was formed as a separate unit in 1804 to man the artillery in bomb ketches. These had been manned by the Armys Royal Regiment of Artillery, during the Napoleonic Wars the Royal Marines participated in every notable naval battle on board the Royal Navys ships and also took part in multiple amphibious actions. In the Caribbean theatre volunteers from freed French slaves on Marie-Galante were used to form Sir Alexander Cochranes first Corps of Colonial Marines and these men bolstered the ranks, helping the British to hold the island until reinforcements arrived. This practice was repeated during the War of 1812, where escaped American slaves were formed into Cochranes second Corps of Colonial Marines and these men were commanded by Royal Marines officers and fought alongside their regular Royal Marines counterparts at the Battle of Bladensburg. Throughout the war Royal Marines units raided up and down the east coast of America including up the Penobscot River and they fought in the Battle of New Orleans and later helped capture Fort Bowyer in Mobile Bay in what was the last action of the war. In 1855 the Infantry forces were renamed the Royal Marines Light Infantry, during the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855, three Royal Marines earned the Victoria Cross, two in the Crimea and one in the Baltic. In 1862 the name was altered to Royal Marine Light Infantry. The Royal Navy did not fight any other ships after 1850, in these Naval Brigades, the function of the Royal Marines was to land first and act as skimishers ahead of the sailor Infantry and Artillery
11.
United States Department of the Navy
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The Secretary of the Navy is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate. They supervise their military services of the Department of the Navy. They are assisted by a Vice Chief of Naval Operations and an Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. Unlike its U. S. Army and U. S. Air Force counterparts, the Department of the Navy consists of all elements of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. According to Navy Regulations Section 0204-2, the term Navy Department refers only to the offices at the seat of government. The bill passed in the House on 17 May 2007, but encountered opposition among members of the DoD civilian leadership and among senior Navy admirals, in the Senate, the provision was replaced in S. Amdt. 2011, an amendment in the nature of a substitute proposed by Senator Carl Levin of Michigan on 9 July 2007, the amendment removed the renaming provision and also made other changes. The House version including the provision was withdrawn in conference committee, Naval Vessel Register Title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations United States Navy Regulations, Accessed on 2011-03-23. Department of the Navy website US Marine Corps official website US Navy official website Department of Defense website Department of the Navy in the Federal Register
12.
Her Majesty's Naval Service
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Her Majestys Naval Service, also known as the Senior Service, is the United Kingdoms naval warfare and maritime service. It consists of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Naval Careers Service, Royal Marines Band Service, the term Naval Service should be distinguished from the UK Naval Services, which consist of the Naval Service and the Merchant Navy. The Naval Service as a whole falls under the command of the Navy Board and this position is currently held by Admiral Sir Phillip Jones. The Defence Council delegates administration of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, the total displacement of HM Naval Service and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is approximately 641,000 tonnes. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is considered part of the Ministry of Defence Civil Service, the Navy has been structured around a single fleet since the abolition of the Eastern and Western fleets in 1971. Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Commander-in-Chief Fleet, who also has authority over the Royal Marines, personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord/Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral. The United Kingdoms nuclear deterrent is carried aboard the navys Vanguard-class of four nuclear ballistic-missile submarines, the surface fleet consists of destroyers, frigates, amphibious assault ships, patrol ships, mine-countermeasures, and miscellaneous vessels. The submarine service has existed within the Royal Navy for more than 100 years, the service possessed a combined fleet of diesel-electric and nuclear-powered submarines until the early 1990s. Following the Options for Change defence review, the Upholder class diesel-electric submarines were withdrawn, the infantry component of the Naval Service is the Corps of Royal Marines. Consisting of a single brigade and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious, arctic. The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned fleet owned by the British Ministry of Defence. The RFA enables ships of the Royal Navy to maintain operations around the world and its primary role is to supply the Royal Navy with fuel, ammunition and supplies, normally by replenishment at sea. It also transports Army and Royal Marine personnel, as well as supporting training exercises, the RFA is funded out of the UK defence budget and the Commodore commanding the RFA is directly responsible to the Royal Navy Fleet Commander. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary also augments the Royal Navys amphibious warfare capabilities through its three Bay-class landing ship dock vessels, the service is manned by around 1,850 civilian personnel. Serco Denholm took over Marine Services to the Naval Service from the now disbanded Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service in 2008, in late 2009 Serco bought out Denholms share, with the service now being known as Serco Marine Services
13.
Impressment
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Impressment, colloquially, the press or the press gang, refers to the act of taking men into a military or naval force by compulsion, with or without notice. Navies of several nations used forced recruitment by various means, the large size of the British Royal Navy in the Age of Sail meant impressment was most commonly associated with Britain. The Royal Navy impressed many merchant sailors, as well as some sailors from other nations, people liable to impressment were eligible men of seafaring habits between the ages of 18 and 55 years. Non-seamen were impressed as well, though rarely, though the public opposed conscription in general, impressment was repeatedly upheld by the courts, as it was deemed vital to the strength of the navy and, by extension, to the survival of the realm. Impressment was essentially a Royal Navy practice, reflecting the size of the British fleet, Continental Navy did however apply a form of impressment during the American War of Independence. The impressment of seamen from American ships caused serious tensions between Britain and the United States in the leading up to the War of 1812. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1814, Britain ended the practice, later conscription was not limited to the Royal Navy, working and living conditions for the average sailor in the Royal Navy in the 18th century were harsh by modern standards. Naval pay was attractive in the 1750s, but towards the end of the century its value had been eroded by rising prices, sailors pay on merchant ships was somewhat higher during peacetime, and could increase to double naval pay during wartime. Until 19th century reforms improved conditions, the Royal Navy was additionally known to pay wages up to two years in arrears, and it always withheld six months pay to discourage desertion. Naval wages had been set in 1653, and were not increased until April 1797 after sailors on 80 ships of the Channel Fleet based at Spithead mutinied, despite this, there were many volunteers for naval service. Also the food supplied by the Navy was plentiful and good by the standards of the day. The main problem with recruitment, though, was a shortage of qualified seamen during wartime, privateers, the Royal Navy, and the Merchant Navy all competed for a small pool of ordinary and able seamen in wartime, and all three groups were usually short-handed. Volunteering also protected the sailor from creditors, as the law forbade collecting debts accrued before enlistment, the main disadvantage was that enlisted deserters who were recaptured would be hanged, whereas pressed men would simply be returned to service. Other records confirm similar percentages throughout the 18th century, average annual recruitment 1736–1783 All three groups also suffered high levels of desertion. In the 18th century, British desertion rates on naval ships averaged 25% annually, if a naval ship had taken a prize, a deserting seaman would also forfeit his share of the prize money. In a report on proposed changes to the RN written by Admiral Nelson in 1803, the Impress Service was formed to force sailors to serve on naval vessels. There was no concept of joining the navy as a fixed career-path for non-officers at the time since seamen remained attached to a ship only for the duration of its commission. They were encouraged to stay in the Navy after the commission, Impressment relied on the legal power of the King to call men to military service, as well as to recruit volunteers
14.
Mutiny
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Mutiny is a criminal conspiracy among a group of people to openly oppose, change, or overthrow a lawful authority to which they are subject. The term is used for a rebellion among members of the military against their superior officers. During the Age of Discovery, mutiny particularly meant open rebellion against a ships captain, until 1689, mutiny was regulated in England by Articles of War instituted by the monarch and effective only in a period of war. In 1689, the first Mutiny Act was passed which passed the responsibility to enforce discipline within the military to Parliament. The Mutiny Act, altered in 1803, and the Articles of War defined the nature and punishment of mutiny until the latter were replaced by the Army Discipline and this, in turn, was replaced by the Army Act in 1881. The same definition applies in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, the military law of England in early times existed, like the forces to which it applied, in a period of war only. Troops were raised for a service and were disbanded upon the cessation of hostilities. The crown, by prerogative, made known as Articles of War for the government and discipline of the troops while thus embodied. This power of law-making by prerogative was however held to be applicable during a state of war only. Subject to this limitation, it existed for more than a century after the passing of the first Mutiny Act. The Mutiny Act 1873 was passed in this manner, such matters remained until 1879 when the last Mutiny Act was passed and the last Articles of War were promulgated. The act and the articles were not to harmonize in all respects. Their general arrangement was faulty, and their sometimes obscure. In 1869, a commission recommended that both should be recast in a simple and intelligible shape. In 1878, a committee of the House of Commons endorsed this view, in 1879, passed into law a measure consolidating in one act both the Mutiny Act and the Articles of War, and amending their provisions in certain important respects. This measure was called the Army Discipline and Regulation Act 1879, as the punishment of every conceivable offence was provided, any articles made under the act could be no more than an empty formality having no practical effect. These rules, however, must not be inconsistent with the provisions of the Army Act itself, thus in 1879 the government and discipline of the army became for the first time completely subject either to the direct action or the close supervision of parliament. A further notable change took place at the same time, each session therefore the text of the act had to be passed through both Houses clause by clause and line by line
15.
Naval boarding
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Naval boarding is to come up against, or alongside, an enemy ship to attack by placing men aboard the enemy ship. The goal of boarding is to capture, or destroy, the enemy vessel, larger ships carried specially trained and equipped sailors, or marines, as boarders. A cutting out boarding is an attack by boats, preferably at night and against an unsuspecting. It became popular in the later 18th century, and was used during the Napoleonic Wars. This heralded the emphasis on stealth, and surprise, that would come to dominate future boarding tactics, an example is the successful cutting out of the Hermione which took place at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, on 25 October 1799. In modern warfare, boarding by military forces almost always involves stealth and it may involve the use of small submarines or submersibles, or inflatable boats, or by scuba divers. All involve scaling the sides of the ship, when stealth is not as important, helicopters may be used to carry troops to the deck of the ship. Boarding is used in wartime as a way to seize a vessel without destroying it and it can also be used to aid in the collection of naval intelligence, as soldiers boarding a sinking, crippled, or surrendered vessel could possibly recover enemy plans, cipher codebooks or machines. For a boarding to be successful, it must occur without the knowledge of the crew of the defending ship, a nations Coast Guard could also board any suspicious ships that have been overfishing in such a nations territorial waters. Boarding is the oldest methods of securing an opposing ship, as the first cases were depicted when the Sea Peoples, for cultures that lack effective shipboard artillery, boarding is the main technique of ship-to-ship combat. However, in the era, boarding is still used. In all eras, boarding requires that the ship boarded be stable enough to withstand the impact of enemy personnel leaping or climbing onto the deck, the target ship must also have enough deck space for boarders to be able to stand and fight effectively. Instead, such vessels were used for the rapid transportation of troops and supplies. Throughout the classical and medieval periods, all naval ship-to-ship combat focused primarily on boarding, although ramming, Greek and Persian naval tactics emphasized ramming and boarding, notably at the Battle of Salamis. The earliest Roman naval battles against Carthage also emphasized boarding, since the Romans were primarily a land-based army, they could not effectively combat the Carthaginian navy, and subsequently lost several sea battles. The corvus, a ramp with two steel spikes, was the Roman answer to this problem. Roman sailors piloted their ship alongside a Carthaginian ship, dropped the corvus from one deck to the other, the Carthaginian navy, unprepared for this land combat on the oceans, lost several ships to this tactic. This invention secured Roman naval dominance in the Mediterranean Sea for several centuries, during the medieval period, boarding continued to be the dominant form of ship-to-ship combat
16.
Prize (law)
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Prize /praɪz/ is a term used in admiralty law to refer to equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship, in the past, the capturing force would commonly be allotted a share of the worth of the captured prize. Nations often granted letters of marque that would entitle private parties to capture enemy property, usually ships. At the outset, prize taking was all smash and grab like breaking a window, but by the fifteenth century a body of guiding rules. Grotiuss seminal treatise on international law published in 1604 called De Iure Praedae Commentarius was an advocates brief justifying Dutch seizures of Spanish, grotius defends the practice of taking prizes as not merely traditional or customary but just. Prize law fully developed between the Seven Years War of 1756–63 and the American Civil War of 1861–65 and this period largely coincides with the last century of fighting sail and includes the Napoleonic Wars, the American and French Revolutions, and Americas Quasi-War with France of the late 1790s. Fortunes in prize money were to be made at sea as vividly depicted in the novels of C. S. Forester, during the American Revolution the combined American naval and privateering prizes totaled nearly $24 million, in the War of 1812, $45 million. Prize cases were among the most complex of the time, as the disposition of vast sums turned on the fluid Law of Nations, and difficult questions of jurisdiction and precedent. One of the earliest U. S. cases for instance, a captured American privateer captain, 20-year-old Gideon Olmsted, shipped aboard the British sloop Active in Jamaica as an ordinary hand in an effort to get home. Olmsted organized a mutiny and commandeered the sloop, but as Olmsteds mutineers sailed their prize to America, a Pennsylvania privateer took the Active. Olmsted and the disputed ownership of the prize, and in November 1778 a Philadelphia prize court jury came to a split verdict awarding each a share. But Pennsylvania authorities refused to enforce the decision, asserting the Continental Congress could not intrude on a prize court jury verdict. Olmsted doggedly pursued the case for decades until he won, in a U. S, when a privateer or naval vessel spotted a tempting vessel—whatever flag she flew or often enough flying none at all—they gave chase. Sailing under false colors was a ruse, both for predator and prey. The convention was a vessel must hoist her true colors before firing the first shot, firing under a false flag could cost dearly in prize court proceedings, even result in restitution to the captured vessels owner. Officers restrained the crew to prevent pillaging defeated adversaries, or pilfering the cargo known as breaking bulk. That is, instead of destroying her on the spot as was their prerogative, on land this would be extortion and the promise to pay unenforceable in court, but at sea it was accepted practice and the IOUs negotiable instruments. While on her mission as a ship she was immune to recapture so long as she proceeded directly on her errand, promptly returned
17.
Raid (military)
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A raiding group may consist of combatants specially trained in this tactic, such as commandos, or as a special mission assigned to any general troops. Raids are often a standard tactic in warfare, employed by warriors, guerrilla fighters. Among many tribal societies, raiding was the most common and lethal form of warfare, taking place at night, the goal was to catch the enemy sleeping to avoid casualties to the raiding party. Cattle raiding was a feature of Irish society in the Iron Age. Small scale raiding warfare was common in Western European warfare of the Middle Ages, much of a professional soldiers time could be spent in little war, carrying out raids or defending against them. Typical of this style of warfare was the raid or chevauchée. The largest raids in history were the series undertaken during and following the Mongol invasion of Central Asia, in the operational level of war, raids were the precursors in the development of the Operational Manoeuvre Groups in the Soviet Army as early as the 1930s. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad made frequent use of raiding tactics, Muhammad ibn Maslama pretended to be dead. A Muslim who happened to pass that way found him and assisted him to return to Medina, Raiding by sea was known at the time of the Pharaohs, when the shipborne forces of the Sea Peoples caused serious disruption to the economies of the eastern Mediterranean. In the early Middle Ages, Viking raiders from Scandinavia attacked the British isles, France and Spain, attacking coastal, Raiding did not cease with the decline of the Viking threat in the 11th century. It remained an element of the medieval naval warfare. Extensive naval raiding was carried out by all sides during the Hundred Years War, Raiding formed a major component of English naval strategy in the Elizabethan era, with attacks on the Spanish possessions in the New World. A major raid on Cadiz to destroy shipping being assembled for the Spanish Armada was carried out by Sir Francis Drake in 1587, during the Second World War, the British set up the Combined Operations Headquarters to organise harassing raids against the Germans in Europe. The first operation conducted by a formation, known as Operation Ambassador, took place in July 1940. The next major raid was Operation Claymore, which was launched in March 1941 against the Lofoten Islands, paratroopers and glider-borne troops have been landed by aircraft on raids, including offensive counter-air missions such as those carried out by the Teishin Shudan and Giretsu Kuteitai commandos. In the modern era, the helicopter, allowing for both insertion and extraction, offers a method of raid transportation, although it comes at the cost of noise. The Royal Air Force first used the raid in the Second World War when referring to an air attack. It included those by one aircraft or many squadrons, against all manner of targets on the ground, raid was different from battle, which was used for land, sea, or amphibious conflict
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Industrial warfare
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The era featured mass-conscripted armies, rapid transportation, telegraph and wireless communications, and the concept of total war. One of the features of industrial warfare is the concept of total war. There are several reasons for the rise of total warfare in the 19th century, as countries capital and natural resources grew, it became clear that some forms of warfare demanded more resources than others. Consequently, the greater cost of warfare became evident, an industrialized nation could distinguish and then choose the intensity of warfare that it wished to engage in. Additionally, warfare was becoming more mechanized and required greater infrastructure, combatants could no longer live off the land, but required an extensive support network of people behind the lines to keep them fed and armed. This required the mobilization of the home front, modern concepts like propaganda were first used to boost production and maintain morale, while rationing took place to provide more war materiel. The earliest modern example of war was the American Civil War. They believed that to break the backbone of the South, the North had to employ scorched earth tactics, or as Sherman called it, Shermans advance through Georgia and the Carolinas was characterized by widespread destruction of civilian supplies and infrastructure. In contrast to later conflicts, the damage done by Sherman was almost entirely limited to property destruction, in Georgia alone, Sherman claimed he and his men had caused $100,000,000 in damages. Conscription is the enrollment of civilians into military service. Conscription allowed the French Republic to form La Grande Armée, what Napoleon Bonaparte called the nation in arms, for instance, during World War I, bitter political disputes broke out in Canada, Newfoundland, Australia and New Zealand over conscription. Canada also had a dispute over conscription during World War II. Both South Africa and Australia put limits on where conscripts could fight in WWII, similarly, mass protests against conscription to fight the Vietnam War occurred in several countries in the late 1960s. Russia, as well as smaller nations such as Switzerland. Prior to the invention of the transport, combatants were transported from by wagons, horses. With the advent of locomotives, large groups of combatants, supplies, to counter this, an opposing force would destroy rail lines to hinder their enemies movements. General Shermans men during the American Civil War, would destroy tracks, heat the rails, the mass transportation of combatants was further revolutionized with the advent of the internal combustion engine and the automobile. Combined with the use of the machine gun, the horse
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Amphibious warfare
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Amphibious warfare is a type of offensive military operation that today uses naval ships to project ground and air power onto a hostile or potentially hostile shore at a designated landing beach. Through history the operations were conducted using ships boats as the method of delivering troops to shore. Amphibious warfare includes operations defined by their type, purpose, scale, all armed forces that employ troops with special training and equipment for conducting landings from naval vessels to shore agree to this definition. Since the 20th century an amphibious landing of troops on a beachhead is acknowledged as the most complex of all military maneuvers, an amphibious operation is both similar and different in many ways to both land, naval and air operations. Historically, within the scope of these phases a vital part of success was based on the military logistics, naval gunfire. Another factor is the variety and quantity of specialised vehicles and equipment used by the force that are designed for the specific needs of this type of operation. The purpose of operations is always offensive, but limited by the plan. Landings on islands less than 5,000 km2 in size are tactical, usually with the objectives of neutralising enemy defenders. Such an operation may be prepared and planned in days or weeks, a strategic landing operation requires a major commitment of forces to invade a national territory in the archipelagic, such as the Battle of Leyte, or continental, such as Operation Neptune. Such an operation may require multiple naval and air fleets to support the landings, although most amphibious operations are thought of primarily as beach landings, they can take exploit available shore infrastructure to land troops directly into an urban environment if unopposed. In this case non-specialised ships can offload troops, vehicles and cargo using organic or facility wharf-side equipment, tactical landings in the past have utilised small boats, small craft, small ships and civilian vessels converted for the mission to deliver troops to the waters edge. Preparation and planning the naval landing operation requires the assembly of vessels with sufficient capacity to lift necessary troops employing combat loading, the military intelligence services produce a briefing on the expected opponent which guides the organisation and equipping of the embarked force. First specially designed landing craft were used for the Gallipoli landings, helicopters were first used to support beach landings during Operation Musketeer. Hovercraft have been in use for naval landings by military forces since the 1960s, recorded amphibious warfare goes back to ancient times. The Sea Peoples menaced the Egyptians from the reign of Akhenaten as captured on the reliefs at Medinet Habu, the Hellenic city states routinely resorted to opposed assaults upon each others shores, which they reflected upon in their plays and other expressions of art. In 1565, the island of Malta was invaded by the Ottoman Turks during the Great Siege of Malta, forcing its defenders to retreat to the fortified cities. A strategic choke point in the Mediterranean Sea, its loss would have been so menacing for the Western European kingdoms that forces were raised in order to relieve the island. But it took four months to train, arm, and move a 5, then, Philip II, King of Spain decided to train and assign amphibious-assault skilled units to the Royal Armada
20.
Ancient Greece
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Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
21.
Trireme
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A trireme was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans. The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars, manned with one man per oar. The early trireme was a development of the penteconter, an ancient warship with a row of 25 oars on each side, and of the bireme. The word dieres does not appear until the Roman period and it must be assumed the term pentekontor covered the two-level type. Triremes played a role in the Persian Wars, the creation of the Athenian maritime empire. The term is also used to refer to medieval and early modern galleys with three files of oarsmen per side as triremes. Fragments from an 8th-century relief at the Assyrian capital of Nineveh depicting the fleets of Tyre and Sidon show ships with rams and they have been interpreted as two-decked warships, and also as triremes. Modern scholarship is divided on the provenance of the trireme, Greece or Phoenicia, clement of Alexandria in the 2nd century, drawing on earlier works, explicitly attributes the invention of the trireme to the Sidonians. According to Thucydides, the trireme was introduced to Greece by the Corinthians in the late 8th century BC, and the Corinthian Ameinocles built four such ships for the Samians. This was interpreted by later writers, Pliny and Diodorus, to mean that triremes were invented in Corinth, Thucydides meanwhile clearly states that in the time of the Persian Wars, the majority of the Greek navies consisted of penteconters and ploia makrá. Athens was at that time embroiled in a conflict with the island of Aegina. The first clash with the Persian navy was at the Battle of Artemisium, however, the decisive naval clash occurred at Salamis, where Xerxes invasion fleet was decisively defeated. After Salamis and another Greek victory over the Persian fleet at Mycale, the Ionian cities were freed, gradually, the predominance of Athens turned the League effectively into an Athenian Empire. The source and foundation of Athens power was her strong fleet, in addition, as it provided permanent employment for the citys poorer citizens, the fleet played an important role in maintaining and promoting the radical Athenian form of democracy. Athenian maritime power is the first example of thalassocracy in world history, aside from Athens, other major naval powers of the era included Syracuse, Corfu and Corinth. In the subsequent Peloponnesian War, naval battles fought by triremes were crucial in the balance between Athens and Sparta. Based on all archeological evidence, the design of trireme surely pushed the limits of the ancient world. After gathering the proper timbers and materials it was time to consider the fundamentals of the trireme design and these fundamentals included accommodations, propulsion, weight and waterline, center of gravity and stability, strength, and feasibility
22.
Corvus (boarding device)
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The corvus was a Roman military boarding device used in naval warfare during the First Punic War against Carthage. In Chapters 1. 22-4-11 of his History, Polybius describes this device as a bridge 1.2 m wide and 10.9 m long, with a small parapet on both sides. The engine was used in the prow of the ship, where a pole. There was a heavy spike shaped as a beak on the underside of the device. The spike was designed to pierce the enemy ships deck when the boarding-bridge was lowered and this allowed a firm grip between the vessels and a route for the legionaries to cross to the other ship. In the 3rd century BC, Rome was not a naval power, before the First Punic War, the Roman Republic had not campaigned outside the Italian Peninsula. The Republics military strength was on land, and her greatest assets were the discipline, the boarding-bridge allowed her to use her marines against the superior Carthaginian naval skills. The Romans application of boarding tactics worked, they won battles, most notably those of Mylae, Sulci, Tyndaris. Despite its advantages, the bridge had a serious drawback. Operating in rough seas, the device became useless and was abandoned and these losses were probably the main reason for the abandonment of the boarding-bridge in ship design by the end of the war. As Roman naval tactics improved and the Roman crews became more experienced and it is not mentioned in period sources after the battle of Ecnomus and apparently the Battle of the Aegates Islands that decided the first Punic war was won without it. A different device, the harpax or harpago, was used in the Battle of Naulochus, the design of the corvus has undergone many transformations throughout history. The earliest suggested modern interpretation of the came in 1649 by German classicist Johann Freinsheim. Freinsheim suggested that the bridge consisted of two parts, one section measuring twenty-four feet and the second being twelve feet long, the twenty-four foot section was placed along the prow mast and a hinge connected the smaller twelve-foot piece to the mast at the top. This smaller piece would have been the actual gangway as it could swing up and down, classical scholar and German statesman B. G. Niebuhr ventured to improve the interpretation of the corvus and proposed that the two parts of Freinsheim’s corvus simply needed to be swapped, by applying the twelve-foot side along the prow mast, the twenty-four foot side could be lowered onto an enemy ship by means of the pulley. Haltaus hypothesized that the corvus was a foot long bridge with the near end braced against the mast via a small oblong notch in the near end that extended twelve-feet into the bridge. Haltaus suggested that a lever through the prow mast would have allowed the crew to turn the corvus by turning the mast, a pulley was placed on the top of a twenty-four foot mast that raised the bridge in order to use the device
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Naval warfare
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Naval warfare is combat in and on the sea, the ocean, or any other major body of water such as a large lake or wide river. Mankind has fought battles on the sea for more than 3,000 years, even in the interior of large landmasses, transportation before the advent of extensive railroads was largely dependent upon rivers, canals, and other navigable waterways. Prior to 1750, materials largely moved by barge or sea vessels. Thus armies, with their exorbitant needs for food, ammunition, the oceanic influences throughout pre-recorded history, and classical works such as The Odyssey underscore the past influences. The Persian Empire – united and strong – could not prevail against the might of the Athenian fleet combined with that of city states in several attempts to conquer the Greek city states. Phoenicias and Egypts power, Carthages and even Romes largely depended upon control of the seas, so too did the Venetian Republic dominate Italys city states, thwart the Ottoman Empire, and dominate commerce on the Silk Road and the Mediterranean in general for centuries. For three centuries, the Northmen raided and pillaged and went where they willed, far into central Russia and the Ukraine, many sea battles through history also provide a reliable source of shipwrecks for underwater archaeology. A major example is the exploration of the wrecks of various warships in the Pacific Ocean, the first dateable recorded sea battle occurred about 1210 BC, Suppiluliuma II, king of the Hittites, defeated a fleet from Cyprus, and burned their ships at sea. In the Battle of the Delta, the Ancient Egyptians defeated the Sea Peoples in a sea battle circa 1175 BC, no written mention of strategy or tactics seems to have survived. Josephus Flavius reports a battle between Tyre and the king of Assyria who was aided by the other cities in Phoenicia. The battle took place off the shores of Tyre, although the Tyrian fleet was much smaller in size, the Tyrians defeated their enemies. The Greeks of Homer just used their ships as transport for land armies and it seems unlikely that all this was the product of a single mind or even of a generation, most likely the period of evolution and experimentation was simply not recorded by history. After some initial battles while subjugating the Greeks of the Ionian coast, the Persians determined to invade Greece proper. The first Persian campaign, in 492 BC, was aborted because the fleet was lost in a storm, attacks by the Greek armies repulsed these. The third Persian campaign in 480 BC, under Xerxes I of Persia, but the defeat on land at Thermopylae forced a Greek withdrawal, and Athens evacuated its population to nearby Salamis Island. The ensuing Battle of Salamis was one of the engagements of history. Themistocles trapped the Persians in a too narrow for them to bring their greater numbers to bear. Aeschylus wrote a play about the defeat, The Persians, which was performed in a Greek theatre competition a few years after the battle and it is the oldest known surviving play
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Sailor
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A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who navigates waterborne vessels or assists as a crewmember in their operation and maintenance. The term bluejacket may be used for British or US Navy enlisted sailors, the Bluejackets Manual is the basic handbook for United States Navy personnel. 700,000 of the worlds mariners come from the Philippines, the term seaman is frequently used in the particular sense of a sailor who is not an officer. Seafarers hold a variety of professions and ranks, each of which carries unique responsibilities which are integral to the operation of an ocean-going vessel. A ships crew can generally be divided into four categories, the deck department, the engineering department, the stewards department. Officer positions in the department include but are not limited to, master and his chief, second. The official classifications for unlicensed members of the department are able seaman. With some variation, the mate is most often charged with the duties of cargo mate. Second Mates are charged with being the officer in case of medical emergency. All three mates each do four-hour morning and afternoon shifts on the bridge, when underway at sea, Marine engineering staff also deal with the hotel facilities on board, notably the sewage, lighting, air conditioning and water systems. Engineering staff manage bulk fuel transfers, from a barge in port. When underway at sea, the second and third engineers will often be occupied with oil transfers from storage tanks, cleaning of oil purifiers is another regular task. Engineering staff are required to have training in firefighting and first aid, additional duties include maintaining the ships boats and performing other nautical tasks. Engineers play a key role in cargo loading/discharging gear and safety systems, though the specific cargo discharge function remains the responsibility of deck officers, other possible positions include motorman, machinist, electrician, refrigeration engineer and tankerman. A typical stewards department for a ship is a chief steward, a chief cook. All three positions are filled by unlicensed personnel. The chief steward also plans menus, compiles supply, overtime, the steward may requisition or purchase stores and equipment. A chief stewards duties may overlap with those of the assistant, the chief cook
25.
Soldier
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A soldier is one who fights as part of an organised, land-based armed force. A soldier can be a person, a non-commissioned officer. The word soldier derives from the Middle English word soudeour, from Old French soudeer or soudeour, meaning mercenary, from soudee, meaning shillings worth or wage, from sou or soud, the word is also related to the Medieval Latin soldarius, meaning soldier. These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word solidus, referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armed forces use of the soldier has taken on a more general meaning due to the increasing specialization of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge. In many countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by other than their occupational name. For example, military personnel in the British Army are known as red caps because of the colour of their caps. Infantry are sometimes called grunts or squaddies, while US Army artillery crews, or gunners, are referred to as redlegs. U. S. soldiers are often called G. I. s, members of the Marine Corps are typically referred to as marines rather than soldiers. In the United States, the term warfighter is often used to refer collectively to all whose job it is to do the actual fighting, the army has not completely phased out this terminology and still uses warfighter in various contexts such as the Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical. French Marine Infantry are called marsouins because of their amphibious role, Military units in most armies have nicknames of this type, arising either from items of distinctive uniform, some historical connotation or rivalry between branches or regiments. Some soldiers, such as conscripts or draftees, serve a limited term. Others choose to serve until retirement, then receive a pension. In the United States, military members can retire after 20 years, in other countries, the term of service is 30 years, hence the term 30-year man. Airman Marine Military use of children Seaman Media related to Soldier at Wikimedia Commons
26.
Warship
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A warship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to damage and are usually faster. Unlike a merchant ship, which carries cargo, a warship typically carries weapons, ammunition. Warships usually belong to a navy, though they have also operated by individuals, cooperatives. In wartime, the distinction between warships and merchant ships is often blurred, in war, merchant ships are often armed and used as auxiliary warships, such as the Q-ships of the First World War and the armed merchant cruisers of the Second World War. Until the 17th century it was common for merchant ships to be pressed into naval service, until the threat of piracy subsided in the 19th century, it was normal practice to arm larger merchant ships such as galleons. Warships have also often used as troop carriers or supply ships. The development of catapults in the 4th century BC and the subsequent refinement of technology enabled the first fleets of artillery-equipped warships by the Hellenistic age. During late antiquity, ramming fell out of use and the galley tactics against other ships used during the Middle Ages until the late 16th century focused on boarding. Naval artillery was redeveloped in the 14th century, but cannon did not become common at sea until the guns were capable of being reloaded quickly enough to be reused in the same battle. The size of a required to carry a large number of cannons made oar-based propulsion impossible. The sailing man-of-war emerged during the 16th century, by the middle of the 17th century, warships were carrying increasing numbers of cannon on their broadsides and tactics evolved to bring each ships firepower to bear in a line of battle. The man-of-war now evolved into the ship of the line, in the 18th century, the frigate and sloop-of-war – too small to stand in the line of battle – evolved to convoy trade, scout for enemy ships and blockade enemy coasts. During the 19th century a revolution took place in the means of propulsion, naval armament. Marine steam engines were introduced, at first as an auxiliary force, the Crimean War gave a great stimulus to the development of guns. The introduction of explosive shells soon led to the introduction of iron, the first ironclad warships, the French Gloire and British Warrior, made wooden vessels obsolete. Metal soon entirely replaced wood as the material for warship construction
27.
Rowing
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Rowing is the act of propelling a boat using the motion of oars in the water, displacing water, and propelling the boat forward. The difference between paddling and rowing is that rowing requires oars to have a connection with the boat. In some localities, rear-facing systems prevail, in other localities, forward-facing systems prevail, especially in crowded areas such as in Venice, Italy and in Asian and Indonesian rivers and harbors. This is not strictly an either-or, because in different situations its useful to be able to row a boat facing either way. The current emphasis on the aspects of rowing has resulted in some new mechanical systems being developed. Rearward-facing systems, This is probably the oldest system used in Europe, a seated rower pulls on one or two oars, which lever the boat through the water. The pivot point of the oars is the fulcrum, the motive force is applied through the rowers feet. In traditional rowing craft, the point of the oars is generally located on the boats gunwale. The actual fitting that holds the oar may be as simple as one or two pegs or a metal oarlock, in performance rowing craft, the rowlock is usually extended outboard on a rigger to allow the use of a longer oar for increased power. Sculling involves a seated rower who pulls on two oars or sculls, attached to the boat, thereby moving the boat in the direction opposite that which the rower faces, in some multiple-seat boats seated rowers each pull on a single sweep oar, usually with both hands. Boats in which the rowers are coordinated by a coxswain are referred to as a coxed pair/four/eight, sometimes sliding seats are used to enable the rower to use the leg muscles, substantially increasing the power available. An alternative to the seat, called a sliding rigger, uses a stationary seat. On a craft used in Italy, the catamaran moscone, the rower stands and this is a convenient method of manoeuvring in a narrow waterway or through a busy harbour. The Rantilla system of frontrowing oars uses inboard mounted oarlocks rather than a reversing transmission to achieve forward motion of the boat with a motion on the oars. In ancient times, rowing vessels, especially galleys, were used in naval warfare and trade. Galleys had advantages over sailing ships, they were easier to maneuver, capable of bursts of speed. Galleys continued in use in the Mediterranean until the advent of steam propulsion and their use in northern Atlantic waters was less successful, finishing with their poor performance with the Spanish Armada. The Classical trireme used 170 rowers, later galleys included even larger crews, trireme oarsmen used leather cushions to slide over the seats, which allowed them to use their leg strength as a modern oarsman does with a sliding seat
28.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
29.
Hoplite
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Hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers utilized the phalanx formation in order to be effective in war with fewer soldiers, the hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens—propertied farmers and artisans—who were able to afford the bronze armour suit and weapons. Hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training, although some states did maintain a small elite professional unit, hoplite soldiers were relied on heavily and made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies of the time. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted a military innovation known as the phalanx formation, the formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the First Greco-Persian War. The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The word hoplite derives from hoplon, the name for the type of shield used by the soldiers, however, the shield was more commonly known as an aspis, so the word hopla may refer to the soldiers weapons or even their full armament. In the modern Hellenic Army, the word hoplite is used to refer to an infantryman, the fragmented political structure of Ancient Greece, with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict, but at the same time limited the scale of warfare. Limited manpower did not allow most Greek city-states to form armies which could operate for long periods because they were generally not formed from professional soldiers. Most soldiers had careers as farmers or workers and returned to these professions after the campaign, all hoplites were expected to take part in any military campaign when called for duty by leaders of the state. This inevitably reduced the duration of campaigns and often resulted in the campaign season being restricted to one summer. Armies generally marched directly to their destination, and in cases the battlefield was agreed to by the contestants in advance. Battles were fought on ground, and hoplites preferred to fight with high terrain on both sides of the phalanx so the formation could not be flanked. An example of this was the Battle of Thermopylae, where the Spartans specifically chose a narrow pass to make their stand against the massive Persian army. The vastly outnumbered Greeks held off the Persians for seven days, when battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive. The battlefield would be flat and open to facilitate phalanx warfare and these battles were usually short and required a high degree of discipline. At least in the classical period, when cavalry was present, its role was restricted to protection of the flanks of the phalanx, pursuit of a defeated enemy. Light infantry and missile troops took part in the battles but their role was less important, before the the opposing phalanxes engaged, the light troops would skirmish with the enemies light forces, and then protect the flanks and rear of the phalanx. The military structure created by the Spartans was a phalanx formation
30.
Roman Republic
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It was during this period that Romes control expanded from the citys immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean world. During the first two centuries of its existence, the Roman Republic expanded through a combination of conquest and alliance, by the following century, it included North Africa, most of the Iberian Peninsula, and what is now southern France. Two centuries after that, towards the end of the 1st century BC, it included the rest of modern France, Greece, and much of the eastern Mediterranean. By this time, internal tensions led to a series of wars, culminating with the assassination of Julius Caesar. The exact date of transition can be a matter of interpretation, Roman government was headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and advised by a senate composed of appointed magistrates. Over time, the laws that gave exclusive rights to Romes highest offices were repealed or weakened. The leaders of the Republic developed a tradition and morality requiring public service and patronage in peace and war, making military. Many of Romes legal and legislative structures can still be observed throughout Europe and much of the world in modern nation states, the exact causes and motivations for Romes military conflicts and expansions during the republic are subject to wide debate. While they can be seen as motivated by outright aggression and imperialism and they argue that Romes expansion was driven by short-term defensive and inter-state factors, and the new contingencies that these decisions created. In its early history, as Rome successfully defended itself against foreign threats in central and then northern Italy, with some important exceptions, successful wars in early republican Rome generally led not to annexation or military occupation, but to the restoration of the way things were. But the defeated city would be weakened and thus able to resist Romanizing influences. It was also able to defend itself against its non-Roman enemies. It was, therefore, more likely to seek an alliance of protection with Rome and this growing coalition expanded the potential enemies that Rome might face, and moved Rome closer to confrontation with major powers. The result was more alliance-seeking, on the part of both the Roman confederacy and city-states seeking membership within that confederacy. While there were exceptions to this, it was not until after the Second Punic War that these alliances started to harden into something more like an empire and this shift mainly took place in parts of the west, such as the southern Italian towns that sided with Hannibal. In contrast, Roman expansion into Spain and Gaul occurred as a mix of alliance-seeking, in the 2nd century BC, Roman involvement in the Greek east remained a matter of alliance-seeking, but this time in the face of major powers that could rival Rome. This had some important similarities to the events in Italy centuries earlier, with some major exceptions of outright military rule, the Roman Republic remained an alliance of independent city-states and kingdoms until it transitioned into the Roman Empire. It was not until the time of the Roman Empire that the entire Roman world was organized into provinces under explicit Roman control
31.
First Punic War
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The First Punic War was the first of three wars fought between Ancient Carthage and the Roman Republic. For more than 20 years, the two struggled for supremacy, primarily on the Mediterranean island of Sicily and its surrounding waters. The war signaled the beginning of a transformation in the western Mediterranean. Carthage began the war as the great sea-power of the western Mediterranean, while Rome had, the series of wars between Rome and Carthage took the name Punic from the Latin name for the Carthaginians, Punici. This is derived from Phoenicis, and it refers to the Carthaginian heritage as Phoenician colonists, a Carthaginian name for the conflicts does not survive in any records. Rome had recently emerged as the leading city-state in the Italian Peninsula, over the past one hundred years, Rome had come into conflict, and defeated rivals on the Italian peninsula, then incorporated them into the Roman political world. By the beginning of the First Punic War, the Romans had secured the whole of the Italian peninsula and it originated as a Phoenician colony in Africa, near modern Tunis. At the height of power, just before the First Punic War, North African peoples such as the Berbers in the area around Carthage were loosely associated with Carthage. In the midst of the First Punic War some tribes would rebel against Carthage, the rich, strategically influential, and well-fortified Greek colony of Syracuse was politically independent of Rome and Carthage. Hostilities of the First Punic War began with developments involving the Romans, Carthaginians, at the same time, a group of Roman troops made up of Campanian citizens without the vote also seized control of Rhegium, lying across the Straits of Messina on the mainland of Italy. In 270 BC, the Romans regained control of Rhegium and severely punished the survivors of the revolt, in Sicily, the Mamertines ravaged the countryside and collided with the expanding regional empire of the independent city of Syracuse. Hiero II, tyrant of Syracuse, defeated the Mamertines near Mylae on the Longanus River, following their defeat, the Mamertines appealed to both Rome and Carthage for assistance. The Carthaginians acted first, approached Hiero to take no further action, however, the rivalry between Rome and Carthage had grown since the war with Pyrrhus and that alliance was simply no longer feasible. According to the historian Polybius, considerable debate took place in Rome on the question as to whether to accept the Mamertines appeal for help, however, many were also unwilling to see Carthaginian power in Sicily expand even further. Leaving them at Messana would give the Carthaginians a free hand to deal with Syracuse, after the Syracusans had been defeated, the Carthaginian takeover of Sicily would essentially be complete. Sicily is a volcanic island, with geographical obstacles and rough terrain making lines of communication difficult to maintain. For this reason, land warfare played a role in the First Punic War. Land operations were confined to small raids and skirmishes, with few pitched battles
32.
Ancient Carthage
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Carthage was the Phoenician city-state of Carthage and during the 7th to 3rd centuries BC, included its sphere of influence, the Carthaginian Empire. The empire extended over much of the coast of North Africa as well as encompassing substantial parts of coastal Iberia, Carthage was founded in 814 BC. At the height of the prominence it served as a major hub of trade. The city also had to deal with potentially hostile Berbers, the inhabitants of the area where Carthage was built. In 146 BC, after the third and final Punic War, Roman forces destroyed, redesigned, nearly all of the other Phoenician city-states and former Carthaginian dependencies subsequently fell into Roman hands. According to Roman sources, Phoenician colonists from modern-day Lebanon, led by Dido, Queen Elissa was an exiled princess of the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. At its peak, the metropolis she founded, Carthage, came to be called the city, ruling 300 other cities around the western Mediterranean Sea. Elissas brother, Pygmalion of Tyre, had murdered Elissas husband, Elissa escaped the tyranny of her own country, founding the new city of Carthage and subsequently its later dominions. Details of her life are sketchy and confusing, but the following can be deduced from various sources, according to Justin, Princess Elissa was the daughter of King Belus II of Tyre. When he died, the throne was jointly bequeathed to her brother, Pygmalion and she married her uncle Acerbas, also known as Sychaeus, the High Priest of Melqart, a man with both authority and wealth comparable to the king. This led to increased rivalry between the elite and the monarchy. Pygmalion was a tyrant, lover of both gold and intrigue, who desired the authority and fortune enjoyed by Acerbas, Pygmalion assassinated Acerbas in the temple and kept the misdeed concealed from his sister for a long time, deceiving her with lies about her husbands death. At the same time, the people of Tyre called for a single sovereign, in the Roman epic of Virgil, the Aeneid, Queen Dido, the Greek name for Elissa, is first introduced as a highly esteemed character. In just seven years, since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians have rebuilt a successful kingdom under her rule and her subjects adore her and present her with a festival of praise. Her character is perceived by Virgil as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who have recently escaped from Troy. A spirit in the form of the god, Mercury, sent by Jupiter, reminds Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love, Dido. Virgil ends his legend of Dido with the story that, when Aeneas tells Dido, her heart broken, as she lay dying, she predicted eternal strife between Aeneas people and her own, rise up from my bones, avenging spirit she says, an invocation of Hannibal. The settlements at Crete and Sicily were in conflict with the Greeks
33.
Syracusan
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Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and this 2, 700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, the city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and Teneans and became a very powerful city-state. Syracuse was allied with Sparta and Corinth and exerted influence over the entirety of Magna Graecia, described by Cicero as the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all, it equaled Athens in size during the fifth century BC. It later became part of the Roman Republic and Byzantine Empire, after this Palermo overtook it in importance, as the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. Eventually the kingdom would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860, in the modern day, the city is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the Necropolis of Pantalica. In the central area, the city itself has a population of around 125,000 people, the inhabitants are known as Siracusans. Syracuse is mentioned in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles book at 28,12 as Paul stayed there, the patron saint of the city is Saint Lucy, she was born in Syracuse and her feast day, Saint Lucys Day, is celebrated on 13 December. Syracuse was founded in 734 or 733 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth and Tenea, there are many attested variants of the name of the city including Συράκουσαι Syrakousai, Συράκοσαι Syrakosai and Συρακώ Syrako. The nucleus of the ancient city was the island of Ortygia. The settlers found the fertile and the native tribes to be reasonably well-disposed to their presence. The city grew and prospered, and for some time stood as the most powerful Greek city anywhere in the Mediterranean, colonies were founded at Akrai, Kasmenai, Akrillai, Helorus and Kamarina. The descendants of the first colonists, called Gamoroi, held power until they were expelled by the Killichiroi, the former, however, returned to power in 485 BC, thanks to the help of Gelo, ruler of Gela. Gelo himself became the despot of the city, and moved many inhabitants of Gela, Kamarina and Megera to Syracuse, building the new quarters of Tyche, the enlarged power of Syracuse made unavoidable the clash against the Carthaginians, who ruled western Sicily. In the Battle of Himera, Gelo, who had allied with Theron of Agrigento, a temple dedicated to Athena, was erected in the city to commemorate the event. Syracuse grew considerably during this time and its walls encircled 120 hectares in the fifth century, but as early as the 470s BC the inhabitants started building outside the walls. The complete population of its territory approximately numbered 250,000 in 415 BC, Gelo was succeeded by his brother Hiero, who fought against the Etruscans at Cumae in 474 BC. His rule was eulogized by poets like Simonides of Ceos, Bacchylides and Pindar, a democratic regime was introduced by Thrasybulos
34.
Classical Athens
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Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Isagoras. This system remained remarkably stable, and with a few brief interruptions remained in place for 180 years, the peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles. The radical politician of aristocratic background, Cleisthenes, then took charge, the reforms of Cleisthenes replaced the traditional four Ionic tribes with ten new ones, named after legendary heroes of Greece and having no class basis, which acted as electorates. Each tribe was in divided into three trittyes, while each trittys had one or more demes —depending on their population—which became the basis of local government. The tribes each selected fifty members by lot for the Boule, the public opinion of voters could be influenced by the political satires written by the comic poets and performed in the city theaters. Most offices were filled by lot, although the ten strategoi were elected, prior to the rise of Athens, Sparta, a city-state with a militaristic culture, considered itself the leader of the Greeks, and enforced a hegemony. In 499 BC Athens sent troops to aid the Ionian Greeks of Asia Minor and this provoked two Persian invasions of Greece, both of which were repelled under the leadership of the soldier-statesmen Miltiades and Themistocles. In 490 the Athenians, led by Miltiades, prevented the first invasion of the Persians, guided by king Darius I, in 480 the Persians returned under a new ruler, Xerxes I. Simultaneously the Athenians led a naval battle off Artemisium. However, this action was not enough to discourage the Persian advance which soon marched through Boeotia, setting up Thebes as their base of operations. This forced the Athenians to evacuate Athens, which was taken by the Persians, subsequently the Athenians and their allies, led by Themistocles, defeated the Persian navy at sea in the Battle of Salamis. It is interesting to note that Xerxes had built himself a throne on the coast in order to see the Greeks defeated, spartas hegemony was passing to Athens, and it was Athens that took the war to Asia Minor. These victories enabled it to bring most of the Aegean and many parts of Greece together in the Delian League. He fostered arts and literature and gave to Athens a splendor which would never return throughout its history and he executed a large number of public works projects and improved the life of the citizens. Hence, he gave his name to the Athenian Golden Age, silver mined in Laurium in southeastern Attica contributed greatly to the prosperity of this Golden Age of Athens. During the time of the ascendancy of Ephialtes as leader of the democratic faction, the conflict marked the end of Athenian command of the sea. The war between Athens and the city-state Sparta ended with an Athenian defeat after Sparta started its own navy, Athenian democracy was briefly overthrown by the coup of 411, brought about because of its poor handling of the war, but it was quickly restored. The war ended with the defeat of Athens in 404
35.
Sicilian Expedition
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The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place during the period from 415 BC to 413 BC. From that point forward, however, as the Athenians ceded the initiative to their newly energized opponents and that last measure, too, failed, and nearly the entire expedition surrendered or was destroyed in the Sicilian interior. The impact of the defeat was immense, two hundred ships and thousands of soldiers, an appreciable portion of the citys total manpower, were lost in a single stroke. Athenss enemies on the mainland and in Persia were encouraged to take action, the defeat proved to be the turning point in the Peloponnesian War, though Athens struggled on for another decade. Although Athens had never involved itself deeply in Sicilian affairs, it had ties there before the onset of the Peloponnesian War, to small Sicilian cities, Athens was a potential counter to the powerful city of Syracuse, which was strong enough to potentially dominate the island. To the Athenians, Sicily was a threat—an unencumbered Syracuse might send grain or other aid to the Peloponnesians—as well as a venue for possible conquests. In 427 BC, Athens had sent twenty ships, under the command of Laches, by the time that fleet reached Sicily in late summer, Athenss Sicilian allies had grown weary of stalemated warfare, and agreed to negotiate with Syracuse and its allies. At the Congress of Gela, the Sicilian cities made peace on the basis of Sicily for the Sicilians, in 415, Athens and Sparta had been formally at peace since 421, when the Peace of Nicias had brought the Archidamian War to a close. The terms of peace, however, had never been fulfilled, Sparta had never surrendered Amphipolis to Athens, as required by the treaty. That attempt, largely orchestrated by the Athenian nobleman Alcibiades, would have destroyed Spartas control over the Peloponnesian League had it succeeded, Alcibiades rebounded politically from this defeat, and was elected as a general in the spring of 417. Control of Athenss foreign policy remained divided between a party led by Nicias, and a war party led by Alcibiades. The peace established in Sicily at the Congress of Gela did not last long, shortly after the Congress, Syracuse intervened in an episode of civil strife between the democratic and oligarchic parties in Leontini, supporting the oligarchs. Before too long, the prospect of foreign domination had united the Leontinians, Athens had sent an emissary to Sicily in 422 to sound out the possibility of renewing the war against Syracuse, but achieved nothing. In 416, however, a second Sicilian conflict provided the invitation Athens had sought in 422, the city of Segesta—an Athenian ally in the 420s—went to war against Selinus and, after losing an initial battle, sent to Athens for help. At Athens, the Segestan ambassadors presented their case for intervention to the assembly, the assembly eventually approved an expedition composed of sixty triremes, without hoplite accompaniment, commanded by Nicias, Alcibiades, and Lamachus. Thucydides reports that Nicias had been appointed against his preference, five days after that first debate, a second assembly was held to arrange the logistics of the expedition. There, Nicias attempted to persuade the assembly to overturn its previous decision regarding whether to send an expedition at all, over the course of several speeches, Nicias raised a series of different arguments against the expedition. Nicias also attacked Alcibiadess credibility, claiming that he and his allies were inexperienced, in response, Alcibiades dismissed the attack on himself by pointing to the good he had done for Athens as a private citizen and public leader
36.
Peloponnesian War
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The Peloponnesian War was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases and this period of the war was concluded in 421 BC, with the signing of the Peace of Nicias. That treaty, however, was undermined by renewed fighting in the Peloponnese. In 415 BC, Athens dispatched an expeditionary force to attack Syracuse in Sicily. This ushered in the phase of the war, generally referred to either as the Decelean War. The destruction of Athens fleet at Aegospotami effectively ended the war, Corinth and Thebes demanded that Athens should be destroyed and all its citizens should be enslaved, but Sparta refused. The Peloponnesian War reshaped the ancient Greek world, the economic costs of the war were felt all across Greece, poverty became widespread in the Peloponnese, while Athens found itself completely devastated, and never regained its pre-war prosperity. Greek warfare, meanwhile, originally a limited and formalized form of conflict, was transformed into a struggle between city-states, complete with atrocities on a large scale. Indeed, the fifty years of Greek history that preceded the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War had been marked by the development of Athens as a major power in the Mediterranean world. The city proceeded to conquer all of Greece except for Sparta and its allies, by the middle of the century, the Persians had been driven from the Aegean and forced to cede control of a vast range of territories to Athens. This tribute was used to support a fleet and, after the middle of the century, to fund massive public works programs in Athens. According to Thucydides, although the Spartans took no action at this time, conflict between the states flared up again in 465 BC, when a helot revolt broke out in Sparta. The Spartans summoned forces from all of their allies, including Athens, Athens sent out a sizable contingent, but upon its arrival, this force was dismissed by the Spartans, while those of all the other allies were permitted to remain. According to Thucydides, the Spartans acted in this way out of fear that the Athenians would switch sides and support the helots, the offended Athenians repudiated their alliance with Sparta. When the rebellious helots were finally forced to surrender and permitted to evacuate the country, a fifteen-year conflict, commonly known as the First Peloponnesian War, ensued, in which Athens fought intermittently against Sparta, Corinth, Aegina, and a number of other states. The war was ended by the Thirty Years Peace, signed in the winter of 446/5 BC. The Thirty Years Peace was first tested in 440 BC, when Athens powerful ally Samos rebelled from its alliance with Athens, the rebels quickly secured the support of a Persian satrap, and Athens found itself facing the prospect of revolts throughout the empire. The Spartans, whose intervention would have been the trigger for a war to determine the fate of the empire
37.
Legionary
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The Roman legionary was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. Legionaries had to be Roman citizens under the age of 45 and they enlisted in a legion for twenty-five years of service, a change from the early practice of enlisting only for a campaign. The last five years were on veteran lighter duties, regular trained legionaries were known as milites and were the equivalent in rank of the modern private. Included in the ranks, aside from the milites, were the immunes, specialist soldiers with secondary roles such as engineer, artilleryman, drill and weapons instructor, carpenter and these men were still fully trained legionaries, however, and would fight in the ranks if called upon. They were excused from some of the more arduous tasks such as drill and fatigues, as discipline was important, infractions were heavily punished by the centurions. However, honors, rewards and promotions were awarded to legionaries who distinguished themselves in battle or through exemplary service. Legionary is also a used for members of various military forces which have been accorded the title of legion. In the 18th and early 19th century this designation was sometimes accorded to units which comprised both mounted and foot components, more recently the title has been used by the French Foreign Legion, the Spanish Foreign Legion and the Polish Legions. Members of these modern legions are often called légionnaires, the French term for legionary, the term was also used by the Romanian far right paramilitary group known in English as the Iron Guard. List of Roman army unit types Military history of ancient Rome Foreign legions Castra Roman Republic Roman Empire Punic Wars List of Roman legions Sumner, G. arms and Armour of the Imperial Roman Soldier. Roman Legionary,58 BC - AD69, the Roman Recruit looks at the life, duties and equipment of a Roman legionary
38.
Centuria
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Centuria is a Latin substantive from the stem centum, denoting military units consisting of 100 men. It also denotes a Roman unit of area,1 centuria =100 heredia. It is sometimes anglicized as century, in the political context the centuria was the constituent voting unit in the centuriate comices, an old form of popular assembly in the Roman Republic, the members of which cast one collective vote. The centuria was the pivotal tactical Roman legion unit after the Marian reforms of 107 BC and it originally consisted of a hundred soldiers, later 60 to 100 distributed among 10 contubernia. Each contubernium lived in the tent while on campaign or the same bunk room in barracks. Centuriae were grouped by pairs forming maniples, and later into 6 century cohorts, a century was commanded by a Centurion, who was assisted by an Optio and Tesserarius. It had a banner or signum which was carried by a Signifer, also, each century provided a Buccinator, who played a buccina, a kind of horn used to transmit acoustic orders. However, the first cohort was twice the size of the other cohorts, each of its five centuriae was a double centuria of 160 men. The first cohort consisted of 800 men. Centurions of these first-cohort double centuriae were called primi ordinis, except for the leader of the first centuria of the first cohort, hundertschaft Roman empire Roman military history Tactics of the Roman century in combat Sotnia
39.
Roman navy
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The Roman navy comprised the naval forces of the Ancient Roman state. The navy was instrumental in the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean basin, partly because of that, the navy was never wholly embraced by the Roman state, and deemed somewhat un-Roman. In Antiquity, navies and trading fleets did not have the autonomy that modern ships. Unlike modern naval forces, the Roman navy even at its height never existed as an autonomous service but operated as an adjunct to the Roman army. The Roman fleets were again prominent in the 1st century BC in the wars against the pirates, in 31 BC, the great naval Battle of Actium ended the civil wars culminating in the final victory of Augustus and the establishment of the Roman Empire. During the Imperial period, the Mediterranean became largely a peaceful Roman lake, in the absence of a maritime enemy, the navy was reduced mostly to patrol, anti-piracy and transport duties. The navy also manned and maintained craft on major rivers such as the Rhine. On the fringes of the Empire, in new conquests or, increasingly, in defense against barbarian invasions, the Roman fleets were still engaged in open warfare. The decline of the Empire in the 3rd century took a toll on the navy. As successive waves of the Völkerwanderung crashed on the frontiers of the battered Empire. In the early 5th century, the Roman frontiers were breached, one of them, the Vandal Kingdom, raised a navy of its own and raided the shores of the Mediterranean, even sacking Rome, while the diminished Roman fleets were incapable of offering any resistance. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century, the navy of the surviving eastern Roman Empire is known as the Byzantine navy. The exact origins of the Roman fleet are obscure, a traditionally agricultural and land-based society, the Romans rarely ventured out to sea, unlike their Etruscan neighbours. As a result, the Republic acquired its first fleet, consisting of 20 ships, most likely triremes and this situation continued until the First Punic War, the main task of the Roman fleet was patrolling along the Italian coast and rivers, protecting seaborne trade from piracy. It is possible that the supervision of these allies was one of the duties of the four new praetores classici. The first Roman expedition outside mainland Italy was against the island of Sicily in 265 BC and this led to the outbreak of hostilities with Carthage, which would last until 241 BC. At the time, the Punic city was the master of the western Mediterranean, possessing a long maritime and naval experience. Although Rome had relied on her legions for the conquest of Italy, operations in Sicily had to be supported by a fleet, thus in 261 BC, the Roman Senate set out to construct a fleet of 100 quinqueremes and 20 triremes
40.
Roman legion
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A Roman legion was the largest unit of the Roman army involving from 3000 men in early times to over 5200 men in imperial times, consisting of centuries as the basic units. Until the middle of the first century,10 cohorts made up a Roman Legion and this was later changed to nine cohorts of standard size and one cohort, the first cohort, of double strength. In the early Roman Kingdom the legion may have meant the entire Roman army but sources on this period are few, Legions also included a small ala or cavalry unit. By the third century AD, the legion was a smaller unit of about 1,000 to 1,500 men. In the fourth century AD, East Roman border guard legions may have even smaller. The Roman army, for most of the Imperial period, consisted mostly of auxiliaries rather than legions, because legions were not permanent units until the Marian reforms, and were instead created, used, and disbanded again, several hundred legions were named and numbered throughout Roman history. To date, about 50 have been identified, toward the end of the 2nd Century BC, Rome started to experience manpower shortages brought about by property and financial qualifications to join the army. In the time of Augustus, there were nearly 50 upon his succession but this was reduced to about 25–35 permanent standing legions, a legion consisted of several cohorts of heavy infantry known as legionaries. The recruitment of non-citizens was rare but appears to have occurred in times of great need, For example, Caesar appears to have recruited the Legio V Alaudae mostly from non-citizen Gauls. In the period before the raising of the legio and the years of the Roman Kingdom. These centuries were grouped together as required and answered to the leader who had hired or raised them, the roles of century leader, second in command and standard bearer are referenced in this early period. Much Roman history of the era is shrouded in legend, but it is believed that during the reign of Servius Tullius, the census was introduced. Joining the army was both a duty and a mark of Roman citizenship, during the entire pre-Marian period the wealthiest land owners performed the most years of military service. These individuals would have had the most to lose should the state have fallen. The first and wealthiest common class was armed in the fashion of the hoplite with spear, sword, helmet, breast plate and round shield, there were 82 centuries of these, Roman soldiers had to purchase their own equipment. The second and third class also acted as spearmen but were heavily armoured and carried a larger oval or rectangular shield. The fourth class could afford no armour, perhaps bearing a shield and armed with spear. All three of the latter made up about 26 centuries
41.
Legio I Adiutrix
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Legio prima adiutrix, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD68, possibly by Galba when he rebelled against emperor Nero. The last record mentioning the Adiutrix is in 344, when it was stationed at Brigetio, the emblem of the legion was a capricorn, used along with the winged horse Pegasus, on the helmets the symbol used by I Adiutrix legionaries was a dolphin. The legion probably originated from the I Classica, a legion levied by Nero among the marines of the Classis Misenensis, the legion was stationed near Rome. The city of Moguntiacum is the legions first known base camp, shared with Legio XIV Gemina, in 83, they fought the Germanic wars against the Chatti, a German tribe living across the Rhine, under the command of Emperor Domitian. After that they were transferred to the Danubian army stationed in the Roman province of Pannonia, following the murder of Domitian in 96, the Adiutrix, along with the Danubian army, played an important role in Roman politics, forcing Nerva to adopt Trajan as his successor. When Trajan became emperor, he gave the legion the cognomen Pia Fidelis to acknowledge their support, between 101 and 106, under the new emperors command, I Adiutrix, along with IV Flavia Felix and XIII Gemina, conquered Dacia and occupied the newly formed province. Trajan also used his Pia Fidelis in the campaign against Parthia, during the next decades, I Adiutrix remained in the Danube frontier. Under Marcus Aurelius, I Adiutrix fought the war against Marcomanni commanded by Marcus Valerius Maximianus, between 171 and 175, the commander was Pertinax, emperor for a brief period in 193. When Septimius Severus became emperor, I Adiutrix was among his supporters and it took part in the battle of Mediolanum. The legion received the cognomen Pia Fidelis Bis and Constans, sometime in the 3rd century, Gabara was a three-meter tall Arabian giant that, according to the historian Pliny the Elder, served in the Adiutrix legion under the Roman emperor Claudius. According to the story, Gabara was so admired by his soldiers that some worshipped him like a god. List of Roman legions Tacitus, Histories, keppie, The Origins and Early History of the Second Augustan Legion, in L. J. F. Keppie, Legions and Veterans, Roman Army Papers 1971-2000, Stuttgart,2000, pp. 123–160
42.
Legio II Adiutrix
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Legio secunda adiutrix, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army founded in AD70 by the emperor Vespasian, originally composed of Roman navy marines of the classis Ravennatis. There are still records of II Adiutrix in the Rhine border in the beginning of the 4th century, the legions symbols were a Capricorn and Pegasus. The first assignment of II Adiutrix was in Germania Inferior, where the Batavian rebellion was at its peak, after the defeat of the rebels, II Adiutrix followed general Quintus Petillius Cerialis to Britain to deal with another rebellion led by Venutius. During the next years, the legion was to stay in the British Islands to subdue the tribes of Scotland and Wales. In 87, the legion was recalled to the continent to participate in the Dacian wars of emperor Domitian, between 94 and 95, still in Dacia, later emperor Hadrian served as military tribune in the II Adiutrix. In the summer of 106 the legion took part to the siege of the Dacian Capital Sarmisegetusa, after Trajans Dacian Wars of 101-106, the legion was located in Aquincum, which would be its base camp for the years to come. The Legion was commanded by Marcus Valerius Maximianus in Laugaricio, caracallas campaign against the Alemanni Gordians campaign against the Sassanid Empire In 193, II Adiutrix supported emperor Septimius Severus during his struggle for the purple. - Gaio Valerio Crispo veterano ex legione II Adiutrice Pia Fideli, - Lucius Terentius Claudia tribu Fuscus Apro miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis. - Lucius Valerius Luci filius Claudia tribu Seneca Savaria / miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis, - Gaius Calventius Gai filius Claudia tribu Celer Apro miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis / Vibi Clementis. - Gaius Iuventius Gai filius Claudia tribu Capito Apro / miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis / Iuli Clementis annorum XL stipendiorum XVII, - Quintus Valerius Quinti filius Claudia tribu Fronto Celea / miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis annorum L stipendiorum XXṾ. - Voltimesis P̣udens Gai filius Sergia tribu Augusta eques legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis annorum XXXII stipendiorum XIII hic situs est, - Gaius Murrius Gai filius Arniensis Foro Iuli Modestus miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis / Iuli Secundi annorum) XXV stipendiorum / hic situs est. - Titus Valerius Titi filius Claudia tribu Pudens Savaria miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis / Dossenni Proculi annorum XXX aera VI heres de suo posuit hic situs est, - legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis / Ponti Proculi Lucius Licinius Luci filius Galeria tribu Saliga Lugdunonnorum XX stipendiorum II. - Quintus Cumelius / Quinti filius / Fabia Celer Bracarensis / veteranus legionis II Adiutricis hic situs annorum LXXV, - Fortunae Balneari sacrum / Valerius Bucco miles legionis II Adiutricis Piae Fidelis / decuria Aemili. - VICTORIAE AVGVSTORV EXERCITUS QVI LAV GARICIONE SEDIT MIL L II DCCCLV MAXIMIANUS LEG LEG II AD CVR F. Laugaricio, list of Roman legions Roman legion --> livius. org account of Legio II Adiutrix Familia Gladiatoria - Hungary, Hungarian reenactment group
43.
Enrico Dandolo
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Enrico Dandolo was the 41st Doge of Venice from 1192 until his death. Born in Venice, he was the son of the powerful jurist and member of the ducal court, Dandolo had served the Republic in diplomatic roles for many years. Dandolo was from a socially and politically prominent Venetian family and his father Vitale was a close adviser of Doge Vitale II Michiel, while an uncle, also named Enrico Dandolo, was patriarch of Grado, the highest-ranking churchman in Venice. Both these men lived to be old, and the younger Enrico was overshadowed until he was in his sixties. Dandolos first important political roles were during the years of 1171 and 1172. In March 1171 the Byzantine government had seized the goods of thousands of Venetians living in the Empire, popular demand forced the doge to gather a retaliatory expedition, which however fell apart when struck by the plague early in 1172. Dandolo had accompanied the expedition against Constantinople led by Doge Vitale Michiel during 1171-1172. Renewed negotiations begun twelve years later led to a treaty in 1186. On 1 June 1192, Dandolo became the forty-first Doge of Venice, already aged and blind, but deeply ambitious, he displayed tremendous mental and physical strength. Two years after taking office, in 1194, Enrico enacted reforms to the Venetian currency system and he introduced the large silver grosso worth 26 denari, and the quartarolo worth 1/4 of a denaro. Also he reinstated the Bianco worth 1/2 denaro, which had not been minted for twenty years and he debased the denaro and its fractions, whereas the grosso was kept at 98. 5% pure silver to ensure its usefulness for foreign trade. Enricos revolutionary changes made the grosso the dominant currency for trade in the Mediterranean and contributed to the wealth, in later years, the value of the grosso would climb relative to the increasingly debased denaro, until it was itself debased in 1332. Soon after the introduction of the grosso, the denaro began to be referred to as the piccolo, literally grosso means large one and piccolo means small one. In 1202 the knights of the fourth Crusade were stranded in Venice, Dandolo developed a plan that allowed the Crusaders debt to be suspended if they assisted the Venetians in capturing Zadar, which was under Hungarian rule, on the eastern Adriatic coast. At an emotional and rousing ceremony in San Marco di Venezia, Dandolo became an important leader of the Fourth Crusade. Venice was the financial backer of the Fourth Crusade, supplied the Crusaders ships. Because of the continued delays, provisions were also a problem for the enterprise. The Crusade fleet left Venice during the first week of October 1202, while the crusaders marched on the town the townsfolk hung up banners and crosses to signal they were Christian, but Zadar was captured on November 24,1202
44.
Byzantium
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Byzantium was an ancient Greek colony that later became Constantinople, and later still Istanbul. Byzantium was colonised by the Greeks from Megara in c. 657 BC, the etymology of Byzantion is unknown. It has been suggested that the name is of Thraco-Illyrian origin and it may be derived from a Thracian or Illyrian personal name, Byzas. Ancient Greek legend refers to a king Byzas, the leader of the Megarian colonists, the form Byzantium is a Latinisation of the original name. Much later, the name Byzantium became common in the West to refer to the Eastern Roman Empire and this usage was introduced only in 1555 by the historian Hieronymus Wolf, a century after the empire had ceased to exist. During the time of the empire, the term Byzantium was restricted to just the city, the European side featured only two fishing settlements, Lygos and Semistra. The origins of Byzantium are shrouded in legend, the traditional legend has it that Byzas from Megara founded Byzantium in 667 BC when he sailed northeast across the Aegean Sea. The tradition tells that Byzas, son of King Nisos, planned to found a colony of the Dorian Greek city of Megara, Byzas consulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi, which instructed Byzas to settle opposite the Land of the Blind. Leading a group of Megarian colonists, Byzas found a location where the Golden Horn and he adjudged the Chalcedonians blind not to have recognized the advantages the land on the European side of the Bosphorus had over the Asiatic side. In 667 BC he founded Byzantium at their location, thus fulfilling the oracles requirement and it was mainly a trading city due to its location at the Black Seas only entrance. Byzantium later conquered Chalcedon, across the Bosporus on the Asiatic side, Byzantium was besieged by Greek forces during the Peloponnesian War. As part of Spartas strategy for cutting off supplies to Athens. The Athenian military later took the city in 408 BC, after siding with Pescennius Niger against the victorious Septimius Severus, the city was besieged by Roman forces and suffered extensive damage in 196 AD. Byzantium was rebuilt by Septimius Severus, now emperor, and quickly regained its previous prosperity and it was bound to Perinthos during the period of Septimius Severus. The location of Byzantium attracted Roman Emperor Constantine I who, in 330 AD, after his death the city was called Constantinople. This combination of imperialism and location would affect Constantinoples role as the nexus between the continents of Europe and Asia and it was a commercial, cultural, and diplomatic centre. With its strategic position, Constantinople controlled the trade routes between Asia and Europe, as well as the passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea. On May 29,1453, the city fell to the Ottoman Turks, and again became the capital of a powerful state, the Turks called the city Istanbul, the name derives from eis-tin-polin
45.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
46.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
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Charles V was ruler of both the Spanish Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506. He voluntarily stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556, through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly four square kilometers and were the first to be described as the empire on which the sun never sets. Charles was the heir of three of Europes leading dynasties, the Houses of Valois-Burgundy, Habsburg, and Trastámara and he inherited the Burgundian Netherlands and the Franche-Comté as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy. From his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, he inherited Austria and he was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, the personal union, under Charles, of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire resulted in the closest Europe would come to a universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious. France recovered and the wars continued for the remainder of Charless reign, enormously expensive, they led to the development of the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios. The struggle with the Ottoman Empire was fought in Hungary and the Mediterranean, after seizing most of eastern and central Hungary in 1526, the Ottomans’ advance was halted at their failed Siege of Vienna in 1529. A lengthy war of attrition, conducted on his behalf by his younger brother Ferdinand, in the Mediterranean, although there were some successes, Charles was unable to prevent the Ottomans’ increasing naval dominance and the piratical activity of the Barbary Corsairs. Charles opposed the Reformation and in Germany he was in conflict with the Protestant Princes of the Schmalkaldic League who were motivated by religious and political opposition to him. Once the rebellions were quelled the essential Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule, Charles’s Spanish dominions were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. In the Americas, Charles sanctioned the conquest by Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec, Castillian control was extended across much of South and Central America. The resulting vast expansion of territory and the flows of South American silver to Castile had profound long term effects on Spain. Charles was only 56 when he abdicated, but after 34 years of rule he was physically exhausted and sought the peace of a monastery. Upon Charles’s abdications, the Holy Roman Empire was inherited by his younger brother Ferdinand, the Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands and Italy, was inherited by Charles’s son Philip II. The two empires would remain allies until the 18th century, Charles was born in 1500 as the eldest son of Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile in the Flemish city of Ghent, which was part of the Habsburg Netherlands. The culture and courtly life of the Burgundian Low Countries were an important influence in his early life and he was tutored by William de Croÿ, and also by Adrian of Utrecht. He also gained a decent command of German, though he never spoke it as well as French, a witticism sometimes attributed to Charles is, I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse
47.
Spanish Navy Marines
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The Spanish Navy Marines is a corps within the Spanish Navy responsible for conducting amphibious warfare by utilizing naval platforms and resources. The Marine Corps is fully integrated into the Armadas structure, the Corps was formed in 1537 by Charles I of Spain, making it the oldest marine corps in existence in the world, drawing from the Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles. The Spanish Navy Marines is a corps, highly specialised in amphibious warfare. Its ability to embark on a short notice with Navy assets. Adding to this a high degree of training, and the capability to deploy swiftly in international waters, one of the main characteristics of a marine is the uniform that he wears. On the sleeves of the Spanish Marines are the three Sardinetas, which marks it as a member of the Royal House Corps and this was given in recognition for a heroic last stand in the Castillo del Morro of Havana, Cuba against a British expedition in 1762. The only other unit to wear the sardinetas and red stripes is the Spanish Royal Guard. Spanish Marines have modern assets to comply with its mission, having specialised in artillery, sapping, helicopters, special operations, communications, tanks. Some vehicles form the Grupo Mecanizado Anfibio del Tercio de Armada, the most famous Spanish Marine is without a doubt Miguel de Cervantes, author of the novel Don Quixote, who was wounded in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. Another famous writer, Pedro Calderón de la Barca, also served with the marines, the Infantería de Armada was created by Charles V in 1537, when he permanently assigned the Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles to the Escuadras de Galeras del Mediterráneo. But it was Philip II who established todays concept of a landing force and this was a pure naval power projection ashore by forces deployed from ships that could maintain their ability to fight despite being based on board. This is the period of the famous Tercios, Tercio Nuevo de la Mar de Nápoles, Tercio de la Armada del Mar Océano. Tercio Viejo del Mar Océano y de Infantería Napolitana, of the Tercios above, the first is considered the core of the Spanish Navy Marines, and it bears in its coat of arms two crossed anchors that became the Corps coat of arms until 1931. The battles that the served in during this very busy period included. In 1717 the Cuerpo de Batallones de Marina was definitively settled and organized, the first ones were named, Armada, Bajeles, Marina, Oceano, Mediterráneo and Barlovento. Their mission was to form the Main body of landing columns and she was the first female Marine of the world. At the end of the World War I, the Battle of Gallipoli made almost all countries abandon the idea of amphibious assault, owing to its high-profile action in the unpopular Rif Wars, the Spanish Navy Marine corps was branded as a leftover of the Spanish colonial era. During the bitterly fought war the Marines performed garrison duties, led landing parties, the Republican 151 Brigada Mixta fought mostly inland battles far away from the sea
48.
Kingdom of Naples
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It continued to be officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily, although it no longer included the island of Sicily. For much of its existence, the realm was contested between French and Spanish dynasties, in 1816, it was reunified with the island kingdom of Sicily once again to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragons troops, Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital city. Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, joans reign was contested by Louis the Great, the Angevin King of Hungary, who captured the kingdom several times. Queen Joan I also played a part in the demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. This led to Joan Is murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, the two competing Angevin lines contested each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples over the following decades. René of Anjou temporarily united the claims of junior and senior Angevin lines, in 1442, however, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of Aragon. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again separated and Naples was inherited by Ferrante, Alfonsos illegitimate son. Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, Ferrantino was restored to the throne, but died in 1496, and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV. Charles VIIIs successor, Louis XII reiterated the French claim, in 1501, he occupied Naples and partitioned the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, the Spanish troops occupying Calabria and Apulia, led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova did not respect the new agreement, and expelled all Frenchmen from the area. The peace treaties that continued were never definitive, but they established at least that the title of King of Naples was reserved for Ferdinands grandson, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand nevertheless continued in possession of the kingdom, being considered as the heir of his uncle Alfonso I of Naples. The French finally abandoned their claims to Naples by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, in the Treaty of London, five cities on coast of Tuscany were designated the Stato dei Presidi, and part of the Kingdom of Naples. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, under the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, Naples was given to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long, when Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV. Despite the two Kingdoms being in a union under the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasts, they remained constitutionally separate. Being a member of the House of Bourbon, Ferdinand IV was an opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon
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