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Coates, J. F. (1993). The Naval Architecture and Oar Systems of Ancient Galleys. İn R. Gardiner (Ed.), The Age of the Galley: Mediterranean Oared Vessels since Pre-Classical Times (pp. 127-141). Conway Maritime.

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Construction, Technical Characteristics and Artistic Significance of Galleys in the Roman Empire

  AUTHORS: Tuncay Çiçek

  KEYWORDS: Roman Naval Power, Galley, Navis Longa, Mediterranean, First Punic War, Roman Shipbuilding Technology, Classis, Mortise-and-Tenon, Corvus, Actium, Diekplous, Liburnian, Trireme, Quinquereme, Underwater Archaeology, Experimental Reconstruction

  JOURNAL NAME: Open Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.14 No.4, April 17, 2026

  ABSTRACT: Roman naval power in the Mediterranean was not merely a military instrument but a fundamental expression of imperial dominion economic, political, and cultural. Among the vessels that secured Roman maritime supremacy, the oared warship (navis longa) played a decisive role in transforming the Mediterranean into Mare Nostrum. Combining Hellenistic shipbuilding traditions with Roman engineering ingenuity, Roman galleys embodied the technological apogee of the ancient world. This article examines construction techniques, technical specifications, tactical deployment, crew organisation, and the cultural and artistic significance of Roman galleys from the First Punic War to the late Empire, drawing on literary sources, epigraphic evidence, and the results of underwater archaeology and experimental reconstruction. The central research question guiding this investigation is: which design features most decisively shaped Roman tactical practice, and to what degree can those features be reliably reconstructed from the surviving evidence? Each section of the article contributes a distinct dimension of response to this question, allowing the reader to evaluate not only what Roman galleys were, but how confidently we can claim to know it.