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The Ptolemaic navy was the naval
force of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and later empire from 305 to 30 BC. It was
founded by King Ptolemy I. Its main naval bases were at Alexandria, Egypt and
Nea Paphos (New Paphos) in Cyprus. It operated in the East Mediterranean in the
Aegean Sea, the Levantine Sea, but also on the river Nile and in the Red Sea
towards the Indian Ocean.[
History There were a number of maritime powers competing across the Eastern
Mediterranean during this period, and the major naval powers in the Aegean in
322 BC were the Athenian navy and Macedonian navy.[2] When the Athenians
learned of Alexander’s death, Athens was at the forefront of the rebellion
from Macedonian hegemony, which developed into the Lamian War. Athens mobilized
170 ships to Macedon’s 240, and that eventually the Macedonian navy
‘destroyed’ the Athenian fleet in a series of battles in 322 BC.[2]
After this the Athenian navy ceased to be an important independent naval force
in the Aegean again.[2] The period after the death of Alexander in 320 BC
various successors to Alexander were competing with each other for naval
supremacy to have an effective naval force in the Aegean and Eastern
Mediterranean.[3] The early Ptolemies focused of developing naval instead of
striving to develop a land empire in Greece or Asia.[4] Ptolemy I initially
competed against other Diadochoi for naval supremacy in the Eastern
Mediterranean Sea, before experiencing a crushing defeat at the hands of
Demetrius I at the Battle of Salamis in 306 BC. From 295 to 260 BC, the
Ptolemaic navy seems to have been a dominant maritime force in the Aegean and
Eastern Mediterranean. Ptolemy II, succeeding his father, maintained the policy
ensuring the navy was dominant naval force in the Eastern Mediterranean. He
expand the Ptolemaic navy into the Hellenistic world’s largest navy, in
addition to commissioning some of the largest warships ever built in the
ancient world.[2] Ptolemy I’s major maritime rival in the Aegean and
Eastern Mediterranean was therefore Antigonus I (assisted by his son, Demetrius
I of Macedon). The Macedonian king Perdiccas briefly threatened Ptolemy in 321
BC when he sent an army and naval force to invade Egypt, when this operation
failed he was assassinated by his officers that fleet was eventually acquired
by Antigonus.[2] Antigonus chose not to focus on maritime affairs until 315 BC,
after he first campaigned into the former Achaemenid Empire to defeat Eumenes.
After this, he returned to the Mediterranean, where a coalition of Ptolemy,
Cassander and Lysimachus was preparing to face him.[2] Antigonus started a
gigantic ship-building program, building five dockyards stating he would soon
have a navy of 500 ships, but only 250 of these were actually constructed.[2]
However, Ptolemy I had the ascendancy during this period, since Antigonus’
demoralized troops complained that Ptolemy was "dominating the sea".
During this period, when Antigonus focused his attention to the Aegean Sea,
that was when Ptolemy I also became personally active in the Aegean.[2] In 314
BC that Antigonus made his declaration of ‘freedom for the Greeks,’
intended to scupper the political influence of the other Alexandrian successors
in the Aegean. Feeling that his own political interests were being threatened
by Antigonus he also issued a similar declaration,[5] and order a naval force
of 50 ships be sent to the Peloponnese, under the command of admiral
Polycleitus.[6]
In 313 BC, Seleucus (who was serving as Ptolemy’s Admiral) led a Ptolemaic
fleet around Phoenicia and into the Aegean.[7] This force assisted
Cassander’s navy in attacking Lemnos, before retiring to the island of
Cos. Ptolemy I attentions then were diverted elsewhere, in dealing with a
revolt in Cyrene and Demetrius’ presence in Syria, as well as spending
time organizing Cyprus.[2] Antigonus’ war fleet was active around the
Aegean in between 313 and 312 BC, and attacked Miletus. After the peace
agreement brokered in 311 BC, Ptolemy I took personal command a Ptolemaic fleet
sent on an expedition into the Aegean, the intention may have been to capture
the Macedonian throne from Cassander.[2] Ptolemy I succeeded in capturing
Andros and Megara, and managed to military garrison both Sicyon and Corinth,
after a diplomatic negotiations with Polyperchon. It was during this naval
expedition that the future Ptolemy II was born on Cos during this naval
expedition, which may have in influenced his own future interest in the
maritime affairs.[2] In 306 BC Antigonus ordered his fleet under his son
Demetrius to head to Cyprus for what was to be the decisive naval conflict with
Ptolemy, this naval engagement was known as the Battle of Salamis, that
resulted in victory for Antigonid forces.[2] Following the defeat of Ptolemaic
navy at Salamis the Ptolemaic Kingdom ceased to be the dominant naval force in
the Eastern Mediterranean. In 305 BC the Antigonid navy sent a large fleet of
200 warships and 170 transports on an expedition to capture Rhodes one of
Ptolemy’s major allies.[2] Almost ten years following the navy's loss at
Salamis the navy was rebuilt and was once again projecting its naval power into
the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, taking full control of Cyprus for
good.[2] In 294 BC recorded by Plutarch, Demetrius began construction of a huge
shipbuilding program that was to consist of 500 ships built at dockyards in
Corinth, Chalcis, Pella and Piraeus.[2] This program was halted when following
his seven year reign he lost his throne in 288 BC, at which point Ptolemy I
took this chance to return to the matters of Greek affairs by personally
commanding an expedition of his Aegean Fleet sent into the Aegean Sea. The
expedition succeeded, he gained possession of Cyprus and strategic bases in the
Aegean like Andros, the Ptolemaic navy once again became the strongest navy in
the Eastern Mediterranean area.[2] After this, the Ptolemaic navy remained
unchallenged for almost 30 years when there followed a number of decisive naval
battles in the Aegean during the reign of Ptolemy II. The first was at the
Battle of Ephesus involving the Ptolemaic Kingdom and its former ally Rhodes it
took place of the coast of Anatolia at Ephesus. The Rhodian fleet, was under
the command of Agathostratus, whilst the Ptolemaic fleet was commanded by an
Athenian admiral called Chremonides resulted in a major defeat for Ptolemaic
navy. The outcome of which was the success breaking Ptolemaic dominance in the
Aegean Sea. To ensure the Ptolemaic Navy never gained resurgence in the Aegean
region, a further engagement the Battle of Cos said to have taken placed either
between in 261 BC or 255 BC.[8] This proved to be the decisive battle of the
Second Syrian War. The battle was fought by the fleets of Ptolemy II and his
admiral Patroclus against Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia resulting in
another defeat for the Ptolemaic navy, this also led to resurgence of
Macedonian naval power in the region.[8] It was during the Chremonidean War
that the Ptolemaic navy was able to effectively blockade Macedonia, and
restricted Antigonus II to the mainland Greece.[8] Nine years later in 246 BC
the Ptolemaic Kingdom sent another fleet back to the Aegean during the Third
Syrian War to confront the forces of Macedonia once again it was defeated and
withdrew to Egypt.[9]
For almost the next two hundred years the navy was not involved in any further
major conflicts until the Final War of the Roman Republic. During which the
Roman Senate declared war on the Ptolemaic Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII, Mark
Antony, her lover and ally, betrayed the Roman government and joined the war on
Cleopatra's side. After the decisive victory for Octavian at the naval
engagement at Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Cleopatra and Antony withdrew to
Alexandria, where Octavian besieged the city until both Antony and Cleopatra
committed suicide in 30 BC. Ptolemaic Egypt was annexed as a Roman province,
leaving the Roman navy as only force in the entire Mediterranean. Supreme
Commander Callicrates held the title of nauarchos (admiral) and was appointed
supreme commander of the Ptolemaic navy, in effect a
Commander-in-Chief.[10][11] The title was not conferred on a regular basis. In
142 BC the 'nauarchia' was added to the functions of the governor-generals of
Cyprus to denote supreme commander of the Ptolemaic Navy for the Mediterranean
if not for the entire Ptolemaic Empire.[12] This title and its responsibility
was inscribed on the base of a statue of Seleucus, Governor of Cyprus (142-131
BC) erected by the city of Kourion.
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Fleets Alexandrian fleet The Ptolemaic
Kingdom constructed a huge navy following the victory of Ptolemy II during the
First Syrian War (274–271 BC), as a result the Ptolemaic Navy was
successful in repulsing both the Seleucid Empire and the Kingdom of Macedonia
for control of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean.[25] Ancient Greek
records seem to confirm that Ptolemy II possessed a fleet of 336 warships, that
were rated according to the number of banks of oars they possessed.[26]
Athenaeus records that Ptolemy II had at his disposal more than 4,000 ships
that consisted of individual war fleets in addition to transports and ships
from allies.[27] The Alexandrian Fleet was said to number about 336 warships,
not including those ships stationed elsewhere.[28] The cost of maintaining this
fleet would have been enormous.[29] Aegean fleet The Aegean fleet was
established and headquartered at Thera from the 3rd century BC. This was the
main wartime fleet for the entire Aegean Sea and was stationed in the city's
harbour. It was disbanded in 145 BC.[30] Nile River fleet The Nile Fleet or
Royal River fleet was a naval force garrisoned at Alexandria from at least the
3rd century BC.[31] Part of this fleet included a river guard force or police
patrol to ensure the free movement of commerce up and down the Nile, which in
these times could be dangerous. The Nile fleet was operating until at least 94
BC.[31] Red Sea fleet The Red Sea Fleet, was based at Berenice Troglodytica
seaport of Egypt on the west coast of the Red Sea.[32] The fleet's primary role
was to protect trade convoys or shipping on the main trade route between
Southern Arabia, India, Sri Lanka and Upper Egypt.[33]
Bases and ports Cyprus was the main base of the Ptolemaic navy outside of
Alexandria for almost 200 years,it was where the Ptolemies sourced their timber
to build their warships. Nea Paphos in south-west Cyprus was a centre of
Ptolemaic administration, possessed a major harbour, and the city and the
surrounding region.[34] Its importance as a major shipbuilding location in
Ptolemaic times when Ptolemy II Philadelphos had two very large ships built
there by the naval architect Pyrgoteles son of Zoes.[35] Paphos became the
Ptolemaic capital of Cyprus around 200 BC, and the headquarters of the
Ptolemaic strategos.[36] Ephesus was established as a naval base in 262 BC.
After the Ptolemaic navy was defeated at the Battle of Ephesus (ca. 258 BC) the
base was retaken by the Seleucid Empire. In 246 BC Seleucid forces abandoned
the base leaving the Ptolemies to move in again. Ephesos remained as a military
base until 197 BC when Antiochus III seized the city.[37] Samos was first
established as a naval base between 280 and 270 BC. It remained an important
naval base for the Ptolemies until 201 BCE when Philip V of Macedon conquered
the island. In 197 BC the base was recaptured by, shortly after that, the
island regained its freedom.[38] As with Itanos, Patroclus had built a military
facility on the island of Thera in 267/6 BC whilst on his way to Attica leading
Ptolemaic forces during the Chremonidean War. Patroclus then appointed
Apollodotos as the base commander. After Ptolemy VIII ascended to the throne in
145 BC he withdrew all Ptolemaic forces from Thera.[39]
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