A Tale of the Two Watercraft Brands

 I'm not ready yet to unveil the outline of my current project titled "The Fright and Thrill of Navigation: Seafaring in the Medieval and Renaissance Mediterranean,"  but I will disclose a few details. The first part will be "The Age of the Galley." It consists of the intro, A Tale of the Two Watercraft Brands, and two chapters, Early War Galleys and Late War Galleys. 

The introduction is ready, at least as a magazine version, and I even uploaded it on the Academia site, not as one but as three articles:

https://www.academia.edu/104456432/War_galleys_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean

https://www.academia.edu/107397680/Sailing_Ships_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean

https://www.academia.edu/109918628/Galleys_vs_Sailing_Ships_Comparison_and_Contrast

I am currently editing Chapter 1: Early War Galleys, which I divided into portions for possible magazine publication. 

I am also assessing the material collected for a new chapter based on the Battle of  Los Formigues. The extract will recreate the atmosphere of the Crusade against Aragon and the behavior of the Catalan fleet, first of all of its renowned admiral, Roger of Lauria.   

I delivered the second lecture about sailing ships. I plan to prepare the third one to compare the performance of galleys and commercial ships. 

Battle of Meloria

 A friend asked me whether I retell the known circumstances in my writing. I find it a tricky issue. Of  course, I base my narrative on familiar descriptions, trying to relate the events in my words. I search for lively expressions to convey the meaning. However, I check the well-known descriptions with the sources, applying logic to estimate the value of both the sources and modern rendering. 

I have recently finished writing a new chapter, The Battle of Meloria (August 6, 1284), which pitted the Pisan and Genoese fleets in the view of Porto Pisano. 

Before that, the Pisan fleet made an abortive effort to blockade the port of Genoa, taking advantage of the fact that a decent-sized Genoese squadron under Benedetto Zaccaria engaged elsewhere. The Ligurian war council recalled the ships, and Zaccaria entered the harbor unharmed. How could it be when the Pisans surrounded the entrance to the port? Why didn't the Genoese attempt to squeeze the less powerful rival navy and dispel it in the open sea? There were answers to these questions when I ran across a reliable source. View Paul Crawford, The Templar of Tyre. [446] (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003), 89. The chronicler claims that the Pisans were aware of foul weather and anticipated the arrival of the Genoese reserve, which joined the main fleet in pursuit of the escaping opponents. It's so much clearer!

The second reservation concerns the battle itself. Before the contact, both sides threw liquid soap and hot oil to make the enemy decks slippery. However, the adversaries intended to board the hostile ships. How slippery decks would help them? Nobody explains this. 

Some historians describe that the Pisan fleet attacked the Genoese late in the afternoon, with the sun in their (Pisan) eyes. However, the Templar of Tyre claims that the combat continued from morning till  sunset (until the Vespers). Is it probable that the Pisans started the battle with the sun in their eyes? They might have a fair wind on their side. In some versions, authors claim that though the priest's staff fell while blessing the fleet, the Pisans said that with the fair wind, they could overcome their rivals even without the Lord's help. 

What next? I commenced collecting data on Roger of Lauria, the renowned admiral of the Catalan fleet. I ran across Charles Stanton's book on Roger and enjoy reading it.

   https://dokumen.pub/roger-of-lauria-c1250-1305-admiral-of-admirals-1783274530-9781783274536.html

The author is a former naval officer, a good researcher, and an excellent writer. I want to choose one battle and elaborate on it. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_of_Lauria

 

The Siege of Chandax (3)

 I have finished writing this chapter. It starts with a small introduction about Byzantine chronicles. I added this section because my narrative primarily draws from these chronicles, and I want   to caution the reader about their credibility. Often penned by monastic historians poorly versed in naval and military matters, they contain hagiographic material or facts biased by the witnesses' viewpoints and political agenda. I also attached the Reassessment, the summing up of my story. As usual, I will keep it on hold.

My next chapter will deal with the Battle of Meloria, August 1284, which pitted the Pisan and Genoese fleets off Porto Pisano. Like the Battle of Chandax, it was a decisive confrontation that put an end to the naval domination of the City on the Arno. It also supplies an excellent  example of the encirclement of  hostile forces, worth discussing in military academies.

I also received an OK from the Institute of  Integration coordinator for a series of lectures based on Chapter 1, Prelude: A Tale of the Two Watercraft Brands. My first lecture, appointed on November 13th, will speak about medieval galleys. To talk about shipping in the medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean, we must distinguish two  vessel types: galleys and so-called round ships. They differed in construction, choice of routes, length of sailing, and designation. My lectures and articles will open this topic for discussions.

The first two articles are available on my Academia page:

 https://www.academia.edu/104456432/War_galleys_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean

https://www.academia.edu/104456432/War_galleys_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean

 

The Siege of Chandax (2)

 I spent some time collecting and evaluating material for my new topic. 

Last week, I started writing a first draft. I offer you its template (unfinished):

a. The Importance of Crete (on the geopolitical map)

b.  The Emirate of Crete (as the Muslim polity, ca. 824-961)

c. The Preparations for the Campaign (the energetic chief minister, the young emperor, and the head of the expedition)

d. The Voyage (we do not have the entire itinerary but only some stopovers)

e. The Landfall (The armada anchors at Crete, and Nikephoros Phokas conducts the pitched battle on the beach)

f. Setting the Military Camp (Pitching the siege camp in the view of Chandax. The Byzantine practice of setting up camps)

g. The Siege (The failure of the direct assault, the drawn-out confrontation, an attempt to starve out the besieged)

h. Guerilla Operations (The elimination of a Byzantine detachment and Phocas' revenge on Cretan partisans)

i. The Winter (The weather hardships fortified by running out of provisions and the chief minister's brave move to remedy the situation)

 I have written these items and now need to complete the chapter with the two additional items: the final assault on March 7, 961, and Phocas' triumph in Constantinople. I don't know yet about the Bottom Line. I might include it as the chapter's summing up or prefer to combine all chapter conclusions in an additional chapter at the unit's end. 

The second unit, titled "The Intricacies of Naval Warfare," includes five chapters, which is not all.

I wrote these lines two days ago. In the meantime, I added three additional sections:

a.       The Relations Between Muslim Allies

b.       The Final Assault

c.       The Triumph

I still have to develop several pages of notes to make necessary amendments. Last but least, I must write a conclusion to this chapter. 

 

The Siege of Chandax

 

My new chapter is called "The Siege of Chandax." This city, the capital of the Emirate of Crete (c. 924-961), was under siege by the Byzantine army between July 960 and March 961. Despite the numerical advantage, it took the general Nikephoros Phokas over seven months to take over the fortified location. 

It was a great victory since Crete, the erstwhile Roman enclave, was under Muslim domination for nearly 140 years. The island lay at the crossroads of routes connecting Greece, Anatolia, Cyprus, the Levant, and Egypt, i.e., the eastern Mediterranean. The Cretan navy endangered trade lanes in the Aegean, took control of several islands, and ravaged the mainland. 

The Emirate was a wealthy polity and a convenient way station for Egyptian and Syrian fleets poised against the East Roman Empire. 

There are many blank spots about Muslim Crete and the Byzantine recovery. I am trying to scramble through Byzantine and Arab sources to scribble a readable and trustworthy story. I will add the missing information from modern reports about the Roman and Arab armies. 

I have just uploaded a new article, "Sailing Ships in the Medieval Mediterranean," to Academia: https://www.academia.edu/107397680/Sailing_Ships_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean

This is the second part of Chapter 1 of my research about shipping in the medieval and Renaissance Mediterranean. The first part is available at https://www.academia.edu/104456432/War_galleys_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean

Sailing ships took advantage of winds, tides, and currents but struggled with impaired mobility in windless seas. Due to technological imperfections, medieval vessels could not run against the wind. The bigger versions had no trouble crossing deep waters and did not require frequent layovers in ports. The passengers sustained traumatic experiences during the squalls. The Mediterranean was not closed for shipping in the winter.

The Portage of Ships across the Isthmus

 I will devote this chapter to the Byzantine admiral, Niketas Ooryphas's indigenous decision  to transfer his dromons along the long-forgotten land route across the Isthmus of Corinth. He did this unusual deed to catch his opponent, Photios, the admiral of the Cretan Muslim fleet, off guard. I picked up this character because I want to show the tactical depth of medieval naval commanders. 

This chapter belongs to Unit II of my project, The Intricacies of Naval Warfare. Up until now, it has included four chapters:

      1.  Naval Factories, where I describe medieval naval bases.  

       2. The Battle of Ad Decimum. The collision of the Byzantine Empire with the Vandals, without a maritime battle but with the participation of the East Roman fleet, where we, for the first time, discern the use of dromons. 

       3. The Omayyad Siege of Constantinople (August 717-August 718). An amphibian battle with the use of liquid fire and weaponizing food supplies. 

       4. The Portage of Ships across the Isthmus 

       I have plans for four additional battles and more, covering the period 6-15 centuries. For example, the Byzantine reconquest of Crete seems a highly encouraging topic. 

      I recently contacted with my publishing house for online marketing of my second book, "The Enchanting Encounters with the East." 

The Intricacies of Naval Warfare (1)

 The new trend is taking shape. The material is so vast that the title, "The Intricacies of Naval Warfare," will cover the entire book unit instead of individual chapters. The content will spread via the sixth-fourteenth centuries and include the main battles viewed through their strategy and tactics. As an epithet, I chose the following extract from Thucydides: “Sea power is a matter of skill; it is not possible to get practice in the odd moment when the chance occurs, but it is a full-time occupation leaving no moment for other things.”

I had another look at Chapter 1, Naval Factories, and made minor corrections to this solid piece describing how shipyards looked like, which facilities they encompassed, and which workers they engaged. 

Chapter 2, The Battle of Ad Decimum (September 13, 533), is a land battle that pitted the Byzantine army commanded by General Belisarius against the Vandal army headed by King Gelimer. I stopped on this episode as it required the fleet's transportation from Constantinople to Carthage and the first appearance of the powerful East Roman fleet (I mean, warships and not only merchantmen carrying troops and ammunition). Currently, I arrange my bits and pieces for a compelling narrative. 

Chapter 3, The Omayyad Siege of Constantinople (August 717-August 718), is ready. 

Other chapters will include the battles of Corfu, Maloria, Malta, and Acre. I give no details because I have yet to study these combats profoundly. I will decide on the Battle of Corinth, whose main episode was the portage of ships across the Isthmus of Corinth, check other contributions of Roger of Lauria, except the classical Battle of Malta, and delve into episodes of Genoese-Venetian Wars, other than the Battle of Acre. 

Meanwhile, the first extract of the future project is available. 

https://www.academia.edu/104456432/War_galleys_in_the_Medieval_Mediterranean 

I plan to upload the second piece later in the year.