11-21-2005, 11:08 AM
Quote:see Saddington on thisnote? :wink:
Quote:I even doubt that they are fleetsWell, that depends a lot on your definition of fleets. From my research into the 1st C BC, it seems that (but still need to discuss this with my advisors) squadrons with some kind of (semi-) permanence are actually quite a bit older than Augustus' much vaunted decision to found standing fleets. In fact, it looks for all accounts and purposes a lot like developments in the army! You might say that the Italian fleets are like the legions (duck!), while the other squadrons (thinking of Sicily, Egypt, Bosporus/Pontic, etc squadrons) are more like the auxiliary fleets. By the second half of the 1st C AD, the client kingdoms are incorporated into the empire one by one and the local fleets either disappear or become formal squadrons.
