Alexandrian Grain Fleet

  • The Alexandrian Grain Fleet was a Roman cargo fleet based in Alexandria, Egypt.
  • Every year, the fleet brought 20,000 Modii of grain to Rome, and supplied one third of its grain requirement.

History

  • The Alexandrian Grain Fleet departed in a Convoy from Alexandria, Egypt, sometimes twice a year to supply Rome with Grain.
  • The Fleet set sail around April, arriving in Puteoli (Pozzuoli) in June.
  • From the beginning of the Principate, Rome received 60,000,000 Modii of grain per annum. 20,000,000 Modii of Grain was brought by the Alexandrian Grain Fleet from Egypt. This fed Rome for four months of the year.
  • The Grain Fleet of Carthage supplied most of the Grain for the other eight months.
  • The Grain from Egypt was sent down the Nile and stored in giant Granaries in Alexandria where it awaited shipment across the Mediterranean to Rome.

Fleet Size

  • The Fleet size is unknown, but must have been similar in numbers to the Grain Fleet of Athens during the rule of Philip of Macedon (359-336 BCE), which numbered 230 vessels.

The Vessels

  • The Ships were known as ‘Navis Frumentaria’ meaning ‘Corn Ship’.
  • These cargo vessels were able to travel on long journeys, because they carried a cistern of fresh water, which meant they could take large numbers of passengers.
  • They also appear to have carried other Goods from India and Persia, along with the Grain.

Capacity of the Grain Ships

  • An idea of the size of these giant Roman vessels can be gained from the two Lake Nemi Roman Shipwrecks which were excavated between 1929-1932 almost intact from the bottom of Lake Nemi, 20 miles (32km) from Rome.
  • The Roman author Lucian went to see a Grain Ship which had been blown off course into Pireus, the port of Athens.
  • He was staggered by its size and wrote a description of its dimensions and stated that it carried 143,000 Modii (over 1,000 metric tonnes).
  • A Grain Ship of 400 metric tons was known to have carried Grain to the value of 1,000,000 HS. The same monetary value as the land value necessary for qualifying to become a Senator.

Ownership

  • The Grain Fleet was not owned by the Roman Emperor or the Roman State, but instead each ship was privately owned, often by Merchants from Alexandria. These also bought, stored and sold the Grain.
  • However, the Grain Vessels were contracted by the State, to convey the Grain. The State decided the price of Grain and the dates of Sailing.
  • The vessels had to await specific instructions before being allowed to set sail, particularly when leaving Rome. Possibly, this was because they might be used to carry soldiers to the East in times of war.
  • The Roman Emperors provided various incentives and relief to encourage investment in these ships.
  • Roman Senators were excluded by law from ownership of merchant vessels over a certain tonnage: In 218 BCE, at the start of the Second Punic War, a law was passed forbidding Roman Senators or their sons from owning ships with a capacity of over 300 Amphorae.

Incentives to Ship Owners

  • Suetonius (c.69-122 CE)
    • He provides information on the incentives given by Claudius to the Grain Ship Owners:
      1. Exemption from the ‘Lex Papia Poppaea’ which imposed a Tax on Celibacy, if the Ship Owner was an unmarried Bachelor.
      2. Entitlement to full Roman Citizenship if the Ship Owner only possessed Latin Rights.
      3. If the Ship Owner was a woman: Entitlement to the privileges known as ‘Ius trium liberorum’, the privileges normally only associated with a Mother of three children. These consisted of being freed from Guardianship (by a male relative) and the ability to receive an inheritance (where it would have normally devolved to her children).
  • Tacitus (c.56-117 CE)
    • He also gives information on incentives provided by Nero to Grain Ship Owners:
      1. The ships were not assessed as part of the Ship Owner’s Property (ie they were Tax Exempt).
      2. Ship Owners were exempt from the Portoria harbour dues of 2.5%
      3. Owners were exempt from the ‘Tutela’ and from the compulsory Public Duties known as the ‘Publici Muneris Vacatio’.
  • The Roman Jurist Gaius (130-180 CE)
    • He stated that privileges were given to the owner when a ship was constructed to carry a minimum of 10,000 Modii of Grain (70 metric Tons).

The Prefect of the Annona

  • Under the Roman Republic:
    • Grain was shipped in by Senators who could set the price of the imported Grain themselves.
    • This gave them the opportunity to either achieve great personal wealth with high prices, or achieve political popularity by issuing the Grain as a free handout.
  • Under the Roman Empire:
    • Augustus created the Office of a Prefect to regulate the price and supply of Grain to Rome.
    • The Prefect was obliged to import a certain quantity of Grain to satisfy Rome‘s needs, and he also predetermined the price, which the Grain Merchants had to accept.
    • Although he did not own the Grain Fleets, he controlled them. Senators were no longer allowed to own large vessels that could form part of the Grain Fleet.
    • The Prefect also decided the date of the fleet’s departure from Italy.

Notable Passengers

  • Paul of Tarsus
    • In c. 60 CE, he was sent to Rome on an Alexandrian Grain Ship, which had 276 souls on board.
  • Josephus
    • In 64 CE, he was shipwrecked on an Alexandrian Grain Ship that was carrying 600 souls.
  • Vespasian
    • In 70 CE, he travelled from Egypt to Rome on an Alexandrian Grain Ship.
  • No documents or contracts exist to show that the Grain Fleet was ever contracted by the State to carry soldiers.
  • Although privately owned, the Grain ships were under contract to the Government, and they had to wait several days or weeks, before permission to leave was granted by the State, particularly when leaving Rome, which may have been because they were used by the Government to move key people.

Mare Clausum

  • The Mediterranean Sea was closed in winter under Roman Sea Law.
  • Mare Clausum meant ‘Closed sea’ and was enforced between the months of November to March.

Mare Liberum

  • This meant ‘Open sea’ and ships were free to sail between April and October.

Departure

  • Departing in April the voyage took 4-8 weeks.
  • The Fleet set sail around April, initially escorted by the Classis Alexandrina, taking between 4 to 8 weeks to reach Italy.
  • The Grain Fleet was protected by the Roman Navy in Egypt and in Italy by the Roman Navy at Misenum.

Proposed Route

  • The northerly winds prevented a direct sail to Italy. So, in order to reach Italy, the Grain Fleet would have had to follow the Mediterranean Sea Current, which goes anti-clockwise around the coasts, and north along the Levant coast.
  • The Fleet could then follow the current along the Parallel of Rhodes, which ran along the southern coast of Turkey, the northern coast of Crete, then towards Sicily.

Puteoli

  • The Fleet arrived in the Port of Puteoli, during the month of June.
  • It was escorted by war galleys of the Classis Misenensis, and preceded by Tabellariae ships which announced the fleet’s arrival.
  • The Fleet was recognisable by flying their Topsails, apparently the only vessels to be allowed to fly the topsail on arrival in the Port.
  • The Fleet’s arrival was marked with great excitement by the local population in Puteoli.

Puteoli to Ostia

  • The Grain was then transferred to smaller vessels, which took two days to sail to Ostia.

Ostia to Rome

  • From Ostia river barges took the grain up the Tiber to Rome, taking another three days.

Return Trip

  • The return trip from Puteoli only took 2-4 weeks, as they could sail in a direct line to Egypt with the northerly winds behind them.

Second Sailing

  • A second sailing would then take place if there was sufficient time.
  • In c. 62 CE, St. Paul boarded an Alexandrian Grain ship at Asia Minor in early October with 276 people on board. Unfortunately it was wrecked on Malta.
  • On the second run, the Grain ships would have to stay in Italy and spend the winter there, returning to Egypt the following year in the Spring.

Portus

  • Between 103-111 CE Trajan created the new deep sea port of Portus.
  • Trajan then moved the Alexandrian Grain Fleet from Puteoli to Portus.
  • Barges hauled by oxen then conveyed the Grain upriver to the warehouses at Rome.
  • Towing barges from the right bank of the Tiber still took three days to reach Rome.

Byzantine Empire

  • After Rome ceased to be the Capital in 330 CE, the Alexandrian Grain Fleet supplied Constantinople instead.
  • During the 5th and 6th centuries CE, when Constantinople had become the Capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Alexandrian Grain Fleet brought it 36,000,000 Modii of Grain every year.

Other Grain Fleets

  • African Grain Fleet
    • This Fleet had its home port at Carthage, and carried North African Grain to Rome.
    • This Fleet probably also stopped to pick up the Grain from Sicily, as it was en-route to Italy.
    • By 50 BCE it is thought that Africa was the most important source of Rome‘s Grain supply. Africa Proconsularis supplied Rome’s Grain for 8 months of the year.
  • Black Sea Grain Fleet

 

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