Quinquereme

• A Quinquereme was a large War Galley, popular between 400-31 BCE.
• During the Punic Wars (264-146 BCE) they were the largest Galleys used by both the Carthaginians and the Romans.

Description

• It is thought the Quinquereme had three banks of oars with five files of oarsmen, the lower row had one oarsman per oar and the two upper rows had two oarsman per oar.
• The Quinquereme could weigh up to 300 tonnes, compared to 50 tonnes for a Trireme.
• They often carried ‘castles’ near the Bow and Stern, with large contingents of Marines, and Artillery in the form of Catapults, and a sizeable Ram.

Battle of Actium (31 BCE)

• At the Battle of Actium the quinqueremes formed the majority of Mark Anthony‘s Fleet.
• However, there were none in Octavian‘s Fleet which used the smaller but more manoeuvrable Liburnian.
• After this Battle, the Quinquereme fell into disuse.
• During the first century CE, there was only one known Quinquereme in the Roman Fleet of the Classis Misenensis, the ‘Victoria’.