View source for Bireme

{{Short description|Ancient oared warship with two decks of oars}}
{{other uses}}
A '''bireme''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|aɪ|r|iː|m}}, {{respell|BY|reem}}) is an ancient oared warship ([[galley]]) with two superimposed rows of [[oar]]s on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC and were used by the [[Phoenicia]]ns, Assyrians, and Greeks.
[[File:Greek Bireme 500BC.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Greek bireme circa 500 BC, image from a Greek vase in the [[British Museum]], which was found at [[Vulci]] in [[Etruria]].]]
[[File:AssyrianWarship.jpg|thumb|[[Phoenicia]]n warship<ref>[[Lionel Casson|Casson, Lionel]] (1995): "Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World", Johns Hopkins University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5130-8}}, fig. 76</ref> with two rows of oars, relief from Nineveh, ca. 700 BC]]

==Description==
[[File:D473-birème romaine-Liv2-ch10.png|thumb|A [[Roman navy|Roman naval]] bireme depicted in a [[relief]] from the [[Temple of Fortuna Primigenia]] in [[Praeneste]] ([[Palestrina|Palastrina]]),<ref>D.B. Saddington (2011) [2007]. "[https://books.google.com/books?id=1D612o_X2VYC&q=biremeClasses%3A&pg=PR10 the Evolution of the Roman Imperial Fleets]," in Paul Erdkamp (ed), ''A Companion to the Roman Army'', 201-217. Malden, Oxford, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. {{ISBN|978-1-4051-2153-8}}. Plate 12.2 on p. 204.</ref> which was built c. 120 BC;<ref>Coarelli, Filippo (1987), ''I Santuari del Lazio in età repubblicana''. NIS, Rome, pp 35-84.</ref> exhibited in the [[Pius-Clementine Museum]] in the [[Vatican Museums]].]]
The name bireme comes from "bi-" meaning two and "-reme" meaning oar.

It was typically about {{convert|80|ft|0}} long with a maximum beam width of around {{convert|10|ft|0}}. It was modified from the [[Penteconter (ship)|penteconter]], a ship that had only one set of oars on each side, the bireme having two sets of oars on each side. The bireme was twice the triaconter's length and height, and thus employed 120 rowers. Biremes were [[galley]]s, [[galleasses]], [[dromons]], and small pleasure crafts called [[pamphyle]]s.

The next development, the [[trireme]], keeping the length of the bireme, added a tier to the height, the rowers being thus increased to 180.<ref>{{cite book |title= The five great monarchies of the ancient eastern world; or, the history, geography, and antiquities of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, and Persia, collected and illustrated from ancient and modern sources: In 4 Vols, Volume 4|last=Rawlinson|first= George|year= 1867|publisher= John Murray|pages= 143|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HuUGAAAAcAAJ&q=bireme&pg=PA143}}</ref> It also had a large square sail.

==Uses==
These ships were frequently used by the Romans, as during the second of [[Caesar's invasions of Britain]]. The bireme eventually evolved into the [[trireme]]. A unit commandant (who was given a tent on the open deck) directed a group of marines. The bireme was also recorded in ancient history on the 8th and early 7th-century BC Assyrian reliefs, where they were used to carry out an amphibious attack on the coast of Elam and the lagoons of the Persian Gulf during the reign of [[Sennacherib]].<ref name="Casson 57–58">{{cite book | last = Casson | author-link = Lionel Casson | first = Lionel | title = Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World | publisher = The Johns Hopkins University Press | date = December 1, 1995 | pages = 57–58 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=https&q=+bireme+Assyrian+Casson&pg=PA3 | isbn = 978-0-8018-5130-8 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Medieval galleys are also described as "bireme" or "trireme" depending on the number of their banks of oars. The terminology can lead to confusion, since the terms are also used for rowed warships of the Greco-Roman period built on entirely different design principles.

==Dimensions and development==
In 1275, [[Charles I of Anjou|Charles of Anjou]], king of [[Sicily]], issued an order for the construction of several galleys that provide the earliest evidence for the dimensions of the bireme galleys. Because of increased weight and breadth, which brought increased friction through the water, a trireme galley was not dramatically faster than a bireme. But the change to trireme produced more significant developments than a gain in tactical speed over short distances. Early bireme galleys escorted merchant ships but were rarely used to carry goods. A few [[Genoa|Genoese]] freight contracts of the mid-13th century record charters for bireme galleys.<ref>{{cite book |title= Medieval Italy: an encyclopedia, Vol. 2|author1= Christopher Kleinhenz |author2=John W Barker|year= 2004|publisher= Routledge|location= London|isbn= 9780415939317|page= 1029|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=spKxJeHJgTAC&q=bireme&pg=PA1029}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Ivlia (ship)|''Ivlia'' (ship)]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Sailing Vessels and Rigs}}
{{Ancient seafaring}}

[[Category:Ships of ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Navy of ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Galleys]]
[[Category:Naval warfare of antiquity]]
[[Category:Transport in Phoenicia]]