Key Point: The Liburnian was a warship first developed and used by the Liburnian people, the design was later adopted by the Ancient Romans.
In this installment of naval weapons from history, we will be taking a look at the Liburnian. You will see what the Liburnian is, how it was used, and why the Romans were quick to adopt the design of the Liburnian warship.
Now before we continue it’s important to establish one thing. What is a Liburnian warship?
The Liburnian was a warship first developed and used by the Liburnian people (who lived on the shores of the Adriatic). The Romans upon conquering the Adriatic coast quickly adopted the Liburnian design for their own warships due to their speed, maneuverability, and effectiveness in naval warfare.
That was a short introduction to the Liburnain. Now let’s take a look at this particular ancient warship in a little more detail. Starting with its origin.
The Origin Of The Liburnian
The origins of the Liburnian warship can be traced back to the Liburnian people. They were an ancient tribe that lived on the Adriatic coast. Its believed that the warship design evolved from the fishing boats the tribe used. From there they kept the general design of the ship and just added features such as oars and a ramming prow.
As you well know the main tactic used back then was to ram the opposing ship in the hopes to make a huge hole that would eventually sink the ship. As primitive as it sounds, it was actually effective.
The design advantages of the Liburnian ship were so evident that even the Romans copied the design of the ship and made their own model called the “liburna”. it was a cheap and effective way for the Romans to control the seas without resorting too much to huge ships like the hexareme or the quinquireme. Which were not as cost-effective.
So, When Did The Romans Adopt The Design?
There is no clear date of when the Romans adopted the design into their navy. But if we take a hint from history it was likely during or slightly after the Illyrian Wars.
The Dimensions Of An Average Liburnian Ship?
If I take a quote from the book: Imperial Roman Warships 27 BC–193 AD by Raffaele D’Amato
“The length of these ships was about 30.5m (100ft), with a beam of about 5.5m (18ft), and a displacement of 5 tons. Their complement was a force of marines and oarsmen, with numbers varying according to circumstances.”
The Book: Imperial Roman Warships 27 BC–193 AD pg 30 by Raffele D’Amato
Length: between 30.5 meters (98 and 131 feet)
Width: between 5 meters (16 feet)
Depth: between 1.5 and 2 meters (4.9 and 6.6 feet)
Draft: 1 meter (3.3 feet)
Crew: between 30 and 50 oarsmen
How It Was Used In Battle?
As with most ships of the era the Liburnian was used to ram the opposing ship. The Liburnian ship did carry a few soldiers on board, but given its speed and sleek design the main tactic employed by the Liburnian was flanking the opposing ships with its speed and maneuverability then ramming the opposing ship from the side. This then created a hole in the side of the opposing ship which more often than not led to the ship sinking.
In Conclusion
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Hopefully, you learned a thing or two.
And if you wish you can check out the next stage of the Liburnian evolution, which was the Byzantine Dromon warship. You can see the article right here.
See you at the next one.
Take care!
Sources: Imperial Roman Warships 27 BC–193 AD