How Rome Learned to Win at Sea — The War That Forged Its Fleet

How Rome learned to win at sea began with a captured ship and an urgent question: how could a land power challenge Carthage, the western Mediterranean’s strongest naval force? In the First Punic War, control of Sicily depended on moving troops and supplies across the water as well as fighting on land. Polybius says Rome built 100 quinqueremes and 20 triremes using a captured Carthaginian ship as its model. At Mylae in 260 BC, the Romans used the corvus, a gangway with an iron spike that locked enemy ships together and let soldiers board. The victory turned sea combat into the kind of close fighting Roman troops knew. Later, Ecnomus carried the war toward Africa, while defeat at Drepana and destructive storms showed how quickly Rome’s fleets could be lost. The final contest came near the Egadi Islands in 241 BC, where Rome’s victory ended the war and brought Sicily under Roman control. Seabed discoveries add a wrinkle to Polybius’s account: 25 bronze ship rams found near the islands appear small enough to suggest some warships may have been smaller than he described. Together, the texts and wreckage trace the costly effort that forged Rome’s fleet. Sources: • Perseus Digital Library, Polybius, Histories, Book 1 (1889): https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?... • Honor Frost Foundation, Mark C. Davies, “Reassessing Polybius’ Account of the Battle of Aegates” (2024): https://honorfrostfoundation.org/wp-conten... • Treccani, “Egadi, battaglia delle” (2010): https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/batta...