Roman Imperial Fleet

The Roman imperial fleet was the standing navy organized by Augustus after Actium (31 BC), built around two principal squadrons: the Classis Misenensis based at Misenum on the Bay of Naples and the Classis Ravennas at Ravenna on the Adriatic. Provincial and riverine flotillas guarded the Rhine, Danube, Black Sea, and the British coast. The fleets policed sea lanes, suppressed piracy, and moved troops and grain rather than fighting set-piece battles, since Rome held the Mediterranean unchallenged. Sailors served long terms and the fleets endured into the third century AD.