Dromon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The dromons (from Greek δρόμων dromon "runner") were the most important warships of the Byzantine navy from the 6th to 12th centuries AD. They were indirectly developed from the ancient trireme and were usually propelled by both oar and sail.
They could be built in many shapes and sizes and ranged from 30-50 meters long and 5-7 meters wide, carrying up to 300 men (both fighting marines and rowers).
The dromons had a central tower (xylokastron = wooden castle) near the main mast, from which the marines could use their bow and arrows or throw spears and other projectiles. Dromons were frequently equipped with flamethrowers (syphonopho-rami) that discharged Greek fire and catapults capable of hurling 10 kg projectiles up to 250 meters. Many dromons were also armor-plated against enemy rams[citation needed].
Middle English dromond and Old French dromont described any particularly large medieval ship.[1]
[edit] In Popular Culture
- In book 3 of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the corsairs of Umbar are described as sailing dromonds.
- In the PC game Civilization III:Conquests, the Dromon is the Byzantine "unique unit".
[edit] References
- J. Pryor & E. Jeffreys (1997). "The Dromon: Terminology and reality". Proc. Tenth Conference of the Australian Association for Byzantine Studies.
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed, "Dromond"
