The Punic Ships and Rome's First Navy

The Story of Italy: Rome, Renaissance, and the Birth of Modern Europe — Fexingo History · Jul 9, 2026 · 6m · transcript

Rome was a land power. So how did it become the dominant naval force in the Mediterranean? This episode traces Rome's first faltering steps onto the sea — from the disastrous capture of a Carthaginian quinquereme in 264 BC to the invention of the corvus boarding bridge. We follow the construction of a crash fleet, the brutal training of rowers on land, and the decisive victory at Mylae that shocked Carthage. Along the way, we meet the Roman consul Gaius Duilius, who commemorated his triumph with a carved rostrum column still seen in fragments today. The episode explores the human cost —…