Duumviri navales explained

The Duumviri navales,,^[1] were two naval officers elected by the people of Rome to repair and equip the Roman fleet.^[2] Both Duumviri navales were assigned to one Roman consul, and each controlled 20 ships.^{[3] [4]} It has been suggested that they may have been in charge of the ships of the Socii navales rather than those of the Roman fleet.^[1] The position was established in 311 BC by the Lex Decia.^[5]

History

Only two operations of the fleet of the Duumviri navales are known, that they set up a colony on Corsica in 311BC, and that they were destroyed in battle against the Tarentines in 282BC.^[4] Some historians believe that they ceased to exist in 267 BC, and were replaced by four Quaestores classici,^[6] However, other historians believe that the Quastores classici acted as auxiliaries to the Duumviri navales, rather than replacing them.^[7]

Known Duumviri Navales

• Publius Cornelius
• Gaius Matienus.^{[8] [9]}

See also

• Duumviri

Notes and References

1. Book: Erickson, Andrew . 2012 . China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective. Naval Institute Press . 67 . 9781612511528.
2. Book: Hornblower, Simon . 2012 . The Oxford Classical Dictionary. OUP Oxford . 9780199545568.
3. Book: Thiel, Johannes. 1954 . A History of Roman sea-power before the second Punic war. University of Michigan. North-Holland Publishing Company . 25 .
4. Book: Flower. Harriet I.. The Cambridge companion to the Roman Republic. 2004. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge. 9780521003902. 76. a. registration.
5. Livy 9.30.4
6. Book: Erickson, Andrew. 2012. China Goes to Sea Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective. Naval Institute Press. 67. 9781612511528.
7. Book: Clark, Frederick . 1915 . The Influence of Sea-power on the History of the Roman Republic . George Banta publishing Company. 8 .
8. Livy, xl. 26, 28.
9. Broughton, vol. I, p. 386.