The Influence of Sea Power on Ancient History

By Chester G. Starr

Book Overview

In the 19th-century classic, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, Alfred Thayer Mahan argued the paramount importance of naval superiority in peace and war. This work is still considered definitive today, but as Chester Starr, eminent historian of antiquity, points out in this thought-provoking volume, Mahan's theories have led to serious distortions in the way historians interpret the role of naval power in antiquity.
Trade by sea was always important in providing raw materials as well as luxuries, but only rarely was it protected by an established navy. As Starr reveals, two nations that did protect their trade routes--Athens and Carthage--both fell after long duels with land-based forces, Sparta and Rome. And though Rome went on to create the most perfected and widely based naval structure in antiquity, when Rome fell it was due to invasions by land, not by sea.
Starr describes major naval battles in fascinating detail, and he examines technological developments as they help to illuminate the limitations of galleys in warfare. Ranging from the Bronze Age to the fall of the Roman Empire, this innovative study provides an important corrective to Mahan's thesis, both as applied to ancient history and to modern strategic thinking.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195056663
• ISBN13: 9780195056662
• Release Date: December 1988
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 0.6" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

A good book for mariner types

This is a nice, quick read that discusses the importance (and sometimes irrelevance) of thalassocracy in antiquity. In this book, the author detail the ages of Early Greece thru to the fall of the Roman Empire. Starr details for us how Alexander of Macedon conquered the Persian Navy by taking over the Persian ports (and thus giving the Persian fleet nowhere to land). He also writes of the immense importance that Piraeus held for Athens; it was due to the revenues of her seapower that Athens was able to build such wonders as the Parthenon. Starr then demonstrates why this authority over the seas was so very important for Athens during the early stages of the Peloponnesian war.We also learn how seapower was one of the primary ingrediants that made Rome a power to reckon with. It was the turning-of-the tables with Carthage as far as seapower was concerned which was the decisive factor of the First Punic War.Starr continues with the use of seapower by Julius Caesar to both rid the Meditteranean of pirates as well as to further his empire.While one may disagree with some of the opinions of Starr, this book is well worth reading for any maritime scholars or historians of antiquity.