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13-515: Ravenna had been used for ship construction and as a naval port at least since the Roman civil wars , but the permanent classis Ravennas was established by Caesar Augustus in 27 BC . It was commanded by a praefectus classis , drawn from the highest ranks of the equestrian class , those with a net worth more than 200,000 sesterces , and its mission was to control the Adriatic Sea and perhaps

26-520: A canal, the Fossa Augusta , which united the port with the lagoons of the interior, as well as with the river Po to the north. Naval arsenals and docks stretched along the Fossa , in a complex that reached 22 km (14 mi) in length. According to a passage by Cassius Dio , related by Jordanes , the harbour could accommodate 250 ships. The classis Ravennas recruited its crews mostly from

39-607: A regular rising of usurpers. The overthrow of the last Western Roman emperor in AD 476 by the Germanic king Odoacer marked the final civil war or revolt, as well as the end of the Western Roman Empire . Because the study of Roman civil war has been deeply influenced by historic Roman views on civil war, not all entries on this list may be considered civil wars by modern historians. Implicit in most Roman power struggles

52-599: The Crisis of the Roman Republic (134–44 BC), a period of considerable political instability began. The cause of the late Roman Republican civil wars is contested, as is whether the wars were the cause of, or caused by, the end of the Roman Republic. Regardless, a nearly constant stream of civil wars marked the end of the Roman Republic and heralded the rise of the Roman Empire in 27 BC. The first century of Empire

65-741: The fall of the Western Roman Empire (753 BC – AD 476). For the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire after the division of the Empire in West and East, see List of Byzantine revolts and civil wars (AD 330–1453). For external conflicts, see List of Roman external wars and battles . From the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC until the 1st century BC, there were a sparse number of civil wars. But with

78-721: The East for the next few decades, where the emergence of the Persian Sassanid Empire posed a new threat that required frequent reinforcements to be ferried. In 324 the fleet's ships participated in the campaign of Constantine the Great against Licinius and his decisive naval victory in the Battle of the Hellespont . Afterwards, the bulk of the ships were moved to Constantinople , where emperor Constantine had moved

91-702: The East, especially from Egypt . Since Rome did not face any naval threat in the Mediterranean, the bulk of the fleet's crews was idle. Some of the sailors were based in Rome itself, initially housed in the barracks of the Praetorian Guard, but later given their own barracks, the Castra Ravennatium across the Tiber . There they were used to stage mock naval battles ( naumachiae ), and operated

104-557: The ascendancy of Constantine I , then, after his death, the progressive Christianization of the empire, and wars with Sassanid Persia and Germanic tribes, punctuated frequently with more civil wars. List of Roman external wars and battles The following is a list of Roman external wars and battles fought by the ancient Roman Kingdom , Roman Republic and Roman Empire against external enemies, organized by date. For internal civil wars, revolts and rebellions, see List of Roman civil wars and revolts . The 5th century involves

117-589: The capital of the Roman Empire. The following list is based on Werner Eck and Hans Lieb, "Ein Diplom für die Classis Ravennas vom 22. November 206" , Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik , 96 (1993), pp. 85f The following ship names and types of the classis Ravennas have survived: Roman civil wars This list of Roman civil wars and revolts includes civil wars and organized civil disorder , revolts, and rebellions in ancient Rome ( Roman Kingdom , Roman Republic , and Roman Empire ) until

130-566: The eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea . As the honorific praetoria , awarded by Vespasian for its support during the civil war of AD 69, suggests, together with the classis Misenensis , it formed the naval counterpart of the Praetorian Guard , a permanent naval force at the emperor's direct disposal. Its home port of Classis (modern Classe), which was named after the fleet, was built under Augustus, and included

143-472: The mechanism that deployed the canvas canopy of the Colosseum . In 70, Emperor Vespasian also levied the legio II Adiutrix from the marines of classis Ravennas . In the civil war of 192-193 , the fleet supported Septimius Severus , and, together with the classes Misenensis , it participated in the campaign against Pescennius Niger , transporting his legions to the East. The fleet remained active in

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156-512: Was a propaganda battle, which impacted how the struggle would be chronicled and referred to. For example, historians Lange & Vervaet suggest that the crisis after Caesar's assassination might be better understood as an internal emergency. Conversely, some revolts on this list may be properly considered to be civil wars, but were not referred to as such by Roman chroniclers. As Lange & Vervaet note, "civil war often refuses to speak its name." The 4th century begins with civil war resulting in

169-487: Was marked by widespread revolt through territory Rome had captured in the preceding centuries. The second century CE was relatively peaceful, with a limited number of revolts. Political instability returned to the Empire with the Crisis of the Third Century (235–284 AD), which saw at least 26 civil wars in just 50 years as usurpers sought the imperial throne. The fourth and fifth centuries AD were characterized by

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