HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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war which took place between Maximian and Severus, the favourite and nomi-nated successor of Galerius ; an event which happened about the year 307.T his having quickly ended in the defeat which was followed by the almostimmediate death of the latter ill-fated prince, only the most cursory notice istaken in blame of the measures adopted by the conquered, on account ofhis having neglected to make that use of a powerful fleet, which providenceand the care of his predecessors had furnished him with. From this time tillthe next civil war, which broke out about five years afterwards betweenMaxentius and Constantine, the naval power of Rome appears again to haveremained in a totally dormant state. The accounts given of it by histo-rians, even on this occasion, go no farther than to warrant an assurance ofits existence, for Zozimus in particular makes no mention whatever of anynaval armament, although he has written a very curious account of the war,and of the forces employed on each side. Authors, however, speak with aconfidence too bold to have the assertion rejected, that the war was carried onas well by sea as by land, and the fleet of Constantine made itself master ofthe islands of Sardinia and Corsica, together with several of the principal portson the Italian shore.

Far different, however, is the account of the naval preparations and equip-ments which took place about 323, during the war which broke out betweenLicinius and the Constantine just mentioned, on whom has subsequently beenbestowed the appellation of Great. The fleet of the former is said to haveconsisted of three hundred and fifty triremes, one hundred and thirty of whichwere furnished by Egypt, and those ports of Africa which are open to theMediterranean, one hundred and ten were equipped as an exacted service by themaritime ports of Bithynia, Ionia, or the adjacent provinces, together with anequal number by the inhabitants of Cyprus and the Phoenicians, who after re-maining in ignominious obscurity, in respect to naval consequence, for so manycenturies, appear, on this occasion, suddenly emerging from it. The fleet ofConstantine was confessedly so inferior, as to render contest an act sf almostunpardonable rashness : it amounted to no more than two hundred small ves-sels, drawn from different parts of Greece, but, though far inferior to thosearmaments with which, while the republics of that country were in the zenithof their ^ajlory, they kept nearly the whole world in awe, was still superior towhat could be drawn from that quarter, which had once been the seat offar greater political terror, Italy. The reason is obvious, and has been, on a

- Yol. I. X different