Seapower States by Andrew Lambert

Author:Andrew Lambert
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Publisher: Yale University Press

Rhodes

While Athens and Carthage evolved from sea states into seapower great powers, provoking the hostility of continental rivals, other sea states avoided their fate by recognising their weakness and reining in such ambitions. These sea states retained the core elements of the seapower model, relying on commerce and fleets, and relatively inclusive oligarchic assemblies dominated by the commercial elite, and they avoided conflict with great land powers. They adopted a realpolitik of restraint, concession and coalition-building. Their armed forces were dominated by cruisers, to protect trade, rather than battlefleets.

Rhodes was one of many ancient sea states, small, weak and self-aware trading cities. The largest of the Dodecanese islands, located off the coast of Asia Minor, Rhodes was ideally placed to control the trade routes between Egypt and Phoenicia to the south and the Dardanelles and the Aegean to the north. The Greek-speaking islanders had been Persian tributaries, fighting for Xerxes at Salamis, until liberated by Athens. Local oligarchs switched to Sparta, before the Peloponnesian Wars saw the island return to Persian rule. In 409–408 BC the structure of the island changed and the three small trading ports pooled their resources, shifting economic and political power to a new fortified port city at the northern end of Rhodes.1 After some internal dissension this created a far stronger Rhodian maritime identity. Sea state culture generated the economic resources to create some of the most impressive fortifications in the Greek world, surrounding state-of-the-art port facilities. The republican constitution, widely considered among the best in the ancient world, avoided the excesses of oligarchy and populism, providing the stability needed to develop maritime trade. Social harmony was enhanced by sharing the benefits of trade, the needy were fed by the state, and wealthy citizens undertook ambitious liturgies. Similarities with contemporary Athens were more than coincidental. Rhodes was amongst the most cosmopolitan cities of the age, with striking public and private buildings, and impressive art collections.

The navy secured the island and the carrying trade that paid for imported grain and shipbuilding timber, exploiting seafaring skills and a central location between the Levant and the Aegean. Rhodes shaped regional commerce, and controlled the critical Egyptian grain trade. The naval dockyards were guarded, while warships were built and manned by Rhodians. The majority of male citizens had naval experience, and many were engaged in trade. While eminent Rhodians boasted that they had served as common sailors, military service was ignored. The army, deployed in continental possessions, was largely mercenary. Few Rhodians were prepared to abandon trade for soldiering, unless their city was besieged. The fleet admiral, or nauarch, combined naval command with high political office and the authority to conclude treaties. The navy focused on the suppression of piracy, and Rhodian maritime law was widely followed.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC his empire was divided into three contending continental empires: Macedon, Seleucia and Egypt. This enabled a small, rich insular polity to establish independence. The Macedonian garrison was quietly expelled, ending tribute payments and focusing on trade.

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