Julius Ceasar was famously captured by pirates as a young man and promised to crucify them when he was released. He raised a fleet, hunted them down, and kept his promise. This is said to have raised his stature and wealth in Rome which helped him gain the power he did in life.

How disruptive was piracy to the commerce of Rome that such a feat helped Ceasar's rise to power?

I'm guessing most of our subscribers hear 'piracy' and think of the Caribbean, Blackbeard, etc... How are ancient Mediterranean pirates different from popular perceptions of piracy?

Also, in early modern Atlantic history, pirates are subjects that historians use to talk about masculinity, authority, race, etc... what insights can ancient pirates give us?

Given that ships are capital intensive to build, operate and maintain...how did the pirates keep their ships...ship shape?

How much of a role did piracy and bandits play in the Late Bronze Age collapse? Was it more of a symptom of other events, or did it play a unique role in the disorder of the period?

Hi Doctor Beek, thank you for doing this AMA!

There is a popular story that when Julius Caesar was captured by pirates, he demanded that they double the requested ransom because he was offended at how low it was.

Do we know the reality behind this story? Was ransoming captives a major source of income for Mediterranean pirates?

How were pirates perceived by their conempotary society? Were they all criminals? Was there legends celebrated by the populace like we see today?

How organized was the banditry? Or was it every man for themselves? Was there an honor among thieves? Or is that a myth?

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" have a lot of their basis in being former privateers or bouncing between the two identities and roles as states went to war. Do you find a similar experience with Mediterranean piracy where outlaws would seek out employment and legitimacy through state sanctioning?

This is a little bit outside your area maybe but are there any records of river pirates in the ancient world? I was reading Gangs of New York (yes I know it's not reliable, thanks) and the river pirates in that made me wonder if there had been river pirates in Rome, Babylon, Egypt, etc.

Please please please! Tell me about the island of Cyprus and piracy! Was it common for pirates to hang out there? Was there maybe a pirate friendly harbor? I am asking this specifically because Cyprus was always a part of Empires (Persian, Macedonian, Roman), but it was always away from the political centre, so i guess that there was not a lot of state control there. (I also have a personal interest since i am a Cypriot).

How democratic was the organization on pirate ships in the ancient world? Also, were they organized as fleets with an overall commander?

I assume that the naval battles with pirate ships used the same tactics as any other ship of the period, but if I'm wrong, please let me know.

The Mediterranean is a big place! How the heck did Pompey successfully suppress all of the pirates in it? (/is it accurate to say he did?)

Many of the more famous periods of piracy in such as "The Golden Age of Piracy" usually occurred after periods of extensive naval war, such as the War of Spanish Secession, when states would release their sailors and stop issuing privateer commissions. Is there a similar pattern in the Ancient Mediterranean of upswings of piracy post state conflicts?

Hello Dr. Beek,

Thank you for taking the time to do this! Would you happen to know if commoners in 1st-century Rome were pressganged into the Roman navy? How would they turn to piracy? I'll keep an eye out for your books and read them if I can!

Thanks for doing the AMA!

I think I read in some reference book on the Hellenistic age that during one the later Sacred Wars in Classical Greece, only the most reprobate of mercenaries were willing to enter in service with the Amphictyonic League after they pillaged temples and sacred land to fund their wars. Was this true, or just some exaggeration by some ancient chronicler / historian. If so, was there some informal standards and principles held by the sort of people that became mercenaries?

Is there any evidence of privateer operations in the ancient Mediterranean? That is, were mercenary pirates often paid by governments to attack other countries, either as a distraction during war or for territorial gains?

Also, thank you very much for doing this! I've let people know that you are available, so don't be surprised if you are besieged by a group of writers.

Do you have any interest in fictional depictions of pirates? Thinking particularly of the novels, and some Menandrian comedy. They're very romanticised stories, obviously, but I wonder if there's something to glean from them about travellers'/traders' perceptions of their own passivity, or conversely, a perception of pirates as having a unique kind of agency. Anything there?

Hey Dr. Beek, thanks for doing this AMA!

Polybius records an instance of Illyrian pirates gaining entrance to a town by hiding weapons in water jars and pretending they were simply after food and water. How common was it for sizable coastal towns to be raided by pirates, and what steps did they take to balance not being looted with not angering a large number of armed men?

Dr. Beek, thanks for this AMA! Currently interested in commercial revolution and therefore Venice as one of the global centers in the world around 1300-1500. I know Venice and Genoa had large fleets for commercial ends (spices, silks...). I was told that Venice had an "agreement" like the mafia, so they paid pirates to stay clear from their vessels. I find it hard to believe since everything points at Venice bring very responaible with their money and (compated to Genoa at least) having stability in their leadership by not being corrupt. To what extent were the pirates succesful here?

Is there any link between the decline of the Hellenistic Kingdoms and the rise of Mediterranean piracy in the 1st century BCE? Did the inability of the later Seleucids and Ptolemies to field large navies mean that trained sailors/marines turned to piracy as a profitable outlet for their skills? And did the decline in the power of these states lead to an upsurge in piracy or was it always a serious issue? Did any of the Hellenistic kingdoms ever make an attempt to stamp it out on the scale of Pompey?

Thank you Dr. Beek for taking the time to have this AMA!

In focusing on unconventional/illegitimate forms of violence, to what extent do you think there's any difference between unconventional violence and predatory warfare by stateless peoples? Sustaining armies at others' expense is almost a cliche in premodern warfare, after all, so is the difference between Augustine's pirate and Alexander really just a matter of scale, or is there a more fundamental distinction to make?

Did ancient pirates have a similar concept to the medieval idea of a captured enemy commander giving his "parole"? Where the captured person could have freedom of the house until his ransom came through?

Did pirates operate Triremes? Did they have slaves operate the oars or did they do it themselves?

First of all, Thank you very much for this Ama!

How common was for merchants to have an armed guard? In some merchant ships found of the coast of ancient gela and albenga they found several helmets, were they just "standard" or did mercenaries actually protect the vessels?.

And what type of ships did pirates use, were they all "liburnas" or was there variation depending on the region?

How prevalent were privateers in the ancient world? That is to say, ship captains who sold their services to a state navy to fight in wars?

According to Plutarch “all piracy was driven from the sea in less than three months” as a result of Pompey’s campaign against piracy. For how long did Pompey’s campaign remove the threat of piracy in the Mediterranean? And what impact did Pompey’s strategy have on the tactics of the pirates of later generations?

What were some innovative technologies used or created by ancient pirates? I have heard the Sika was invented by Illyrian pirates raiding Roman merchant vessels.

Thanks for hosting this AMA, I have two questions about the logistics of ancient pirates.

How large were pirate crews, and when it came to assaulting other ships, for how long would pirates sail in search of possible targets, before having to resupply?

Hello Doctor Beek,

One thing I have wondered about Roman expansion, is there any evidence that they would stir up these sorts of "illegitimate" violence in an area they wanted to annex, in order to provide a justification to move in to a region?

What is known about recruitment? and how did loot distribution work?

To what degree does piracy in the ancient Mediterranean overlap with criminal behavior generally? Does one run out of farming options and decide to join a crew of skallywags or does one have a morally flexible view of how to acquire what is needed/wanted and so piracy is a logical next step? Put another way, do you become a thief/ruffian first and then become a pirate or do you have a virtuous life otherwise but facing hunger, time to start looting and pillaging?

Given that having ship repairs would be expensive would pirates try and scare traders into giving them their goods as more modern pirates and leaving them unharmed for no resistance or would they usually board a ship and if ships fought back how would the pirates usually treat the other ship.

Thank you for doing this Dr. Beek! Just two questions if you don't mind:

1. I know your focus is in the mediterranean, but how widespread was the range of piracy in this age? Would pirates raid up in the Black Sea? In the Atlantic coast? Up to Britain maybe?

2. Was there an ancient equivalent of grog/rum? So, an alcoholic beverage that was heavily associated with pirates?

I was wondering what would attract someone to being a pirate of the ancient world? What sort of skills or background might they have that would influence them and whether or not that would be something that they could consider doing the rest of their lives?

To what extent was piracy in the region crowded out by the rise of the Roman Empire and its increased control of the seas? Were they able to compete with state entities?

Dr. Beek, when can we expect to see your second book? The topic you described sounds like it could make for quite a fascinating read.

How common were mercenary companies like Xenophon's? What, or who, would mercenary companies be composed of? Former auxiliary companies? How similar or different would the situation be to medieval northern Italy, for example?

Was there anything near a pirate code? Or even any form of maritime law?

Hi,

i think time and media has dulled the edges on how we perceive pirates. But a few years ago, the foreigners joining ISIS (and their videos/terror) was about as bad as anything could get.

To me there seems to be a lot of similarities between pirates and terrorists. Both on how they live and also how they recruit.

Any thoughts on this?

I have heard a most interesting claim that the rise of piracy, largely from emergent Protestant powers, like England and later Holland, was premised on attempting to plunder for wealth rather than toil for it, specifically in the New World. The privateers were often private sailors and captains, in the service of either themselves or their respective European crowns but not flying the official colors of their crowns, who preyed on slow merchant ships or even attacked forts and nascent ports as they began to appear. The religious wars in Europe also impacted the rise of piracy and wealth plundering in the New World. Many Protestants, especially in Catholic countries, as they were expelled from their homes, took to the high seas for their revenge or private comfort.

In addition, many Spanish ships containing manufactured goods were, initially, intended as distractions for pirates and privateers instead of the silver and gold ships. Of course, those goods were not in vain and surely planned to be put to use, though it would not be heartening to be a sailor or soldier on these ships, knowing their expendable status.

Finally, the works of the Renaissance(art and buildings) were not only supported by the great work of European engineers, artists, and architects, which were second-to-none in the world in the late 1400s and early 1500s. And with the Roman Church as the great patron and sponsor of the arts, there was a certain degree of resources allotted to European artists. It was also fueled by wheels of commerce, at least in the sixteenth century, was more predicated on the sails and sabers of commerce. Many of the works of art, architecture, and scientific advances made in Europe, were, in part, or in full, progressed by New World wealth. The logistics of global trade, the rise of European industry and manufactures, and the “European ascendency” were all given fuel by the resources of the New World.

Note: The early Renaissance may have been fueled by intra-Mediterranean and European-Near East trade, but the late Renaissance through the mid-sixteenth century was fueled by New World riches.

Sources: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/europa-in-the-age-of-the-fourth-race-of-kings.1039601/page-9#post-24377861

I know, go figure, but it's worth mentioning on this post.

What was the recruitment infrastructure like? Some dude comes to town and looks for the guys idling around with nothing to do? Or was it more formalized?

If you survived, what kind of retirement could you look forward to?

Did piracy ever significantly impact the Minoans and Therans of the Bronze Age Mediterranean? As someone who thoroughly enjoys learning about these civilisations I'd love to be able learn anything additional about them in any regard to piracy.

Since you also mentioned mercenaries i would like to ask how were greek mercenaries fighting for persia viewed, when they returned home? For example during Xenophon's time and how were they viewed during Alexander's time.

Hi Professor,

In the early modern Carribean, rum was a commodity commonly associated with piracy, presumably because of its status as an easily transportable agricultural product from the cash crop islands of the Caribbean, and maybe its value as a supplies on a sailing ship.

Was there a rum analog in the ancient Mediterranean? Distilled potable Spirits didn't exist yet, but were there raids on, say, the vineyards of the Levant and the Balearic islands, or the grain and fruit regions of southern France? Were these pirates drinking some other alcoholic beverage to improve or sanitize their water and raise morale?

How illegal was piracy and banditry? Could they just go back to their normal lives after making enough money and if not who would they send to hunt them after they settled down, would it be up to governments or private individuals to look for justice.

Are you familiar with the Phoenecian sea peoples that invaded Greece pre-1000 bc? Would these be considered pirates? And did most of these people eventually settle down and integrate with the society?

Did pirates really speak in the stereotypical pirate slang, or anything similar to it?

Eg. "Yarr" "Aye" "Ahoy"

Were pirate 'laws' from back then similar too the ones around the 17th-early 18th century? And were ancient pirates at sea for nearly as long as pirates from the 17th-early 18th century?

EDIT: I just realized I’m using my old account

You've talked a bit here about how mercenary work functioned and how it was used. Did mercenaries(or bandits and pirates hired as such) ever find careers in more official militaries? If so, how common would that be?

And of course, thanks so much for doing this!

Probably too late, but what about Indian Ocean piracy during the Roman and Hellenistic Piracy. Tomber (2008) alludes to it but doesn’t say much about it, was it much of an issue in comparison to what was seen in the Mediterranean? Did it work differently?

Do you know of any notable pirates, bandits or mercenaries who used their wealth and influence obtained by their work during this time period to seize and independently rule territory themselves for a significant amount of time?