The Gladiators Priscus and Verus: Equal they Fought, Equal they Yielded.To do so he had a basin dug near the river Tiber that was wide enough and deep enough to hold two fleets of biremes, triremes, and quinqueremes (Roman battleships).
He was looking to celebrate and show the people of Rome just how powerful he was. He had just returned fresh from battle, having crushed the followers of his ally- turned-rival, Pompey the Great. The first naumachia, or gladiator naval battle, was held in 46 BC by Julius Caesar.Ĭaesar was on a high. Today, re-enacting battles is a popular pastime for many military history buffs. The logistical challenges of staging these grand spectacles were immense, but the allure of the spectacle was too great to resist. But naumachia wasn’t just about violence - it was also a display of the technological prowess of the Roman Empire, with impressive waterworks and grandstands that could accommodate up to 30,000 people. Gladiators and prisoners of war were forced to fight to the death aboard replica warships, providing a bloodthirsty spectacle for the thousands of spectators in attendance. For centuries naval gladiator battles, known as naumachia, enthralled crowds with their realistic recreations of famous sea battles, complete with all the chaos, bravery, and brutality of the original conflicts.
