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GCSE Classics · key term
The commander of a Roman fleet; in the Imperial period, the office placed a permanent fleet under imperial authority.
Used by OCR
Paper 5
Revise: Legionary Organization and the Legionary FortressEach permanent fleet was commanded by a fleet prefect, or praefectus classis, under imperial authority. These were senior appointments rather than simply promotions to ship captain. Some commands went to imperial freedmen under Claudius; from the Flavian period, fleet prefects were drawn from the equestrian order with military experience.
Distinguish naval command levels: a fleet prefect commanded a fleet, a nauarch commanded a squadron, and a trierarch commanded a ship. A ship's crew could be organised as a century without containing exactly 80 men.
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