Chapter 9
THE SWORD AND THE SEA:
MUSLIM NAVIES, LEPANTO,
AND MALTA
The Mediterranean is a natural highway for the commerce, peoples, ideas,
and armies that grow on its shores. Thus, it is not surprising that when
the ideas of Islam boiled out of the Arabian Peninsula in the seventh
century, they would take to the sea to spread. But it is surprising indeed
that the Arabian desert dwellers took so quickly to saltwater. For the next
1,000 years the story of the Arabs and then the Turks would be closely
bound to their fleets’ fortunes on the great inland sea.
Until nearly the beginning of the eighteenth century the principal in-
strument of Mediterranean naval warfare was the galley. This oared fight-
ing ship was one of the most stable military technologies ever invented.
The basic design of the galley varied little for the entire course of human
history. Its principal feature is that as an oared fighting ship, it requires a
large crew of oarsmen. The relatively feeble muscle-powered oars limit
the vessel’s size, and the necessity to keep the oars close to the water
means that a galley must remain low in the water. Likewise, the victuals
required by the enormous crew and the vessel’s small size mean a range
limited by the amount of food and water that can be carried for the crew
and little room for other cargo.
But the galley also possesses significant advantages. Galleys do not
suffer if becalmed—quite the opposite. In a sea with nearby coasts and
many gentle beaches, galleys can be hauled ashore at many locations.
Finally, until seafarers developed the techniques of beating and tacking
into the wind, oars were the only really reliable military propulsion. Thus