Royal galley (replica) of Don John of Austria commander of the Western fleet at the Battle of Lepanto (1571 CE) in the Maritime Museum, Barcelona
In the history of naval warfare, Lepanto marks the last major engagement in the Western world to be fought entirely or almost entirely between rowing vessels, the galleys and galeasses that were still the direct descendants of the ancient trireme warships. The battle was in essence an "infantry battle on floating platforms".[12] It was the largest naval battle in Western history since classical antiquity, involving more than 400 warships. Over the following decades, the increasing importance of the galleon and the line of battle tactic would displace the galley as the major warship of its era, marking the beginning of the "Age of Sail". Wikipaedia
Royal galley (replica) of Don John of Austria commander of the Western fleet at the Battle of Lepanto (1571 CE) in the Maritime Museum, Barcelona
In the history of naval warfare, Lepanto marks the last major engagement in the Western world to be fought entirely or almost entirely between rowing vessels, the galleys and galeasses that were still the direct descendants of the ancient trireme warships. The battle was in essence an "infantry battle on floating platforms".[12] It was the largest naval battle in Western history since classical antiquity, involving more than 400 warships. Over the following decades, the increasing importance of the galleon and the line of battle tactic would displace the galley as the major warship of its era, marking the beginning of the "Age of Sail". Wikipaedia