Ancient Mediterranean piracy Piracy in the ancient Mediterranean has a long documented history , from the Late Bronze Age . The classical historian Janice Gabbert proclaimed “ The eastern Mediterranean has been plagued by piracy since the first dawn of history . ” Though its prehistory is ambiguously differentiated from trade , this period in history marked the earliest documented wave of piracy . Origins . The roots of the word “ piracy ” come from the ancient Greek πειράομαι , or " peiráomai " , meaning “ attempt ; ” i . e . an attempt to rob for personal gain . This morphed into πειρατής , or " peiratēs " , meaning “ brigand , ” and from that to the Latin " pirata " , where we get the modern English word " pirate " . A number of geographic and economic characteristics of the classical world produced an environment practically necessitating piracy . First of all , “ The coasts of the Mediterranean are particularly favourable to the development of piracy . ” The barren , rocky shoreline was not suitable for large scale agriculture and could not support a large population . Therefore , most villages were small and of humble means . Being coastal villages , the primary method of support came from fishing , so most of the able - bodied men had boats , seafaring skills , and navigational knowledge . When fishing wasn ’ t enough , many men turned to highway robbery and raids of nearby territories to support themselves . However , land trade routes were few and far between , given mountainous obstacles and few rivers . Therefore , most nations deemed “ the principal lines of communication should be by sea , and the bulk of commerce should be carried by the same routes . ” In the early days of maritime navigation , most trade vessels hugged the coasts . “ Traffic was restricted to fixed lanes in a way impossible on the open ocean . ” The " naukleroi " , or ship - owning merchantmen , moved slowly along established trade routes with their heavy burdens weighing them down . Imagine a fisherman - raider seeing treasure - laden trade ships passing the shores he knows like no one else , day after day . With the motivation and the means to do so , it wasn ’ t hard for coastal natives to apply themselves to sea - robbery . They brought a thief ’ s mindset to the sea and simply changing their method of thievery . “ The pirate was the robber of the sea highways : and the highways of the Mediterranean were well - defined and well - traveled . ” Early period . The rocky coast that had been unsuitable for agriculture was perfectly suited to piracy , outfitted with hidden inlets that allowed quick access points to trade routes . “ Pirate enclaves grew up along rocky shores that provided shelter and kept them hidden from view until it was too late for their victims to escape . ” These early maritime raiders were at the same time the first true pirates , attacking anyone of any nationality , owing loyalty to no one , but also quite unique . Because of their roots in land raiding , they were known not only to attack ships and coastal towns but also to venture further inland . This caused even the earliest large cities to relocate anywhere from 2 to 10 miles away from shore . Pirates tended not to go any farther inland due to difficulties escaping . Speed was one of the most important elements of piracy . This relocation gave a relatively effective cushion of safety to major cities such as Athens , Tiryns , Mycenae and others . It protected them from the sea ’ s dangers , although it also cut them off from it benefits . The sea was still the primary , and practically only , area of major commerce . This caused twin cities to be built , one inland city paired with a coastal port , such as Rome and Ostia , Athens and Piraeus , etc . To protect their connection they built “ ‘ long walls ’ like those that enclosed the thoroughfare between Athens and Piraeus . ” The maritime historian Henry Ormerod said , “ If we remember that piracy was , for centuries , a normal feature of Mediterranean life , it will be realized how great has been the influence which it exercised on the life of the ancient world . ” Despite these efforts , they couldn ’ t completely remove contact between the pirates and the ports . Since they couldn ’ t effectively disrupt the pirates “ business , ” it only continued to grow . Men often joined the very pirate ships that attacked their own towns . Even the sailors on merchant ships attacked by pirates turned to piracy themselves when they were out of work . Piracy offered a free and lucrative career , a chance for those who were interested to try to change their lives and better their livelihood a hundredfold in a very short time . For example , the area around Crete , famous for its slave markets , was known as “ the Golden Sea ” because of how profitable the slave trade was . Unsurprisingly , Crete was also notable for its pirates . In point of fact , if a city had a successful slave market it was most likely a pirate port . Notorious pirate havens like Cilicia and Delos had thriving slave markets . “ According to Strabo , as many as ten thousand slaves were sold in Delos in just one day . ” Being kidnapped by pirates and sold into slavery was so common that it was a favorite theme of ancient Greek dramatists . Sea Peoples . As piracy expanded , pirates began to organize differently from common brigands , who were bands of mixed nationalities loyal to no one but themselves . There is evidence that the Pirate Articles , which structured the company democratically , “ derived from ancient seafaring traditions , ” and most likely originated sometime during this period . Over time , this diverse group came to be known collectively as the “ Sea Peoples . ” They were always referred to in the plural , not as just the “ Sea People , ” because they were made up of diverse sets of people . They are particularly well known for their clashes with the Egyptians , who called them the “ Nine Bows . ” It is believed that many were Egyptian subordinates , particularly escaped Hebrews , who are thought to be the group referred to in ancient sources as the Habiru . Other possible members include Tjeker people out of Crete , who left to settle Anatolia , the seat of the Hittite Empire , which is known to have clashed with the Egyptians . “ The Tjeker of the Egyptian sources … are mentioned among the Sea Peoples attacking Egypt in the fifth and eighth year of Ramesses III ( = 1179 and 1176 BC ) . ” With Crete ’ s reputation of harboring pirates , it is not too surprising to find much evidence of their involvement with the Sea Peoples . Two of the earliest groups to be mentioned in connection with the Sea Peoples are the Lukka and the Sherden . They are mentioned in the Amarna letters , a series of 362 clay correspondence tablets from the king of Babylon to Pharaoh Amenhotep or his son Akhenaton , about the fact that these sea raiders were beginning not just to plunder ships but capture towns . One of “ the earliest recorded incident [ s ] – inscribed on a clay tablet while Akhenaton , an Egyptian pharaoh , reigned depicts pirates attacking a ship in 1350 BCE . ” Nearly a century later , Ramesses II recorded on the Tanis Stele , “ the unruly Sherden whom no one had ever known how to combat , they came boldly sailing in their warships from the midst of the sea , none being able to withstand them . ” A lot of early information about the spread of piracy comes from Egyptian sources first because they were so well documented on non - perishable materials like sandstone temples . Also , Egypt ’ s dominance as a sea power at this time made them an obvious target . By far the majority of knowledge about the Sea Peoples comes from Ramesses III , who reigned for the large part of the early 12th century BC . Many of his campaigns are recorded on the walls of his mortuary temple , the Medinet Habu , as well as on numerous obelisks and stelae , large stone monuments chronicling battles . It was there he recorded the accounts of attacks by the Tjeker , the Peleset ( Philistines ) , and even the Hittites . To describe the scale of the destruction wrought by Sea Peoples : “ No land could stand before their arms , from Hatti , Kode , Carchemish , Arzawa , Alashiya on being cut off . ” It is theorized that the simultaneous destruction of the Hittite , Mycenaean and Mitanni kingdoms all around 1175 BC were a result , at least in part , of repeated Sea People attacks . One inscription from 1190 BC describes a great victory over the Nine Bows , from whom he took hostages . However , there is evidence that he instead asked for their military advice , and later hired them as mercenaries . In fact , they were so widely employed as extra - legal forces that “ there seemed to be no real distinction made between a pirate and a mercenary . ” Interestingly , despite the closeness between these two unsavory professions , they were not synonymous with “ criminal . ” Texts like the Medinet Habu and stelae , which are basically billboards of military accomplishments , are quick to denounce the Sea People when they are on opposing side , but when used against one ’ s enemies , they are a valuable resource . The original Greek word for pirate was not even incorporated into the language until 140 BC . Before then , the various cultural labels ( like Egypt ’ s “ Nine Bows ” ) that all basically referred to the Sea Peoples were applied to such persons by their victims and enemies , not titles they assumed themselves . More often than not , “ pirate ” simply implied “ other ; ” an outsider , but not necessarily a lawbreaker . Many ancient texts are actually quite sympathetic to piracy , and even condone it . “ In ancient Greece piracy seems to have been widespread and widely regarded as an entirely honourable way of making a living . ” Numerous references are made to its perfectly normal occurrence in Homer ’ s Iliad and Odyssey , thought to have been written sometime in the 6th or 7th century . Odysseus in fact recounts an incident he himself took part in : We boldly landed on the hostile place , And sack ’ d the city , and destroy ’ d the race , Their wives made captive , their possessions shared , And every soldier found a like reward . After taking their fill in all they desired , they quickly boarded their ships again and sailed away without any twinge of compunction , just like typical seafaring lowlifes . Over a century later , the Greek historian Thucydides ( 460 - 395 BC ) tells of great men like Odysseus , settling upon this as a profession in his History of the Peloponnesian War : For in early times the Hellenes and the barbarians of the coast and islands , as communication by sea became more common , were tempted to turn pirate … indeed , this came to be the main source of their livelihood , no disgrace being yet attached to such an achievement , but even some glory . Plutarch ( 46 – 120 AD ) writes that piracy had become not just an occupation of poor desperate men , forced into it by necessity , but rather a glorious expedition taken on by those already of high status , seeking further advancement : “ And presently men whose wealth gave them power , and whose lineage was illustrious , and those who laid claim to superior intelligence , began to embark on piratical [ peiratike ] craft and share their enterprises , feeling that the occupation brought them a certain reputation and distinction . Apparently , it was also during this time that the idea of a seagoing mercenary morphed into that of a privateer . Almost another two centuries after Thucydides , this practice is referred to in Polybius ’ Histories , which covers the period of 220 - 146 BC . His description of Teuta , Queen of the Illyrians , however , sounds like it could from a 1500s text about Queen Elizabeth : “ Her first measure was to grant letters of marque to privateers , authorising them to plunder all whom they fell in with . ” The Sea Peoples were just valuable as assets too be bothered with as detriments . A few rulers did a better job than Ramesses III at trying to rid their kingdoms of the threat of piracy . King Minos of Crete was the first to raise a navy specifically for the purpose of battling piracy . Sources suggest “ it is likely he cleared the sea of piracy as far as he was able , to improve his revenues . ” He effectively curbed piracy in his area until his fleet was destroyed by a tsunami around 1400 BC , and piratical activities resumed . Alexander the Great also had a run - in with pirates during his campaign to clear his waters of danger . In his " De Civitate Dei " , St . Augustine recounts an exchange between Alexander and a captured pirate : For when that king had asked the man what he meant by keeping hostile possession of the sea , he answered with bold pride , " What thou meanest by seizing the whole earth ; but because I do it with a petty ship , I am called a robber , whilst thou who dost it with a great fleet art styled emperor . " Piracy in the Hellenistic period . Unlike Ramesses ’ numerous but ineffectual campaigns and Minos ’ brief success , piracy did not resurge again in the Mediterranean until after Alexander the Great ’ s death in 323 BC . Though it followed quick on the heels of the anarchy created by his failure to name an heir , he set the precedent for a real effort to curb piracy . He also contributed to the foundations for Rome ’ s future empire , showing that such a thing as “ seizing the whole earth ” could be achieved . The phenomenon spread like the plague , but was particularly endemic in certain areas , notably Cilicia ( southeastern Turkey ) and Illyria ( western Balkans ) There is evidence that “ the coastal Illyrian tribes had created their own type of vessel , the " lembus " , in which to carry out their depredations . ” It was a small , fast ship built to serve the purpose of zipping out from hidden inlets to attack the heavier vessels and then disappearing just as quickly . “ So powerful did the Illyrians become that by 230 BC no honest traders wished to participate in maritime commerce . ” But Rome paid little attention to what it initially considered a rag - tag band of amateur brigands harassing a few merchants , partly because the empire ’ s strength lay in its land - bound forces . However , when Illyrian forces attacked a convoy of ships with grain intended for the military , the Senate decided to send two envoys to Queen Teuta , who promptly had one killed . Outraged , “ Consul Gnaeus Fulvius sailed for Illyria with two hundred ships , while Consul Aulus Postumius and 20 , 000 soldiers marched overland . ” By 228 BC , Teuta had surrendered , and the Romans had decimated the forces of one of the most notorious pirate havens in the Mediterranean . Piracy in the Roman period . By this point , pirates were looked on with fear , distrust and hatred . When Rome started to fight them seriously , Pirates were declared " communes hostes gentium " , or enemies of all mankind . With ports becoming less friendly , pirates became more brazen , attacking anyone and everyone to protect themselves . Slave markets dwindled , with their primary suppliers now outlawed . Instead of selling their captives into slavery , pirates discovered that it was not only easier but more profitable to ransom . They came to learn that “ the higher the status of the person kidnapped and the more prominent his or her family , the higher the price for their safe return . ” This may have been what Cilician pirates were thinking when in 78 BC they attacked a Roman galley bound for Rhodes , one of Rome ’ s allies and famous for upholding a zero tolerance policy towards pirates . On board was a young 25 - year - old Roman named Julius Caesar , who apparently “ sat and read while his fellow passengers cowered before the sea robbers . ” When the Pirate Captain named the ransom of 20 talent s , varying sources say Caesar was either offended or laughed at them ( or both ) for underestimating his value and voluntarily offered 50 talents . While they waited for the ransom to arrive on the island of Pharmacusa , Caesar maintained a superior but good - natured air ; his captors thought he was joking when he told them how he was going to punish them when he was released . When the sum was delivered , Caesar immediately gathered four ships of 500 legionnaires and returned to where the Cilician fleet was still docked at Pharmacusa , making it easy for Caesar to capture more than 350 of the pirates and reclaim the ransom . He crucified every one of captors , 30 in all . He was made Tribune on his return to Rome . This was not the end of the Cilicians , however . In 67 BC , Rome ’ s port of Ostia was set on fire and two prominent Roman senators were kidnapped . Up until this point , Rome secretly tolerated piracy , particularly the Cilicians , because of its demand for slaves . But the ransoming had finally gone too far . “ Their seizures of persons in high command , and their ransoming of captured cities , were a disgrace to the Roman supremacy . ” Aulus Gabinius , a tribune and lieutenant of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus , proposed what amounted to an anti - piracy law to the Senate . The " Lex Gabinia " ( or Gabinian Law ) granted the 38 - year - old Pompeius , the best soldier in Rome and better known as Pompey the Great , with unprecedented authority , causing a riot in the Senate . When the bill was passed ( illegally ) , Pompey was given unlimited access to the Roman treasury , 500 ships , 120 , 000 infantry , 5 , 000 cavalry . He alone held total control of the Mediterranean from sea to 50 miles / 75 kilometers inland . He subdivided the fleet into 13 squadrons and rooted the last remaining pirate strongholds in the Mediterranean including Cilicia , Crete , Illyria , and Delos . “ Historical documents record that Pompeius captured at least 400 vessels while destroying more than 1 , 000 others . ” He accomplished this in three months . Pompey was not only a skilled soldier ; he was also a student of history . Instead of trying to wipe out every last pirate , he tried to change their way of life . Ten thousand pirates died in battle , but surrender was met with not only pardon but reward , and twice that number surrendered . “ He [ was ] determined to translate these pirates from sea to land , and give them a taste of an honest and innocent course of life , by living in towns , and tilling the ground . ” So the descendants of the first Mediterranean pirates were back to where their ancestors started . Out of all the attempts to curb piracy , this was the most successful . The resulting Pax Romana enabled the Mediterranean to experience several centuries of relative safety , but piracy is cyclical in nature ; it is never fully extinguished , merely postponed . The fall of the Roman Empire sometime around the 5th century AD marked a renewal of piratical activities in the Mediterranean , which continued to grow through the Middle Ages .