The world's first war machines were ships built two millennia before the dawn of the Classical world. Their influence on the course of history cannot be overstated since they allowed war to be carried to distant lands, allowing for the first time the rise of empires unrestricted by maritime boundaries. The same ships enabled early Mediterranean nations to explore the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and circumnavigate Africa, while leaving a significant impact on the culture and military thought of later civilisations.
The famed triremes and penteres of the Classical world were the result of...