# Chelandion

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Byzantine galley warship

***Chelandion*** ([Greek](/source/Greek_language): χελάνδιον) was a [Byzantine](/source/Byzantine_Empire) [galley](/source/Galley) warship, a variant of the *[dromōn](/source/Dromon)* that also functioned as a [cargo transport](/source/Cargo_transport).

The term *chelandion* is derived from the [Greek](/source/Greek_language) word *kelēs*, "[courser](/source/Courser_(horse))", and first appeared during the early 8th century.[1] In the medieval [Latin](/source/Latin) used in [Western Europe](/source/Western_Europe), it was rendered *chelandium* or *scelandrium* (and thence the 12th-century *sandanum* transport), while the [Arabs](/source/Arabs) rendered the name as *shalandī* (plural *shalandiyyāt*) and used it for a probably similar type of vessels in their own navies.[2]

In common with the general characteristics of the *dromōn* type, the *chelandion* was a [bireme](/source/Bireme) galley, i.e. with two rows of [oars](/source/Oars), which provided its main means of propulsion, although it also featured one or two [lateen](/source/Lateen) [sails](/source/Sail), and was steered by two [quarter rudders](/source/Rudder) at the [stern](/source/Stern). It could also be equipped with [siphons](/source/Siphon) for projecting the feared [Greek fire](/source/Greek_fire), the [Byzantine navy](/source/Byzantine_navy)'s secret incendiary weapon.

The term *chelandion* is usually used interchangeably with *dromōn* in medieval literary sources, leading to much confusion as to the exact nature of the ship and its differences with the *dromōn* proper. It appears, however, that the type originated as a [horse-transport](/source/Horse_transports_in_the_Middle_Ages) (*hippagōgon*). This in turn implies some differences in construction from the standard *dromōn*: at the very least, the presence of a special compartment running the length of the vessel amidships to accommodate a row of [horses](/source/Horse) would increase its [beam](/source/Beam_(nautical)) and [hold](/source/Hold_(ship)) depth.[3]

In the 10th century, *chelandia* formed the bulk of the [Byzantine navy](/source/Byzantine_navy), serving in two types: the *chelandion ousiakon* (χελάνδιον οὑσιακόν) or simply *ousiakon* or *ousiakos*, so named because it was manned by an *ousia* of 108 men, and the *chelandion pamphylon* (Greek: χελάνδιον πάμφυλον), or simply *pamphylon* or *pamphylos*, crewed with up to 120–160 men, its name either implying an origin in the region of [Pamphylia](/source/Pamphylia) as a transport ship or its crewing with "picked crews" (from πᾶν + φῦλον, "all tribes").[4]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Pryor & Jeffreys 2006](#CITEREFPryorJeffreys2006), pp. 166–169.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Pryor & Jeffreys 2006](#CITEREFPryorJeffreys2006), pp. xlvi–xlvii, 168–169, 190.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Pryor & Jeffreys 2006](#CITEREFPryorJeffreys2006), pp. 166–169, 188–192, 322–325, 449.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Pryor & Jeffreys 2006](#CITEREFPryorJeffreys2006), pp. 189–192, 372.

## Sources

- Pryor, John H.; Jeffreys, Elizabeth M. (2006). [*The Age of the ΔΡΟΜΩΝ: The Byzantine Navy ca. 500–1204*](https://books.google.com/books?id=OJPfAAAAMAAJ). Leiden, The Netherlands and Boston, Massachusetts: Brill Academic Publishers. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-90-04-15197-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-90-04-15197-0).

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