Legal Definitions - navicularius

A navicularius was a historical term referring to an individual who owned or operated ships, primarily for commercial purposes such as transporting goods or people by sea. This role involved managing maritime trade, overseeing vessels, and organizing voyages.

Here are some examples to illustrate this term:

• Imagine a wealthy Roman citizen in the 2nd century AD who owned several large cargo ships. He used these ships to transport olive oil from Hispania (modern-day Spain) to markets in Ostia, the port of Rome, and then distributed it inland.

  This individual would be considered a navicularius because he owned the vessels and was actively engaged in the commercial shipping business of transporting goods across the sea.

• During a period of military expansion, the Roman state needed to move legions and their equipment across the Adriatic Sea. A private entrepreneur, possessing a fleet of transport ships, secured a contract with the Roman government to provide these crucial logistical services.

  Here, the entrepreneur acts as a navicularius by operating ships for a significant commercial purpose, even if the "customer" is the state rather than a private merchant, demonstrating involvement in the shipping business.

• Consider a merchant in the Byzantine Empire who specialized in the luxury trade. He owned a specific type of vessel designed to carry precious silks and spices from Alexandria to Constantinople, managing the voyages and ensuring the safe delivery of these valuable goods.

  This merchant fits the description of a navicularius because he owned and operated ships as part of his commercial enterprise, facilitating trade between distant ports.