Sailing ships in the Mediterranean region date back to at least 3000 BCE, when Egyptians used a bipod mast to support a single square sail on a vessel that mainly relied on multiple paddlers. Later the mast became a single pole, and paddles were supplanted with oars. Such vessels plied both the Nile and the Mediterranean coast. The inhabitants of Crete had sailing vessels by 1200 BCE. Between 1000 BCE and 400 CE, the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans developed ships that were powered by square sails, sometimes with oars to supplement their capabilities. Such vessels used a steering oar as a rudder to control direction. Fore-and-aft sails started appearing on sailing vessels in the Mediterranean ca.1200 CE, an influence of rigs introduced in Asia and the Indian Ocean.