What burning-liquid weapon was used by the Byzantine Greeks to great effect as it could continue burning even on water?
"Greek fire Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire that was first developed . The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect, as it could continue burning while floating on water. It provided a technological advantage and was responsible for many key Byzantine military victories, most notably the salvation of Constantinople from two Arab sieges, thus securing the Empire's survival. The impression made by Greek fire on the western European Crusaders was such that the name was applied to any sort of incendiary weapon, including those used by Arabs, the Chinese,"
"Similar tactics are believed to have been employed by the Arab fleets they frequently fought from the 7th century onwards. The Byzantines were the first to employ Greek fire, a highly effective incendiary liquid, as a naval weapon. It could be fired through a metal tube, or ""siphon"" mounted in the bows, similar to a modern flame thrower. The properties of Greek fire were close to that of napalm and was a key to several major Byzantine victories. By 835, the weapon had spread to the Arabs, who equipped ""harraqas"", ""fireships"", with it. Once the fleets were close enough, exchanges"
"used by the Byzantines, so called because the Europeans viewed the Byzantines as Greeks. The Byzantines themselves used various descriptive names for it, but the most common was ""liquid fire"" (). Although the use of incendiary chemicals by the Byzantines has been attested to since the early 6th century, the actual substance known as Greek fire is believed to have been created in 673 and is attributed to an engineer from Syria, named Kallinikos. The most common method of deployment was to emit the formula through a large bronze tube (""siphōn"") onto enemy ships. Alternatively, it could be launched in"
"fought from the 7th century onwards. The Byzantines were the first to employ Greek fire, a highly effective incendiary liquid, as a naval weapon. It could be fired through a metal tube, or ""siphon"" mounted in the bows, similar to a modern flame thrower. The properties of Greek fire were close to that of napalm and was a key to several major Byzantine victories. By 835, the weapon had spread to the Arabs, who equipped ""harraqas"", ""fireships"", with it. The initial stages in naval battles was an exchanges of missiles, ranging from combustible projectiles to arrows, caltrops and javelins. The"
"and the Mongols. However, these were different mixtures and not the same formula as the Byzantine Greek fire, which was a closely guarded state secret. Byzantines also used pressurized nozzles or ""siphōns"" to project the liquid onto the enemy, in a manner resembling a modern flamethrower. Although usage of the term ""Greek fire"" has been general in English and most other languages since the Crusades, original Byzantine sources called the substance a variety of names, such as ""sea fire"" (Medieval Greek: πῦρ θαλάσσιον ""pŷr thalássion""), ""Roman fire"" ( ""pŷr rhōmaïkón""), ""war fire"" ( ""polemikòn pŷr""), ""liquid fire"" ( ""hygròn pŷr""),"
"this day unknown. In its effect, the Greek fire must have been rather similar to napalm. Contemporary sources make clear that it could not be extinguished by water, but rather floated and burned on top of it; sand could extinguish it by depriving it of oxygen, and several authors also mention strong vinegar and old urine as being able to extinguish it, presumably by some sort of chemical reaction. Consequently, felt or hides soaked in vinegar were used to provide protection against it. Despite the somewhat exaggerated accounts of Byzantine writers, it was by no means a ""wonder weapon"", and"
"concoction was guaranteed to ""burn under water"" and to be ""beautiful."" The chief method of deployment of Greek fire, which sets it apart from similar substances, was its projection through a tube (""siphōn""), for use aboard ships or in sieges. Portable projectors (""cheirosiphōnes"", χειροσίφωνες) were also invented, reputedly by Emperor Leo VI. The Byzantine military manuals also mention that jars (""chytrai"" or ""tzykalia"") filled with Greek fire and caltrops wrapped with tow and soaked in the substance were thrown by catapults, while pivoting cranes (""gerania"") were employed to pour it upon enemy ships. The ""cheirosiphōnes"" especially were prescribed for use"
"was certainly known and used by the Byzantines and the Arabs in warfare, the theory is refuted by literary and empirical evidence. A quicklime-based substance would have to come in contact with water to ignite, while Emperor Leo's ""Tactica"" indicate that Greek fire was often poured directly on the decks of enemy ships, although admittedly, decks were kept wet due to lack of sealants. Likewise, Leo describes the use of grenades, which further reinforces the view that contact with water was not necessary for the substance's ignition. Furthermore, C. Zenghelis pointed out that, based on experiments, the actual result of"
"the most deadly weapon available until the advent of fully rigged ships with gunpowder artillery. The Byzantines made infrequent use of the weapon, chiefly in sieges, although its use is recorded in some sea battles. Cannons were introduced in the latter half of the 14th century, but they were rarely used by the Byzantines, who only had a few artillery pieces for the defence of the land walls of Constantinople. Unlike the Venetians and Genoese, there is no indication that the Byzantines ever mounted any on ships. ""Greek fire"" was the name given by Western Europeans to the flammable concoction"
"bases along the coasts of Asia Minor, and then proceeded to install a loose blockade around Constantinople. They used the peninsula of Cyzicus near the city as a base to spend the winter, and returned every spring to launch attacks against the city's fortifications. Finally, the Byzantines, under Emperor Constantine IV, managed to destroy the Arab navy using a new invention, the liquid incendiary substance known as Greek fire. The Byzantines also defeated the Arab land army in Asia Minor, forcing them to lift the siege. The Byzantine victory was of major importance for the survival of the Byzantine state,"
"Greek fire. Despite the fearsome reputation of the latter, it was only effective under certain circumstances, and not the decisive anti-ship weapon that the ram had been in the hands of experienced crews. Like their Roman predecessors, Byzantine and Muslim ships were equipped with small catapults (""mangana"") and ballistae (""toxoballistrai"") that launched stones, arrows, javelins, pots of Greek fire or other incendiary liquids, caltrops (""triboloi"") and even containers full of lime to choke the enemy or, as Emperor Leo VI somewhat implausibly suggests, scorpions and snakes (""Tactica"", XIX.61–65). Marines and the upper-bank oarsmen were heavily armoured in preparation for battle"
"used by the Byzantine Empire, is said to have been invented by Kallinikos of Heliopolis, probably about 673. The flamethrower found its origins also in the Byzantine Empire, employing Greek fire in a device of a hand-held pump that shot bursts of Greek fire via a siphon-hose and piston, igniting it with a match, similar to modern versions, as it was ejected. Greek fire, used primarily at sea, gave the Byzantines a substantial military advantage against enemies such as members of the Arab Empire (who later adopted the use of Greek fire). An 11th-century illustration of its use survives in"
"to conquer Rome from the Ostrogoths. By 565, the Byzantines wiped the Ostrogoths from Italy. The Byzantines were witnessing great advances in military engineering, possessing a highly disciplined military force and military technicians who contributed to the development of siege weapons that the civilized world had never seen. In around 672, an incendiary substance known as Greek Fire was invented. Greek fire was sprayed from early flamethrowers on ships known as dromons. Researchers have been unable to duplicate this substance today, ships were set alight by the Greek fire and it had the capability to kill large number of warriors"
"fielded their own ""liquid fire"" after 835, but it is unknown if they used the Byzantine formula, possibly obtained through espionage or through the defection of ""stratēgos"" Euphemios in 827, or whether they independently created a version of their own. A 12th-century treatise prepared by Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi for Saladin records a version of Greek fire, called ""naft"" (from naphtha), which had a petroleum base, with sulphur and various resins added. It is not easy to assess the importance of the Byzantine navy to the Empire's history. On one hand, the Empire, throughout its life, had to defend a"
"the destructiveness of Greek fire is indisputable, it did not make the Byzantine navy invincible. It was not, in the words of naval historian John Pryor, a ""ship-killer"" comparable to the naval ram, which, by then, had fallen out of use. While Greek fire remained a potent weapon, its limitations were significant when compared to more traditional forms of artillery: in its ""siphōn""-deployed version, it had a limited range, and it could be used safely only in a calm sea and with favourable wind conditions. The Muslim navies eventually adapted themselves to it by staying out of its effective range"
"and Mons Meg as well as the cast-bronze Faule Mette and Faule Grete (all from the 15th century). Counterweight trebuchet (12th century) Powered solely by the force of gravity, these catapults revolutionized medieval siege warfare and construction of fortifications by hurling huge stones unprecedented distances. Originating somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean basin, counterweight trebuchets were introduced in the Byzantine Empire around 1100 CE, and was later adopted by the Crusader states and as well by the other armies of Europe and Asia. Greek fire (7th century) An incendiary weapon which could even burn on water is also attributed to the"
"petroleum-based Greek fire, could be launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon. Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrow and bolts and fired by hand or machine. Some siege techniques—such as mining and boring—relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures. Towards the latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, starting with fire lances, which led to the eventual development of the cannon and other firearms. Development of the early weapons has continued ever since,"
"twins from Armenia came to Constantinople. Many years later one of them died, so the surgeons in Constantinople decided to remove the body of the dead one. The result was partly successful, as the surviving twin lived three days before dying, a result so impressive that it was mentioned a century and half later by historians. The next case of separating conjoined twins would not occur until 1689 in Germany. Greek Fire, an incendiary weapon which could even burn on water is also attributed to the Byzantines. It played a crucial role in the Empire's victory over the Umayyad Caliphate"
"""sticky fire"" ( ""pŷr kollētikón"") or ""manufactured fire"" ( ""pŷr skeuastón""). The composition of Greek fire remains a matter of speculation and debate, with various proposals including combinations of pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, calcium phosphide, sulfur, or niter. In Titus Livy's history of Rome, priestesses of Bacchus are said to have dipped fire into the water, which did not extinguish, ""for it was sulphur mixed with lime."" Incendiary and flaming weapons were used in warfare for centuries prior to the invention of Greek fire. They included a number of sulfur-, petroleum-, and bitumen-based mixtures. Incendiary arrows and pots containing combustible"
"the tank and the nozzle. The full-scale device built on this basis established the effectiveness of the mechanism's design, even with the simple materials and techniques available to the Byzantines. The experiment used crude oil mixed with wood resins, and achieved a flame temperature of over and an effective range of up to . The portable ""cheirosiphōn"" (""hand-""siphōn""""), the earliest analogue to a modern flamethrower, is extensively attested in the military documents of the 10th century, and recommended for use in both sea and land. They first appear in the ""Tactica"" of emperor Leo VI the Wise, who claims to"
"and served as police. In the 4th century B.C., an Alexandrian Greek named Ctesibius made a double force pump called a ""siphona"". As water rose in the chamber, it compressed the air inside, which forced the water to eject in a steady stream through a pipe and nozzle. In the 16th century, syringes were also used as firefighting tools, the larger ones being mounted on wheels. Another traditional method that survived was the bucket brigade, involving two lines of people formed between the water source and the fire. Typically, men in one of the lines would pass along the full"
"214–212 BC), Archimedes destroyed enemy ships with fire. Centuries later, Anthemius of Tralles mentions burning-glasses as Archimedes' weapon. The device, sometimes called the ""Archimedes heat ray"", was used to focus sunlight onto approaching ships, causing them to catch fire. In the modern era, similar devices have been constructed and may be referred to as a heliostat or solar furnace. This purported weapon has been the subject of ongoing debate about its credibility since the Renaissance. René Descartes rejected it as false, while modern researchers have attempted to recreate the effect using only the means that would have been available to"
"""Roman lake"" into a battleground between Byzantines and Arabs. In this struggle, the Byzantine fleets were critical, not only for the defence of the Empire's far-flung possessions around the Mediterranean basin, but also for repelling seaborne attacks against the imperial capital of Constantinople itself. Through the use of the newly invented ""Greek fire"", the Byzantine navy's best-known and feared secret weapon, Constantinople was saved from several sieges and numerous naval engagements were won for the Byzantines. Initially, the defence of the Byzantine coasts and the approaches to Constantinople was borne by the great fleet of the ""Karabisianoi"". Progressively however it"
"Empire's enemies, was struck down by a ""flame from heaven"" as he was about to enter a church. As the latter incident demonstrates, the Byzantines could not avoid capture of their precious secret weapon: the Arabs captured at least one fireship intact in 827, and the Bulgars captured several ""siphōns"" and much of the substance itself in 812/814. This, however, was apparently not enough to allow their enemies to copy it (see below). The Arabs, for instance, employed a variety of incendiary substances similar to the Byzantine weapon, but they were never able to copy the Byzantine method of deployment"
"10th centuries. Utilisation of the substance was prominent in Byzantine civil wars, chiefly the revolt of the thematic fleets in 727 and the large-scale rebellion led by Thomas the Slav in 821–823. In both cases, the rebel fleets were defeated by the Constantinopolitan Imperial Fleet through the use of Greek fire. The Byzantines also used the weapon to devastating effect against the various Rus' raids on the Bosporus, especially those of 941 and 1043, as well as during the Bulgarian war of 970–971, when the fire-carrying Byzantine ships blockaded the Danube. The importance placed on Greek fire during the Empire's"
"increased the number of shipwrecks. The western Mediterranean came under the control of the barbarians, after their invasion split the Empire in two, while Byzantium dominated the eastern half of the sea. The eastern empire lasted until 1453, such was the efficiency of the Byzantine navy, with its fleets armed with Byzantine fire (or Greek fire), a mixture of naphtha oil and saltpetre, fired through tubes in the bows of the ship. Enemy ships were often afraid to get too close to the Byzantine fleet, since the liquid fire gave the Byzantines a considerable advantage. Also called the Vikings, the"
"of kindling, dry reeds, and fatty oil. Fire ships were decisively employed by the Vandals against the armada sent by the Eastern Roman Empire, in the Battle of Cap Bon (468). The invention of Greek fire in 673 increased the use of fire ships, at first by the Greeks and afterward by other nations as they came into possession of the secret of manufacturing this substance. In 951 and again in 953 Russian fleets narrowly escaped destruction by fire ships. While fire ships were used in the Medieval period, notably during the crusades, these were typically ships that were set"
"does not appear to have been used in warfare in Europe or the Middle East before the 13th century, and is absent from the accounts of the Muslim writers—the foremost chemists of the early medieval world—before the same period. In addition, the nature of the proposed mixture would have been radically different from the ""siphōn""-projected substance described by Byzantine sources. A second view, based on the fact that Greek fire was inextinguishable by water (some sources suggest that water intensified the flames) suggested that its destructive power was the result of the explosive reaction between water and quicklime. Although quicklime"
"will have it available in a box, without exposing it to the sun. If you should wish to ignite enemy armaments, you will smear it on in the evening, either on the armaments or some other object, but in secret; when the sun comes up, everything will be burnt up.In naval warfare, the Eastern Roman Emperor Anastasius I (r. 491–518) is recorded by chronicler John Malalas to have been advised by a philosopher from Athens called Proclus to use sulfur to burn the ships of Vitalianus. Greek fire proper, however, was developed in c. 672 and is ascribed by the"
"this new recipe created a blaze which was extremely difficult to extinguish. It burned on water, and was used effectively in naval warfare, although it was primarily an anti-personnel weapon rather than a ship-burner. It remained effective at sea even after its use had declined on land after the 13th century. The Greek fire recipes continued to be developed over the centuries, and by the High Middle Ages was much more sophisticated than the early versions. Saltpetre (also called ""Chinese salt"") was added to the mixture in the Islamic world, and China developed a dry saltpetre mixture in the 12th"
"jars of scorpions were sometimes fired during early bombardment in naval battles. In 189 BC Ambracia was besieged by the Romans, who dug mines under the walls. The defenders filled a clay jar with chicken feathers, which they then lit, using bellows to blow the acrid smoke down the tunnel; unable to approach the pot due to defensive spears, the Romans were forced to abandon their works. The 15th-century engineer Taccola recommended quicklime, although its use went back to ancient times, and might well have been a component of Greek fire. Quicklime reacts violently with water, and can cause blindness"
"by ""siphōn"", and used catapults and grenades instead. Greek fire continued to be mentioned during the 12th century, and Anna Komnene gives a vivid description of its use in a naval battle against the Pisans in 1099. However, although the use of hastily improvised fireships is mentioned during the 1203 siege of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, no report confirms the use of the actual Greek fire. This might be because of the general disarmament of the Empire in the 20 years leading up to the sacking, or because the Byzantines had lost access to the areas where the primary"
"modern napalm. The Byzantines had easy access to crude oil from the naturally occurring wells around the Black Sea (e.g., the wells around Tmutorakan noted by Constantine Porphyrogennetos) or in various locations throughout the Middle East. An alternate name for Greek fire was ""Median fire"" (), and the 6th-century historian Procopius records that crude oil, called ""naphtha"" (in Greek: ""naphtha"", from Old Persian ""naft"") by the Persians, was known to the Greeks as ""Median oil"" (). This seems to corroborate the use of naphtha as a basic ingredient of Greek fire. Naphtha was also used by the Abbasids in the"