Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary chemical weapon manufactured in and used by the Eastern Roman Empire from the seventh through the fourteenth centuries. The recipe for Greek fire was a closely-guarded state secret, but historians speculate it may have been made by combining pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, calcium phosphide, sulfur, or niter. Roman sailors would toss grenades loaded with Greek fire onto enemy ships or spray it from tubes. Its ability to burn on water made it an effective and destructive naval incendiary weapon, and rival powers tried unsuccessfully to copy the material.
Name
Usage of the term "Greek fire" has been general in English and most other languages since the Crusades, but original Byzantine sources called the substance a variety of names, such as "sea fire" (Medieval Greek: πῦρ θαλάσσιον pŷr thalássion), "Roman fire" (πῦρ ῥωμαϊκόν pŷr rhōmaïkón), "war fire" (πολεμικὸν πῦρ polemikòn pŷr), "liquid fire" (ὑγρὸν πῦρ hygròn pŷr), "sticky fire" (πῦρ κολλητικόν pŷr kollētikón), or "manufactured fire" (πῦρ σκευαστόν pŷr skeuastón).[1][2]
History
Incendiary and flaming weapons were used in warfare for centuries before Greek fire was invented. They included a number of sulfur-,
Greek fire proper, however, was developed in c. 672 and is ascribed by the chronicler
At that time Kallinikos, an artificer from Heliopolis, fled to the Romans. He had devised a sea fire which ignited the Arab ships and burned them with all hands. Thus it was that the Romans returned with victory and discovered the sea fire.[11]
The accuracy and exact chronology of this account is open to question: elsewhere, Theophanes reports the use of fire-carrying ships equipped with nozzles (siphōn)
Kallinikos' development of Greek fire came at a critical moment in the Byzantine Empire's history: weakened by its long
The importance placed on Greek fire during the Empire's struggle against the Arabs would lead to its discovery being ascribed to divine intervention. The Emperor
Greek fire continued to be mentioned during the 12th century, and
Records of a 13th-century event in which "Greek fire" was used by the Saracens against the Crusaders can be read through the Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville during the Seventh Crusade. One description of the memoir says "the tail of fire that trailed behind it was as big as a great spear; and it made such a noise as it came, that it sounded like the thunder of heaven. It looked like a dragon flying through the air. Such a bright light did it cast, that one could see all over the camp as though it were day, by reason of the great mass of fire, and the brilliance of the light that it shed."[29]
In the 19th century, it is reported that an Armenian by the name of Kavafian approached the government of the Ottoman Empire with a new type of Greek fire he claimed to have developed. Kavafian refused to reveal its composition when asked by the government, insisting that he be placed in command of its use during naval engagements. Not long after this, he was poisoned by imperial authorities, without their ever having found out his secret.[30]
Manufacture
General characteristics
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As Constantine Porphyrogennetos' warnings show, the ingredients and the processes of manufacture and deployment of Greek fire were carefully guarded military secrets. So strict was the secrecy that the composition of Greek fire was lost forever and remains a source of speculation.
The information available on Greek fire is exclusively indirect, based on references in the
This fire is made by the following arts: From the pine and certain such evergreen trees, inflammable resin is collected. This is rubbed with sulfur and put into tubes of reed, and is blown by men using it with violent and continuous breath. Then in this manner it meets the fire on the tip and catches light and falls like a fiery whirlwind on the faces of the enemies.
At the same time, the reports by Western chroniclers of the famed ignis graecus are largely unreliable, since they apply the name to any and all sorts of incendiary substances.[31]
In attempting to reconstruct the Greek fire system, the concrete evidence, as it emerges from the contemporary literary references, provides the following characteristics:
- It burned on water; according to some interpretations it was ignited by water. Numerous writers testify that it could be extinguished only by a few substances, such as sand, strong vinegar, or old urine, some presumably by a sort of chemical reaction.[40][41][42]
- It was a liquid substance – not some sort of projectile – as verified both by descriptions and the very name "liquid fire".[40][41]
- At sea it was usually ejected from a siphōn,[40][41] although earthenware pots or grenades filled with it – or similar substances – were also used.[43]
- The discharge of Greek fire was accompanied by "thunder" and "much smoke".[40][41][44]
Theories on composition
The first and, for a long time, most popular theory regarding the composition of Greek fire held that its chief ingredient was saltpeter, making it an early form of gunpowder.[45][46] This argument was based on the "thunder and smoke" description, as well as on the distance the flame could be projected from the siphōn, which suggested an explosive discharge.[47] From the times of Isaac Vossius,[2] several scholars adhered to this position, most notably the so-called "French school" during the 19th century, which included chemist Marcellin Berthelot.[48][49]
This view has been rejected since saltpeter 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
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
Another similar proposition suggested that Kallinikos had in fact discovered calcium phosphide, which can be made by boiling bones in urine within a sealed vessel.[58] On contact with water it releases phosphine, which ignites spontaneously. However, extensive experiments with calcium phosphide also failed to reproduce the described intensity of Greek fire.[59][60]
Consequently, although the presence of either quicklime or saltpeter in the mixture cannot be entirely excluded, they were not the primary ingredient.
Naphtha was also used by the
A 12th century treatise prepared by
Methods of deployment
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
Projectors
The use of tubular projectors (σίφων, siphōn) is amply attested in the contemporary sources. Anna Komnene gives this account of beast-shaped Greek fire projectors being mounted to the bow of warships:[77]
As he [the Emperor Alexios I] knew that the Pisans were skilled in sea warfare and dreaded a battle with them, on the prow of each ship he had a head fixed of a lion or other land-animal, made in brass or iron with the mouth open and then gilded over, so that their mere aspect was terrifying. And the fire which was to be directed against the enemy through tubes he made to pass through the mouths of the beasts, so that it seemed as if the lions and the other similar monsters were vomiting the fire.
Some sources provide more information on the composition and function of the whole mechanism. The Wolfenbüttel manuscript in particular provides the following description:[66]
...having built a furnace right at the front of the ship, they set on it a copper vessel full of these things, having put fire underneath. And one of them, having made a bronze tube similar to that which the rustics call a squitiatoria, "squirt," with which boys play, they spray [it] at the enemy.
Another, possibly first-hand, account of the use of Greek fire comes from the 11th-century
[They] began blowing with smiths’ bellows at a furnace in which there was fire and there came from it a great din. There stood there also a brass [or bronze] tube and from it flew much fire against one ship, and it burned up in a short time so that all of it became white ashes...
The account, albeit embellished, corresponds with many of the characteristics of Greek fire known from other sources, such as a loud roar that accompanied its discharge.[79] These two texts are also the only two sources that explicitly mention that the substance was heated over a furnace before being discharged; although the validity of this information is open to question, modern reconstructions have relied upon them.[80][81]
Based on these descriptions and the Byzantine sources, John Haldon and Maurice Byrne designed a hypothetical apparatus as consisting of three main components: a bronze pump, which was used to pressurize the oil; a brazier, used to heat the oil (πρόπυρον, propyron, "pre-heater"); and the nozzle, which was covered in bronze and mounted on a swivel (στρεπτόν, strepton).[82] The brazier, burning a match of linen or flax that produced intense heat and the characteristic thick smoke, was used to heat oil and the other ingredients in an airtight tank above it,[83] a process that also helped to dissolve the resins into a fluid mixture.[67] The substance was pressurized by the heat and the usage of a force pump. After it had reached the proper pressure, a valve connecting the tank with the swivel was opened and the mixture was discharged from its end, being ignited at its mouth by some source of flame.[84] The intense heat of the flame made necessary the presence of heat shields made of iron (βουκόλια, boukolia), which are attested in the fleet inventories.[85]
The process of operating Haldon and Byrne's design was fraught with danger, as the mounting pressure could easily make the heated oil tank explode, a flaw which was not recorded as a problem with the historical fire weapon.[86][87] In the experiments conducted by Haldon in 2002 for the episode "Fireship" of the television series Machines Times Forgot, even modern welding techniques failed to secure adequate insulation of the bronze tank under pressure. This led to the relocation of the pressure pump between 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 1,000 °C (1,830 °F) and an effective range of up to 15 meters (49 ft).[88]
Hand-held projectors
The portable cheirosiphōn ("hand-siphōn"), the earliest analogue to a modern
Grenades
In its earliest form, Greek fire was hurled onto enemy forces by firing a burning cloth-wrapped ball, perhaps containing a flask, using a form of
Effectiveness and countermeasures
Although 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.[91] 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.[92]
The Muslim navies eventually adapted themselves to it by staying out of its effective range and devising methods of protection such as felt or hides soaked in vinegar.[42]
Nevertheless, it was still a decisive weapon in many battles. John Julius Norwich wrote: "It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of Greek fire in Byzantine history."[93]
In literature
This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2023) |
In Paloma Recasens's historical 2021 novel Sevilla antes de la Giralda, the Castilian army fabricates Greek Fire to use it in their crusade against the Almohads.
In Steve Berry's 2007 novel The Venetian Betrayal Greek Fire is described and used as a weapon.
In William Golding's 1958 play The Brass Butterfly, adapted from his novella Envoy Extraordinary, the Greek inventor Phanocles demonstrates explosives to the Roman Emperor. The Emperor decides that his empire is not ready for this or for Phanocles's other inventions and sends him on "a slow boat to China".
In Victor Canning's stage play Honour Bright [94] (1960), the crusader Godfrey of Ware returns with a casket of Greek Fire given to him by an old man in Athens.
In Rick Riordan's Greek storyline, Greek Fire is described as being a volatile green liquid. When it explodes, all of the substance is spread out over an area and burns continuously. It is very strong and dangerous.[95]
In
In Michael Crichton's sci-fi novel Timeline, Professor Edward Johnston is stuck in the past in 14th century Europe, and claims to have knowledge of Greek fire.[97]
In Mika Waltari's novel The Dark Angel, some old men who are the last ones who know the secret of Greek fire are mentioned as present in the last Christian services held in Hagia Sophia before the Fall of Constantinople. The narrator is told that in the event of the city's fall, they will be killed so as to keep the secret from the Turks.
In George R. R. Martin's fantasy series of novels A Song of Ice and Fire, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, wildfire is similar to Greek fire. It was used in naval battles as it could remain lit on water, and its recipe was closely guarded.[98]
In Leland Purvis's graphic novel Vox : collected works, 1999-2003, there is a passage detailing Callinicus and Greek Fire.
See also
References
Citations
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 608–609.
- ^ a b c d Forbes 1959, p. 83.
- ^ Leicester 1971, p. 75.
- ^ Crosby 2002, pp. 88–89.
- ^ Partington 1999, pp. 1–5.
- ^ Forbes 1959, pp. 70–74.
- ^ Thuc. 4.100.1
- ^ Julius Africanus, The Cestus, D25, 116–117.
- ^ Partington 1999, p. 5.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 607–609.
- ^ Theophanes & Turtledove 1982, p. 53.
- ^ Chronographia. Corpus scriptorum historiae Byzantinae (in Italian). Impensis E. Weberi. 1839. p. 610. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
- ^ Theophanes & Turtledove 1982, p. 52.
- ^ Roland 1992, p. 657.
- ^ a b Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 608.
- ^ Partington 1999, pp. 12–13.
- ^ Forbes 1959, p. 80.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 26–27, 31–32.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 61–62, 72.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 32, 46, 73.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 86, 189.
- ^ Moravcsik & Jenkins 1967, pp. 68–71.
- ^ Forbes 1959, p. 82.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 609–611.
- ^ Roland 1992, pp. 660, 663–664.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 110.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 630–631.
- ^ Haldon 2006, p. 316.
- ^ Alchin, Linda. "Greek Fire". The Middle Ages (www.lordsandladies.org).
- Adjarian, Hrachia. "Հայոց դերը Օսմանյան կայսրության մեջ," [The role of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire] Banber Erevani Hamalsarani 1967; trans. in Charles Issawi, The Economic History of Turkey, 1800–1914, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980, p. 64.
- ^ a b Haldon 2006, p. 290.
- ^ Roland 1992, pp. 660, 663.
- ^ Roland 1992, pp. 663–664.
- ^ Theophanes & Turtledove 1982, p. 178.
- ^ Roland 1992, p. 663.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 609.
- ^ Partington 1999, pp. 19, 29.
- ^ Ellis Davidson 1973, p. 64.
- ^ Scott, James Sibbald David, (Sir), (1868)The British army: its origin, progress, and equipment, p. 190.
- ^ a b c d Roland 1992, pp. 657–658.
- ^ a b c d Cheronis 1937, pp. 362–363.
- ^ a b c Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 617.
- ^ Partington 1999, p. 14.
- ^ Leo VI, Tactica, XIX.59, transl. in Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 507
- ^ a b Haldon & Byrne 1977, p. 92.
- ^ Ellis Davidson 1973, pp. 69–70.
- ^ a b Roland 1992, p. 659.
- ^ Roland 1992, pp. 658–659.
- ^ Ellis Davidson 1973, p. 69.
- ^ al-Hassan 2001, pp. 41–83.
- ^ Partington 1999, pp. 21–22.
- ^ Forbes 1959, pp. 83–84.
- ^ Partington 1999, pp. 6–10, 14.
- ^ Leo VI, Tactica, XIX.67, transl. in Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 509
- ^ Leo VI, Tactica, XIX.63, transl. in Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 509
- ^ Roland 1992, p. 660.
- ^ Zenghelis 1932, p. 270.
- ^ Colin McEvedy (1992), The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History, New York: Penguin.
- ^ Cheronis 1937, p. 363.
- ^ a b Ellis Davidson 1973, p. 70.
- ^ Partington 1999, p. 4.
- ^ Forbes 1959, pp. 82–84.
- ^ Procopius, De bello Gothico, IV.11.36, cited in Partington 1999, p. 3
- ^ Ellis Davidson 1973, p. 62.
- ^ Partington 1999, p. 22.
- ^ a b Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 614–616.
- ^ a b Haldon 2006, p. 310.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 618.
- ^ "The Link: Greek Fire". National Geographic. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 610–611.
- ^ Cortese, Isabella (1565). I Segreti della signora. Venice: Giovanni Bariletto. p. 62. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 378–379, 609.
- ^ Forbes 1959, pp. 86–87.
- ^ a b Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 617–619.
- ^ Haldon 2006, p. 295.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 203, 618.
- ^ Dawes 1928, p. 292.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 616–617.
- ^ Ellis Davidson 1973, p. 72.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 628–629.
- ^ Haldon 2006, p. 315.
- ^ Haldon & Byrne 1977, p. 93.
- ^ Haldon & Byrne 1977, p. 94.
- ^ Haldon & Byrne 1977, p. 95.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 624–626.
- ^ Haldon & Byrne 1977, p. 96.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, pp. 627–628.
- ^ For a detailed description, cf. Haldon 2006, pp. 297–315 An interesting characteristic displayed during these tests was that, contrary to expectations due to the flame's heat, the stream of fire projected through the tube did not curve upwards but downwards, as the fuel was not completely vaporized as it left the nozzle. This fact is important because medieval galleys had a low profile, and a high-arcing flame would miss them entirely.Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 621
- ^ Haldon & Byrne 1977, p. 97.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 627.
- ^ Pryor 2003, p. 97.
- ^ Pryor & Jeffreys 2006, p. 384.
- ^ Norwich, John Julius (1991) Byzantium: The Apogee, London: BCA, p. 151
- ^ "Honour Bright". The Victor Canning Pages.
- ^ Demigods and Monsters Your Favorite Authors on Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series. BenBella Books. 2013. p. 205.
- ^ “A wherry across the Thames” The Guardian, 6 November 2004.
- ^ The Science of Michael Crichton An Unauthorized Exploration Into the Real Science Behind the Fictional Worlds of Michael Crichton. BenBella Books. 2008. p. 87.
- ^ Hutchinson, Sam. "10 Real-Life Historical Connections In Game Of Thrones That You Never Noticed". Screen Rant.
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External links
- Greek Fire – World History Encyclopedia
- Technoporn: Greek Fire – Wired Blog, December 29, 2006.
- Greek Fire – The Best Kept Secret of the Ancient World – by Richard Groller.
- Greek Fire – The University of Calgary, 2000. Retrieved on 10 March 2013.
- The Link: Greek Fire – National Geographic, 1 May 2012. Retrieved on 9 Mar 2013.