INVENTORS AND INNOVATORS - PPT - Greek Fire

INVENTORS AND INNOVATORS: OUR HERITAGE AND OUR FUTURE

Greek Fire 1st Experimental High School of Thessaloniki “Manolis Andronikos” Tserkezoglou Danai

“Greek fire”

1st Experimental High School of Thessaloniki “Manolis Andronikos” Tserkezoglou Danai Croatia, Zagreb, May 2018

Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire that was first developed c. 672. 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.

History Greek fire proper was developed in c. 672 and is ascribed by the chronicler Theophanes to Kallinikos (Latinized Callinicus), an architect from Heliopolis in the former province of Phoenice, by then overrun by the Muslim conquests.

“At that time Kallinikos, an artificer from Heliopolis, fled to the Romans [i.e., the Byzantines.] 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.”

Theophanes; Turtledove, Harry (Transl.) (1982), The chronicle of Theophanes: an English translation of anni mundi 6095–6305 (A.D. 602–813), University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 978-0-8122-1128-3

History •Greek fire was used to great effect against the Muslim fleets, helping to repel the Muslims at the first and second Arab sieges of the city.

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Records of its use in later naval battles against the Saracens are more sporadic, but it did secure a number of victories, especially in the phase of Byzantine expansion in the late 9th and early 10th centuries

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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.

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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.

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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.

Manufacture- General characteristics In attempting to reconstruct the Greek fire system, the concrete evidence, as it emerges from the contemporary literary references, provides the following characteristics: •

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It burned on water, and, according to some interpretations, was ignited by water. In addition, as numerous writers testify, it could be extinguished only by a few substances, such as sand (which deprived it of oxygen), strong vinegar, or old urine, presumably by some sort of chemical reaction.

It was a liquid substance, and not some sort of projectile, as verified both by descriptions and the very name "liquid fire".

At sea, it was usually ejected from a siphōn (pipe) although earthenware pots or grenades filled with it or similar substances were also used.

The discharge of Greek fire was accompanied by "thunder" and "much smoke".

Manufacture- Theories on composition 1.

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.This argument was based on the "thunder and smoke" description, as well as on the distance the flame could be projected from the siphĹ?n, which suggested an explosive discharge.

Manufacture- Theories on composition 2. 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 was certainly known and used by the Byzantines and the Arabs in warfare, the theory is refuted by literary and empirical evidence.

Manufacture- Theories on composition 3. Most modern scholars agree that Greek fire was based on petroleum, either crude or refined; comparable to 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.

Effectiveness and countermeasures •

Although the destructiveness of Greek fire is indisputable, it did not make the Byzantine navy invincible. 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.

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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

In literature

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In C. J. Sansom's historical mystery novel Dark Fire, Thomas Cromwell sends the lawyer Matthew Shardlake to recover the secret of Greek fire, following its discovery in the library of a dissolved London monastery.

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.

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 adaptation Game of Thrones, wildfire is similar to Greek fire, it was used in naval battles as it could remain lit on water and it was an extremely secretive recipe and was protected immensely.

Sources •

al-Hassan, A. Y. (2001), "Alchemy, chemistry and chemical technology", in al-Hassan, A. Y., Science and Technology in Islam: Technology and applied sciences, UNESCO, pp. 41–83,ISBN 9231038311

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Cheronis, Nicholas D. (1937), "Chemical Warfare in the Middle Ages: Kallinikos' "Prepared Fire"", Journal of Chemical Education, Chicago: 360–365, doi:10.1021/ed014p360

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Christides, Vassilios (1991), "Fireproofing of War Machines, Ships and Garments", Proc. TROPIS VI: 6th International Symposium on Ship Construction in Antiquity, Lamia 1996, Athens, pp. 135– 141, ISSN 1105-7947

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Christides, Vassilios (1993), "Nafṭ", The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume VII: Mif– Naz, Leiden and New York: BRILL, pp. 884–886, ISBN 90-04-09419-9.

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Dawes, Elizabeth A., ed. (1928), The Alexiad, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul

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Crosby, Alfred W. (2002), Throwing Fire: Projectile Technology Through History, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-79158-8

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Ellis Davidson, Hilda R. (1973), "The Secret Weapon of Byzantium", Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 66: 61–74

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