Greek Fire

Type Object Region Byzantine Empire Time c. 670–1204

Greek Fire was the Byzantine Empire's secret naval incendiary, a combustible liquid reportedly of petroleum and resin, projected by siphon or catapul…

Timeline

c. 678Sea of Marmara · Sea of MarmaraUnder Leo III, the Byzantine fleet first used Greek Fire on a large scale off Syria to repel the Arab fleet, establishing its naval superiority.
c. 1126Naval arsenals of Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireIn the 1120s, Byzantine dromon warships were still equipped with siphon projectors of Greek Fire, continuing in use during defense and expeditions along the Aegean and Anatolian coasts.
c. 1204Byzantine Empire · Byzantine EmpireAfter the empire's fragmentation and naval decline, the formula and manufacturing techniques of Greek Fire were gradually lost, and later ages could only infer its composition and projection principles from written sources.

Sources

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World — Adrienne Mayor (2003)
Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium — Alexander Kazhdan et al. (1991)