Greek fire is a forgotten superweapon of antiquity, a nightmare of the enemies of Byzantium, humanity's warm-up before napalm and phosphorus bombs. Was it really as effective as the chroniclers write, or was it rather an instrument of deterrence and intimidation?
According to one of the legends, Greek fire was made in the smithy of the lame god Hephaestus, who then, from the Olympic bounty, presented his deadly invention to people.
Victory mechanic
In fact, Hephaestus has nothing to do with Greek fire. Flammable compounds that cannot be extinguished with water have been known almost since the time of the Marathon battle. In the battle of Delia, this is the 5th century BC, the Boeotians used a certain combustible substance against the Athenians, which was fired from a hollow log towards the enemy. Over time, the secret was lost, and liquid fire had to be reinvented. Sources claim that this was done by a Greek mechanic from the Syrian city of Heliopolis (now Baalbek). In 673, the Arabs started a war against Christians. Caliph Mu'awiya's immense army and navy blockaded Constantinople from sea and land. It seemed that a little more - and the capital of Eastern Christianity will fall, but everything was changed by a refugee from Heliopolis already occupied by the Saracens - Kallinikos. He offered Emperor Constantine IV his ingenious invention - an incendiary mixture and a device for throwing it.
The device, called a siphon or siphonophore, most likely consisted of a system of a boiler, into which a combustible mixture was poured and air was pumped, valves and a bronze flamethrower tube. The pressure in the boiler heated from below was created using bronze pumps or bellows. At the right moment, the valve opened, a torch was brought to the mouth of the pipe - and the mixture, igniting on the fly, fired 15-35 meters with a terrifying roar.
The recipe for the mixture has not been preserved, but according to fragmentary information, it can be assumed that it included oil with the addition of sulfur, crushed nitrate and some "secret ingredient". Some researchers believe that it could have been quicklime. Other possible components were asphalt, bitumen, phosphorus …
Constantine ordered to make the required number of fire siphons and install them on dromons - the main class of Byzantine warships. In battle, the Byzantine fleet practically incinerated the Muslim fleet. Arab galleys were lit one after another, and the witchcraft fire could not be extinguished with water, the flame only burned hotter from the water. The Arabs fled in terror. The Byzantines were triumphant. With the invention of Greek fire, a golden age began for their empire.
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Deterrent factor
It took the Saracens four decades to forget about their terrible defeat. The second large-scale attempt to capture Constantinople was made by the Caliph Suleiman in 717. His brother Maslama had 80 thousand soldiers and a fleet of 18 thousand ships at hand. And again, the basileus flamethrowers helped defeat the Arabs. In 941, the Byzantines with the help of Greek fire crushed the flotilla of Prince Igor Rurikovich, and later used "fire" against his son Svyatoslav. In the XII century, a wonderful composition was used against the Normans during the siege of Durazzo, and at the beginning of the XIII century - against the Venetians during the Fourth Crusade.
The stake on firearms was bearing fruit. The Romans varied the methods of flamethrowing in a fairly wide range. In addition to siphons, fans of clay filled with a fire mixture or other shells were used, which were thrown onto enemy ships manually or with the help of catapults. Sometimes they used a "ship crane" - a long pole with a lit barrel sticking out in front of the ship. Among other things, judging by the medieval miniatures, there was a handheld flamethrower for land use - the cheirosyphon. Although its device still remains a mystery.
In general, the use of Greek fire on land due to the short throw distance was completely ineffective; it was used in the defense of fortresses to set fire to siege structures, but nothing more. In land wars, the Byzantines were increasingly defeated, but at sea the invention of Kallinikos still gave them important advantages, allowing them to maintain control over the Bosphorus and the status of a mighty power.
Hand of the Lord
It is not surprising that the formula of the fiery composition and the device of the siphons for its eruption were the most important state secrets. It was not subject to writing and was passed by word of mouth only between elected members of the imperial family. In addition to the Basileus, the secret of "fire" was known only to a certain family of Lampros, involved in its manufacture, although historians failed to find Lampros in any Byzantine documents: the secret was kept at the highest level. Even the son of the emperor would face certain death for disclosure.
Different parts of the weapon were made in different workshops: boilers, pipes, pumps, valves … even oil and incendiary components were delivered from different places. The connection of all parts together was carried out at the final stage by especially trusted masters of the naval arsenal. This approach minimized the possibility of information leakage. In addition to these precautions, the complexity of the technology served as additional protection. Even if the Greek fire ended up in the hands of the enemy, he often could not use the trophy, because he did not know how. The Bulgarians captured 36 siphons with a stock of the mixture in 814, but could not use it - they did not have enough technical knowledge.
The very existence of Greek fire was shrouded in legends. Thus, Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus instructed his son: "… and if they dare to ask you about a secret, as has often happened to me myself, you must reject any entreaties, indicating that the" fire "was granted and explained by an angel …" According to another A deliberately spread legend, one high-ranking Byzantine nobleman agreed to give the Arabs a secret for a huge amount of gold, but when, before meeting with the customers, he went to pray in the temple, a divine flame fell from heaven on the traitor.
After all, it is a great sin to pass on to someone the secret given to the first Christian sovereign by the Lord himself. However, the terrible stories could not force the competitors of Constantinople to abandon their search for a recipe for a superweapon.
Alien glory recipes
Researchers disagree about whether the Byzantines kept the secret of the "fire" intact. Some believe that the disgraced Emperor Alexei III Angel gave a secret to the Sultan of Kony, others believe that all the variants of incendiary mixtures used by Muslims against the crusaders, and crusaders against Muslims, and the Slavs, and even the warriors of Tamerlane, are nothing more than imitations of a prototype.
There is also no consensus about the real effectiveness of the Roman "napalm". Some experts consider it a weapon designed, rather, for a psychological effect. To stay safe, it is enough to maneuver without approaching the flamethrower ship closer than 40 meters, the headwind makes a shot from the siphon deadly for the shooters themselves, any oversight leads to the fire of their own floating craft … But the very mention of Greek fire terrifies enemy soldier. This tactic perfectly explains the custom of the Byzantines to make flame-throwing pipes in the form of lion and dragon heads with open jaws.
It turned out that the fire mixture is effective in the battle with the enemy ignorant and unprepared. Those who had to deal with such ammunition, over time, figured out that the wooden parts of the ship can be protected with felt soaked in vinegar, and extinguish the "witchcraft" flame - with sand.
The last mention of Greek fire dates back to 1453. This time, he did not help the last Basileus and did not prevent the Turkish troops of Mehmed II from taking Constantinople. Artillery was used from both sides, and gunpowder and cannonballs proved to be much more useful than flamethrowers afraid of the wind.
So the "fire of Kallinikos" finally lost its military relevance, its recipe was lost. Centuries later, scientists have taken up the forgotten secret. In search of traces, they studied the Byzantine chronicles. In January 1758, the French chemist André Dupre, in front of a large crowd of people and in the presence of the king, loaded the catapult with a pot of resinous liquid and fired it at an anchored sloop, which immediately flared up. The amazed Louis XV ordered to immediately buy all the materials for such a dangerous invention from the inventor and burn them. Controversy over the secret recipe continued even into the 20th century. There are many theories, but the authentic recipe is still a mystery.
Magazine: Mysteries of History №41. Author: Victor Stern