Page 22 - All About History - Issue 59-17

the Byzantine empiRe

How to

win a war with Greek fire

DefenD the Byzantine capital By searinG enemy ships with this fearsome

incenDiary to Burn your way to victory Constantinople, 673-1453

Greek fire was the most feared weapon in Dragon head
Medieval warfare. An incendiary chemical, it How do you make such a terrifying
would set fire spontaneously, stick to wood and weapon even more frightening? Have
flesh, and couldn’t be extinguished by water. it be spewed forth from the head of a
While pitch and oil-soaked projectiles were used mythical beast, of course, or at least from
behind the protection of a metal shield.
extensively in the Middle Ages, Greek fire was
the sole preserve of the Byzantine Empire, its fuse
composition a closely guarded secret. The substance is no good unless it’s on
It’s thought to have been invented in the fire. A fuse at the end of the nozzle will
7th century by Jewish refugee Kallinikos of ignite it as it’s launched.
Heliopolis. Thrown in pots or pumped through pump
tubes, it helped repulse many sieges on The trigger of the flamethrower is a
Constantinople. In fact, its deadliness has been pump that you will need to push up
cited as the reason for the empire’s long reign. and down, propelling the Greek fire out
in bursts.
What you’ll cauldron
need… The heated metal container where
the lethal substance is kept, ready to
be sprayed out in an inferno onto the
Byzantines’ enemies.
vineGar Bronze nozzle

An adjustable mouthpiece with which to
direct the Greek fire onto the ships and
soldiers of enemy forces.

a pump
anD hose
pots

small
catapult

Safety check Set a trap
When the weapon you’re using is the Dark Age equivalent One of the downsides of Greek fire is that it only has
01 of a napalm payload, it’s probably best to do a health and 02 a range of about six metres, so we’ll need to draw in
safety check. The best practice is to wear leather clothes dowsed the enemy fleet in order to give them the full effect of our
in vinegar or, if you’re really desperate, some old urine. Do the homemade secret recipe. Fitting flame-throwing hoses to
same to whatever surface you’re stood on and make sure there’s the fore and aft of 15 old ships should be enough to tempt
recipe for Greek fire a bucket of sand at hand just in case things go awry. 1,000 Rus ships, shouldn’t it?

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