Editing Greek fire (section)

==Manufacture==

===General characteristics===
{{Byzantine Military}}
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.{{sfn|Haldon|2006|p=290}} The mystery of the formula has long dominated the research into Greek fire. Despite this almost exclusive focus, Greek fire is best understood as a complete weapon system of many components, all of which were needed to operate together to render it effective. This comprised not only the formula of its composition, but also the specialized [[dromon]] ships that carried it into battle, the device used to prepare the substance by heating and pressurizing it, the 
{{lang|grc-Latn|siphōn}} projecting it, and the special training of the {{lang|grc-Latn|siphōnarioi}} who used it.{{sfn|Roland|1992|pp=660, 663}} Knowledge of the whole system was highly [[Compartmentalization (information security)|compartmentalised]], with operators and technicians aware of the secrets of only one component, ensuring that no enemy could gain knowledge of it in its entirety.{{sfn|Roland|1992|pp=663–664}} This accounts for the fact that when the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarians]] took [[Nesebar|Mesembria]] and [[Debeltos]] in 814, they captured 36 {{lang|grc-Latn|siphōn}}s and even quantities of the substance itself,{{sfn|Theophanes|Turtledove|1982|p=178}} but were unable to make any use of them.{{sfn|Roland|1992|p=663}}{{sfn|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|p=609}}

The information available on Greek fire is indirect, based on references in the [[Byzantine military manuals]] and secondary historical sources such as [[Anna Komnene]] and Western European chroniclers, which are often inaccurate. In her ''[[Alexiad]]'', Anna Komnene provides a description of an incendiary weapon, which was used by the Byzantine garrison of [[Dyrrhachium]] in 1108 against the [[Normans]]. It is often regarded as an at least partial "recipe" for Greek fire:{{sfn|Partington|1999|pp=19, 29}}{{sfn|Ellis Davidson|1973|p=64}}<ref>[[Sir James Sibbald David Scott, 3rd Baronet|Scott, James Sibbald David]] (1868). [https://archive.org/details/britisharmyitsor02scotuoft ''The British army: its origin, progress, and equipment'']. p. 190.</ref>

{{blockquote|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 {{lang|la|ignis graecus}} are largely unreliable, since they apply the name to all incendiary substances.{{sfn|Haldon|2006|p=290}}

In attempting to reconstruct the Greek fire system, the evidence 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.{{sfn|Roland|1992|pp=657–658}}{{sfn|Cheronis|1937|pp=362–363}}{{sfn|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|p=617}}
* It was a liquid substance – not some sort of projectile – as verified both by descriptions and the name "liquid fire".{{sfn|Roland|1992|pp=657–658}}{{sfn|Cheronis|1937|pp=362–363}}
* At sea it was usually ejected from a {{lang|grc-Latn|siphōn}},{{sfn|Roland|1992|pp=657–658}}{{sfn|Cheronis|1937|pp=362–363}} but earthenware pots or grenades filled with it – or similar substances – were also used.{{sfn|Partington|1999|p=14}}
* The discharge of Greek fire was accompanied by "thunder" and "much smoke".{{sfn|Roland|1992|pp=657–658}}{{sfn|Cheronis|1937|pp=362–363}}<ref>Leo VI, ''[[Tactica of Emperor Leo VI the Wise|Tactica]]'', XIX.59, transl. in {{harvnb|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|p=507}}</ref>

===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 [[Potassium nitrate|saltpeter]], making it an early form of [[gunpowder]].{{sfn|Haldon|Byrne|1977|p=92}}{{sfn|Ellis Davidson|1973|pp=69–70}} This argument was based on the "thunder and smoke" description, as well as on the distance the flame could be projected from the {{lang|grc-Latn|siphōn}}, which suggested an explosive discharge.{{sfn|Roland|1992|p=659}} From the times of [[Isaac Vossius]],{{sfn|Forbes|1959|p=83}} several scholars adhered to this position, most notably the so-called "French school" during the 19th century, which included chemist [[Marcellin Berthelot]].{{sfn|Roland|1992|pp=658–659}}{{sfn|Ellis Davidson|1973|p=69}}

This view has subsequently 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 [[Alchemy and chemistry in medieval Islam|foremost chemists]] of the early [[Middle Ages|medieval]] world{{sfn|al-Hassan|2001|pp=41–83}} – before the same period.{{sfn|Partington|1999|pp=21–22}} In addition, the behavior of the suggested mixture would have been very different from the {{lang|grc-Latn|siphōn}}-projected substance described by Byzantine sources.{{sfn|Forbes|1959|pp=83–84}}

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 known and used by the Byzantines and the Arabs in warfare,{{sfn|Partington|1999|pp=6–10, 14}} the theory is refuted by literary and empirical evidence. A quicklime-based substance would have to come in contact with water to ignite, while Emperor Leo's {{lang|la|[[Tactica of Emperor Leo VI the Wise|Tactica]]}} indicates that Greek fire was often poured directly onto the decks of enemy ships,<ref>Leo VI, {{lang|la|[[Tactica of Emperor Leo VI the Wise|Tactica]]}}, XIX.67, transl. in {{harvnb|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|p=509}}</ref> although admittedly, decks were kept wet due to lack of sealants. Likewise, Leo describes the use of grenades,<ref>Leo VI, {{lang|la|[[Tactica of Emperor Leo VI the Wise|Tactica]]}}, XIX.63, transl. in {{harvnb|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|p=509}}</ref> which further reinforces the view that contact with water was not necessary for the substance's ignition.{{sfn|Roland|1992|p=660}} Zenghelis (1932) pointed out that, based on experiments, the result of the water–quicklime reaction would be negligible in the open sea.{{sfn|Zenghelis|1932|p=270}}

Another similar proposition suggested that Kallinikos had discovered [[calcium phosphide]], which can be made by boiling bones in urine in a sealed vessel.<ref>[[Colin McEvedy]] (1992), ''The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval History'', New York:  Penguin.</ref> On contact with water it releases [[phosphine]], which ignites spontaneously. Extensive experiments with calcium phosphide also failed to reproduce the described intensity of Greek fire.{{sfn|Cheronis|1937|p=363}}{{sfn|Ellis Davidson|1973|p=70}}

Consequently, although the presence of either quicklime or saltpeter in the mixture cannot be entirely excluded, they were not the primary ingredient.{{sfn|Ellis Davidson|1973|p=70}}{{sfn|Roland|1992|p=659}} Most modern scholars agree that Greek fire was based on either crude or refined [[petroleum]], 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.{{sfn|Haldon|Byrne|1977|p=92}}{{sfn|Partington|1999|p=4}}{{sfn|Forbes|1959|pp=82–84}} An alternate name for Greek fire was "[[Medes|Median]] fire" ({{lang|grc|μηδικὸν πῦρ}}),{{sfn|Forbes|1959|p=83}} and the 6th-century historian [[Procopius]] records that crude oil, called "[[naphtha]]" (in Greek: {{lang|grc|νάφθα}} {{lang|grc-Latn|náphtha}}, from [[Old Persian]] {{lang|peo|[[wikt:𐎴𐎳𐎫|𐎴𐎳𐎫]]}} {{lang|peo-Latn|naft}}) by the Persians, was known to the Greeks as "Median oil" ({{lang|grc|μηδικὸν ἔλαιον}}).<ref>Procopius, ''De bello Gothico'', IV.11.36, cited in {{harvnb|Partington|1999|p=3}}</ref> This seems to corroborate the availability of naphtha as a basic ingredient of Greek fire.{{sfn|Ellis Davidson|1973|p=62}}

Naphtha was also used by the [[Abbasids]] in the 9th century, with special troops, the {{lang|ar-Latn|naffāṭūn}}, who wore thick protective suits and used small copper vessels containing burning oil, which they threw onto the enemy troops.{{sfn|Partington|1999|p=22}} There is also a surviving 9th-century [[Latin]] text, preserved at [[Wolfenbüttel]] in Germany, which mentions the ingredients of what appears to be Greek fire and the operation of the {{lang|grc-Latn|siphōn}}s used to project it. Although the text contains some inaccuracies, it identifies the main component as naphtha.{{sfn|Forbes|1959|p=83}}{{sfn|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|pp=614–616}} [[Resin]]s were probably added as a thickener (the {{lang|la|[[Praecepta Militaria]]}} refer to the substance as {{lang|grc|πῦρ κολλητικόν}}, "sticky fire"), and to increase the duration and intensity of the flame.{{sfn|Haldon|2006|p=310}}{{sfn|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|p=618}} A modern theoretical concoction included the use of [[pine tar]] and animal fat.<ref name="video">{{cite magazine | url = http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/the-link/videos/greek-fire/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121021091344/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/the-link/videos/greek-fire/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = October 21, 2012 | title = The Link: Greek Fire | magazine = National Geographic | access-date = 22 April 2013}}</ref>

A 12th-century treatise prepared by [[Mardi bin Ali al-Tarsusi]] for [[Saladin]] records an Arab version of Greek fire, called {{lang|ar-Latn|naft}}, which also had a petroleum base, with [[sulfur]] and various resins added. Any direct relation with the Byzantine formula is unlikely.{{sfn|Pryor|Jeffreys|2006|pp=610–611}} An [[Isabella Cortese|Italian]] recipe from the 16th century has been recorded for recreational use; it includes charcoal from a willow tree, saltpeter ({{lang|it|sale ardente}}), alcohol, sulfur, incense, tar ({{lang|it|pegola}}), wool, and [[camphor]]; the concoction was guaranteed to "burn under water" and to be "beautiful".<ref>{{cite book |last=Cortese |first=Isabella |title=I Segreti della signora |year=1565 |publisher=Giovanni Bariletto |location=Venice |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n2Ga_v5kpI4C&q=fuoco+greco+secreti&pg=PA62 |access-date=23 February 2016}}</ref>