According to historical data, for the first time "Greek fire" was used in 673 during the defense of Constantinople from the siege of the Arabs. Then a secret engineering invention, the exact composition and properties of which are disputed in our time, saved the Byzantine capital. At the same time, there is no doubt that before that, weapons with a similar effect were not used in military conflicts. The fact is that the result of its use has become so stunning that the closest analogue to it can only be called the atomic bomb attack on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
At that time, the siege of Constantinople was carried out mainly from the sea, because from the land the city was almost impregnable. To protect himself from the Arab bulk, the engineer Kallinikos handed over to the then reigning Emperor Constantine IV a recipe for an unknown combustible composition, which was supposed to completely eliminate the attacking fleet. The ruler had no choice but to take a chance and use "Greek fire". As a result, the Arabs were so shocked that they fled in panic, andmost of their ships were burned to the ground.
The main advantage of the new weapon was that the composition burned both on the ground and in the water. At the same time, there was no point in extinguishing it, because when interacting with water, the fire only increased, and it was unrealistic to save the ship fired upon by it. The raw materials for the "Greek fire" were placed in a vessel, which was then thrown at the enemy due to a special throwing installation. Further, the mixture poured out and ignited due to interaction with air. New weapons in the future more than once saved Constantinople from attacks by the Arabs.
Some time later, Byzantine engineers perfected the method of throwing. Their fleet began to install special pipes through which "Greek fire" was released under pressure created using pumps and bellows. The shot was accompanied by a strong roar, which terrified the enemy. The Byzantine rulers kept the composition of the mixture a strict secret, and numerous attempts by other peoples to find out this secret were unsuccessful. Only five centuries later, Emperor Alexei III lost power and fled the country. Eight years later, during the siege of Syrian Damietta, the Saracens used this weapon.
Even after the loss of its secrecy, "Greek fire" in military affairs was used for a very long time and lost its relevance only after the invention of firearms. The last historical record of its use dates back to 1453. During the siege of the same Constantinople, resorted to the help of a combustible mixture anddefending Byzantines, and attacking Turks, who ended up celebrating their victory.
After that, the secret of the mixture was lost, and many historians devoted many years to searching for clues, but this did not lead to success. Due to the fact that the "Greek fire" burned well on water, many scientists argue that oil served as the basis for its preparation. The most common opinion is that the mixture was obtained by combining pure sulfur with oil. Then it was boiled and set on fire. As for the proportions of the composition, it still remains a mystery.
