The Last Centuries of Greek Fire

The substance had quite a reputation. When the Crusaders attacked Constantinople in 1204 they seemed to prepare for it to be deployed against them, but they did not. Instead, it seems the technology had been lost.

“According to Niketas (Choniates), the Venetians covered their galleys with ox hides as protection against fire, almost as though they expected to have to counter Greek Fire; however, neither he nor any Latin chronicler mentioned it actually being used against them. Some naval resistance was mounted in the Golden Horn by a few Byzantine ‘triereis‘ but these were either destroyed or driven ashore and abandoned. It is striking that whereas in 1043 the remnants of a similarly decayed Byzantine navy had been able to scatter the Rhos attack on Constantinople with Greek Fire, it was apparently not used in 1203. The implication is clear. At Constantinople in 1203 the Byzantine galleys were not equipped with Greek Fire.”

This is shocking, it had clearly been used many times in the preceding centuries. It was exactly the type of weapon which potentially could have prevented the fatal Golden Horn attacks by the Venetian fleet. “After the 10th century, Greek fire and fire-bearing ships continued to be mentioned by various authors; for example, Michael Psellos, who described in classicizing language the remnants of the imperial fleet which scattered the last Rus attack on Constantinople in 1043 as being composed of triereis and fire-carrying ships…and who described their use of Greek Fire, with which the Rus ships were destroyed.”

“John Kinnamos and Niketas Choniates also referred to the continuing use of Greek Fire in the twelfth century. Kinnamos wrote that the Saljuqid sultan Izz al-Dın Qilij Arslan II was treated to a demonstration of it when he visited Constantinople in 1162. Fire ships were prepared against the Normans of Sicily in 1147 and pursued a Venetian ship fleeing Constantinople at the time of the arrest of the Venetians in the Empire in 1171. Liquid fire was also used against the fleet of the rebel strategos Alexios Branas in 1187.”

What actually happened to it is not clear, either access to the materials to produce the substance was lost, or the knowledge itself was lost as the Roman navy deteriorated rapidly after the death of Manuel Komnenos in 1180. The weapon was perfect for the defense of Constantinople, and its absence was felt in 1204.

SOURCE:

The Age of the Dromon by John. H Pryor and Elizabeth M. Jeffreys