Greek fire was the most devastating weapon in the Eastern Roman empire. But what was it?

Michael B Charles; Eva Anagnostou-Laotides

doi:10.64628/AA.9xsr46chn

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Greek fire was the most devastating weapon in the Eastern Roman empire. But what was it?

Magazine article

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Greek fire was the most devastating weapon in the Eastern Roman empire. But what was it?

Michael B Charles and Eva Anagnostou-Laotides

The Conversation

20/07/2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64628/AA.9xsr46chn

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Abstract

Before modern weapons of mass destruction, there was Greek fire (ignis graecus). This was the term medieval Crusaders applied to Byzantine (Eastern Roman) incendiary weapons famously used in naval combat in the Eastern Mediterranean from around 673 CE to at least the 1180s. So secret was the recipe for Greek fire that it died with the Byzantine Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Empire in May 1453. Since then, many alchemists, historians, chemists and experimental archaeologists have tried to work out the long-lost recipe of this Byzantine super-weapon. So, what do we actually know about this secret super-weapon?

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Title: Greek fire was the most devastating weapon in the Eastern Roman empire. But what was it?
Creators: Michael B Charles - Southern Cross University
Eva Anagnostou-Laotides - Macquarie University
Publication Details: The Conversation
Publisher: The Conversation Media Group Ltd
Identifiers: 991013390252602368
Academic Unit: Management; Faculty of Business, Law and Arts
Language: English
Resource Type: Magazine article

Greek fire was the most devastating weapon in the Eastern Roman empire. But what was it?

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