Greek Fire: The Secret Weapon That Saved An Empire

https://www.patreon.com/history_uncovered

Greek Fire was a secret incendiary weapon first deployed by the Byzantine Empire Navy during the First Arab Siege of Constantinople in 674-678 AD. The attacking Umayyad Caliphate's fleet had no answer to the devastating new weapon and were completely decimated in battle. The Byzantines won the battle and the Empire survived.

The Umayyad Caliphate tried again to conquer Constantinople in 717 but their navy was again destroyed by the Byzantine Navy's use of Greek Fire. Learn why these 2 battles were so important to the history of the Byzantine Empire and even Europe itself.


Music:
Ibn Al-Noor (incompetech.com)Kevin MacLeod
Crossing the Chasm (incompetech.com)Kevin MacLeod
Interloper (incompetech.com)Kevin MacLeod


Photos:
By Nécropotame (French version); Cplakidas (English translation) - Translated and extensively modified from Image:Map_Byzantine_Empire_1025-de.svg, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4078443

By Unknown - http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID%3Afsg_S1986.238&repo=DPLA, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26838708