Greek Fire, the Most Powerful Weapon of Byzantine Army Essay

The big clash between Rome and Carthage prevented the Romans from seeking a code of war towards the Greeks. In 364 BC, General Titus Flamininus gained authority to declare war on Greece which is known as the battle of Cynoscephalae. The Greek army was under King Phillip V of Macedon. The Romans had an army of 24,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry. The Greek army had 26,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry. “Titus Flamininus soundly defeated the Macedonian Army led by Phillip V. This battle was important because the successors of Greek leader Alexander the Great had now been defeated.” (Nelson, 2015) Rome was now the leading world

We can learn that the walls were manly for protection of their culture and teachings. Furthermore, the Byzantins were extremely smart in strategies, by using Greek Fire which is one of the main factor of the Byzantin defences. Greek Fire is like a napalm grenade to flush their enemy is out of the mote, and give the Byzantines a strategic advantage. We learned that the Byzantines were good strategies and were tremendously protective of their teachings, education, and

The Byzantine Empire was a primarily Christian empire whose reign started in 330 A.D and ended in 1453 A.D with the capturing of the its capital Constantinople by the Muslim Sultan Mehmed II. In the years following the fall of the Byzantines, many of the Christian basilicas were transformed into mosques for Islamic worship, inspiring many artists to create works that embodied their religious politics. One of the pieces created following the fall of the Byzantine Empire is Yusuf Fleeing Zulayhka, created in 1488 by Kamal al-Din Bihzad, a famous Persian painter who worked under the patronage of several Persian sultans. The illustration depicts Yusuf’s struggle to escape his master’s wife Zulaykha as she chases him through her elaborate palace in an attempt to seduce him. The representation was made using paint, ink and gold, and features jewel-like colors in order to portray the extravagancy of the palace Zulayhka has built specifically for the seduction of Yusuf (Stokstad 286).

Ancient Greece is found to be on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, due to its location it was possible to trade with other parts of the area and not depend solely on crops grown in the area. The region of the Mediterranean where Greece is found is on the coast of the Aegean Sea it contains rugged mountains, and valleys. Being on the coast made the use of ships necessary this also put the people of Greece at risk for land attacks from armies bigger than the Greek armies. Also the region was at risk for volcanos, large ocean storms, and catastrophic earthquakes that could destroy cities without notice. In Persia there were two groups of people who settled the in the region who left a major impact on the area’s history the Medes and the Persians. The Medes were found in the Zagros Mountains, and the Persians were found lower in the plains along the

The major cultural achievements was the preservation of the Greek language and culture. Greek ethics and science became the foundation of the Western Civilization. In the Byzantine Empire they preserved the Ancient Greek literature scribes. Homer ~ The iliad and the Odyssey are among most widely read poems in American and European schools and colleges today. Sophocles ~ Theatrical plays, including Oedipus Rex, helped to define a form of literature called tragedy. Socrates ~ Known to us through the writings of Plato and others, Socrates crafted a form of inquiry and debate, called the Socratic Method, that is used in classrooms today. It features questions rather than answers. Plato ~ One of Plato’s works, The Republic, describes an ideal society and explores the importance of justice in that society. Aristotle ~ His many scientific and philosophical writings advanced the use of logic and scientific thought. Euclid ~ He made inquires into astronomy, music, and mathematics. Regarded as the father of geometry. Hippocrates ~ His medical works and his ethical standards led to the still- used Hippocratic Oath taken by all doctors. Originally the language of the Byzantine Empire was Latin until 700 CE when it was changed to Greek by Emperor Heraclius. The culture of Constantinople was diverse. The Byzantine Empire had an important cultural legacy, both on the Orthodox Church and on the revival of Greek and Roman

The Aegean Sea, containing more than 2,000 islands was heavily relied on for trade, which in turn brought prosperity to the Byzantine Empire. Trade became their main source of income with trade traveling as far as Spain and Egypt. “Commercial sea trading became their main source of income and, in time, they colonized the various islands of the Aegean archipelago and produced various commodities such as figs, grapes, wine, raisins, honey, wheat, assorted vegetables, and herbs” (Mark 3). This sea played a role in development of Greek culture because it provided transportation for trade. This led to job specialization with occupations such as fishermen and shipbuilders. Because of its location, the earliest civilization in Europe appeared on the coasts and islands of the Aegean Sea.

Fire has been used in battle as far back as the Greeks in 7th century A.D, but the most devastating use of fire warfare was when Napalm used by the United States in World War two against the Japanese and again in the Vietnam War. Flame throwers were used in World War One, but the problem was that it burned too quick because of the gasoline mixture that was used to produce the flame. In 1942 a team of Harvard researchers that was led by Dr. Louis Fieser discovered that a mixture of rubber with the gasoline made a flame that burned longer, but rubber was would have to be replaced by aluminum soap powder because of the scarcity of rubber (Rohn “Napalm in Vietnam War”). This mixture would later be known as napalm and it was a modernization of war with devastating results.

"Ancient Greece - War - The British Museum." Ancient Greece - War - The British Museum. British Museum, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

With the new invention of Greek fire, the Byzantines had a relatively easy time winning the wars. These two failed sieges stopped the expansion of the Arab Empire for more than 30 years. However, if the Arabs won, it could have started a chain reaction causing the Byzantine Empire to dissolve and jump-start the Arab expansion into England 700 years early.

The Byzantines created a weapon, Greek Fire, no person knew how to put the fire out. The Byzantine Empire joined the 4th Crusade but in the end they lost many of their own land to the Bulgarians. They joined the religion of Eastern Orthodox and when they conquered additional empires they would make them convert to Eastern Orthodox. The Byzantine Empire was the capital city of Rome when Theodora and Justinian was the emperor. The economy in the Byzantine Empire was skyrocketing, because they were conquering other empires. Every time the Byzantines conquered other empires they got more land and money which gave them a better economy. Greek Fire was fire that came out of a portable flamethrower, the Byzantines would shoot at people that were trying

Because of their technologically advanced weaponry and how they used it, the Greek Empire expanded all across the Mediterranean. The Greek military were the first to used specialized weaponry for different units, and did this to high effect. The hoplites, or infantry, carried huge shields that covered their whole body from their ankles to their chins, wore bronze armor and helmets, and carried long spears of lengths up to twenty feet

Ancient Greece is perhaps one of the most extraordinary civilizations in history as it had remarkable advancements that altered the future of the world. During the period of 600 BCE, many new concepts originated from this location, such as Homer’s Ilad and the Odyssey. These acted as resources for Greeks to learn about their gods. A significant amount of culture in conjunction with religion was also generated in this region as well, including pottery and sculptures that were created for different purposes along with the creation of the music theory. In the end, Greece possessed city states that thrived united and individually, which is seen in Sparta with its highly trained Spartans, leading to an increase in military victory.

Throughout the course of history there have been many great and powerful civilizations. These civilizations made their way to power in many ways including military force, great wealth, and politics. These civilizations include the Assyrians, the Egyptians, the Romans, and in more recent times, the United States of America. Another civilization that is often mentioned to be a part of this prestigious group is that of the Ancient Greeks. The primary reason being the Ancient Greek’s military advancement made them superior to the other ancient armies of the time allowing their civilization to grow.

When the flame began dying out, they neutralized it using wine and gathered all of the burnt bones into a golden urn, finally covering it in a luxurious purple and burying it under a bunch of stones, and with that, the Iliad

Artists created their own unique style in Greek culture and with the creation of the Roman Empire, Greek artwork had been spread throughout the region. When the empire eventually split and faded from existence, Greek artwork had left its mark on the remaining civilizations. Because Byzantium had arisen from the ashes of the Roman Empire, Byzantine artwork incorporated aspects of Greek art within their own artwork. The purpose of this investigation is to compare and contrast art in ancient Greece and Byzantium. Recognizing the similarities and differences between two related cultures is vital in understanding the evolution of art from one culture to another. Within this investigation designs/patterns and