Weapons
The war sector in Byzantium underwent constant developments in both inventing new weapons
and improving the existing ones, in an effort to precedent over the opponent and to confront his
aggressiveness.
The atomic armaments of the warriors varied depending on the season, type and importance of
their military unit. There were even special state workshops for the manufacture of weapons, the
armamenta, while the possession and trade of weapons by individuals was strictly prohibited.
The byzantine weapons can be divided into defensive and offensive ones. Part of the defensive
equipment is the armor that included the iron helmet, the iron, chained or scaly breastplate that
protected the torso, the protections of hands and feet, and the shields, in various shapes and
sizes. Because of the great cost of such armor, many soldiers retorted to simpler, more economic
solutions, using helmets made of textiles and leather or hard cloth garments.
As for the offensive weapons, were divided into "aghemaha", for melee, and "ekibola", for hitting
the enemy from a distance. To the first category belongs the sword, the main offensive weapon of
the Byzantines, the spear, one of the most important weapons of the infantry units, the bat, used
by the heavily armed cavalry, and the ax.
The bow was the greatest weapon for hitting from a distance. During the battles and sieges, not
rarely, they threw arrows of fire. A bow of smaller size was the tube that shoot small arrows, while
a particularly deadly weapon was tzangra, a short and very powerful bow, because of the way the
arrows penetrated the armor of the enemy.
Another important category of weapons were the ones used in castle sieges. The besiegers,
except of stairs and wooden bridges, used the ram, which demolished vulnerable sections of the
walls, the petrovolon, hurling large stones, elepoleis, wooden wheeled towers, and the turtle,
which helped soldiers to approach the walls, damage the stones or dig the ground creating
tunnels.
As for the navy, the Byzantine ships were equipped with "XYLOKASTRO", from where warriors
could blast missiles against enemy ships, and machines for throwing containers with liquid fire.
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During the battle small portable flamethrowers were also used, while toxovallistres hurled small
arrows. Finally, shields and skins impregnated with water and placed on the sides of the ships,
protected the warriors and ships from enemy incendiary materials.
Glossary (1)
scale armour: armour consisting of small metal plates placed close to each other so as to form a
single body, resembling the skin of a reptile.
Information Texts (1)
Greek fire: The supremacy of the byzantine navy was undoubtedly due to the existence of greek
fire, also known as "see fire" or "Median fire", which was the more refined version of martial
incendiary materials existed until then. Ever since the antiquity many flammable materials had
been used against the enemy. But the element that made the greek fire unique, making it thus a
deadly weapon, was the fact that it didn't extinguished when it came in contact with water. The
Greek-Syrian architect Callinicos is considered to be the inventor of the greek fire. With this he
equipped the ships that successfully defended Constantinople against the Arabs in 717-718.
Callinicos' contribution probably lies to the optimization of the way the fire was thrown. It's
composition remains a mystery even to this day, since both the ingredients and the method of
preparation were a state secret. The fear of anathema and the punishments that awaited whoever
revealed the secret formula were great. Presumably, the greek fire was a mixture of naphtha and
sulfur, while components such as lime, resin and other combustible material enhanced its
possibility of ignition. Natural sources of naphtha could be found in the area between the Caspian
and Black Sea, and in Arabia. The Arabs, just like the Byzantines, had also discovered and
successfully used incendiary mixtures using as main ingredients naphtha and liquid tar, that did
not put out with water, only sand. The continuous contact between the two countries, combined
with the competitions and spying, makes rather unlikely the existence of "secret" weapons, like
greek fire. The liquid fire was kept within oblong clay or metal vessels, called "sifones". They were
thrown through special machines found on the prows of ships. These machines functioned rather
like crossbows, ie large wood constructions with a mechanism similar to that of the arc that threw
stones or arrows. There were also "cheirosifones" who may have been small clay or metal pots
filled with greek fire, which would be thrown against the enemies· their function would be similar to
that of the current grenades. The greek fire was mainly used in naval battles. Its main success
was that it brought confusion and panic in the hostile fleets, as it made them flee because of the
fire and the bad effect that it had on the morale of the ship crews. The greek fire was in use by the
Byzantines mainly up to the 13th century.
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