Byzantine Navy: Greek Fire, Tactics, Ships - Medieval History

The Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series on the evolution of the Roman Army continues with the fifth episode of the series on the Army of the Eastern Roman Empire, in which we talked about how the Byzantine Navy worked.

00:00 intro
02:19 Early Years
04:03 Dromon
05:59 Greek Fire
09:44 Tactics
11:54 Organization
13:39 Later Years

#Documentary #ByzantineArmy #Romans

[apollosdomain]

I really like your commitment on going back, trying to finish the old and probably one of the most popular series of the channel.

[pseudomonas]

Nikephoros Phokas's naval operation and landing on Crete against the Saracens, was the equivalent of the medieval Normandy operation. We are talking about a huge operation for the navy standards of the time, which give us an idea, about the capabilities of the Byzantine navy. Then after Michael VIII, Andronikos II Palaiologos, a disastrous emperor, was the tombstone of the Byzantine navy.

[frankscavelli]

This is sick. Such an interesting topic I've often wondered about, and only Kings and Generals covers such things. So important with how their naval interactions with the Italian Republics influenced their fate, too.

[mikemodugno]

I love Byzantine/Eastern Roman history. Looking forward to more.

[flaviusbelisarius]

It would also have been interesting to document the Byzantine breakaway states (Trebizond especially); did they try and rebuild an Imperial fleet as well?

[barbiquearea]

Although the recipe for Greek Fire was lost to the ages, the flamethrower design found its way to China. The Pen Huo Qi (literally means "fire spraying device") first saw action in the 10th century, during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It's design was based on the blueprints of seventh century Byzantine siphons, with Chinese engineers improving on the design by adding an extra bellow. This upgrade allowed Chinese fire siphons to achieve a more continuous flame, therefore allowing them to fire a constant stream of fire using liquid naphtha like modern day flamethrowers rather than in short bursts as the Byzantine siphons were only capable of. Just like the Byzantines, the Chinese made use of these crude flamethrowers offensively by mounting them onto the prow of their warships, or bringing them to the battlefield on four wheeled pushcarts. However the Chinese tended to use them defensively, as they would often mount their flamethrowers on the walls of cities or forts where the garrison could fire down upon enemy soldiers assaulting the walls or to burn down incoming siege engines such as rams or siege towers.

[Kaiyanwang]

Absolutely loved this one. Thank you for the (available) details on the Greek Fire.

[abcdef]

"I fear no Pirate or Saracen boat, but that thing... It scares me". - An Eastern Roman Sailor pointing towards the Whale called Porphyrios.

[ISAF_Ace]

The Byzantine navy was the only branch of their empire which consistently did its job and upheld its Roman legacy.

[stephenbaluran]

Great video! The navy was the underappreciated branch of the Roman and Byzantine militaries.
15:15 looks like it has a minor editing mistake: you were talking about the siege in 1453, but the date stamp on the upper right corner says 1349. Just thought you'd want to know.

[beaglemusiclabs]

Good video! I was sort of hoping the half-Italian admiral Licario would get mention, interesting story there! Also cool were some of the large, horse-carrying ships such as those employed under the Komnenoi. But, enjoyed this!

[apollosdomain]

Hey, can you guys do a video on the Assyrian empires, rise and fall of it, it’s language, culture, religion and their eventual conversion to Christianity, and how the modern Assyrians are related to them.

[LordWyatt]

Naval history fascinates me, especially the progression of the Roman Navy

[ThomasManwoody]

Great video but why does the Hagia Sophia have minarets at 12:13?

[KingRumar]

Thank you for the lesson, it’s always nice to hear more Eastern Roman stories

[cirthador]

I loved this video, and I love the Byzantines! One small error, you said 698 for the first siege with Greek Fire, I believe you meant to say 678.

[philtkaswahl]

These flame equipped ships would also carry their own sand, vinegar, or other flame snuffing material even if their opponents had no incendiaries, because blowback or residual burning oil dribbling down onto one's own ship tended to happen frequently.

[jozzieokes]

Thank you so much Kings and Generals!!!

[davidhughes]

Another great example of interesting and detailed presentation of warfare.
K&G is truly the KING!!

[gamelot]

A video on the Empire of Trebizond would be good