Cheirosiphon
Template:New unreviewed article
The cheirosiphon (Greek: χειροσίφων) was a hand-held Greek Fire weapon utilized by the Byzantine military from roughly the time of Leo VI the Wise (AD 866 - AD 912) until the fall of Constantinople in AD 1204. Due to its portability and important role in Byzantine naval action and siege combat, it is often seen as a precursor to the modern day flamethrower.
History
The cheirosiphon is first mentioned in the Taktika of Emperor Leo VI the Wise in Constitution XIX, Section 64:
Make use also of the other method, that is, of the small siphons projected by hand from behind the iron shields held by the soldiers. These are called cheirosiphona and have been fabricated recently by Our Majesty. These too will throw the prepared fire (the Byzantine term for Greek Fire) into the face of the enemy.
Cheirosiphōnes, as the soldiers who wielded these weapons came to be known, subsequently show up in several Byzantine military works dating from the late 10th and early 11th Centuries. Hero of Byzantium illustrates a siphon-wielder in his discussion of siege tactics, which is shown in Vaticanus Graecus 1605 folium 36, which reveals that the hand-siphons were portable, apparently utilized the same substance used in the ship-bound siphon projectors, and most importantly, could be operated on the move by a single soldier. Despite their apparently specialized role in siege and naval combat, the famous Byzantine general (later Emperor) Nikephoros II Phokas also advised the use of cheirosiphōnes in land battles to break up and demoralize enemy troop formations.
.jpg)