Greek fire did what no sword could. The Byzantine navy pumped it through bronze tubes mounted on ships, igniting the Muslim armada — 1,800 vessels — as it pushed toward Constantinople's sea walls in 717. The fire burned on water. Sailors jumped into the Bosphorus and kept burning. The Arab siege that followed lasted a full year before collapsing, with the army retreating through a brutal Balkan winter that killed thousands more. Constantinople survived another 700 years. Greek fire's exact formula was never written down and remains unknown.
September 1, 717
1309 years ago
What Else Happened on September 1
Marcus Furius Camillus dedicated the Temple of Juno Regina on the Aventine Hill, fulfilling a vow made during the grueling siege of Veii. By transplanting the g…
Nobody actually celebrated it in 462 AD. The Byzantine indiction was a 15-year Roman tax assessment cycle — a bureaucratic rhythm that somehow became embedded i…
The main altar of Lund Cathedral receives consecration on September 1, 1145, solidifying the church as the spiritual heart of the Nordic world. This act cements…
Stamira leaps from a tower into the sea, drowning herself to shatter the morale of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's besieging forces. Her desperate act forces the…
Stephen V of Hungary personally documented a walk to a crumbling old castle where workers had just unearthed a sword. Not just any sword — the Sword of Attila, …
Tvrtko I was consolidating control over a fractured medieval Bosnia in 1355, and his written reference to the fortress of Visoki — 'in castro nostro Vizoka voca…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.