Kallinikos or Latinized Callinicus ( grc-x-medieval, Καλλίνικος
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
650 AD) was a Jewish-
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe t ...
from
Heliopolis of Syria in
Baalbek. He is credited with the invention of
Greek fire, a naval weapon somewhat resembling the modern flamethrower. According to
Constantine Porphyrogenitus
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Ka ...
, Callinicus was a refugee from Heliopolis of Syria who arrived in Byzantium in the time of
Constantine IV
Constantine IV ( la, Constantinus; grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantînos; 650–685), called the Younger ( la, iunior; grc-gre, ὁ νέος, ho néos) and sometimes incorrectly the Bearded ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, Πωγων ...
and shared his knowledge of liquid fire with the Byzantines. Callinicus’ exact formula was a carefully guarded secret, and remains unknown today. Possible ingredients include resin, asphalt, sulfur, naphtha, fine quicklime, and calcium phosphide.
See also
*
References
Byzantine architects
7th-century Byzantine scientists
7th-century Byzantine people
Byzantine Jews
Syrian Jews
7th-century architects
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