The Hidden Science and Tech of the Byzantine Empire

In reality, Byzantium was also a pragmatic and down-to-earth culture—it developed sophisticated systems for taxation, justice, administration, and military deployment—and it also exhibited prowess in science and technology. My new book, A Cabinet of Byzantine Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from History’s Most Orthodox Empire, aims to capture this side of the Byzantines, too. Byzantine military inventors perfected Greek Fire, a combustible liquid like napalm that could be hurled at enemy ships...

The selections below highlight six notable successes (and failures) of Byzantine science and engineering. The italic text is from Byzantine thinkers and writers themselves...

- Facts So Romantic - Nautilus, 2017