Naft was the naphtha-based incendiary weapon of medieval Muslim armies, distinct from Byzantine Greek fire though built on the same petroleum chemistry. Specialist troops called naffatun, protected by thick fireproof suits, threw small copper vessels of burning naphtha onto enemy troops, siege engines and fortifications, a capability the Ayyubid and later Mamluk armies used heavily in siege warfare against the Crusader states.
Facts
Weapon ClassIncendiary weapon (naphtha-based) 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Greek fire
WikipediaTheories on composition sectionQuote, Theories on composition section
Naphtha was also used by the Abbasids in the 9th century, with special troops, the naffatun, who wore thick protective suits and used small copper vessels containing burning oil, which they threw onto the enemy troops.
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