This is alist of Byzantine inventions. The Byzantine orEastern Roman Empire represented the continuation of theRoman Empire aftera part of it collapsed. Its main characteristics wereRoman state traditions,Greek culture andChristian faith.^[2]

• Cross-in-square: Thecross-in-square was the dominantarchitectural form of middle Byzantinechurches. Marking a decided departure from the oblong ground plan of thebasilica, it has been described as "a type of church that was, in its own way, perfect".^[3] The earliest extant example being theTheotokos church inConstantinople (907/908), its development can be traced back with a fair degree of certainty at least to theNea Ekklesia, consecrated in 880/881.^[4]
• Pendentive dome: Generally speaking, apendentive is a construction solution which allows a circulardome to be built atop a rectangular floor plan. While preliminary forms already evolved inRoman dome construction,^[5] the first fully developed pendentive dome dates to the reconstruction of theHagia Sophia in 564.^[6] Devised by Isodorus the Younger, the nephew of the first architectIsidore of Miletus, the in-circle design, with a maximum diameter of 31.24 m, remained unsurpassed until theRenaissance (seeFlorence Cathedral).^[1] The Hagia Sophia became the paradigmaticOrthodox church form and its architectural style was emulated byTurkish mosques a thousand years later.^[1]
• Pointed arch bridge: The earliest known bridge resting on apointed arch is the 5th or 6th century ADKaramagara Bridge inCappadocia.^[7] Its single arch of 17 m spanned an affluent of theEuphrates.^[8] A Greek inscription, citing from theBible, runs along one side of its arch rib.^[9] The structure is today submerged by theKeban Reservoir.^[10]

• 
  Panagia Chalkeion, an 11th-century cross-in-square church
• 
  Pendentive dome ofHagia Sophia (563), interior view

• Counterweight trebuchet: The earliest written record of thecounterweight trebuchet, a vastly more powerful design than the simple traction trebuchet,^[11] appears in the work of the 12th-century historianNiketas Choniates. Niketas describes a stone projector used by future emperorAndronikos I Komnenos atthe siege of Zevgminon^{[citation needed]} I 1165. This was equipped with awindlass, an apparatus required neither for the traction nor hybrid trebuchet to launch missiles.^[12] Chevedden hypothesizes that the new artillery type was introduced at the1097 Siege of Nicaea when emperorAlexios I Komnenos, an ally of the besiegingcrusaders, was reported to have invented new pieces of heavy artillery which deviated from the conventional design and made a deep impression on everyone.^[13]
• Beacon system:In the 10th century, during theArab–Byzantine wars, theByzantine Empire used abeacon system to transmit messages from the border with theAbbasid Caliphate, acrossAnatolia to theimperial palace in the Byzantine capital,Constantinople. It was devised byLeo the Mathematician for EmperorTheophilos, but either abolished or radically curtailed by Theophilos' son and successor,Michael III.^[14] Beacons were later used in Greece as well, while the surviving parts of the beacon system in Anatolia seem to have been reactivated in the 12th century by EmperorManuel I Komnenos.^[14]
• Hand-trebuchet: Thehand-trebuchet (cheiromangana) was astaff sling mounted on a pole using alever mechanism to propel projectiles. Basically a portable trebuchet which could be operated by a single man, it was advocated by emperorNikephoros II Phokas around 965 to disrupt enemy formations in the open field. It was also mentioned in theTaktika of generalNikephoros Ouranos (ca. 1000), and listed in theAnonymus De obsidione toleranda as a form of artillery.^[15]
• Greek fire: The invention and military employment ofGreek fire played a crucial role in the defense of the empire against theearly onslaught of the Muslim Arabs. Brought to Constantinople by a refugee from Syria by the name of Kallinikos,^[16] the incendiary weapon came just in time to save the capital from the Muslim sieges of674–678 and717–718, which might have otherwise proven fatal to the Byzantine state.^[17]

Greek fire, referred to by Byzantine chroniclers as "sea fire" or "liquid fire",^[18] was primarily a naval weapon, used in ship-to-ship battle against enemygalleys. The exact composition was a well-guarded state secret, to the point that modern scholars continue to debate its ingredients, but the main method of projection is fairly clear, indicating effectively a flame-thrower: The liquid mixture, heated in abrazier and pressurized by means of a pump, was ejected by an operator through asiphon in any direction against the enemy^[19] Alternatively, it could be poured down from swivelcranes or hurled in pottery grenades.^[20]

Greek fire held a fearsome reputation among Byzantium's numerous enemies who began to field – probably differently composed – combustibles of their own.^[21] It was, however, no wonder weapon, but dependent on favourable conditions such as a calm sea and wind coming from behind.^[22] When and how the use of Greek fire was discontinued is not exactly known. According to one theory, the Byzantines lost the secret due to over-compartmentalization long before the1204 sack of Constantinople.^[23]

• Incendiary grenade:Grenades appeared not long after the reign ofLeo III (717–741), when Byzantine soldiers learned that Greek fire could not only be projected by flamethrowers, but also be thrown in stone and ceramic jars.^[24] Larger containers were hurled bycatapults or trebuchets at the enemy, either ignited before release or set alight by fire arrows after impact.^[25] Grenades were later adopted for use byMuslim armies: Vessels of the characteristic spheroconical shape which many authors identify as grenade shells were found over much of the Islamic world,^[26] and a possible workshop for grenade production from the 13th century was excavated at the Syrian city ofHama.^[27]
• Flamethrower: for ship-borneflamethrowers, see Greek fire above. Portable hand-siphons were used in land warfare.

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  Modern drawing of acounterweight trebuchet being prepared for shooting
• 
  Byzantine ship employingGreek fire in the late 11th century
• 
  Claygrenades that were filled with Greek fire (10th–12th centuries)
• 
  Hand-siphon, a portableflamethrower

• Fork: the fork was originally used as a utensil for picking up and eating food in the 7th century by the nobles of the Byzantine empire. It was later introduced to western Europe through the marriage ofMaria Argyropoulina toGiovanni Orseolo. The story goes that during her wedding feast she used her personal two pronged golden fork to eat. The Venetians, eating with their hands, considered using the fork blasphemous, "God in his wisdom has provided man with natural forks—his fingers. Therefore it is an insult to him to substitute artificial metal forks for them when eating” claimed one member of the clergy. She died of a disease several years later. Venetians claimed was the result of her disrespecting God with her fork.^[28][29][30]
• Byzantine lyra: Medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire.
• Corpus Juris Civilis: Under the reign ofJustinian the Great he initiated reforms that had a clear effect on the evolution of jurisprudence as his Corpus Juris Civilis became the foundation of the jurisprudence in the Western world.
• Icon:Icons are images of holy beings such asJesus,Mary and thesaints which, painted according to certain traditional rules, have been playing a pivotal role inEastern Orthodox Church veneration since its early days. The most distinctive Byzantine form are representations on portable wooden panels painted in theHellenistic techniques oftempera orencaustic. Other varieties include (precious) metalreliefs ormosaic-style panels set withtesserae of precious stones, gold, silver andivory. The use of icons was violently opposed during theiconoclastic controversy which dominated much of Byzantium's internal politics in the 8th and 9th centuries, but was finally resumed by the victoriousiconodules. Only few early icons have survived the iconoclasm, the most prominent examples being the 6th–7th century collection fromSaint Catherine's Monastery.^[31]
• Feta: feta cheese, specifically, is first recorded in theByzantine Empire in Avicenna's Poem on Medicine under the nameprósphatos (Greek: πρόσφατος, "recent" or "fresh"), and was produced by theCretans and theAromanians ofThessaly.
• Ship mill: The historianProcopius records that ship mills were introduced byBelisarius during thesiege of Rome (537/538), initially as a makeshift solution. After theOstrogoths had interrupted the water-supply of theaqueducts on which the city was dependant to run itsgristmills, Belisarius ordered riverboats to be fitted with mill gearing; these were moored between bridge piers where the strong current powered thewater wheels mounted on the vessel. The innovative use quickly found acceptance amongmedieval watermillers, reachingParis and theFrankish Realm only two decades later.^[32]
• Thetheory of impetus: The theory was introduced by John Philoponus, and it is the precursor to the concepts of inertia, momentum and acceleration.^[33]
• Hospital: The concept of hospital as institution to offer medical care and possibility of a cure for the patients due to the ideals ofChristian charity, rather than just merely a place to die, appeared in Byzantine Empire.^[34]
• Separation ofconjoined twins: The first known example of separating conjoined twins happened in the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century. A pair of conjoined twins lived in Constantinople for many years when one of them died, so the surgeons in Constantinople decided to remove the body of the dead one. The result was partly successful as the surviving twin lived three days before dying. The fact that the second person survived for few days after separating him was still being mentioned a century and a half later by historians. The next recorded case of separating conjoined twins was 1689 in Germany.^[35][36]

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  Virgin of Vladimir, a 12th-century icon
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  Medieval ship mills on theRhine

• List of Greek inventions and discoveries
• Ancient Greek technology

• Dennis, George T. (1997), "Were the Byzantines Creative or Merely Imitative?",Byzantinische Forschungen,24:1–9

• Mlahanas:Byzantine Science and Technology

• Byzantine science
• Lists of inventions or discoveries
• Byzantine inventions

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