Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Most ancient Roman cities had no firefighting organizations or equipment dedicated to fighting fires. [1] There were early groups of watchmen who used buckets of water to put out fires. [2] During the Roman Republic, there were several organizations dedicated to firefighting. These were the tresviri nocturni, and the aediles also helped put out ...
The triumviri nocturni (meaning three men of the night) were the first men, being privately owned slaves, organized into a group that combatted the common problems of fire and conflagrations in Rome. Another organization dedicated to fighting fires in ancient Rome was a band of slaves led by the aedile Marcus Egnatius Rufus.
The history of organized firefighting began in ancient Rome while under the rule of the first Roman Emperor Augustus. [1] Prior to that, Ctesibius, a Greek citizen of Alexandria, developed the first fire pump in the third century BC, which was later improved upon in a design by Hero of Alexandria in the first century BC. [2]
The Great Fire of Rome (Latin: incendium magnum Romae) began on the 19th of July 64 AD. [1] The fire started in the merchant shops around Rome's chariot stadium, Circus Maximus . After six days, the fire was brought under control, but before the damage could be assessed, the fire reignited and burned for another three days.
The first ever Roman fire brigade was created by Crassus. Fires were almost a daily occurrence in Rome, and Crassus took advantage of the fact that Rome had no fire department, by creating his own brigade—500 men strong—which rushed to burning buildings at the first cry of alarm.
However, there is no mention of fires being extinguished, rather they were contained and burned themselves out. Ancient Rome did not have an organized firefighting force until the Vigiles were formed during the reign of Augustus. [6] The first ever Roman fire brigade was created by Marcus Licinius Crassus. Fires were almost a daily occurrence ...
The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70, by David Roberts (1850), shows the city burning. Early thermal weapons, which used heat or burning action to destroy or damage enemy personnel, fortifications or territories, were employed in warfare during the classical and medieval periods (approximately the 8th century BC until the mid-16th century AD).
Usage of the term "Greek fire" has been general in English and most other languages since the Crusades. Original Byzantine sources called the substance a variety of names, such as "sea fire" (Medieval Greek: πῦρ θαλάσσιον pŷr thalássion), "Roman fire" (πῦρ ῥωμαϊκόν pŷr rhōmaïkón), "war fire" (πολεμικὸν πῦρ polemikòn pŷr), "liquid fire ...