Naft
Naft (نفت in Persian) is a naturally occurring petroleum (naphtha), often a flammable mix used in war such as Greek fire—a highly flammable substance of unknown composition first used by the Greeks of Constantinople in the 7th century C.E. to set fire to enemy ships.1
First encountered—and used as exactly such—in The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi:
Naft.
Few weapons are more feared on the sea than naft, a substance of near-mythic origins. There are many Rum who believe naft is sacred, a miracle granted to at people to fend off the would-be conquest of Constantinople centuries ago. An oily substance, it ignites with water and does not cease to burn until there is nothing left to burn. In their Mediterranean Sea, mercifully far to the north, their warships carry great pumps, astonishing marvels of technology that spew naft over a burning flame to create lethal jets that can incinerate an enemy across the waves.
In its deadliest form, naft is a zealously guarded state secret, one both scholars and spies have died to protect. We do have copycats, various recipes for a pitch that can be stuffed into canisters and hurled by catapults or by hand, or that arrows may be dipped in. It is not enough to incinerate invading navies (though to be fair, we do not really have “invading navies”—the Indian Ocean is either too vast or northerners more querulous, God alone knows best). Some of the wealthier trade ships and many of the warships around here carry at least some form of the concoction, which they typically cobble together themselves in an effort that has never, ever gone wrong and burned down their own vessels.