First hand grenades

Grenades appeared in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire shortly after the reign of Leo III (717–741). Soldiers realized that Greek fire – an incendiary weapon – could also be thrown at the enemy in stone, ceramic or glass containers. From Byzantine, the use of grenades travelled east toward the Near East and then to China, where evidence is found in military writings from 1044 entitled Wujing Zongyao or the Compilation of Military Classics.