Several Byzantine emperors died violent deaths by poison. The Byzantine Empire from the 6th century AD to the 11th century AD included present-day western Turkey, where there are more than fifty mines containing minerals with deposits of mercury (Hg). Discovered by the end of the 4th century BC, the element Hg has no known biological function, and the history of its toxic effects is long. “Corrosive sublimate” (mercury(II) chloride, HgCl2) was probably first made in the 10th century AD and was widely used as a violent poison in the Middle Ages. Unlike “corrosive sublimate,” calomel (mercury(I) chloride, Hg2Cl2) occurs naturally and is found in oxidized zones along with cinnabar. Was mineral calomel used as a poison in the Byzantine Empire? A historically important mysterious death in the 7th century AD with no autopsy information is forensically analyzed using specific historical reports that point at the Byzantine Empire as the supplier of a poison appearing as solid elemental gold. Environmental analysis has shown oversaturation with calomel in water samples near some of the mercury mines in present-day western Turkey, and calomel can present as a yellow gold crust. Certain historical reports that address the poisoning, including developing a green hue to the skin and vomiting blood, are symptoms of Hg intoxication caused by ingesting calomel, which is, in the aqueous phase in the human stomach, converted into “corrosive sublimate.” Ancient documents and mineralogical, medical, and chemical facts support the hypothesis that mineral calomel from a certain region in the Byzantine Empire supplied by the Emperor Constantine IV was the poison primarily responsible for the mysterious death. The presence of mineral calomel in the lithosphere of present-day western Turkey and the Emperor Constantine IV supplying it as addressed strongly suggest that mineral calomel was a poison commonly used in the Byzantine Empire.

Mineral calomel (mercury(I) chloride): A poison in the Byzantine Empire?

252nd National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.