When a band of crusaders known as Knights of St. John fought the Saracens for possession of the Holy Land, they encountered a new technology previously unknown to European warriors - weaponized fire. 

As the crusaders advanced on the walls of Jerusalem, they were struck by glass bombs containing naphtha. When they became saturated with the highly flammable liquid, the Saracens hurled flaming torches into their midst. Hundreds of knights were burned alive; others risked their lives to save their brothers-in-arms from dying painful, fiery deaths.

The heroic efforts of those that survived were recognized by fellow crusaders, by awarding crosses similar to those firefighters wear today. It became known as the Maltese cross for the tiny Meditteranean island of Malta, where the Knights of St. John lived for about 400 years.