- History of saffron
The history of saffron in human cultivation and use reaches back more than 3,500 yearsHarvnb|Deo|2003|p=1.] and spans many cultures, continents, and civilizations.
Saffron , aspice derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus ("Crocus sativus"), has remained among the world's costliest substances throughout history. With its bitter taste, hay-likefragrance , and slight metallic notes, saffron has been used as aseasoning , fragrance,dye , andmedicine . Saffron is native toSouthwest Asia ,Harvnb|Grigg|1974|p=287.] Harvnb|Hill|2001|p=272.] but was first cultivated inGreece .The wild precursor of domesticated saffron crocus is "
Crocus cartwrightianus ". Human cultivators bred "C. cartwrightianus" specimens by selecting for plants with abnormally long stigmas. Thus, sometime in lateBronze Age Crete , a mutant form of "C. cartwrightianus", "C. sativus", emerged.Harvnb|Goyns|1999|p=1.] Saffron was first documented in a 7th-century BCAssyria n botanical reference compiled underAshurbanipal . Since then, documentation of saffron's use over a span of 4,000 years in the treatment of some ninety illnesses has been uncovered. Saffron slowly spread throughout much ofEurasia , later reaching parts ofNorth Africa ,North America , andOceania .Greco-Roman
[
Minoan settlement of Akrotiri,Santorini .]Saffron played a significant role in the
Greco-Roman classical period (8th century BC to the 3rd century AD). However, the first known image of saffron in Greek culture is much older and stems from theBronze Age . A saffron harvest is shown in theKnossos palacefresco es of Minoan Crete,Harvnb|Hogan|2007|p=3.] which depict the flowers being picked by young girls andmonkey s. One of these fresco sites is located in the "Xeste 3" building at Akrotiri, on the Greek island ofSantorini (known to ancient Greeks as Thera). The "Xeste 3" frescoes have been dated from 1600–1500 BC. Various other dates have been given, such as 3000–1100 BC and the 17th century BC.Harvnb|Dalby|2002|p=124.] They portray a Greek goddess supervising the plucking of flowers and the picking of stigmas for use in the manufacture of a therapeutic drug. A fresco from the same site also depicts a woman using saffron to treat her bleeding foot.Harvnb|Honan|2004.] These Theran frescoes are the first botanically accurate pictorial representations of saffron's use as an herbal remedy.Harvnb|Ferrence|2004.] The saffron-growing Minoan settlement of Akrotiri on Santorini was ultimately destroyed by a powerful earthquake and subsequent volcanic eruption between 1645 and 1500 BC.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=37.] The volcanic ash from the destruction entombed and helped preserve the saffron frescoes.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=37–38.]Ancient Greek legends tell of brazen sailors embarking on long and perilous voyages to the remote land of
Cilicia , where they traveled to procure what they believed was the world's most valuable saffron.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=2–3.] The best-known Greek legend about saffron is the story detailing the tragedy of Crocus and Smilax: The handsome youth Crocus sets out in pursuit of thenymph Smilax in the woods nearAthens . During a brief period of idyllic love Smilax is flattered by his amorous advances, but soon is bored by Crocus' attentions. After he continues to pursue her against her wishes, she resorts to bewitching him, transforming Crocus into a saffron crocus flower, with its radiant orange stigmas remaining as a faint symbol of his undying passion for Smilax. The tragedy and the spice would be recalled later byOvid ::
For the people of the ancient Mediterranean, the saffron gathered in the Cilician coastal town of Soli was the most valued, particularly for use in
perfume s and ointments. However, such figures asHerodotus andPliny the Elder rated rivalAssyria n andBabylonia n saffron from theFertile Crescent as best for use in treatments against gastrointestinal and renal ailments. Greek saffron production from theCorycian Cave ofMount Parnassus also became noteworthy. The color of the Corycian crocus is used as a comparison in theArgonautica ofApollonius Rhodius , [ [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/1argn10.txt Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius] at Project Gutenberg.] and its fragrance in theEpigrams ofMartial . [cite web|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=gl5T47CvuDsC&dq=crocus+and+(korykian%7Ccorycian%7Ckorikian)&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0|title=Ancient Rome in so many words|author=Christopher Francese|year=2007|page=162]In late
Ptolemaic Egypt , Cleopatra used a quarter-cup of saffron in her warm baths because of its colouring and cosmetic properties. She also used it before encounters with men, believing that saffron would give lovemaking more pleasure.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=55.] Egyptian healers used saffron as a treatment for all varieties of gastrointestinal ailments.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=34.] For instance, when stomach pains progressed to internal hemorrhaging, an Egyptian treatment consisted of saffron crocus seeds mixed and crushed together with "aager"-tree remnants, ox fat,coriander , andmyrrh . This ointment orpoultice was applied to the body. The physicians expected it to " [expel] blood through the mouth or rectum which resembles hog's blood when it is cooked."Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=34–35.] Urinary tract conditions were also treated with an oil-based emulsion of premature saffron flowers mixed with roasted beans; this was used topically on men. Women ingested a more complex preparation.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=35.]In Greco-Roman times saffron was widely traded across the Mediterranean by the
Phoenicia ns. Their customers ranged from perfumers inRosetta , Egypt to physicians inGaza to townsfolk inRhodes , who wore pouches of saffron in order to mask the presence of malodorous fellow citizens during outings to the theatre.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=58.] For the Greeks, saffron was widely associated with professionalcourtesan s and retainers known as the "hetaera e". In addition, large dye works operating inSidon and Tyre used saffron baths as a substitute. There, royal robes were triple-dipped in deep purple dyes; for the robes of royal pretenders and commoners, the last two dips were replaced with a saffron dip, which gave a less intense purple hue.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=59.]The ancient Greeks and Romans also prized saffron for its use as a perfume and deodoriser. They scattered it about public spaces such as royal halls, courts, and amphitheatres. When Emperor
Nero entered Rome they spread saffron along the streets, and wealthy Romans made daily use of saffron baths. They also used saffron asmascara , stirred saffron threads into theirwine s, strewn it in halls and streets as apotpourri , and offered it to their deities. Roman colonists took saffron with them when they settled in southern Gaul, where it was extensively cultivated until the AD 271 barbarian invasion of Italy. Competing theories state that saffron only returned to France with 8th-centuryMoors or with theAvignon Papacy in the 14th century.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=63.]Middle Eastern
Saffron-based pigments have been found in the prehistoric paints used to illustrate beasts in 50,000 year-old cave art found in today's
Iraq .Harvnb|Humphries|1998|p=20.] Later, theSumer ians used saffron as an ingredient in their remedies and magical potions. Sumerians did not cultivate saffron. They gathered their stores from wild flowers, believing that divine intervention alone enables saffron's medicinal properties.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=12.] Such evidence provides evidence that saffron was an article of long-distance trade before Crete's Minoan palace culture reached a peak in the 2nd millennium BC. Saffron was also honoured as a sweet-smelling spice over three millennia ago in the HebrewTanakh ::
In ancient Persia, saffron ("Crocus sativus" 'Hausknechtii') was cultivated at Derbena and Isfahan in the 10th century BC. There, Persian saffron threads have been found interwoven into ancient Persian royal carpets and funeral shrouds.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=2.] Saffron was used by ancient Persian worshipers as a ritual offering to their deities, and as a brilliant yellow dye, perfume, and a medicine. Thus, saffron threads would be scattered across beds and mixed into hot teas as a curative for bouts of melancholy. Indeed, Persian saffron threads, used to spice foods and teas, were widely suspected by foreigners of being a drugging agent and an
aphrodisiac . These fears grew to forewarn travelers to abstain from eating saffron-laced Persian cuisine. In addition, Persian saffron was dissolved in water withsandalwood to use as a body wash after heavy work and perspiration under the hot Persian sun.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=17–18.] Later, Persian saffron was heavily used byAlexander the Great and his forces during their Asian campaigns. They mixed saffron into teas and dined on saffron rice. Alexander personally used saffron sprinkled in warm bath water. He believed it would heal his many wounds, and his faith in saffron grew with each treatment. He even recommended saffron baths for the ordinary men under him. The Greek soldiers, taken with saffron's perceived curative properties, continued the practice after they returned to Macedonia.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=54–55.] Saffron cultivation also reached what is nowTurkey , with harvesting concentrated around the northern town ofSafranbolu ; the area still known for its annual saffron harvest festivals.Indian and Chinese
Various conflicting accounts exist that describe saffron's first arrival in South and
East Asia . The first of these rely on historical accounts gleaned from Persian records. These suggest to many experts that saffron, among other spices, was first spread toIndia via Persian rulers' efforts to stock their newly built gardens and parks. They accomplished this by transplanting the desired cultivars across the Persian empire.Harvnb|Dalby|2003|p=256.] Another variant of this theory states that, after ancient Persia conqueredKashmir , Persian saffron crocus were transplanted to Kashmiri soil. The first harvest then occurred sometime prior to 500 BC.Harvnb|McGee|2004|p=422.] Phoenicians then began in the 6th century BC to market the new Kashmiri saffron by utilising their extensive trade routes. Once sold, Kashmiri saffron was used in the treatment of melancholy and as a fabric dye.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=41.]On the other hand, traditional Kashmiri legend states that saffron first arrived sometime during the 11th and 12th centuries AD, when two foreign and itinerant Sufi ascetics, Khwaja Masood Wali and Hazrat Sheikh Shariffudin, wandered into Kashmir. The foreigners, having fallen sick, beseeched a cure for illness from a local tribal chieftain. When the chieftain obliged, the two holy men reputedly gave them a saffron crocus bulb as payment and thanks. To this day, grateful prayers are offered to the two saints during the saffron harvesting season in late autumn. The saints, indeed, have a golden-domed shrine and tomb dedicated to them in the saffron-trading village of
Pampore , India. However, the Kashmiri poet and scholar Mohammed Yusuf Teng disputes this. He states that Kashmiris had cultivated saffron for more than two millennia. Indeed, such ancient indigenous cultivation is alluded to in Kashmiri Tantric Hindu epics of that time.Harvnb|Lak|1998b.]Ancient Chinese Buddhist accounts from the "Mula-
sarvastivadin "Harvnb|Fotedar|1998–1999|p=128.] monastic order (or "vinaya ") present yet another account of saffron's arrival in India. According to legend, an "arhat " Indian Buddhistmissionary by the name of Madhyântika (or Majjhantika) was sent to Kashmir in the 5th century BC. When he got there, he reportedly sowed Kashmir's first saffron crop. From there, saffron use spread throughout the Indian subcontinent. In addition to use in foods, saffron stigmas were also soaked in water to yield a golden-yellow solution that was used as a fabric dye. Such was the love of the resulting fabric that, immediately after the Buddha Siddhartha Guatama's death, his attendant monks decreed saffron as the official colour for Buddhist robes and mantles.Some historians believe that saffron first came to
China with Mongol invaders by way of Persia. Saffron is mentioned in ancient Chinese medical texts, including the vastBencao Gangmu ("Great Herbal") pharmacopoeia (pp. 1552–78), a tome dating from around 1600 BC (and attributed to Emperor Shen-Ung) which documents thousands of phytochemical-based medical treatments for various disorders.Harvnb|Tarvand|2005.] Yet around the 3rd century AD, the Chinese were referring to saffron as having a Kashmiri provenance. For example, Wan Zhen, a Chinese medical expert, reported that " [t] he habitat of saffron is in Kashmir, where people grow it principally to offer it to the Buddha." Wan also reflected on how saffron was used in his time: "The [saffron crocus] flower withers after a few days, and then the saffron is obtained. It is valued for its uniform yellow colour. It can be used to aromatise wine."Harvnb|Dalby|2002|p=95.]In modern times, saffron cultivation has spread to
Afghanistan because of the efforts of theEuropean Union and theUnited Kingdom . Together, they promote saffron cultivation among impoverished and cash-strapped Afghan farmers as an ideal alternative to illicit and lucrativeopium production.Harvnb|Pearce|2005.] They stress Afghanistan's sunny and semi-arid climate as ideal for saffron crocus growth.Post-Classical European
Saffron cultivation in Europe declined steeply following the fall of the Roman Empire. For several centuries thereafter, saffron cultivation was rare or non-existent throughout Europe. This was reversed when Moorish civilisation spread from North Africa to settle most of Spain as well as parts of France and southern Italy. One theory states that Moors reintroduced saffron corms to the region around
Poitiers after they lost theBattle of Tours toCharles Martel in AD 732. Two centuries after their conquest of Spain, Moors planted saffron throughout the southern provinces ofAndalucia , Castile,La Mancha , and Valencia.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=70.]When the
Black Death ravaged Europe between 1347 and 1350, demand for saffron and its cultivation skyrocketed. It was coveted by plague victims for its medicinal properties, but many of the European farmers capable of growing it died off. Large quantities of saffron imports thus came from non-European lands. Yet the finest saffron threads from Muslim lands were unavailable to Europeans because of hostilities beginning with theCrusades . Thus imports from places such asRhodes supplied central and northern Europe. Saffron was one of the contested points of hostility that flared between the declining nobleman classes and increasingly wealthy merchants. For example, the fourteen-week-long "Saffron War" was ignited when an 800-pound (360 kg) shipment of saffron was hijacked and stolen by noblemen.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=99.] The saffron load, which had been destined for the town ofBasel , would at today's market prices be valued at more than US$500,000.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=100.] That shipment was eventually returned, but the saffron trade in the 13th century remained the subject of mass theft and piracy. Indeed, pirates plying Mediterranean waters would often ignore gold stores and instead steal Venetian- and Genoan-marketed saffron bound for Europe. The ordinary people of Basel, wary of such future piracy, thus planted their own corms. After several years of large and lucrative saffron harvests, Basel grew extremely prosperous compared to other European towns. Basel attempted to protect its status by outlawing the transportation of corms outside the town's borders; guards were posted to prevent thieves from picking flowers or digging up corms. Nevertheless, after ten years the saffron crop failed, and Basel abandoned cultivation.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=101.]The centre of central European saffron trade then moved to
Nuremberg , while the merchants of Venice continued their dominance of the Mediterranean sea trade. There, saffron varieties fromAustria ,Crete ,France ,Greece , theOttoman Empire ,Sicily , andSpain were sold. Also sold were many adulterated samples, including those soaked in honey, mixed withmarigold petals, or kept in damp cellars in order to increase the saffron threads' weight. This prompted Nuremberg authorities to pass the so-called "Safranschou" code, which sought to regulate saffron trading.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=102–103.] Saffron adulterators were thereafter fined, imprisoned, and executed via immolation.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=103–104.] Soon after,England emerged as a major European saffron producer. Saffron, according to one theory,Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=110.] spread to the coastal regions of eastern England in the 14th century AD during the reign of Edward III. In subsequent years saffron was fleetingly cultivated throughout England.Norfolk ,Suffolk and southCambridgeshire were especially heavily planted with corms. Rowland Parker provides an account of its cultivation in the village of Foxton during the 16th and 17th centuries, "usually by people holding a small amount of land"; an acre planted in saffron could yield a crop worth £6, making it "a very profitable crop, provided that plenty of unpaid labor was available; unpaid labor was one of the basic features of farming then and for another two centuries."Harvnb|Parker|1976|p=138]However, long-term saffron cultivation only survived in the light, well-drained, and chalk-based soils of the north
Essex countryside. Indeed, the Essex town ofSaffron Walden got its name as a saffron growing and trading centre. Its name was originally Cheppinge Walden and the name was changed to show the importance of the crop to the local area; and today the town's arms feature crocus blooms ( [http://www.saffronwalden.gov.uk/regalia.php] ). Yet as England emerged from the Middle Ages, risingpuritan ical sentiments and new conquests abroad endangered English saffron's use and cultivation. Puritanical advocates favoured more austere, simple, and un-spiced foods. Saffron was also a labor-intensive crop, which became an increasing disadvantage. Lastly, an influx of additional spices from Eastern lands due to the growingspice trade meant that the English, as well as other Europeans, had more seasonings to choose from.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=117.]This trend was later documented by the Reverend William Herbert, who was the Dean of
Manchester . He collected samples and compiled information on many aspects of the saffron crocus.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=132.] He was concerned about the steady decline in saffron cultivation over the 17th century and the dawn of theIndustrial Revolution . This was due to the introduction in Europe of such easily grown crops asmaize andpotato es, which steadily took over lands formerly dedicated to saffron corms. In addition, the elite who traditionally comprised the bulk of the saffron market were now growing increasingly interested in such exotic and new arrivals aschocolate ,coffee ,tea , andvanilla . Indeed, only in the south of France, Italy, and Spain, where saffron had been deeply incorporated into the local cultures, did significant cultivation remain.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=133.]North American
Saffron made its way to the
Americas when thousands of Alsatian, German, and SwissAnabaptist s, Dunkards, and others fled religious persecution in Europe.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=134–136.] They settled mainly in easternPennsylvania , in theSusquehanna River valley.Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=136.] These settlers, who became known as thePennsylvania Dutch , were by 1730 widely cultivating saffron after corms were first brought to America in a trunk owned by German adherents of a Protestant sect known as theSchwenkfelder Church . Schwenkfelders, as members were known, were great lovers of saffron, and had grown it back in Germany. Soon, Pennsylvania Dutch saffron was being successfully marketed to Spanish colonists in theCaribbean , while healthy demand elsewhere ensured that its listed price on the Philadelphiacommodities exchange was set equal to that ofgold .Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=138.]However, the
War of 1812 destroyed many of the merchant vessels that transported American saffron abroad. Pennsylvanian saffron growers were afterwards left with surplus inventory, and trade with the Caribbean markets never recovered.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=138–139.] Nevertheless, Pennsylvania Dutch growers developed many uses for saffron in their own home cooking, includingcake s,noodle s, and chicken ortrout dishes.Harvnb|Willard|2001|pp=142–146.] Saffron cultivation survived into modern times mainly inLancaster County, Pennsylvania .Harvnb|Willard|2001|p=143.]ee also
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