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History of saffron

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Plants

   Saffron crocus flowers, represented as small red tufts, are gathered by
   two women in a fragmentary Minoan fresco from the Aegean island of
   Santorini.
   Enlarge
   Saffron crocus flowers, represented as small red tufts, are gathered by
   two women in a fragmentary Minoan fresco from the Aegean island of
   Santorini.

   The history of saffron cultivation and usage reaches back more than
   3,000 years and spans many cultures, continents, and civilisations.
   Saffron, a spice derived from the dried stigmas of the saffron crocus
   (Crocus sativus), has remained among the world's most costly substances
   throughout history. With its bitter taste, hay-like fragrance, and
   slight metallic notes, saffron has been used as a seasoning, fragrance,
   dye, and medicine. Saffron is native to Southwest Asia, but was first
   cultivated in Greece.

   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
   late Bronze Age Crete, a mutant form of C. cartwrightianus, C. sativus,
   emerged. Saffron was first documented in a 7th-century BC Assyrian
   botanical reference compiled under Ashurbanipal. 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 of Eurasia, later reaching parts of North
   Africa, North America, and Oceania.

Greco-Roman

   In the Greco-Roman classical period (8th century BC to the 3rd century
   AD), the saffron harvest is first portrayed in the palace frescoes of
   Minoan Crete, which depict the flowers being picked by young girls and
   monkeys. One of these fresco sites is located in the "Xeste 3" building
   at Akrotiri, on the Greek island of Santorini (also 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. 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 who
   uses saffron to treat a bleeding foot. These Theran frescoes are the
   first botanically accurate pictorial representations of saffron's use
   as an herbal remedy. However, the two saffron-growing Minoan
   settlements of Thera and Acrotiri, both on Santorini, were ultimately
   destroyed by a powerful earthquake and subsequent volcanic eruption
   sometime between 1645 and 1500 BC. Much of the original island's
   central portion sank underwater, and saffron harvests there were
   severely curtailed. Yet the volcanic ash from the destruction entombed
   and helped preserve the saffron frescoes.
   A detail of the "Saffron Gatherers" fresco from the "Xeste 3" building.
   The fresco is one of many dealing with saffron that were found at the
   ancient Minoan settlement of Akrotiri, Santorini.
   Enlarge
   A detail of the "Saffron Gatherers" fresco from the "Xeste 3" building.
   The fresco is one of many dealing with saffron that were found at the
   ancient Minoan settlement of Akrotiri, Santorini.

   Ancient Greek legends told of brazen sailors embarking on long and
   perilous voyages to the remote land of Cilicia. There they hoped to
   procure what they believed was the world's most valuable saffron. The
   best-known Greek legend involving saffron was that detailing the
   tragedy of Crocus and Smilax: The handsome youth Crocus sets out on a
   pursuit of the nymph Smilax in the woods near Athens. They enjoy a
   brief period of idyllic love in which she is initially flattered by the
   amorous advances. Soon, however, Smilax tires of Crocus. After he
   continues to pursue her against her wishes, she resorts to bewitching
   him. He is thus transformed into a saffron crocus flower, with its
   radiant orange stigmas remaining as a faint symbol of Crocus's
   continuing passion for Smilax. The tragedy and the spice would be
   recalled later by Ovid:

          "Crocus and Smilax may be turn'd to flow'rs,
          And the Curetes spring from bounteous show'rs
          I pass a hundred legends stale, as these,
          And with sweet novelty your taste to please"
               —  Ovid, Metamorphoses

   This ancient Minoan fresco from Knossos, Crete depicts a man (stooped
   blue figure) gathering the saffron crocus flower harvest.
   Enlarge
   This ancient Minoan fresco from Knossos, Crete depicts a man (stooped
   blue figure) gathering the saffron crocus flower harvest.

   For the peoples of the ancient Mediterranean, the saffron gathered in
   the Cilician coastal town of Soli was the most valued, particularly for
   use in perfumes and ointments. However, such figures as Herodotus and
   Pliny the Elder rated rival Assyrian and Babylonian saffron from the
   Fertile Crescent as best for use in treatments against gastrointestinal
   and renal ailments.

   In late Hellenistic Egypt, Cleopatra used a quarter-cup of saffron in
   her warm baths because of its colouring and cosmetic properties. She
   used it before encounters with men in belief that the saffron would
   make lovemaking more pleasurable. Egyptian healers used saffron as a
   treatment for all varieties of gastrointestinal ailments. Indeed, when
   stomach pains progressed into internal haemorrhaging, an Egyptian
   treatment consisted of saffron crocus seeds mixed and crushed together
   with aager-tree remnants, ox fat, coriander, and myrrh. These together
   comprised an ointment or poultice that was to be applied to the body.
   The physicians expected this to then "[expel] blood through the mouth
   or rectum which resembles hog's blood when it is cooked." 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.
   A Greek goddess (shown in detail) supervises the production of
   saffron-based therapeutic drugs in this Theran fresco on the volcanic
   Aegean island of Santorini.
   Enlarge
   A Greek goddess (shown in detail) supervises the production of
   saffron-based therapeutic drugs in this Theran fresco on the volcanic
   Aegean island of Santorini.

   Saffron in Greco-Roman times was widely traded across the Mediterranean
   by the Phoenicians. Their customers ranged from perfumers in Rosetta,
   Egypt to physicians in Gaza to townsfolk in Rhodes, who wore pouches of
   saffron in order to mask the presence of malodorous fellow citizens
   during outings to the theatre. For the Greeks saffron was widely
   associated with professional courtesans and retainers known as the
   hetaerae. In addition, large dye works operating in Sidon 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 instead, which gave a
   less intense purple hue.

   The ancient Greeks and Romans also prized saffron for its use as a
   perfume and deodoriser. They scattered about public spaces such as
   royal halls, courts, and amphitheatres. Upon Emperor Nero's entrance
   into Rome, they even spread it along the streets. Indeed, wealthy
   Romans made daily use of saffron baths. They also used saffron as
   mascara, stirred saffron threads into their wines, used it in their
   halls and streets as a potpourri, and offered it to their deities.
   Roman colonists took their 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 century AD Moors or with the Avignon papacy
   in the 14th century AD.

Middle Eastern

   Two saffron crocus flowers in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.
   Enlarge
   Two saffron crocus flowers in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

   Saffron-based pigments have been found in the prehistoric paints used
   to depict beasts in 50,000-year-old cave art in what is today Iraq.
   Later, the Sumerians used saffron as an ingredient in their remedies
   and magical potions. However, Sumerians did not actively cultivate
   saffron. They instead chose to gather their stores from wild flowers
   only, because they felt that only divine intervention would enable
   saffron's medicinal properties. Such evidence indeed 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 Hebrew Tanakh:

         "Your lips drop sweetness like honeycomb, my bride, syrup and milk are
         under your tongue, and your dress had the scent of Lebanon. Your cheeks
         are an orchard of pomegranates, an orchard full of rare fruits,
         spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon."
              —  Song of Solomon

   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. Saffron was used by ancient Persian
   worshipers as a ritual offering to deities. It was also used as a
   brilliant yellow dye, a 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 aphrodisiac. Such was the fear of this that travellers to
   Persia were forewarned about eating saffron-laced Persian cuisine. In
   addition, Persian saffron was dissolved along with sandalwood into
   water for use as a body wash for use after heavy work and perspiration
   under the hot Persian sun. Later, Persian saffron was heavily used by
   Alexander the Great and his forces during their Asian campaigns. There,
   they mixed saffron into their teas and dined on saffron rice. Alexander
   himself used saffron sprinkled in warm water as a bath. He hoped that
   it would heal his many wounds, and his faith in saffron grew with each
   treatment. Indeed, he recommended saffron baths for the ordinary men
   under him. The Greek soldiers, taken with saffron's perceived curative
   properties, indeed continued the practice after they returned to
   Macedonia. Saffron cultivation also reached what is now Turkey, with
   harvesting concentrated around the northern town of Safranbolu; 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 to India via Persian
   rulers' efforts to stock their newly built gardens and parks. They
   accomplished this by transplanting the desired cultivars across the
   Persian empire. Another variant of this theory states that, after
   ancient Persia conquered Kashmir, Persian saffron crocus corms were
   transplanted to Kashmiri soil. The first harvest then occurred sometime
   prior to 500 BC. 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.
   The 17.8 m monolith of Jain prophet Bhagavan Gomateshwara Bahubali,
   which was carved between 978–993 AD and is located in Shravanabelagola,
   India, is anointed with saffron every 12 years by thousands of devotees
   as part of the Mahamastakabhisheka festival.
   Enlarge
   The 17.8 m monolith of Jain prophet Bhagavan Gomateshwara Bahubali,
   which was carved between 978–993 AD and is located in Shravanabelagola,
   India, is anointed with saffron every 12 years by thousands of devotees
   as part of the Mahamastakabhisheka festival.

   On the other hand, traditional Kashmiri legends state 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.

   Ancient Chinese Buddhist accounts from the Mula- sarvastivadin monastic
   order (or vinaya) present yet another account of saffron's arrival in
   India. According to legend, an arhat Indian Buddhist missionary 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. Yet saffron is mentioned in ancient Chinese
   medical texts, including the vast Pun Tsao ("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. 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."
   Medieval European illuminated manuscripts, such as this 13th century
   depiction of Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket's assassination,
   often used saffron dyes to provide hues of yellow and orange.
   Enlarge
   Medieval European illuminated manuscripts, such as this 13th century
   depiction of Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket's assassination,
   often used saffron dyes to provide hues of yellow and orange.

   In modern times saffron cultivation has spread to Afghanistan because
   of the efforts of the European Union and the United Kingdom. Together,
   they promote saffron cultivation among impoverished and cash-strapped
   Afghan farmers as an ideal alternative to illicit and lucrative opium
   production. 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 the famous battle there to Charles Martel in AD 732. Two
   centuries after their conquest of Spain, Moors would plant saffron
   throughout the southern provinces of Andalucia, Castile, La Mancha, and
   Valencia.

   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, even though many 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 the Crusades. Thus imports from places such as Rhodes
   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 shipment of saffron was
   hijacked and stolen by noblemen. The saffron load, which had been
   destined for the town of Basel, would at today's market prices be
   valued at more than US$500,000. 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.
   Persian saffron threads from modern-day Iran.
   Enlarge
   Persian saffron threads from modern-day Iran.

   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 from Austria, Crete,
   France, Greece, the Ottoman Empire, Sicily, and Spain were sold. Also
   sold were many adulterated samples, including those soaked in honey,
   mixed with marigold 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. Saffron adulterers were thereafter fined,
   imprisoned, and executed via immolation. Soon after, England emerged as
   a major European saffron producer. Saffron, according to one theory,
   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 and Suffolk were
   especially heavily planted with corms. However, long-term saffron
   cultivation only survived in the light, well-drained, and chalk-based
   soils of the Essex countryside. Indeed, the Essex town of Saffron
   Walden got its name as a saffron trading centre. Yet as England
   transitioned out of the Middle Ages, rising puritanical sentiments and
   new conquests abroad endangered English saffron's usage and
   cultivation. Puritanical advocates favoured more austere, simple, and
   un-spiced foods. In addition, an influx of additional spices from
   Eastern lands due to the growing spice trade meant that the English, as
   well as other Europeans, had more seasonings to choose from.

   This trend was documented by Reverend William Herbert, who was the Dean
   of Manchester, England. He collected samples and compiled information
   on many aspects of the saffron crocus. He was concerned about the
   steady decline in saffron cultivation over the 17th century and the
   dawn of the Industrial Revolution. This was due to the introduction in
   Europe of such easily grown crops as maize and potatoes, 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 as
   chocolate, coffee, tea, and vanilla. Indeed, only in the south of
   France, Italy, and Spain, where saffron had been deeply incorporated
   into the local cultures, did significant cultivation remain.

North American

   A saffron crocus flower.
   Enlarge
   A saffron crocus flower.

   Saffron made its way to the Americas when thousands of Alsacian,
   German, and Swiss Anabaptists, Dunkards, and others fled religious
   persecution in Europe. They settled mainly in eastern Pennsylvania, in
   the Susquehanna River valley. These settlers, who became known as the
   Pennsylvania 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 the Schwenkfelder 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 the Caribbean, while healthy demand
   elsewhere ensured that its listed price on the Philadelphia commodity
   exchange was set equal to that of gold.

   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. Nevertheless, Pennsylvania Dutch growers
   developed many uses for saffron in their own home cooking, including
   cakes, noodles, and chicken or trout dishes. Saffron cultivation
   survived into modern times mainly in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Citations

    1. ^ Deo 2003, p. 1.
    2. ^ Grigg 1974, p. 287.
    3. ^ Hill 2001, p. 272.
    4. ^ ^a ^b McGee 2004, p. 422.
    5. ^ Goyns 1999, p. 1.
    6. ^ ^a ^b ^c Honan 2004.
    7. ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Willard 2001, p. 41.
    8. ^ ^a ^b ^c Ferrence 2004.
    9. ^ Dalby 2002, p. 124.
   10. ^ Willard 2001, p. 37.
   11. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 37-38.
   12. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 2-3.
   13. ^ ^a ^b ^c Willard 2001, p. 2.
   14. ^ ^a ^b Willard 2001, p. 1.
   15. ^ Willard 2001, p. 55.
   16. ^ Willard 2001, p. 34.
   17. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 34-35.
   18. ^ Willard 2001, p. 35.
   19. ^ Willard 2001, p. 58.
   20. ^ Willard 2001, p. 59.
   21. ^ Willard 2001, p. 63.
   22. ^ Humphries 1998, p. 20.
   23. ^ Willard 2001, p. 12.
   24. ^ ^a ^b Humphries 1998, p. 19.
   25. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 17-18.
   26. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 54-55.
   27. ^ Dalby 2003, p. 256.
   28. ^ Lak 1998b.
   29. ^ Fotedar 1998-1999, p. 128.
   30. ^ ^a ^b Dalby 2002, p. 95.
   31. ^ ^a ^b Tarvand 2005.
   32. ^ Pearce 2005.
   33. ^ ^a ^b Willard 2001, p. 70.
   34. ^ ^a ^b Willard 2001, p. 99.
   35. ^ Willard 2001, p. 100.
   36. ^ Willard 2001, p. 101.
   37. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 102-103.
   38. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 103-104.
   39. ^ Willard 2001, p. 110.
   40. ^ Willard 2001, p. 117.
   41. ^ Willard 2001, p. 132.
   42. ^ ^a ^b Willard 2001, p. 133.
   43. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 134-136.
   44. ^ Willard 2001, p. 136.
   45. ^ ^a ^b Willard 2001, p. 143.
   46. ^ Willard 2001, p. 138.
   47. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 138-139.
   48. ^ Willard 2001, pp. 142-146.

   Saffron crocuses flowering in a garden in Osaka Prefecture (大阪府),
   Kansai, Honshu Island, Japan.
   Enlarge
   Saffron crocuses flowering in a garden in Osaka Prefecture (大阪府),
   Kansai, Honshu Island, Japan.
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