Spices Imported to Rome from India and the Far East During the Western Roman Empire Era
Although black pepper clearly dominated the Indo-Roman spice trade, it is important to consider the totality of imported spices. J. Innes Miller and E. H. Warmington gave detailed accounts of the spices and their various sources, which in some cases has to be highly interpretive due to the lack of archaeobotanical evidence.28
Table 4 | Indo-Roman Spice Trade
| SPICE Latin | SPICE English | SOURCE | REFERENCE/COMMENT |
| Acorus calamus | Sweet Flag | India, Central Asia | Dioscorides stated it was grown in India.29 Pliny, ditto, also Syria, Arabia.30 Sweet Flag may or may not have been imported from India. Listed in the Price Edict. |
| Aquilaria agallocha | Aloe-wood | India | Native to South Asia, referred to in early Tamil texts.31 Pliny referred to it as ‘tarum’, coming from the cinnamon country, imported by Nabataeans, while Dioscorides stated it came from India and Arabia.32 Cosmas I noted (Sri Lanka) received imported Aloe-wood and sent it on to marts such as Malabar.33 |
| Cinnamomum malabathrum (Cinnamomum tamala) | Malabathrum | India | The Periplus (mid-first century CE) records malabathrum being exported from Muziris and Nelkynda (§56) and from the mouth of the Ganges (§63) (latter supplied in part by Chinese tribesmen).34 C. Ptolemy referred to the area ‘beyond Kirrhadia, in which they say the best Malabathrum is produced’.35 Appears in Price Edict of 301 CE and in Justinian’s Digest (as cinnamon leaf).36 |
| Cinnamomum verum (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) | Cinnamon | South and Southeast Asia | J. I. Miller opined that some cinnamon bark may have been shipped from Malabar but it would have been minor. Some also may have come from Ceylon after 300 CE. Arab middlemen probably traded it with the West before that. Pliny considered cinnamon to have come from Ethiopia and thence carried on a great sea journey to the Arabian coast (he may have confused Ethiopia with India, or the great sea crossing was to and not from the East African coast).37 Cinnamon appears in Justinian’s Digest. |
| Cinnamomum cassia | Cassia | China, Southeast Asia | Pliny observed that cassia ‘grows not far from the plains where cinnamon is produced’ and noted that it was cheaper than cinnamon.38 Cassia bark appears in Price Edict and Justinian’s Digest. |
| Commiphora mukul | Bdellium | India | Theophrastus referred to bdellium as the ‘Indian akantha’, which produced a substance resembling myrrh.39 The Periplus states of the Makran that ‘along the coast there is nothing but bdellium’ (§37) and that bdellium was exported from Barbarikon (§39) and Barygaza (§49). Pliny stated, ‘in the vicinity, too, of India, is Bactriana, in which region we find bdellium’.40 It also was imported via the overland Silk Road. Quoted in Price Edict. |
| Curcuma longa | Turmeric | India | Unlikely to have been widely used in Rome. Dioscorides referred to ‘another type of cyperus, resembling ginger, which grows in India’.41 Miller thought it was probably imported as a form of (the very similar) ginger. A. Gismondi et al. found traces of turmeric in dental plaque from remains of a Tuscan woman of late first–early second century CE.42 |
| Cymbopogon schoenanthus | Ginger Grass (or Sweet Rush) | India | Cymbopogon is a genus of fragrant grasses some native to South Asia. Theophrastus described it, though located it further west; Pliny also described ‘sweet-scented rush’. It may have been the ‘nard’ mentioned by Arrian during Alexander’s return through the deserts of Baluchistan: ‘much of it was trampled down by the army, and a sweet perfume was diffused far and wide.’43 The Phoenicians collected it, but it is unclear if this was a significant import to Rome. |
| Elettaria cardamomum Amomum sp. | Cardamom | India | Listed in the Alexandrian Tariff as amomum and cardamonum – was probably imported in small quantities.44 Cardamom was found in historic levels in Pattanam, i.e. probable site of Muziris port.45 Dioscorides and Pliny may have described cardamom. Apicius used it, infrequently. Amomum appears in Price Edict. Cardamom was clearly imported from India. |
| Lycium sp. | Boxthorn | India, Southeast Asia | Recorded in the Periplus as being exported from Barbarikon and Barygaza. Listed in Justinian’s Digest. |
| Myristica fragrans | Nutmeg/Mace | Southeast Asia | Pliny referred to ‘comacum’ as a kind of cinnamon, a nut whose extract had an agreeable smell – possibly nutmeg – though he said it came from Syria.46 The Periplus records ‘macir’ or ‘macer’ exported from Malao on the Red Sea (present Somalia) – possible mace? It became well known in Europe by the sixth century CE. |
| Nardostachys jatamansi | Spikenard | North India | Theophrastus described the use of spikenard root in perfume preparation. The Periplus documented that it was exported from Barbarikon, Barygaza, Muziris, Nelkynda and the mouth of the Ganges. Confusingly, other genera have been labelled nard. Pliny listed twelve varieties.47 Dioscorides differentiated between Indian and Syrian nard.48 Indian Spikenard was specified by Apicius. Gangetic nard was one of the known shipments listed in the second century CE Muziris Papyrus. Nard is listed in Justinian’s Digest. |
| Piper nigrum | Black Pepper | South India | Extensive evidence from literature and archaeobotany of the black pepper trade throughout the empire. Described by Hippocrates, Theophrastus, Pliny, Dioscorides, Horace, Cosmas Indicopleustes and others.49 The Periplus records export from Muziris and Nelkynda. White pepper listed in Justinian’s Digest. |
| Piper longum | Long Pepper | South India | Described by Theophrastus.50 The Periplus notes export from Barygaza, reflecting its origin in the northern subcontinent. Pliny differentiated the price of long pepper (more expensive) from white and black.51 Listed in Justinian’s Digest. |
| Santalam album | Sandalwood | India, Southeast Asia | The Periplus (§36) refers to shipment of sandalwood from Barygaza to the Persian Gulf; its source may have been from Indonesia and India. |
| Saussurea lappa | Costum | North India | Theophrastus described its pungency and heat.52 Dioscorides listed Arabic, Indian and Syrian varieties.53 The Periplus recorded export from Barbarikon and Barygaza. Listed in Justinian’s Digest. |
| Syzygium aromaticum | Cloves | Molluccas | Cloves described in ancient Indian literature, e.g. the ‘Ramayana’, 200 BCE or older. Pliny’s description of ‘caryophyllon’ might be cloves (though could be cubeb).54 Cosmas Indicopleustes, Christian Topography, wrote that cloves passed through Kalliena in the sixth century.55 |
| Zingiber officinale | Ginger | Southeast Asia | Ginger was described by Dioscorides who wrongly stated it grew in Arabia.56 Pliny also stated it grew in Arabia and gave its price (6d per lb).57 It may have been re-exported from the Red Sea. Apicius considered it a significant import. Ginger produced by Tabropane (Sri Lanka).58 Ginger is listed in Diocletian’s Price Edict and Justinian’s Digest. |
The most significant spice imports from the East were black pepper, long pepper, malabathrum and spikenard. While India was the source of many spices, it also acted as an entrepot for spices sourced from further east. In most cases, spices would have been transported on Graeco-Roman ships across the Indian Ocean and along the Red Sea to Myos Hormos and Berenike, and thence to Alexandria. A smaller volume of marine traffic would have routed via the Persian Gulf, while a proportion of the trade would have followed the long-established overland Silk Road routes. The final point is the possibility of Indian ships taking their own trade to markets on the other side of the Indian Ocean, though direct evidence remains scant. It is impossible to quantify the relative importance of the spices other than black pepper, which stands apart in terms of the volume of trade.
More on the topic Spices Imported to Rome from India and the Far East During the Western Roman Empire Era:
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- South Asia
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