The Ancient Perfume Route

Ein Gedi groves beside the Dead Sea

Pliny, the Roman writer, historian and natural Philosopher, wrote that an amount of this perfume oil that was equal to, in today’s language, a half a liter, cost 300 Dinars and could go up to a thousand.

Today, nobody knows what happened to this plant. It is believed that during the war against the Romans, in the 1st Century CE, the Jews of Ein-Gedi, who did not want to reveal the secret of growing this plant and producing its unique perfume, decided to exterminate it and take its secrets with them to their graves.

Frankincense - a Tribute to the Devine
Myrrh - Perfume, Incense and Medicinal Balm

The Frankincense plant is a low small bush that generates a transparent yellowish resin from which the aromatic essence is extracted.

Frankincense tree boswellia sacra

The resin is produced by making cuts along the stem and peeling off a small amount of the stem skin. At this point the bush generates the resin that is hardened in the stem at the bottom of the cut. After three months, the hard yellowish resin ball can be picked.

Myrrh on the other hand is a tallish tree, which usually produces a reddish brown resin that is generally gathered from the trees in the summer.

With the growing demand for it, during the Roman period, a 2nd extract was made in the early spring, by small cuts made along the stem.

In preparation for shipping, the Myrrh resin was kept in leather bags in order to keep its oily constituency. The hard Frankincense resin substance, on the other hand, was packed in baskets and was handled very carefully in order to keep the resin balls and branches intact.

The Ancient Network of  Perfume and Incense Trade Routes

The increasing demand for spices and perfumes in the ancient world led to the development of an extensive network of trade routes, connecting the West to the East by land and by sea. These routes connected India and Arabia to Mesopotamia, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Greece and Rome.

The transportation of the merchandise followed several routes, depending on where the end destination was and corresponding to the level of security they offered.

The Main Road of the 'Incense Route'

Avdat Station along the Ancient Perfume Road

The desire for trade between the east and the west resulted in the rise of a number of  main routes, such as the Silk Trade Route between China and Europe, and the Kings Highway from Egypt, through Aqaba up to Damascus and Assyria.

One of  the primary routes of commerce, which was defined later as “The Incense Route”, started in the southern part of  the Arabian Peninsula, where some of the finer perfume plants were grown.  It went north, parallel to the Red Sea, with approximately 65 resting stations. Towards the end of the route, at Dedan, it divided into a few different routes. One  turned  north eastward, toward Mesopotamia. Two other routes were directed toward the seas - both ultimately brought the perfume, spices and incense to Petra.  One continued inland directly to Petra while the other  turned southward to the port of Leuce Come, situated beside the east shore of the Red Sea. From there this route continued by land, also to Petra.

At Petra it split again. One route went north to Damascus, the second one went west, through Israel to Gaza and from there to Egypt or to Greece and Rome in Europe.

There was another route that went from the southern part of Arabia, through the desert, north, some 40 days of traveling, to the port city of Gerrha, in the Persian Gulf, and from there to Mesopotamia and Israel and Europe.

On land the transportation was carried mainly by camels that were domesticated already around the 12-13th century BCE.

Convoys at that period were composed of many dozens and sometimes hundreds of camels loaded with merchandise, food and water. These convoys were able to go some 15-20 Kilometers a day and the whole trip from South Arabia, or what is today Yemen, to Gaza, took about half a year.

The route stretched along some 2400 kilometers, and a difficult topography was chosen in many areas in order to avoid robbers. Fortresses and resting stations were built in strategic points along the trade routes in order to serve and protect the convoys that were carrying the expensive merchandise from robbers. These stations controlled the water sources and the security along the main and the secondary routes.

Who were the Nabateans?

The Nabataeans, also known as the “Lords of the desert”, were inhabitants of  North Arabia.  They played a central role in the marketing of perfume and controlled the trade routes that stretched from Leuce Come, a port on the north east side of the Red Sea, up north to Petra; the route from Petra, west, through Israel’s Negev to Gaza in the Mediterranean; and the route north, from Petra to Damascus.

The great wealth accumulated by the Nabataeans is described by Diodorus Siculus who lived in the 1st century BCE: 

“While there are many Arabian tribes who use the desert as pasture, The Nabateans far surpass the others in wealth, although they are not much more than ten thousand in number; for not a few of them are accustomed to bring down to the sea frankincense and myrrh and the most valuable kinds of spices, which they procure…from what is called Arabia…” (Diodorus Siculus,XiX:94,5).  The Nabataeans reached their peak between the last third of the 1st century BCE and the middle of the 1st century CE. The Nabateans set their capital in Petra, in what is today Jordan. It is situated some 80 Kilometers south of the Dead Sea, not far from the Israeli border. The impressive shrines and palaces carved into the hard red rocks reflect the richness and wealth they experienced.

Famous red rock of Petra

In 104 CE, the Nabataean Kingdom and its capital city, Petra, were annexed by the Romans. The fortresses and rest stations fell into the hands of the Romans as well. Extensive building projects were undertaken then, reaching a peak in the Byzantine period.

The Nabataeans, who were pagans, eventually converted to Christianity around the 3rd-4th century CE, followed by extensive buildup of churches in all of their cities. The knowledge about them is mainly extracted from Greek and Roman sources. 

Mamshit (Memphis) Baptistery

The Nabataeans' two fields of expertise were merchandising and desert agriculture. They led the perfume and spice convoys in the desert and built the resting and guard stations along the routes. These stations were set at a distance of a day’s walk from each other.  

It is not clear yet how and why they disappeared from the stage of history. Some believe that with the decline of the demand for perfume and spices, and subsequently the diminishing importance of the trade routes, the cities were deserted and the Nabataeans integrated with neighboring tribes.

The Cost of Transporting Perfume and Spices

Hills overlooking the Ein Avdat canyon

Although the trade routes were well established, even during their prime the transportation of perfumes and the spices was a long and dangerous process - inland, because of the desert conditions and robbers, and at sea because of the storms and pirates. 

Avdat Station along the Ancient Perfume Road

On top of that, heavy taxes were imposed on perfume and spice shipments, especially on the overland convoys.

Pliny, The Roman writer, and natural philosopher describes this clearly:  “Fixed portions of frankincense are also given to the priests and the king’s secretaries, but beside these the guards and their attendants and the gate-keepers and servants also have their pickings. Indeed, all along the route they keep on paying, at one place for water, at another for fodder or the charges for lodging at the halts and the various octrois. So that expenses mount up to 688 denarii per camel before the Mediterranean coast is reached” (Pliny Nat.Hist. XII:65) 3. It is not surprising therefore that under such circumstances, the price of perfume and spices was so high.  The great demand together with the limited supply made them so desirable, to a point where it triggered thievery even during the production and manufacturing stage.

The Decline of the Perfume and Incense Trade Route

The commercial relations between the east and the west reached their peak during the 2nd Century CE. At this time the Romans succeeded in sailing directly to and from south Arabia and India, the source suppliers of spices and the raw material for perfume. As a result, the importance of the Arabian kingdoms slowly diminished since they were no longer required for the transport of the costly produce.

From the 4th century on, when Christianity became the official religion, the practice of cremation was avoided and there was a return to ordinary burials which led to a significant decrease in the demand for incense. The consumption of cosmetics for body care also diminished drastically in the Christian world, which frowned on luxuriousness and indulgence in bodily pleasures.

The trade in spices and resins used for the cosmetic industry, although diminished, did not completely cease but it never reached the same importance as during it’s grander times.

Following the Moslem conquest of the area in the 2nd half of the 7th century, and the decline in the demand of perfume in the new Christian world, the perfume trade routes died out and the cities along these routes were gradually deserted.

Read more about some of the stations along the trade route between Petra to the Mediterranean Sea.

3. Perfumes and Cosmetics in the Ancient World: Page 122, Dayagi-Mendels, Michal, Publisher: Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 1993

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