History of Spices

The fame of Indian spices is older than the recorded history. The story of Indian Spices is more than 7000 years old. Centuries before Greece and Rome had been discovered, sailing ships were carrying Indian spices, perfumes and textiles to Mesopotamia, Arabia and Egypt. It was the lure of these that brought many seafarers to the shores of India. Long before Christian era, the Greek merchants thronged the markets of South India, buying many expensive items amongst which spices were one. Epicurean Rome was spending a fortune on Indian spices, silks, brocades, Dhaka Muslin and cloth of gold, etc .It is believed that the Parthian wars were being fought by Rome largely to keep open the trade route to India. It is also said that Indian spices and her famed products were the main lure for crusades and expeditions to the East. Today when spices cost so little, it seems unbelievable that they were once a royal luxury and those men were willing to risk their lives in quest of them. Though it was the Dark Ages, but there were rich people who had gold to exchange for pepper and cinnamon. The spices of the East were valuable in those times, during these Middle Ages; a pound of ginger was worth a sheep, a pound of mace worth three sheep’s or half a cow. Pepper, the most valuable spice of all, was counted out in individual peppercorns, and a sack of pepper was said to be worth a man`s life.