The balsam of Matarea was a substance famous as a panacea among physicians in the Middle East and Europe during the Antique and Medieval periods. It was used in many aspects of medieval life and is associated with figures such as the Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, King Solomon, the Queen of Sheba and Cleopatra. The story of this substance takes the reader into the political life of the medieval Mediterranean and Middle East, and back into the ancient history of Palestine. Using written sources, visual data and archaeological material, Marcus Milwright reconstructs the fascinating cultural history of the balsam tree: from Jericho and En-Gedi to Egypt, and from ancient times to the 17th century. Miwright addresses the symbolic associations of balsam and the site of Matarea (where the last balsam tree died in 1615), the distribution of products from the tree through trade and diplomacy, and the applications balsam products in medicine, ritual and the domestic environment.
The balsam of Matarea was a famous panacea among physicians in the Middle East and Europe during the antique and medieval periods. Using written sources, visual data and archaeological material, Milwright reconstructs the fascinating cultural history of the balsam tree: from Jericho and En-Gedi to Egypt, and from ancient times to the 17th century.
Arvustused
The Queen of Sheba's Gif is a sweeping survey of the intriguing history and lore of balsam, a precious balm once worth its weight in gold. Milwright's deeply researched story of this fabled substance is a gift of erudite and enchanting scholarship. * Adrienne Mayor, Stanford University *
Introduction
Timeline
Travellers tales: Experiencing Matarea
Resins in the ancient world
Balsam in Egypt
The balsam tree and balsam oil
Diplomacy and international trade
Balsam in medicine: From Greek to Arabic
Balsam in medieval and early modern medicine
Religious and royal dimensions to balsam
Conclusion
Glossary; Bibliography
Marcus Milwright is Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology in the Department of Art History and Visual Studies at the University of Victoria, B.C., Canada. He is the author of The Fortress of the Raven: Karak in the Middle Islamic Period (2008), An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology (EUP, 2010) and The Dome of the Rock and it Umayyad Mosaic Inscriptions (EUP, 2016).
