Arab History of Perfumes

When and where did the art of making perfumes begin? Did you know perfumes began in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt? The first recorded perfumer was a Mesopotamian female named Tapputi. She made perfumes from flowers, oil, and calamus.

The Arabian Chemist, Al-Kindi (Alkindus), wrote in the 9th century a book on perfumes which he named Book of the Chemistry of Perfumes and Distillations. It contained more than a hundred recipes for perfumes, fragrant oils, salves, aromatic waters and substitutes or imitations of costly drugs. The book also described 107 methods and recipes for perfume-making, and even the equipment for making perfumes, like the alembic, still bears its Arabic name.

The Persian Muslim doctor and chemist Avicenna (also known as Ibn Sina) introduced the process of extracting oils from flowers by means of distillation, the procedure most commonly used today for perfumes. He first experimented with the rose. Until his discovery, liquid perfumes were mixtures of oil and crushed herbs or petals, which made a strong blend. Rose water was more delicate, and immediately became popular. Both of the raw ingredients and distillation technology significantly influenced western perfumery and scientific developments, particularly chemistry.

Take a look at our selection of Arabic perfumes at The Aroma Emporium. Many of these perfumes have been popular in the Arab world for centuries.

Source: Wikipedia