The Arab world — the distillation revolution

The Arab world and the distillation revolution

With the emergence of Arab-Islamic civilisation from the 7th century onwards, perfumery undergoes a radical transformation. Arab scholars do not content themselves with transmitting Greek and Roman knowledge: they enrich it, surpass it and lay the foundations of modern chemistry.

Avicenna and steam distillation

Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā, 980–1037 AD) is one of the most important figures in the whole history of science. A Persian physician, philosopher and encyclopaedist, he is the one to whom tradition attributes the perfecting of the distillation of floral essential oils, starting with rose.

Distilled rose water is not his invention: as early as the 9th century, Al-Kindi described its preparation in the alembic. Avicenna's merit, as the author of the Canon of Medicine, lies rather in his medical use of essences and in spreading this knowledge.

Distillation makes it possible to isolate the aromatic molecules of a plant; in principle, the process is still used today to produce rose water and rose essential oil.

The development of the Arab aromatics trade

The medieval Arab world was the main intermediary between East and West for the trade in spices and aromatics. Arab merchants mastered the overland and sea trade routes linking India, Persia, East Africa and Mediterranean Europe.

Cities such as Baghdad, Cairo and Damascus were major centres of perfume production and distribution. In the souks, specialised perfumers (attarin) offered extracts, floral waters, oils and musk. The word attar, designating an essential oil of rose or flower, comes from the Arabic itr, meaning “perfume”.

Oud (agarwood, Aquilaria) has been at the heart of Arab perfumery for centuries. This resinous wood, produced when the tree is infected by a fungus, is one of the most expensive raw materials in the world. Its complex, woody, animalic and slightly smoky smell is deeply rooted in the olfactive culture of the Middle East.

Arab science and the chemistry of perfumes

Jabir ibn Hayyan (Al-Kîmiyâ, 8th–9th century), considered by tradition the father of Arab chemistry (part of the corpus attributed to him is by later authors), is associated with many distillation and extraction processes. The writings that bear his name influenced medieval European alchemy and chemistry, from which perfumery inherited its techniques.

Al-Kindi (9th century) wrote the Kitab Kimiya al-Itr (Book of the Chemistry of Perfume), which gathers about a hundred recipes for perfumes, aromatic waters and distillations. It is one of the oldest treatises devoted entirely to perfume.