We saw in the previous post spices from the East who have already started arriving in the Mediterranean many millennia ago.
addition to the first routes that passed through East Africa, where it opened more to the north. But when it comes to spice things get complicated and you should try to see things in perspective, and trying to do some 'order.
The route to the south, which comes from Malaysia and India to Madagascar and East Africa, is very old, but are even more ancient civilizations that developed in the areas of spices.
To better understand how the various routes for spices began to intersect with each other, and how various spices entered in the customs and culinary doctors before then, it must proceed in parallel with the development of ancient civilizations.
And while we're at, because sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, we use a bit 'of historical maps, starting from this:
The great urban civilizations - IV-III millennium BC
Le prime quattro grandi civiltà della storia datano 5-6000 anni e costituiranno nei millenni a venire i centri di produzione e commercio del mondo antico. Voi mi direte: ma parti da molto lontano! Si, ma anche la cucina o meglio la gastronomia parte da lontano e si sviluppa proprio seguendo la crescita delle civiltà.
Proviamo a sovrapporre un'altra carta alla prima:
Grandi zone di origine dei principali alimenti vegetali
In realtà la mappa sarebbe più vasta e ricomprenderebbe anche le regioni tropicali africane e centro americane, ma per ora può bastare. In grigio ho segnato le aree main where they developed the primary plant foods, among them the spices.
Zone 1 - North China - Spices and herbs: garlic, star anise, basil, cinnamon, onion, prickly ash, ginger, onion
Zone 2 - South East Asia, India, Indonesia, southern China, Malaysia - Spices and herbs: basil, cinnamon, cardamom, lemongrass, turmeric, Balanga, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, pepper and long pepper round;
Zone 3 - Middle East - Spices and herbs: garlic, dill, anise , caraway, chervil, coriander, cumin, tarragon, marjoram, mint, onion, oregano, poppy seeds, saffron, sumac (and most part of roots, fresh and dried fruit consumed in Europe now, but that's another story).
Zone 4 - Region - Spices and herbs: anise, capers, chervil, chives, bay leaves, marjoram, mint, black cumin, oregano, parsley, rosemary, rue, savory, sage, thyme.
The list of spices is in fact longer, but we just this small sample to start making a few comments.
The first thing you notice is that moving from east to west, a growing number of "herbs" and decreases the spice proper.
The second is that nearby areas are contiguous nell'origine di alcune piante o spezie (vedi le zone orientali in contrapposizione a quelle occidentali).
Lasciamo le cartine che abbiamo visto un attimo in sospeso (ci torneremo più avanti) e torniamo a parlare di rotte delle spezie dove le avevamo lasciate: Egiziani ed importazione di incenso, mirra e cannella.
La zona dell'Hadramaut, il moderno Yemen, e la costa orientale del Mar Rosso, diventano le zone di produzione intensive di gomme e resine di incenso, viste le notevoli proprietà di questa spezia. Intorno al 1000 a.C., Aden si trasforma nel "deposito d'Oriente", dove confluisce anche la cannella che arriva dall'altra parte dell'Oceano Indiano, via mare. 
Despite repeated attempts throughout the centuries, the Egyptians were unable to remove the monopoly of this trade with Arab traders, for whom you make untold riches: in addition to being expensive sought after incense, was paid in gold and, as we shall see later, in the Roman Empire, was not subject to import duty, perhaps because it was considered rather than a luxury, a drug of first necessity, which is essential in religious ceremonies. 
This trade was so prosperous that it was to create a true 'Incense Route', a caravan that traveled the coasts of southern and then rose alongside the Red Sea, and along which took place at the same time the transport of other goods. It was composed of about 65 stations, stops, and camel loads of incense reached the various ports from which they were shipped to their final destination. Incense was also revised for the composition of ointments and perfumes, and special precautions are taken to prevent the workers to seize it, Pliny notes that men in Alexandria to its employees working with the seal had to wear an apron and a mask, as well going out naked from the shop.
was used in cosmetics for the property to maintain a young complexion. But more than cosmetic purposes, incense was used therapeutically, and preparations containing incense remained in force for centuries, like the famous Balsamo Fioravanti in 1500 to combat arsenic poisoning. 
Many of its properties were exploited by the ancients, not only employing the resin, but also the soot obtained by burning incense in special containers and bark dell'arbusto. Using elective it was topical, especially as healing of wounds, including bleeding, ulcers and sores, burns and frostbite, which was shed in the form of powder or ointment rudimentary, obtained by mixing it with other substances (honey, vinegar, goose fat, etc..), presumably with excellent results, due to its antiseptic, healing salve, and incense. But a big turning point was to inaugurate a huge commercial era: the birth of Achaemenid Empire and the conjunction between the philosophies and the Greek and Indian medicine, which we had left over from the first part.
- CONTINUED -
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