The earliest evidence of the use of licorice comes from the ancient tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, including the 3000-year-old tomb of King Tut. Stores of licorice were found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs, including that of King Tut. References to licorice have also been made on Assyrian tablets dating back to the second or third millennia BC.
The early Egyptians and Assyrians are known to have cultivated the ‘sweet root’ that was later imported to China, where it has been used for centuries under the name ‘Gan Cao’.
In Medical School of Salerno (VIII–IX century AD) the work Regimen sanitatis carefully examined licorice and its pharmacological properties acquiring the knowledge derived from outstanding Arabic medical scientists like Mohammed Ibn Zakaria Abu Bekr Alrazi (“Rhazes”, 850–925 AD.) and Ibn Sina (“Avicenna”, 980–1037 AD.).
In the Canone of Ibn Sina, licorice is also cited as a remedy for diseases of the respiratory tract. According to Ibn Al Baithar, Ibn Sina stated that it makes the voice clear and reduces hoarseness of the voice.
The Cluniac monks are thought to have ‘discovered’ licorice when accompanying the Crusaders in the Middle East, where it was already a popular drink and a suitable alternative to the banned substance, alcohol. It is thought that they then grew licorice in their herb garden at Pontefract.
History of licorice in the Middle East
