A cultural history of the precious balsam of Matarea: a substance traded for its weight in gold
This book is the first to examine the complete history of balsam from ancient times to the seventeenth century. It also surveys the evidence for the symbolic value and practical applications of the product in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
Using written sources, visual data and archaeological material, Marcus Milwright reconstructs the fascinating history of the balsam tree from Jericho and En-Gedi to Egypt. He also establishes links with resin-producing trees from the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Chapters address 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 of these products in medicine, ritual and the domestic environment.
The Queen of Sheba's Gift is an exploration of the complex socio-cultural factors that contributed to the sense of value accorded to rare commodities.
Key Features
¿ Uses archaeological and textual sources to trace the cultivation of balsam trees from the 4th century BCE to the 17th century CE
¿ Establishes the many uses of balsam in pre-modern medicine, religious ritual and royal ceremonies
¿ Correlates modern botanical studies with historical sources in the identification of the trees that once grew in the plantation of Matarea in Egypt
¿ Illustrated with 65 images
Marcus Milwright is Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology at the University of Victoria. His books include The Arts and Crafts of Syria and Egypt from the Ayyubids to World War I: Collected Essays (2018), The Arts and Crafts of the Islamic World: An Anthology (Edinburgh University Press, 2017), The Dome of the Rock and its Umayyad Mosaic Inscriptions (Edinburgh University Press, 2016), and An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology (Edinburgh University Press, 2010).

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).

Introduction; List of Figures; Acknowledgements; Permissions; Notes for the reader; Timeline; 1. Travellers' tales: Experiencing Matarea; 2. Resins in the ancient world; 3. Balsam in Egypt; 4. The balsam tree and balsam 'oil'; 5. Diplomacy and international trade; 6. Balsam in medicine: From Greek to Arabic; 7. Balsam in medieval and early modern medicine; 8. Religious and royal dimensions to balsam; Conclusion; Glossary; Bibliography.