The Babylonian World (Routledge Worlds)

central to the diet; the bulbs of onion (sˇus ˇkillu or sˇamasˇkillum; Allium cepa) and of
leek (karasˇum; Allium porrum) were common foodstuffs. The green tops of all three
were probably also eaten and all three could be dried (Charpin et al. 2004 : 856 ).
Other vegetables included: lettuce (h
̆

assu; Lactuca sativa(?)); probably some kind of
Brassica; the cucumber (qisˇsˇum; Cucumis sativus(?)); the roots, and probably the tops,
of the turnip (laptum; Brassica rapassp. rapa); the radish (puglu; Raphanus sativus); and
possibly the beet (sˇumuttum; Beta vulgaris) and an edible crocus bulb (andah
̆

sˇum).
Legumes were important and probably h
̆

allu ̄ rumis the broad bean (Vicia faba), kakkûm
the common pea (Pisum sativum) and/or the lentil (Lens culinaris), and appa ̄ numthe
chick pea (Cicer arietinum) (Charpin et al. 2004 : 857 – 58 ). In the Yale recipes, alliaceous
vegetables are very common, including garlic, leek and onion; other vegetables include
the edible crocus bulb and the turnip (Bottéro 1995 : 56 – 57 , 161 ).

Fruits

This list is based on cuneiform sources and derived from Powell ( 2003 : 13 – 19 ). Dates
(suluppu ̄; cf. uh
̆

innum, ‘unripe, green dates’) from the date palm (gisˇimmarum; Phoenix
dactylifera) were Babylonia’s most important fruit and the palm heart (uqu ̄ rum) was
also eaten. Other basic fruits include the fig (tittum; Ficus carica) and the grape (kara ̄ num;
Vitis vinifera), which was probably cultivated in Babylonia more for raisins (muzı ̄qu)
and juice, than for wine as in the northern uplands. Sugar came mainly from dates,
followed by pricier grapes and figs; all three could be processed to produce syrup
(disˇpum). The other basic fruits are the apple (h
̆

asˇh

̆

u ̄ rum), probably the domesticated
apple (Malus pumila) but possibly also the wild crab apple (Malus sylvestris), and the
pomegranate (nurmû, lurmûmor lurimtum; Punica granatum). Northern fruits include
the olive (serdum; Olea europaea), mainly grown for its oil, the pear (kamisˇsˇarum; Pyrus
communis) and a fruit called sˇallu ̄ rum, possibly a type of pear or plum. All these fruits
(or their trees) occur in Mari texts (Sasson 2004 : 188 – 89 ).

Nuts

The main nuts were the almond (sˇiqdum, sˇa ̄ qidumor sˇaqı ̄dum; Amygdalus communis(?)),
which may have been grown in Babylonia, and the terebinth (but.nuor but.uttu; Pistacia
spp.), an upland tree (Nesbitt and Postgate 2001 : 633 – 34 ).

Herbs and spices

Identification is particularly difficult, sometimes including the part of the plant used
(Bottéro 1995 : 161 ; Nesbitt and Postgate 2001 : 635 ; Powell 2003 : 14 , 19 – 20 ;
Charpin et al. 2004 : 856 – 57 ; Sasson 2004 : 191 – 92 ). Old Babylonian sources refer
to many plants that added flavour to foods and drinks, such as the peppery seeds of
cress (sah
̆

lû; Lepidium sativum (?)); coriander seeds and possibly leaves (kisibirrum;
Coriandrum sativum); cumin seeds (kamu ̄ num; Cuminum cyminum); the unidentified
samı ̄dum; saffron (?) (azupı ̄rumor azupira ̄ num); toothpick plant (?) (nı ̄nûm); seeds of
dodder (?) (kasû); and in the north seeds of black cumin (zibûm; Nigella sativa) and
juniper kernels (kikkirênu ̄; Juniperusspp.) Other additives included products from
cypress (sˇurme ̄num) and myrtle (asum).

— Frances Reynolds —