Ancient history of pomegranate fruit

Pomegranate are originated from central Asia. Pomegranate has an important place in the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean countries. It was cultivated in ancient Egypt and in early Greece and Italy. The fruit which was described by the Greek botanist Theophrastus about 2350 years before the present (BP) and is mentioned in many Greek and Turkish myths.

Edible pomegranates were firstly reported to be cultivated in Iran during 3000 BC. It was recorded that pomegranate cultivation in about 2200 B.C comes from the ancient civilization of Sumer, located in the lower Tigris and Euphrates valley, approximately the area of present-day Basra, Iraq. It is believed that the pomegranate was brought into the area by people who were migrating from the Zagros Mountains— on the present-day Iran and Iraq border.

Phoenicians established Mediterranean Sea colonies in North Africa and brought pomegranates to Tunisia and Egypt by 2000 BC. The Phoenicians were great traders who sent many ships to ports in the Mediterranean Basin.

During that time, pomegranates also naturalized around the world and reached China by 100 BC over the Silk Road.

It was probably introduced into Greece and the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, as far west as Spain and Portugal by ancient sailors and traders.

Ancient traders in Central Asia and the Middle East referred to the pomegranate as the “fruit of paradise.” Arabian caravans carried the fruit with other trade goods and spices, as well as the water and food they transported to provision the travelers.

Cultivation of the pomegranates in the Roman Empire and Spain is estimated to be in 800s. It was introduced in the Indian Peninsula from Iran during the 1st century AD and was found growing in Indonesia in 1416 AD.

The Spanish sailors brought pomegranates to the New World and some missionaries introduced pomegranate in Mexico and California. The first clear evidence that the pomegranate was in the area to become the United States was in the early 1700s, when they were grown in Spanish Florida and English Georgia.
Ancient history of pomegranate fruit

History of pomegranate in Middle East

The pomegranate’s history dates back to biblical times. Its name is derived from the French pomme granate or ‘seeded apple’.

Taxonomists believe that man first began domesticating the pomegranate sometime in the fourth millennium BC in northern Iran and Turkey. It spread widely before recorded history, reaching India and the Mediterranean.

Archeological remains having been unearthed dating to 3000 BC in Jericho. The pomegranate was grown in Babylon and in ancient Jericho. From there, the pomegranate spread into Mesopotamia, India, Northern Africa, and China and then onto Mediterranean Basin.

In Egypt it was found in the tomb of the butler of Queen Hatseput and the first written references comes from the beautiful love poem, The Flower Song of around 1500 BC. In a 12th BC Egyptian papyrus preserved in the Turin Museum, a woman’s beauty is compared to a pomegranate.

Pomegranates are common in Mediterranean cooking for both their seeds and their juice. Pomegranates were introduced into North America in colonial times and thrived on the plains from South Carolina to Florida.
History of pomegranate in Middle East

History and origin of pomegranate

Human use of pomegranate has a long history, with cultivation projected as early as 3000 BC.

The cultivation of the pomegranate began in the ancient culture of Northern India, particularly the Indus Valley, adjoining Persia and ancient Bactria.

The seeds have been a Hebrew symbol of fertility since biblical times, and the fruit once formed part of the decoration on the pillars of King Solomon’s temple. The Bible notes that King Solomon has large a planting of pomegranates. 

The pomegranate was introduced to the Mediterranean as far west as Spain and Portugal from western Asia by ancient sailors and traders. It was introduced from Carthage to ancient Rome. The fruit is one of the symbols of the love goddess Aphrodite, is central to the Greek myth of Persephone.

In classical Latin, the fruit was known either as Malum punicum or Malum granatum.

In the 16th century, Spanish missionaries brought the plant to the New World. It is mainly grown in California and Arizona.
History and origin of pomegranate