Frankincense: Encyclopedia - Frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense or olibanum is an aromatic resin obtained from the tree Boswellia thurifera or B. sacra. It is used in incense as well as in perfumes.

Frankincense is tapped from Boswellia trees through slashing the bark and allowing the exuded resins to harden. Tapping is done 2 to 3 times a year with the final taps producing the best resin due to its higher aromatic terpene content. High quality resin can be visually discerned through its level of opacity. Omani frankincense is said to be the best in the world, although quality resin is also produced in Yemen and Somalia.

The name for this resin likely comes from “incense of Franks” since it was reintroduced to Europe by Frankish Crusaders. Although it is better known as “frankincense" to westerners the resin is also known as olibanum, which is derived from the Arabic al-lubán ("the milk") a reference to the milky sap tapped from the Boswellia tree. Some have also postulated that the name comes from the Arabic term for "Oil of Lebanon" since Lebanon was the place where the resin was sold and traded with Europeans.

The lost city of Ubar, sometimes identified with Irem in what is now Oman, is believed to have been a centre of the frankincense trade along the recently rediscovered 'Incense Road'. Ubar was rediscovered in the early 1990s and is now under archaeological excavation.

Frankincense was lavishly used in religious rites. According to the Bible's Gospel of Matthew 2:11, gold, frankincense and myrrh were the three gifts to Jesus by the magi 'from out of the east'. The growth of Christianity depressed the market for frankincense during the fourth century CE. Desertification made the caravan routes across the Rub al Khali or 'Empty Quarter' of Arabia more difficult and increased raiding by the nomadic Parthians in the Near East combined to dry up the frankincense trade after about 300 CE.

Frankincense - Articles

• On the Frankincense Trail-Smithsonian Magazine October 1998
• Frankincense Bible References-odu.edu
• Atlantis of the Sands-Archaeology Magazine May/June 1997
• Spices Exotic Flavors and Medicines-UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library Spice Exhibit Frankincense and Myrrh 2002

Frankincense - Related Sites

• UNESCO-UNESCO Frankincense Trail Dhofar Province, Oman
• Trade Between Arabia and the Empires of Rome and Asia-Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Lost City of Arabia Interview with Dr. Juris Zarins-Nova September 1996
• Pictures of Ubar-NASA August 3, 1995

See also

• Nabataeans

Categories: Plants | Incense | Resins

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Frankincense", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki