39. Cinnamon | The Spice That Was Once Worth More Than Gold

So let's begin.

Cinnamon has been used for over 4000 years.

And for most of that time, almost nobody who used it knew where it actually came from.

It appears in the Bible, in ancient Egyptian texts, in Roman history.

The ancient Egyptians used it in embalming rituals and temple offerings, believing it helped people prepare the soul for the afterlife.

It was considered precious enough to be placed inside the tombs of pharaohs alongside them.

In the Hebrew Bible, cinnamon is named as a key ingredient in holy anointing oil.

It was considered equal in value to gold and ivory, a gift suitable for monarchs and for gods.

The Romans used it lavishly, in food and in incense.

And there's one story in particular that tells you everything you need to know about how valuable this spice once was.

It involves the Roman emperor Nero.

And if you do not know much about him, let me give you the brief, slightly alarming version.

Nero is, by most historical accounts, one of the most brutal and eccentric rulers Rome ever produced.

He's widely believed to have had his own mother killed, his stepbrother, at least one wife, possibly two.

He persecuted Christians, reportedly blaming them for a fire that devastated Rome, partly so he could clear land for an enormous vanity project called the Golden House, complete, according to some accounts, with a revolving dining room.

One of the wives historians believe he had killed was his first, Octavia.

He had fallen in love with someone else, a noblewoman named Poppia Sabina.

and Octavia was simply in the way.

When Poppia herself later died, Nero is said to have burned what amounted to an entire year's supply of cinnamon at her funeral, as a display of grief, and quite transparently, as a display of wealth, which does make you wonder, was that grief genuine or guilt? Given what it apparently took to get her in the first place, I think we are allowed to ask the question.

At its most expensive, cinnamon traded at around 15 times the price of silver.

In some markets, ounce for ounce, it traded directly for gold.

you do not burn a year's supply of something cheap.

For most of this history, the people actually buying cinnamon in Europe and the Middle East had absolutely no idea where it grew.

Arab traders controlled the spice routes for centuries and they protected that monopoly the way any good business protects a trade secret.

They made up stories.

So let's begin.

Cinnamon has been used for over 4000 years.

And for most of that time, almost nobody who used it knew where it actually came from.

It appears in the Bible, in ancient Egyptian texts, in Roman history.

The ancient Egyptians used it in embalming rituals and temple offerings, believing it helped people prepare the soul for the afterlife.

It was considered precious enough to be placed inside the tombs of pharaohs alongside them.

In the Hebrew Bible, cinnamon is named as a key ingredient in holy anointing oil.

It was considered equal in value to gold and ivory, a gift suitable for monarchs and for gods.

The Romans used it lavishly, in food and in incense.

And there's one story in particular that tells you everything you need to know about how valuable this spice once was.

It involves the Roman emperor Nero.

And if you do not know much about him, let me give you the brief, slightly alarming version.

Nero is, by most historical accounts, one of the most brutal and eccentric rulers Rome ever produced.

He's widely believed to have had his own mother killed, his stepbrother, at least one wife, possibly two.

He persecuted Christians, reportedly blaming them for a fire that devastated Rome, partly so he could clear land for an enormous vanity project called the Golden House, complete, according to some accounts, with a revolving dining room.

One of the wives historians believe he had killed was his first, Octavia.

He had fallen in love with someone else, a noblewoman named Poppia Sabina.

and Octavia was simply in the way.

When Poppia herself later died, Nero is said to have burned what amounted to an entire year's supply of cinnamon at her funeral, as a display of grief, and quite transparently, as a display of wealth, which does make you wonder, was that grief genuine or guilt? Given what it apparently took to get her in the first place, I think we are allowed to ask the question.

At its most expensive, cinnamon traded at around 15 times the price of silver.

In some markets, ounce for ounce, it traded directly for gold.

you do not burn a year's supply of something cheap.

For most of this history, the people actually buying cinnamon in Europe and the Middle East had absolutely no idea where it grew.

Arab traders controlled the spice routes for centuries and they protected that monopoly the way any good business protects a trade secret.

They made up stories.