Scent from the Garden of Paradise. Musk and the Medieval Islamic World

Download or read book Scent from the Garden of Paradise. Musk and the Medieval Islamic World written by Anya H. King and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2017-01-09 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since antiquity, musk has been a valued perfume and medicine. Because the musk deer only lives in Central Eurasia, people in other locations had to trade for its musk. For medieval Islamic civilization, musk became the most important of all aromatics. The musk trade thus illuminates the nature of medieval Asian trade and musk's cultural effects on the Islamic world. Scent from the Garden of Paradise: Musk and the Medieval Islamic World examines the history of musk from its origins in Asia to its uses in the medieval Middle East, surveys the Islamic literature on musk, and discusses the roles of musk in perfumery and medicine, as well as the symbolic importance of musk in Islam.