A Little History

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA : Mesopotamia, ancient Greek meaning ‘land between two rivers' ( meso middle, potamos river ) the Tigris-Euphrates, the biblical land known as Ancient Mesopotamia, The Fertile Crescent, on The Silk Route, the rise of the first sophisticated civilisation of the world, WHERE TIME BEGAN, Sumerians : 60 parts, Babylonians : 60 seconds, 60 minutes, 360 degrees, The Map. Sumerians : Spear, bow, the wheel, glazed pottery, weaving cloth, the cart, the chariot, the sailboat, the plough, mathematics, architecture, sun-dried bricks, astronomy, astrology, agriculture, irrigation, cuneiform writing, monarchy, stamp seals, cylinder seals, copper tools, arrowheads, razors, swords, harpoons, maces, slings, clubs, beer made from barley, oil in soaps began. Sumerians : First, to Measure Time.

SUMERIANS ( 5,400 BC - 1750 BC 3,650 YEARS, beginning : First City Eridu. 1940 BC end of Power of Sumerians, Elamite invasion and Amorite migration, fading out 1750 BC) created distillation by applying resin or, fat with alkali, elementary soapmaking, cleaning wounds and sores, they were excellent at washing wounds and preparation of poultices, they also used essence of cedar accomplished by distillation and the washing of the diseased part with beer and hot water. The birth of the first antiseptics, alcohol, honey and myrrh, the battle of humans and bacteria. Soap : an ancient product has saved more lives than penicillin, SUMERIANS 2200 BC : WHERE OILS IN SOAP BEGAN.

SUMERIANS, four main classes : Priests, Upper Class which, included The Royals, Lower Class and Slaves. Unchanged words of The Sumerians, still today, crocus (flower), Saffron (colour and spice). Sumerians were paid for their work, women had the freedom to work and able to set-up their own business. Being a Brewer created considerable wealth, autonomy, influence. One Brewer Kubaba became ruler of Kish, 2500 BC, the only woman recorded to have such power, the first and only Queen among The Sumerian rulers. However, women mentioned the most in ancient texts were priestesses they frequently ruled city-states as Ensí (designated ruler of a city-state), their power exceeded all but, a few of men.

SUMERIANS : planting date orchards 3,000 BC, planting date palm trees 100 feet tall, 200 years, to give shade whilst quenching their thirst with Barley Beer sweetened with date syrup.

SUMERIANS, before 2,200 BC where oil in soaps began, Sumerians used tallow and ash for personal hygiene valued for one’s standing in the community and honouring their gods. Sumerians personal hygiene was a matter of presentable performance to their gods and duties. 2,200 BC SUMERIAN text : their knowledge was that Soap had medical benefits. 2,200 BC SUMERIAN PRIESTS : used Oil in Soap for medical benefits.

First use of soap recorded on a cuneiform tablet Girsu, a City of ancient Sumer 2,500 BC used for removing lanolin from sheep, alkalis from burned wood and fats equals saponification, water absorbs the alkali from the ash 'leaching' creating impure soap. The Sumer City of Ur would call up to 10,000 to labour, dominated by women producing four hundred tons of wool each year. First known recipe of soap one quart of oil, six quarts of potash equals impure soap. The first evidence of soap being used  to clean the skin, cuneiform tablet found in Hattusha a Unesco World Heritage Site, the Hittite Capital located in Boğazkale District of Çorum Province. The first recorded evidence of soap production written in cuneiform on a clay tablet 2800 BC, Sumerians. 2200 BC, Sumerians (where oils in soap began), a formula of soap consisting of water, alkali (ash) and cassia oil (cinnamomum) was written on a clay tablet (two thousand years before The Silk Route opened). King Nabonidus, Neo-Babylonian 6th century BC : ashes, cypress extract, sesame oil (antibacterial, antiviral) written on clay cylinders Ur.

BABYLONIANS : The rise to power of The Babylonians in Mesopotamia around 1900 BC, known as 'Old Babylonian Period’. 1792-1750 BC sixth King Hammurabi of The Amorites, First Dynasty of Babylon, The Stele, 282 Laws, a vertical stone monument inscribed with text, The Louvre Museum Later, Neo-Babylonian period 626 BC - 539 BC. Babylon, Unesco World Heritage Site.

The sophisticated Babylonians : The Yale Babylonian Collection houses four tablets three, Old Babylonian period, one dated 730 BC with recipes, stews, soups and pies. Elamite broth with dill, Babylonian chicken pie, dough, bird, Babylonian béchamel sauce. Saffron, coriander, parsley, chard and fish sauce from The Tigris, Euphrates. Lamb stew, barley cakes, onion, Persian shallots, milk, leek, garlic. The impressive collection 45,000 inscribed documents, Ancient Mesopotamia housed in 'The Yale Babylonian Collection' overseen by The Peabody Museum of Natural History.

BABYLON, Mesopotamia : the eighth gate to the inner City, The Ishtar Gate 575 BC, one of The Seven Wonders of The Ancient World, a Unesco World Heritage Site, where eighty five percent of Babylon remains unexcavated, still today, 2605 acres, 6 and a half miles of outer walls, 262 feet wide moat, 5 miles of inner City walls. ISHTAR GATE : 164 feet from end gate to end gate, each side of the gate consisted of nineteen, 39 feet high wall sections. The gates measured more than 38 feet high with a vast antechamber on the southern side. Etemenanki : Babylon’s largest Ziggurat 299 feet cited in Ancient Greek accounts as The Temple of Belus and the probable inspiration for The Tower of Babel 298 feet high.The Processional Way : New Year celebrations, over a half a mile long, with walls over 50 feet tall on each side built by order of The King Nebuchadnezzar 11 dedicated to The Babylonian goddess Ishtar. In the works of Greek historians Babylon was distant, exotic and incredible. Greek historian Herodotus, declaring 'Overwhelmingly opulent, the walls so broad chariots could race around them'. Implementers of The Seven Wonders of The World, of the known Ancient World : Herodotus, Philo of Byzantium his work 'On Seven Wonders' 225 BC, Callimachus of Cyrene Architect, Writer, Chief of The Library of Alexandria, Diodorus Siculus Ancient Greek Historian, Antipater of Sidon, Greek Writer, Poet 2nd century BC begins the official listing replacing The Ishtar Gate for The Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Babylon : Etemenanki (House of the Foundation of Heaven on Earth), Ziggurat, also known as, The Temple of Belus, The Tower of Babel, originally built by King Hammurabi, 17 million fired bricks. Under King Nebuchadnezzer 11 the restoration and enlargement of Etemenanki took 43 years to complete. Alexander the Great cleared rubble from the destruction of Etemenanki using 10 thousand labourers before his fever and death.

The first handmade olive oil, pistachio oil, laurel berry oil and almond oil soaps traded on The Silk Route at a time when Jesus was born, Roman Emperors, Kings, Queens, Princesses, Pharaohs of Egypt reigned : Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Alexander the Great's greatest expansionism of the know Ancient World.

The Seleucid Empire 323-64 BC, after the death of Alexander the Great, his conquered territories were divided between his generals, know as 'Diadochi' Alexander's friend Seleucus Nicator 312-281 BC became King of the eastern provinces.

The Ptolemaic period began in 305 BC, Alexander the Great conquers Egypt, one of his generals became Ptolemy 1 Soter of Egypt, until Cleopatra (fluent in Egyptian) 30 BC, ends 300 years of Greek rule of Egypt. And of course, history could have been re-written if Alexander the Great of Macedon, had survived his 32 years after conquering Macedon-India. He died 323 BC while suffering a high fever that lasted 10 days, Babylon.The theories of Alexander the Great : buried first in Memphis, Egypt the old capital, moved to Alexandria. Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus ( Octavian), paid his respects after the conquest of Egypt 30 BC. Other theories : Venice, St. Mark's Cathedral. Siwa Oasis, Egypt. Archaeologists, continuing nebulous delirium, still today.

Aigai, Northern Greece, The Royal dynasty of The Temenids, the family of Philip 11, son Alexander the Great, where the unlooted tomb of Philip 11 rests, Unesco World Heritage Site.

343 BC Philip 11 of Macedonia invites philosopher Aristotle to teach his 13 year old son Alexander. Aristotle taught for 7 years : Medicine, philosophy, morals, religion, logic and art. Aristotle taught Alexander the works of Homer and gave him a copy of Homer's works which, Alexander carried on all his campaigns.

ZOSIMOS OF PANOPOLIS 3rd century AD, unanimously recognised as the greatest of the Graeco-Egyptian alchemists, investigates the composition and chemical changes that occurred in the water and oils. Centuries later, still handmade today, remarkably, from the same historical areas, as the Soapmakers continue making history; hand-cut, dried stored for months being traditionally produced by hand through the generations of families, with only natural ingredients, unchanged throughout the centuries.

THE SILK ROUTE : The Merchants of Antioch earned their reputation for hundreds of years from the sale of silk, soap, glass, spices, cotton, dyeing, tanning, furs, wine, vineyards produced the City's wine but, produced much to export with The Orontes River busy with olive oil, wine and rich fishing (eels for the poor), bread (wheat for the wealthy,  barley for the poor), copper tools and the appalling trade of Slaves. Caravans of camels loaded with jewels and spices from Cappadocia, Persia, India, Arabia travelled through the City where exchanges on a large scale were conducted. Trading under 1400 Roman columns, 18 feet tall and porticoes for two and a half miles, using their vegetable oil filled lamps each night to light up The Colonnaded Street for more than 800 years. Hedonistic Antioch, 'Queen of the East' of the known Ancient World, the City of up to 500,000 people (115 AD), patrolled by Roman Legionaires, where residents used their oil filled lamps outside their homes ( where rich houses were almost always three stories) increasing the illumination of the City at night, Hellenistic art, a fusion of Greek and Near East artistry. Persian Sogdian Traders travelled and spoke the language of Sogdiana for hundreds of years from Chang'an, (perpetual peace), Han Dynasty, Samarkand to Antioch the third largest city of The Roman Empire. Antioch's large Jewish population occupied their quarter called The Kerateion at the southern end of Antioch between the Cherubim Gate, 1st century AD, later, the Daphne Gate by the river Phyrminus, where Hadrian was in command of the army of the East. Commissioned by the 9th Emperor Vespasian establishing The Praetorian Fleets : Classis  (Fleet Syriaca. Cassis (Fleet) Mesopotamica. Patrolling Antioch (Selucia, seaport) to Alexandria, reinforced, if necessary, with 200 ships from Classes Praetoriae. Emperor Hadrian (Imperator) nominated by his legions of the East, Antioch, 11th August 117 AD, 41 years old, 11 months later he journeyed to Rome arriving 9th July 118 AD. The Roman Empire reaching its most expansionism upon the death of Emperor Trajan, where Emperor Hadrian stabilises The Empire for the next 21 years, the third of the five Good Emperors.

The VESPASIANUS - TITUS TUNNEL (The Dam), 1st century AD, ANTONINUS PIUS completes, 2nd century AD (Unesco Tentative Listing) . 10th Legion Engineers, built by Roman Legionaries, Sailors and skilled Jewish Prisoners, more than three quarters of a mile digging into The Nur Mountains. The longest  handmade dug tunnel in history, preserved authenticity, without damage still today, ensuring Antioch's seaport Seleucia from silting-up, flooding and water supply during summer.

SILK : 2696 BC Leizu, daughter of Xi Ling, Empress, Wife of The Yellow Emperor, the implementer of silk; by chance a silkworm cocoon fell from a tree into her tea cup unwrapping the silk and strong but, soft thread. Ancient Greek word for China 'Seres' 'The Land of Silk'

Permission was granted to trade outside of China for the first time and later, silk for gold with The Roman Empire. Chang'an, Capital of China-Antioch, 3rd largest City of The Roman Empire on the Mediterranean waters, 4,025 miles. Han Dynasty's Emperor Wu Di 138 BC sends explorer Zhang Qian, as diplomat, envoy, to the West opening The Silk Route. By 102 BC China controlled traffic and taxes at  Tun-Huang Oasis later, called Dunhuang Oasis. Traders from the West were compelled to wait until Chinese soldiers checked for silkworms or, cocoons. The Roman Empire's Pliny the Elder 'At least a hundred million sesterces flow out of the empire every year to India, China and Arabia, that is how much luxury and women cost us'. Yellow silk : a class distinction. 552 AD : Emperor Justinian Ist sends two emissaries (Nestorian monks) to China to smuggle silkworm eggs, hidden in rods of bamboo, tired of paying exorbitant silk prices. Later, sericulture (silk farming) began.

Centuries Later, Still Preserved Today, 10 year project, over 27 feet below ground level, 4 acres of Antioch ( City of Antioch 1,100 acres, where The Soapmakers made history), excavating, authenticity preserved, still today.

30,000 objects dating back to the 3rd Century BC : The Necmi Asfuroğlu Archaeology Museum, Hatay Archaeology Museum overlooking Mt. Silpius. Peter digs the foundation of the first church, St Pierre, Mt. Starius, Antioch (Unesco Tentative Listing). His missionaries were his imperative, suffering martyrdom under Emperor Nero, Rome : The Marble Roman Forum, public meeting place 9000 sq ft, The Pegasus mosaic, 160 shades of plant dyed stone, Frescoes of Apollo and Nine Muses 2nd century AD, Eros : marble statue 200 AD, World's largest single floor Mosaic 11,302 sq ft, observing its undulating flow, subsidence, earthquakes 4th Century AD, Wildlife Mosaic 5th Century AD, Roman Baths 5th Century AD and stone surfaced Roman Road 64 BC Antioch, preserved authenticity, still today.

Mosaics, columns and walls of ancient Antioch, the third largest City of The Roman Empire after Rome and Alexandria, favoured by The Emperors, third century AD, The Imperial Palace residence of Queen Zenobia (Antiochia, the preference of Queen Zenobia, just a short walk from the Soapmakers), Queen of Palmyra Empire, Queen of Syria, Queen of Egypt, ruler of one third of The Roman Empire (6 years, loved by her people), declaring ancestry with Cleopatra, educated in Greek, Latin, Egyptian (fluent) and Aramaic, defeated by Emperor Aurelius, chained in gold chains, treated with humility but, paraded in Rome for a life in Tivoli, where she re-married and died 34 years old, 4 children.

ANTIOCH, the centre of literature, the royal library (built by the Seleucid Empire 323 BC and later, 223 BC under the direction of grammarian, poet Euphorion of Chalcis), theatre, temples, public squares, baths, palatial homes, churches, aqueducts (Hadrian's finest work). Herod the Great became King in 37 BC ruling Judaea for 33 years, as a client of Rome. His generosity towards Antioch (he's appalling guilt, jealousy, entirely possible that King Herod was capable of the atrocity of children, as confirmed by Matthew thereafter, he had his wife Mariamme and three sons killed) where the muddy streets were replaced with polished marble and adorned with a Colonnaded Street for two and a half miles, together with a Stoa erected along the east side of Antioch. Later, Emperor Tiberius builds Two long Colonnades, southwards towards Mt. Silpius. Theatre, Augustus Caesar, enlarged by Agrippa, Tiberius, Trajan, 1st Century BC - 2nd Century AD. Amphitheatre, from the Greek word amphitheatron, spectators all around, on both sides, Julius Caesar 47 BC. Hippodrome, Circus, chariot racing, 80,000 spectators, obelisk from Egypt, spina divides the course, donated by Quintius Marcius Rex proconsul of Cilicia 67 BC.1400 Roman columns and porticoes for two and a half miles, The Colonnaded Street, the surface of Egyptian granite, ordered by Emperor Antoninus Pius 138-161 AD paving the great east to west artery wide enough to accommodate caravans, as the merchants passed through buying and selling, until 3 a.m. ( the abundance of mules, asses, camels, horses). Libanius, Antioch's celebrated Orator 314-393 AD 'Indeed, if a man had the idea of travelling all over the earth, not to see how cities looked, but to learn their ways, our city would fulfil his purpose and save him his journeying. If he sits in our market place he will sample every city, there will be so many from each place with whom he can talk. The city loves the virtues of those who come to it exactly as it does the virtues of its children, imitating the Athenians in this also'. The only Roman City illuminated at night for more than 800 years. The romantic magnet for scholars, writers, philosophers. Antioch, 64 BC a Roman Province. Antioch, where The Silk Route 2nd Century BC, on The Mediterranean waters ended.

40 CENTURIES OF SOAPMAKING, used by The Emperors, Kings, Queens, Princesses, Pharaohs and the wealthy for two thousand years before The Silk Route opened, centuries later, still handmade today.

Ancient Mesopotamia : continuing the ethical and sustainable ethos, the culture and spirit of the first Soapmakers of the world remarkably, 40 centuries later, still handmade today from the original historical areas whilst supporting their families.