Myrrh tree (Commiphora myrrha)

The myrrh tree or Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl. belongs to the Burseraceae family. It yields myrrh resin that was praised for its healing properties and was mainly used as a balm.

Commiphora myrrha trees grow in the western part of Yemen and in the north of Somalia (Fig. 1). The tree is tapped to produce resin, but the resin can also naturally exude from the trunk.

The word ‘myrrh’ stems from the Semitic root mrr, meaning ‘that which is bitter’. Its Ancient South Arabian form is ʾmrr (Minaic). The word is attested in Egypt, on a South Arabian inscription on the sarcophagus of a merchant from Maʿīn (M 338). According to the text, this merchant, Zayd son of Zayd, used to import myrrh and sweet flag (Acorus calamus) to Egypt. This sarcophagus, kept in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is thought to have come from the Serapeum of Saqqâra and dates to the 22nd year of the reign of a “Ptolemy son of Ptolemy”, hence dating to the period between 263–59 BCE. It demonstrates the importance of the myrrh trade between southern Arabia and Egypt.

Myrrh was more commonly used in liquid form, as an ointment and in the pharmacopoeia. Owing to its anti-putrid properties, it was also used to mummify bodies.

Myrrh is attested in Egypt from the 2nd millennium BCE. In the account of the journey to the land of Punt, which can be read in the inscriptions at Deir al-Bahari, the main purpose of the expedition was to bring back a product called ntyw, as well as ntyw trees. The Egyptian word ntyw refers to a substance used as an “ointment for the divine limbs” (Retsö 1991: 191). It probably refers to myrrh, which is more commonly used as a balm.

The myrrh trade in Mesopotamia is unclear. The Akkadian word “murru” can be translated as myrrh, but in fact it refers to any bitter substance and therefore to various resins. It frequently appears in medical prescriptions. The identification of this substance as Commiphora myrrha resins therefore remains hypothetical.

In Greek mythology, Myrrah (or Smyrna), who committed incest, runs away from the island of Cyprus, and hides in the kingdom of Sabaʾ, where she transforms into a tree and gives birth to Adonis. This poetic reference to the South Arabian origins of myrrh is confirmed by ancient geographers and naturalists. In the 5th century BCE, Herodotus states that myrrh (smyrnè) can only be found in Eudaemon Arabia (Histories III, 107). Descriptions by later authors such as Theophrastus (c. 371–287 BCE, Enquiry of Plants IX, 4), are similar. Strabo (c. 64 BCE – 21/25 CE) also reveals that myrrh trees grew in the Horn of Africa (Geog. XVI, 4, 14). Pliny the Elder (ca. 23/24–79 CE) states that myrrh tapped from cultivated trees was preferred (NH XII, 33). He describes ten different types of myrrh; eight from South Arabia, one from Eritrea and one from India (NH XII, 35). Pliny also describes several perfume recipes using myrrh (NH XIII, 2).

Myrrh was unceasingly sought after for its healing properties and its perfume, and medieval Arab textual sources testify to its importance in medicine.

Sterenn Le Maguer-Gillon

References and suggested readings

• Avanzini, A. 1998. Le commerce des aromates et les États de l’Arabie méridionale pré-islamique, in R. Gyselen (ed.) Parfums d’Orient (Res Orientales vol. XI): 85–92. Bures-sur-Yvette.
• Groom, N. 1981. Frankincense and myrrh. A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade. London: Longman.
• Jung, M. 2003. Gli aromi nell’epigrafia sudarabica, in Aromatica. Essenze, profumi e spezie tra Oriente e Occidente: 64–66. Rome: Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale, Elio de Rosa Editore.
• Müller, W.W. 1997. Namen von Aromata im antiken Südarabien, in A. Avanzini (ed.) Profumi d’Arabia: 193–210. Rome: "L’Erma" di Bretschneider.
• Peacock, D. & D. Williams (eds) 2006. Food for the Gods: New Light on the Ancient Incense Trade. Oxford: Oxbow Books.
• Retsö, J. 1991. The Domestication of the Camel and the Establishment of the Frankincense Road from South Arabia. Orientalia Suecana 40: 187–219.
• Robin, C.J. 1998. La fin du royaume de Maʿīn, in R. Gyselen (ed.) Parfums d’Orient (Res Orientales vol. XI): 177–188. Bures-sur-Yvette.

_{Alternate spellings: Myrrh tree, Commiphora myrrha}