#spice trade

Judah Kingdom’s Elite Consumed Wine Enriched with Vanilla, Archaeologists Say | Sci-News.com

“Residues of vanilla attest to the great prestige of the wine and to the drinking habits of the elite residents of Jerusalem.”
“Vanilla had to be imported from the tropic environments of India or east Africa,” they said.

“Control over the spice trade routes connecting east and west has often been seen as a prime motivator for the Assyrian expansion to the southwest.”

“The identification of vanilla as one such exotic and prestigious product having been brought over by the desert caravans highlights the economic value of this trade.””