The language of gifts, perfume and power in the early medieval period.

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In the period between 700-1100 A.D. there was a burgeoning system of cabotage that would eventually lead to the type of globalisation that we recognise today. It paved the way for many things such as knowledge sharing, inter-marriage, the expansion of the Islamic Empires, and the Carolingian Renaissance.

Crucially, the 700s were when the Islamic Empires were consolidating their rule and were located just well enough to be able to trade across both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. A healthy and continuous system of cabotage ensued as Arab adventurers, traders and explorers were able to source goods such a perfumes and spices that had medicine qualities as well as the lure of luxury which made them staples of elite culture.

The substances that were found were absorbed into preexisting cultures of gift giving in the Middle East, but also across the Carolingian, Byzantine and Islamic Empires amongst rulers as acts of diplomacy, as well as displays of power and wealth. However, they were the source of much ceremony, strife, underhandedness when taxes became involved, as well as accidental poisoning that led to heated debates on the depravity of consumerism that are still being discussed today.

This talk will speak about why and how this happened, with anecdotal stories of exactly how important perfumes and spices were in the beginning of globalisation.

Toslima Khatun is a post- doctoral researcher and lecturer at King’s College London specialising in the politics around pandemics and public health. She has a dual discipline of History and Public Health Policy. She has a Masters in Medieval History and a PhD in Near and Middle Eastern Studies focusing on the legacies of globalisation and what that has meant for the known world. Her other works include Making Health Public, A Manifesto for a New Social Contract where she outlines how we need to learn from the past.

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