Perfumes, room and vehicle fragrances, which have become our signature, occupy a very important place in our lives. In this article, we tell you about the emergence of perfumes and their evolution over the ages.
Everyone in the Middle Ages She thinks perfumes are something French because of her bathroom and toilet habits. Contrary to popular belief, perfumes were not originally invented in France.
The appearance of these fragrant mixtures, which attract people, goes back much further. B.C. to the 4000s until it lasts. Thanks to historical written sources, clay tablets, hieroglyphs, we know that the first perfumes in history were used by ancient civilizations such as Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Romans, Sumerians and Babylonians.
Now the origin of the word perfume, the emergence of perfume, Let’s explain its functions and how it turned into its modern versions:
Where does the name of the perfume come from?
The word perfume, which comes to Turkish from French, means “bottled pleasant smell, fragrant”. The name of the perfume consists of the Latin words “fumum” “smoke, steam” and “per”.per fumum” “fragrant smokemeans “rising with smoke”.
The most primitive and first version of perfume tree bark, It is based on incense obtained by burning fragrant herbs and various herbs.
“incense”, indispensable for religious ceremonies
The use of incense, which is the first version of perfume, has varied considerably throughout history. The first people to use incense they believed that this method cleaned the smoked environment and people.
This method was mostly used in religious ceremonies. Ancient civilizations belonging to polytheistic religions cleaned their sacrifices with incense in order to make them worthy of their gods. Ancient Egypt Incense was widely used in funeral ceremonies. It was especially important for the Egyptians that the tombs of the pharaohs smelled pleasant. For people in ancient times fragrances It was sacred and symbolized divinity.
How are perfumes produced and preserved?
Incenses gave way to liquid and solid perfumes carried in bottles made of clay and wood. Perfumes were obtained by various methods. Various herbs and fragrant plants pressing with plant extracts, distillation Intense essential and fragrant oils were obtained by the method. The most familiar way of obtaining perfume was the distillation method. The distillation method was used for the first time in history BC. It was developed by the Sumerians in the 4000s. They are quite adept at this method.
Chemist, healer and perfumer: Tapputi Belatekallim
The use of incense was also common in the Babylonian period. But technically, the Babylonians developed more stable and efficient methods of perfume production. They have been quite successful in obtaining versions reminiscent of today’s perfumes.
Babylonian, known to be the oldest and first chemist Tapputi Belatekallim The information that a woman named, produced perfume with techniques far beyond her age, comes from the written sources of the period. to clay tablets was processed. Tapputi BC He was the official perfume maker of the palace in the 1200s. He made his name in history with the perfume essences he produced for the king of the time, and contributed to the development of the perfume industry with some of the recipes he recorded on clay tablets.
Hellenistic influences in perfumes
The use of perfume was very common in ancient Greek and Roman times. Ancient Greeks by mixing plant extracts and oils they transformed perfume from incense to liquid form.
The Romans were influenced by the Hellenic culture before them. The method used by the Hellenes, recipe and raw materials They made progress in the perfume industry by using raw materials from different cultures and trading raw materials from different cultures. Later, as the economy deteriorated, the trade, production and use of perfumes were interrupted and declined.
Popularization of perfume techniques in Europe
Some of the works written by El Cabir and El Kindi, who are known as important scientists of the Abbasid period, in the field of chemistry, were translated into Latin by the Europeans. Distillation and extraction (decomposition) These works, which describe perfume-making techniques such as
Ancestor of perfumes: Hungarian Water
The first perfume prepared by diluting intense essences for the Hungarian Queen Elizabeth “Hungarian Juice” It was produced in 1370. Hungarian Water is called the ancestor of modern perfumes produced today.
The fate of perfume was rewritten in the 16th century
In the future Italy became the center of perfume. In the 16th century, Catherine de Medici, the daughter of an Italian noble family, married the king of France at the time. Upon this, Catherine, who settled in France with all her knowledge and her own perfume maker René le Florentin, transformed France into the homeland of both raw material and perfume production and trade.
Ancestor of cologne: Cologne Water
In 1709, JMFarina produced an alcohol-based perfume with citrus and flower essences by her own means. This product, which was released under the name “Kölnisch Wasser”,Cologne Water” meant. Thanks to his nephew Giovanni Farina, this product quickly spread and became popular in Europe. Cologne Water, called “Eau de Cologne” in French, became the modern ancestor of the alcohol-based and slightly floral, citrus-based cologne we use today.
Iconic first modern designer perfumes
in the modern sense The first perfume designed for today It is the iconic No 5 perfume of the famous French fashion brand Chanel, produced in 1921. In the following periods, perfumes were produced in different formulas and concentrations. Chanel No 5 brought a breath of fresh air to the perfume industry.
As a result, incense, which is also used in religious ceremonies, funerals, temples, for hygiene, cleaning and medical fields, has become more and more popular over time. It had become a symbol of nobility in society. The perfume industry, which had a significant trade volume in the following periods, preserved its nobility and turned into modern versions, fashion accessories that allow us to get an idea about the styles that are in a way the signature of the people. Perfumes and their derivatives continue to be a commercial sector with a high business volume from past to present.
Today, we told you about the emergence of perfumes and their evolution throughout history. If you want to see similar content, do not forget to tell us in the comments.
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