ARABIAN WOOD (For Men) Exotic Perfume Oil Attar ~6ml~

Considering that most popular ingredients for the manufacture of perfume were found primarily around the Arabian Peninsula, it is not surprising that Islamic cultures contributed significantly to this industry. Arabs inherited most of the ancient perfumery knowledge and took it to the next level. There was much trade within Arabia, bringing perfumes from Baghdad to Muslim Spain. Arabian perfume arts were very highly developed; having learnt much from the Persians, they used ingredients from China, India and Africa, producing perfumes on a large scale.  The Muslims were using the distillation process, which revolutionised perfume production, since the 9th Century.

Al-Kindi (c. 801–873 CE - also known as Alkindus in the west), a Muslim Arab philosopher and scientist, is considered by many as the father of the modern perfume industry. He is known for his work in isolating alcohol and was the first to describe the production of pure distilled alcohol. Al-Kindi invented many different scents by experimentally combining different plants and other materials to produce perfume products. One of his books, the Kitab Kimiya' al-'Itr (Book of the Chemistry of Perfume) contains recipes for fragrant oils, salves and aromatic perfume water. The development of distillation in the 9th century brought the production of essential oils and scented waters to the new level. Another development by the islamic world was in the production of cosmetics.  Al-Hawi, a book by Rhazes, who lived in the late 9th or early 10th century, contained a chapter on cosmetics that was later translated into Latin in France in the late 12th century. The process of distilling in order to abstract essential oils and fragrances was perfected by Avicenna, around the 11th century. 

During the islamic golden age, the trade in perfumes was so high that it accounted up-to 20% of empires total trade revenue. Arab merchants were reaching the furtherest places and along with other wonders of Asia they were bringing fragrances, essential oils, incense, aromatic moisturizers and powders.   Musk and floral perfumes were brought to northwest Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries through trade with the Islamic world. In London, there are records of the Pepperers Guild of London which go back to 1179 and records from Edward 1 which show that spices, perfume ingredients, dyes and aromatic exotic materials sourced from the islamic world were being traded in England.

Venice was an important center for trade between the west and the east, and became the main channel through which the raw materials for incense and perfume reached Europe. It continued to play a primary role in the industry, within Europe, for a few hundred years. While distillation was already known in the 11th century (from the Islamic world), many European scientists did not become fascinated with the process until around the 13th and 14th century. After they learnt this activity, the perfume industry in Europe benefited and the fragrance production center of Grasse, in the south of France, began to develop

Some examples of early perfume ingredients made available through trade