Roses are more than just beautiful flowers—they have played important economic, cultural, and symbolic roles throughout human history. For thousands of years, roses and their products—including rose water, rose oil, and rose petals—have traveled along ancient trade routes across continents, connecting civilizations and influencing cultures. Here is an exploration of the most significant rose trade routes in history.
Ancient Persia to Mediterranean Route (500 BCE – 1500 CE)
Route Overview
Persia (modern-day Iran) is widely recognized as one of the birthplaces of rose cultivation and rose water production. The ancient Persians cultivated the Damask rose (Rosa damascena), which became one of the most prized aromatic rose varieties. From Persian cities like Shiraz, Kashan, and Isfahan, rose products were transported westward along multiple routes.
Major Trading Centers
Shiraz was the heart of Persian rose trade, famous for its vast rose gardens that Persian poets frequently celebrated in their works. Caravans departed from Shiraz carrying rose water and rose oil in exquisite containers, crossing Mesopotamia toward Mediterranean ports. Damascus became a crucial transshipment point where roses were traded alongside spices, silks, and other luxury goods. The city’s association with the Damask rose was so strong that the variety still bears its name today.
Cultural Impact
The Byzantine Empire became a major consumer of Persian rose products, using them for religious ceremonies, cosmetics, and medicinal purposes. Constantinople’s elite particularly valued rose water as a symbol of luxury. When Islam rose in the seventh century, roses gained special significance in Islamic culture—the Prophet Muhammad was said to have particularly loved the fragrance of roses. This led to surging demand for rose products, from ceremonial use in mosques to spiritual symbolism in Sufi mysticism.
Silk Road Rose Routes (200 CE – 1400 CE)
East-West Connections
While the Silk Road is famous for silk trade, it also carried substantial trade in rose products. Chinese rose varieties, particularly the China rose (Rosa chinensis), spread westward along these routes, while Persian and Central Asian varieties moved eastward. This exchange eventually led to the development of modern hybrid tea roses.
Key Stations
Samarkand and Bukhara in Uzbekistan became important rose trading centers. These oasis cities were not just rest stops but also centers for rose cultivation and rose water production. Merchants from Persia would meet traders from China, India, and the steppe regions here. Kashgar was another key node where Chinese rose varieties were exchanged with Western varieties.
Botanical Exchange
The Silk Road facilitated an extraordinary botanical exchange. China’s monthly roses possessed the unique ability to bloom repeatedly—a characteristic lacking in European roses—which would revolutionize rose breeding when they finally reached Europe in the eighteenth century. Conversely, Damask roses entered China, influencing Chinese horticulture and traditional medicine.
Muslim Spain to Europe Route (800 CE – 1492 CE)
Rose Culture in Al-Andalus
The Iberian Peninsula under Muslim rule (Al-Andalus) developed a sophisticated rose culture. The Moors introduced Persian and North African rose cultivation techniques to Spain, establishing magnificent gardens in Granada, Córdoba, and Seville. The gardens of the Alhambra were renowned for their rose cultivation, combining practicality with aesthetics.
Northward Spread
From Al-Andalus, rose knowledge and varieties spread northward into Christian Europe. Monasteries in southern France became centers of rose cultivation, with monks growing roses for medicinal purposes. The Provence region became particularly famous for its rose cultivation, establishing a tradition that continues today. Rose water and rose oil were transported from Spanish ports throughout Europe via medieval trade networks.
Medical Applications
During this period, rose products became essential in European medicine. Influenced by medical texts from Avicenna and other Islamic scholars, European physicians prescribed rose water and rose syrup to treat various ailments, from digestive issues to melancholy. This created sustained demand for rose products, stimulating trade.
Spice Route Rose Trade (1000 CE – 1700 CE)
Indian Ocean Networks
India, particularly the northern regions, developed its own rich rose culture. The Mughal Empire’s rulers (1526-1857) were passionate patrons of roses, cultivating vast rose gardens in their courts. The process of distilling rose oil was said to have been accidentally discovered during the wedding celebrations of Empress Nur Jahan in the early seventeenth century.
Trade Routes
Indian rose products, particularly from Kannauj, were exported through Indian Ocean trade networks. Arab merchants transported these products from ports in Gujarat and the Malabar Coast to the Arabian Peninsula, East Africa, and the Persian Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz became a critical chokepoint for this trade, with rose products shipped alongside pepper, cinnamon, and other spices.
Mughal Contributions
The Mughal court’s massive consumption of rose water and rose oil (attar) created sophisticated production methods. Kannauj developed specialized techniques to produce the finest rose oil, making it a perfume center rivaling France’s Grasse. These products were not only used locally but exported to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and even to Europe through European trading companies.
Ottoman Rose Trade Routes (1300 CE – 1900 CE)
Imperial Networks
The Ottoman Empire, controlling key trade routes between East and West, developed a powerful rose economy. The Bulgarian Rose Valley, particularly the area around Kazanlak, became one of the world’s most important rose oil production centers. Ottoman authorities encouraged the cultivation of Damask roses in this region, where the climate and soil conditions proved ideal.
Constantinople as Hub
Constantinople (Istanbul) was the primary market for rose products. Rose oil from Bulgaria, Anatolia, and Persia was traded in the city’s bazaars. Perfume merchants in the Grand Bazaar specialized in selling rose products, which supplied the empire’s palaces, hammams (Turkish baths), and exports throughout the Mediterranean region.
European Connections
Ottoman merchants exported rose products to Europe, particularly after establishing trade relationships with Italian city-states like Venice and Genoa. These Italian merchants then distributed rose products throughout Europe. In the nineteenth century, as European perfume industry expanded, demand for Bulgarian rose oil surged, and the region maintained its position as the primary supplier of premium rose oil to this day.
Colonial Era Rose Trade (1500 CE – 1900 CE)
Introduction to the New World
European colonialism brought roses to the Americas. Spanish conquistadors introduced European rose varieties to Mexico and South America, where they adapted to new climates and merged with local horticultural traditions. Monastery gardens in Lima and Mexico City became centers of rose cultivation, with monks growing roses for religious and medicinal purposes.
East India Company Routes
The Dutch and British East India Companies facilitated greater exchange of roses between Asia and Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. China roses reached Europe through these companies’ ships, an introduction that would revolutionize rose breeding in the nineteenth century. These companies also transported Indian rose products to European markets, competing with locally produced rose water and rose oil.
South Africa and Rose Geranium
European colonists introduced roses to South Africa, where the region’s Mediterranean climate proved suitable for cultivation. Meanwhile, rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) was discovered in South Africa and introduced to France and North Africa in the nineteenth century, where it was used as a substitute for more expensive rose oil. This created a new trade route transporting rose geranium oil from Réunion and Madagascar to European perfume centers.
Modern Rose Trade Routes (1900 CE – Present)
Industrialized Production
The twentieth century witnessed the industrialization of rose production. Bulgaria’s Rose Valley remains a major rose oil production center, but new regions have emerged. Turkey, particularly the Isparta region, became a major producer. Morocco developed an important rose industry in the mid-twentieth century, particularly in the Dades Valley, where the M’Goun Rose Festival became an important cultural event.
Cut Flower Revolution
The late twentieth century saw the emergence of global cut flower trade, with roses becoming the most important product. Colombia and Ecuador became major suppliers to the US market, leveraging their high-altitude equatorial climate to produce premium roses year-round. Kenya and Ethiopia dominate the European market, with roses transported by air from Nairobi and Addis Ababa to flower auction markets in Amsterdam.
Contemporary Routes
Today, rose trade is truly global. Fresh-cut roses are transported through sophisticated cold chain logistics networks, allowing Ecuadorian roses to appear in Tokyo or New York flower shops within days of harvest. Rose oil production remains concentrated in traditional regions—Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, and India—but new producers have emerged in China and Central Asia. Afghanistan, ironically, has become a major rose water producer, with farmers turning to rose cultivation in efforts to move away from poppy cultivation.
Impact of Trade on Rose Development
Plant Genetics
These trade routes facilitated extraordinary genetic exchange, leading to the development of thousands of new rose varieties. The hybridization of China roses with European roses, thanks to the Silk Road and later maritime trade, created modern garden roses that combined the repeat-flowering characteristics of Eastern roses with the fragrance and cold-hardiness of Western roses.
Cultural Fusion
As roses moved along these routes, they carried cultural meanings that merged with local traditions. The Persian view of roses as symbols of divine love influenced Sufi poetry and later European romanticism. In China, roses were incorporated into traditional medicine and art. Christianity associated roses with the Virgin Mary, leading to the development of the Rosary, whose name itself derives from roses.
Economic Transformation
Rose trade transformed entire regional economies. Kazanlak in Bulgaria, Grasse in France, Kannauj in India, and Kelaa M’Gouna in Morocco all developed complete economies centered around rose production. These regions developed specialized skills, tools, and traditions passed down through generations, creating cultural heritage that persists today.
Legacy and Contemporary Significance
The legacy of these historical trade routes remains visible today. Bulgaria’s Rose Valley continues to produce the world’s finest rose oil using methods similar to those perfected during the Ottoman period. Grasse’s perfume industry, though smaller in scale than its golden age, still uses techniques introduced through medieval trade routes. The symbolism of roses in Persian poetry, Turkish culture, and Indian Mughal traditions continues to influence art and literature in these regions.
The modern global rose trade, while transformed in scale and technology, still follows certain ancient patterns. The finest roses still come from regions with centuries of cultivation tradition. Demand for rose products—whether perfumes, cosmetics, or cut flowers—remains driven by cultural practices rooted in these ancient trade routes.
From Persian gardens to modern greenhouses, from camel caravans to cargo planes, the history of rose trade is a testament to humanity’s desire for beauty, the power of cultural exchange, and the role of trade in shaping our world. These routes didn’t just transport a flower; they spread ideas, techniques, and cultural practices that enriched every society they touched.