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DILMUN

ln wi١e flows, which is as uch estcemed in Mesopotamia as in Egypt, a١d the middle of
iel, (١ibhu) is a much sought-aftcr dish, often givcn to the Smerian dcitieg?'

But its fruit is the main reason that thc datc-palm is cultivatcd, I٨ fact, because of the
ars thcy contain, dales are a high encrgy-giving nutrient, Thcy also contain ccllulose and‫ﻝ‬
١in B, protcins and fats and ar٥:r‫ ﺃ‬icher in mineral salts than any other ٢١٢‫ﺯ‬٤" I٤ s‫ﺯ‬
crefore not surprising that dates have played a fundanmcntal role in the survival of some
pulations and that, in association with milk, have oftcn formed their principal food, It is
e datc's importance that has madc thc date-palm valuable, a value revealed by the
amerous refcrcnccs to this trce, not only in tcchnical and legal tcts? but also in drawings
١d poetic litcraturc throughout the age6‫ﻭ‬,

As well as being very nutritious, dates also keep easily, particularly in their dried form,
٦d can be processed in may wayg?'. Thus, dcpcnding on the varieties and their quality, the
»lloving can be obtained: pharmaceutical products, alcohol, vinegar or wine known to the
umerians, (sikaru), Egyptians (in the writings of the VHth dynasty), Parthians and Indians,
nd paste made from soft dates and flour from dried dates#, Similarly today, by cooking or

the date pulp in hot water juice called dibs or dibb‫ﺩ‬a‫ﺯ‬s?k?i.n(gsyrup, modlasses) is obtaine
'hich forms the basis for industrial processes in the preparation of many products, and in
articular sugar. This juice, or syrup, prepared with second-grade dates, is different from
ate honey, sometimes also known as dibs, which is not a higher or lower concentration of
he same mixture but a product extracted from soft dates and therefore of high quality9,

3 2ulum in Sumerian, suluppu in Accadian, with the ideogram A-LUM signifying "fullness of
the mouth'; more specific names also exist, especially those derived from the place of
origin (dilmuni, makkani, etc,). The CAD article on suluppu has not yet been published., ln
Ancient Egypt the date name (bur) expresses the idea of sweetness and succulence and is
not exclusive to the fruits of the date-palm. WALLERT 1962: 28 29 (generalities on dates),
37 44 (terminology).

!a MUNIER ٦973: 31 32 (description of the date 33 f (cultivarsl.
141 148 (characteristics of the date), There are currently seventy cultivated varieties of
date-palm in existence, their only differences being the fruit; foytr-nine types were already
known to PIiny.

5‫ ﺇ‬Consider in patricular the price of a silver mine which anyone in Mesopotamia who
destroyed a fruit-bearing plant had to pay to its owner. COOUERILL‫ﻤ‬T 1968: 32 col. b.

!6 DANTHINE 1937; WALLERT 1962: 62 74 Women have otfen been compared to the
date-palm in ancient poetic works, such as The Song of Songs or the odyssey when U‫ﺍ‬ysses
and Nausicaa met at the fountain "in Delos, in olden days, at Apollo's altar, ١ saw the same
beauty: the shoot of a palm tree reaching to the sky." (Odyssey ch. ٧!: 153), The palm tree
also frequently figures in Arabic literature and poetry and it seems to have been regarded as
an lslamic symbol.

27 MUNIER 1973: 175 ٦77; references to recent publications on this subject can be found in
'Abstracts on the date-palm' ch. Products.

28 THOMPSON 1949: 309
‫ ﻭ‬SHUBBAR 1981
:0 MUNIER 1973: ٦76

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