Egypt and Mesopotamia were the forerunners of human civilization. These two places acted as the
cradle of humanity and created the parameters of how to be a proper human for the world to follow.
So, when we talk about civilization, what are the key components of beginning one? Well,
you need agriculture, systematic residence to accommodate a large population,
art and education to define culture, social boundaries and expectations
and last but not the least narcotics! Yes, narcotics! Welcome to Nutty History and today
we’re going to tell you all about the use and abuse of Narcotics in Ancient Egypt and
Mesopotamia. Sit back and strap yourself in because this is going to be one trippy ride!
About 12,000 years ago humanity invented farming in the Fertile Crescent,
an arc of highly fertile land from the Nile to Tigris.
Agriculture was most likely the first step towards civilization, and the second step… was alcohol.
As bizarre as it may sound, humans learned how to grow crops, and they learned how to ferment them,
creating a mind-altering substance out of them. For better or worse, psychoactive drugs have been
an integral part of human culture and civilization from the beginning. But how did it begin?
This was a peculiar mystery to the point that some archaeologists were in total denial of accepting
the fact that eastern cradles of civilization namely, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley,
and China were not as conservative as they once thought. In truth, these early civilized folks
smoked anything they could lay their hands on. The first thing they smoked was most likely good ol’
hemp! Thanks to nomads such as Yamnaya, everybody from Mesopotamia and Egypt to Greece and Rome
got their hands on cannabis. Central Eurasia’s Yamnaya people were a group of livestock herders
who occupied the Eurasian steppe north of the Black Sea and the Caucasus mountains and
are now considered one of the three key tribes that founded European civilization. Around five
millennia ago, they moved eastwards and brought cannabis along with them. They spread the growth
and use of cannabis all throughout Eurasia. However, just like any drug baron, Yamnaya’s
history is full of violence as well. These nomads are the reason why Stonehenge today is a mystery.
When Yamnaya arrived in Britain 5000 years ago, they wiped out the entire peaceful population
of farmers who were the original Britons and builders of Stonehenge. The same fate befell upon
many other original Europeans who vanished after Yamnaya’s arrival. Yamnayans traveled on horseback
from place to place in Europe and South Asia bringing with them the good old mary j. Moreover,
digs in the Caucasus have uncovered braziers containing seeds and charred remains of cannabis
dating to about 3000 B.C.E and older. However, the conservative faction of archaeologists still are
not convinced. Their biggest issue with Yamnayans being the OG dope dealers of the ‘Stoned Age’
is that the ancient texts are pretty much silent on the matter of using hallucinogenic
substances for recreational purposes. But that doesn’t dismiss the archaeological evidence
found nor does it strengthen the theory that hemp was strictly used for making only ropes.
Now let's talk about our Egyptians and Mesopotamians in more detail. Cannabis
does have records of medical use in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. The only issue is that because these
records are in a language and script that humans don’t speak or read any longer for thousands of
years, we don’t have a clear understanding of how they referred to cannabis back in the day.
Their records don’t exactly say Mary Jane or 420, they used different names for their herbs, but
there aren’t many things that one can use to make brownies as well as a rope, right? Thankfully, a
clay tablet from Assyrian times leaves very little to no debate about the medical use of cannabis.
This tablet named a total of over 400 drugs and a little detective work reveals that
cannabis is short-listed on it. Egyptians on the other hand offer much concrete evidence of
how fond they were of cannabis. Their detailed description of medical treatments in Ramesseum
papyrus and Ebers papyrus depicted how popular cannabis was as a medical remedy. For Glaucoma,
cannabis was grounded with celery and left overnight. This preparation would then be used the
following morning to wash the eyes of patients suffering from glaucoma and it did work to a
degree. Ebers Papyri recommended cannabis grounded with honey to be used as feminine remedies.
Interestingly, cannabis is now being explored for its potential to treat menstrual pain and
discomfort as well as endometriosis. Cannabis has shown its presence in a lot of old Egyptian tombs
and graves including in that of Pharoah Rameses II which proves that cannabis had an important role
in Egyptian religion as well. Goddesses Seshat, the deity of wisdom, and Bastet, the feline
goddess of war, had cannabis depicted in their lore and imagery. It was believed that this drug
was also part of the profession of witchcraft. People also consumed weed during certain rituals
and festivities. This fact also indicates that if marijuana was a celebratory drug,
it is undeniable that Egyptians and Mesopotamians also consumed it recreationally.
For eight thousand years, Opium was an ever-approved next-door medicine-a
panacea for all maladies. Whether it be the Sumerian civilization,
Egyptians, Chinese, Indians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, medieval times, or the renaissance era;
Opium was used for medicinal purposes, rituals, and of course recreation all over the world.
In our last video, we talked about how popular poppy capsules were in Ancient Greece and Rome.
We also mentioned how Opium made its way from the East to Europe in the form of small flasks
that even resemble the shape of poppy capsules. More excavations unearthed ancient ceramic pots,
with the nearly identical shape of the flasks that were about five inches long. They were
discovered in tombs and settlements throughout the Middle East, dating as far back as 1,400 B.C.
However, the Mesopotamians were taking advantage of opium long before other civilizations. Some
researchers do not doubt that the Assyrians were aware of the plant’s properties and knew exactly
what its secrets were. Even the Assyrian name of the poppy was ‘Hul Gil’, meaning ‘Happy Plant’.
Long before Assyrians, Sumerians engraved tablets in 4000 BC to 3000 BC
describing the collection of poppy juice in the morning and its use in the production of opium.
Jugs containing opium residue have also been found in Egyptian tombs, which is unsurprising
given that the poppy was extensively cultivated in Egypt. In the Classical era, the extract of
the plant was known as ‘Opium Thebiacum’ after the city of Waset, which the Greeks knew as Thebes.
Another version was named Opium Cyrenaicum, a slightly different version of the plant, grown to
the west in Libya. The Egyptians cultivated Opium Thebiacum in famous poppy fields around 1300 BC.
The opium trade flourished during the reign of Thutmose IV, Akhenaton, and King Tutankhamen.
It was traded from Egypt by the Phoenicians and Minoans to destinations around the Mediterranean
Sea, including Greece, Carthage, and Europe. By 1100 BC, opium was cultivated in Cyprus,
where surgical-quality knives were used to score the poppy pods, and opium was cultivated, traded,
and smoked. Opium was also mentioned after the Persian conquest of Assyria and Babylonian lands
in the 6th century BC. The use of opium was generally restricted to priests, magicians,
and warriors. Its invention is credited to Thoth, and it was said to have been given by Isis to
Ra as a treatment for a headache. But that doesn’t mean opium was away from domestic use,
in fact, it was the recommended way to deal with noisy, sleepless babies.
Can’t make your baby fall asleep? Just give them a draft of opium. Shockingly this practice
remained in use till the Victorian era in Europe. People in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia ate Opium
instead of smoking it like a lot of people eat Morphine today, for a bad cough, aches, and pains.
Before Egypt was introduced to hemp or poppy, they had Blue Lotus. The stunningly beautiful
flower growing along the banks of the Nile was perhaps the introduction to narcotics for Ancient
Egyptians. Also known as The Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile, Blue Lotus has been revered by many
ancient cultures and civilizations from Ancient Egypt to the Ancient Greeks, Tibetans, and more.
Back in the time, religion, magic, and medicine had very little distinction as Ancient Egyptians
heavily believed that all parts of life were influenced and even controlled by divinity and
the supernatural. The Ancient Egyptians had many traditional uses and applications of Blue Lotus.
The flowers of Blue Lotus were steeped in wine which was then shared during religious ceremonies,
rituals, and celebrations. Blue Lotus was said to have the powers to connect one to the Divine.
It would induce higher states of being and consciousness. To give you a better understanding,
blue lotus taken in excessive quantities would create a super-duper high! It would also induce
a state of euphoria, make them feel relaxed with improved blood circulation, making it a
potent aphrodisiac. The Ancient Egyptians were liberal when referring to sexuality.
The blue lotus helped them to create rituals and celebrations around sexuality.
There are countless depictions of these “famous celebrations,” and Blue Lotus is a central symbol
within each of them. Blue Lotus is also mentioned in “The Egyptian Book of the Dead,” as “the lily
which shines in the earth.” Today, the blue lotus flower is used as a sleep aid and anxiety reliever
but has also been described as a mild stimulant. So, what do you think? Did Egyptians and
Mesopotamians surpass your expectation with their junkie level? Would you like us to cover drug
habits of any other era? Tell us in the comments. And as always thanks for watching Nutty History.