Cinnamon, Cassia, and Ancient Trade

There is a widespread assumption that ancient “cinnamon” and “cassia” were the same as the spices now known by those names. It is argued here that this is not the case, but that the “cinnamon” and “cassia” of ancient writers very probably came from plants native to northeast Africa, as several early writers actually state. Their principal source is identified as Cassia abbreviata. It is also argued that alleged identifications of cinnamon or cassia at archaeological sites in the Mediterranean region are questionable. Cinnamon and cassia did not figure in Southeast Asian and Chinese trade at an early period. There is no good reason to believe that these products were traded to the western Indian Ocean and beyond at any very early date.