Iranian Journal of Anthropological Research

Iranian Journal of Anthropological Research

Revisiting the Cultural History of Rosewater in Iran

Document Type : Research Paper

Author
Morteza Hessari
Department of prehistory, Icar, Richt, Iran
10.22059/ijar.2026.407148.459949
Abstract
Objective: The principal objective of this study is to establish a historical and archaeological framework for understanding the origins, development, production, use, and circulation of rosewater in Iran, from antiquity through the Qajar period. By bringing together archaeological, technological, artistic, and documentary evidence, the study seeks to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural history of the rose and Iranian rosewater and its significance within the broader history of Iranian material and intangible cultural heritage.
Method: This study uses a cultural-historical approach centered on cultural knowledge, its history and transmission, and tangible and intangible cultural materials. It examines distillation, rosewater production, and rosewater containers as evidence of technological and cultural practices in ancient Iran. Through comparative analysis of archaeological artifacts and historical documents, it identifies continuities and transformations relative to neighboring cultures. It also explores cultural connections between pre-Islamic and Islamic Iran through the production, use, and transmission of rosewater and its material culture. Sources include archaeological artifacts, museum collections, architectural decorations, and historical documents. Rosewater is treated not merely as a product but as a cultural phenomenon revealing knowledge, technology, art, and social-economic exchange across historical periods. The main goal is to establish a scientific and historical framework for studying the origins, development, production, and use of rosewater in Iran from antiquity to the Qajar period, contributing to a clearer understanding of the long-term cultural history of the rose and rosewater in Iran and the region..
Results: Based on the available historical and archaeological evidence, the history of the Persian rose and the practice of rosewater distillation in Iran can be traced back, at least tentatively, to the mid-first millennium BCE. Throughout the historical periods under consideration, rosewater appears to have had not only cultural and medicinal significance but also religious and ritual functions, including its use in practices associated with purification and ceremonial contexts.
Conclusions: Its continued use in Iranian religious and cultural traditions, including Islamic and Zoroastrian contexts, suggests cultural continuity, though rosewater's functions and meanings varied across periods and communities. Historical texts from the pre-Islamic, early Islamic, and Safavid periods evidence its production, use, and circulation as a traded commodity. Archaeological artifacts, rosewater-related vessels, and architectural decorations further attest to its enduring cultural significance. Together, these material and documentary sources provide a key basis for examining the Persian rose and rosewater in Iranian technology, ritual, commerce, art, and cultural history
Keywords
Red rose (Muhammadi)
Artistic object and works
Iranian rosewater
rosewater
Cultural history
Subjects
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Iranian Journal of Anthropological Research
Volume 16, Issue 1
Indexing Databases
September 2026
Pages 34-61