Citron

Citron: "The citron's place of origin is unknown but seeds were found in Mesopotamian excavations dating back to 4000 B.C. The armies of Alexander the Great are thought to have carried the citron to the Mediterranean region about 300 B.C. A Jewish coin struck in 136 B.C. bore a representation of the citron on one side. A Chinese writer in AD 300 spoke of a gift of '40 Chinese bushels of citrons from Ta-ch'in' in AD 284. Ta-ch'in is understood to mean the Roman Empire. The citron was a staple, commercial food item in Rome in AD 301. There are wild citron trees in Chittagong, Sitakund Hill, Khasi and Garo hills of northern India. Dioscorides mentioned citron in the 1st Century AD and Pliny called it malus medica, malus Assyria and citrus in AD 177. The fruit was imported into Greece from Persia (now Iran). Greek colonists began growing the citron in Palestine about 200 B.C. The tree is assumed to have been successfully introduced into Italy in the 3rd Century. The trees were mostly destroyed by barbarians in the 4th Century but those in the 'Kingdom of Naples' and in Sardinia and Sicily survived. By the year 1003, the citron was commonly cultivated at Salerno and fruits (called poma cedrina) were presented as a token of gratitude to Norman lords. For centuries, this area supplied citron to the Jews in Italy, France and Germany for their Feast of the Tabernacles (sukkot) ceremony. Moses had specified the cone of the cedar, hadar (kedros in Greek) and when it fell into disfavor it was replaced by the citron"