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Some Important Dates in the History of Henna
3400 BCE
The first mummified bodies with hennaed hair are buried in Egypt
1900-1550 BCE
Wigs made with hennaed human hair are worn in Jericho, Canaan
1300-1200 BCE
Henna use is recorded in the myth cycle of Ba‘al and ‘Anath, Ugarit
1400-1100 BCE
Henna is imported to Pylos, Greece from abroad, for use in the Mycenaean perfuming industry
1200-1100 BCE
A prescription for medicinal henna use is written in Ugarit
1200-1100 BCE
Mummified bodies with hennaed fingertips are buried in Egypt
500-300 BCE
Henna is mentioned as a sweet-smelling plant in the Song of Songs
400-300 BCE
Henna is mentioned as an element in perfume by Greek botanists
100 BCE
Greek poets mention that henna was grown and used as a dye on the Levantine coast
0-100 CE
Greek and Roman naturalists describe henna use as a medicine and a dye in Canaan and Egypt
61 CE
Henna is described as a perfume in a Hellenistic Egyptian text regarding the afterlife
200 CE
Henna is mentioned as a medicine in Hellenistic Egyptian papyri
70-220 CE
Henna is described as a dye and an agricultural product of the Land of Israel in the Mishna
300 CE
Greek women are described hennaing their hair by Pseudo-Lucian, author of the Greek text Erotes
350-500 CE
Henna is described as a medicinal ointment in the Talmud (codified in Babylonia)
700-800 CE
Henna use is described in the ahadith as a hair dye, medicine, and a feminine ornament
840 CE
Muhammed ibn Habib describes pagan and Jewish women celebrating with henna in pre-Islamic Arabia
900 CE
Arab Muslim authors record that henna is cultivated in large fields in Awdaghust, Mauritania
900-1200 CE
Hennaed hands are mentioned as a sign of beauty, including for brides, in classical Persian poetry
1000-1100 CE
Jewish merchants trade henna across the Mediterranean, North Africa, and southern Spain
1100-1200 CE
Jewish and Muslim poets in the Iberian peninsula reference hennaed fingertips as a sign of beauty
1184 CE
Christian women in Sicily henna their fingers to celebrate Christmas
1200 CE
Ibn 'Arabi records that an Andalusian Sufi sheikh named 'Abdullah ibn Ja'dun worked as a henna siever
1200-1650 CE
Persian artists depict elaborate, detailed henna patterns in miniatures and manuscript illustrations
1231 CE
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, brings Jewish dyers from Djerba to Sicily to grow henna and indigo
1243 CE
A pre-marriage henna ceremony is referenced in a Jewish wedding contract from Egypt
1320 CE
Drums with hennaed designs are depicted in a Jewish manuscript in Barcelona
1490 CE
An Italian prostitute is depicted with hennaed hair by Venetian painter Jacometto Veneziano
1492-1500 CE
Jews are expelled from the Iberian peninsula and flee to North Africa and the Mediterranean basin
1526 CE
The rule of the Mughal Empire begins in India, and facilitates the spread of henna traditions from Persia
1567 CE
Henna use is banned throughout the Spanish empire by Philip II
1700-1900 CE
Colonial travellers document henna use among Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Yezidi, and Christian groups in Morocco and other North African countries, the Levant and Mediterranean basin, the Arabian Peninsula, and Western, Central and Southern Asia.
1948-1960 CE
The Jewish communities of North Africa, the Mediterranean basin, and Western, Central, and Southern Asia leave their homes in massive numbers and flee to Israel, the Americas, or Europe, bringing their henna traditions with them
1990-2000 CE
Henna becomes increasingly used and discussed in North America, due both to increased immigration from henna-using communities, and to the rise of 'Indo-chic' and the use of Orientalist motifs in popular culture.
The first mummified bodies with hennaed hair are buried in Egypt
1900-1550 BCE
Wigs made with hennaed human hair are worn in Jericho, Canaan
1300-1200 BCE
Henna use is recorded in the myth cycle of Ba‘al and ‘Anath, Ugarit
1400-1100 BCE
Henna is imported to Pylos, Greece from abroad, for use in the Mycenaean perfuming industry
1200-1100 BCE
A prescription for medicinal henna use is written in Ugarit
1200-1100 BCE
Mummified bodies with hennaed fingertips are buried in Egypt
500-300 BCE
Henna is mentioned as a sweet-smelling plant in the Song of Songs
400-300 BCE
Henna is mentioned as an element in perfume by Greek botanists
100 BCE
Greek poets mention that henna was grown and used as a dye on the Levantine coast
0-100 CE
Greek and Roman naturalists describe henna use as a medicine and a dye in Canaan and Egypt
61 CE
Henna is described as a perfume in a Hellenistic Egyptian text regarding the afterlife
200 CE
Henna is mentioned as a medicine in Hellenistic Egyptian papyri
70-220 CE
Henna is described as a dye and an agricultural product of the Land of Israel in the Mishna
300 CE
Greek women are described hennaing their hair by Pseudo-Lucian, author of the Greek text Erotes
350-500 CE
Henna is described as a medicinal ointment in the Talmud (codified in Babylonia)
700-800 CE
Henna use is described in the ahadith as a hair dye, medicine, and a feminine ornament
840 CE
Muhammed ibn Habib describes pagan and Jewish women celebrating with henna in pre-Islamic Arabia
900 CE
Arab Muslim authors record that henna is cultivated in large fields in Awdaghust, Mauritania
900-1200 CE
Hennaed hands are mentioned as a sign of beauty, including for brides, in classical Persian poetry
1000-1100 CE
Jewish merchants trade henna across the Mediterranean, North Africa, and southern Spain
1100-1200 CE
Jewish and Muslim poets in the Iberian peninsula reference hennaed fingertips as a sign of beauty
1184 CE
Christian women in Sicily henna their fingers to celebrate Christmas
1200 CE
Ibn 'Arabi records that an Andalusian Sufi sheikh named 'Abdullah ibn Ja'dun worked as a henna siever
1200-1650 CE
Persian artists depict elaborate, detailed henna patterns in miniatures and manuscript illustrations
1231 CE
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, brings Jewish dyers from Djerba to Sicily to grow henna and indigo
1243 CE
A pre-marriage henna ceremony is referenced in a Jewish wedding contract from Egypt
1320 CE
Drums with hennaed designs are depicted in a Jewish manuscript in Barcelona
1490 CE
An Italian prostitute is depicted with hennaed hair by Venetian painter Jacometto Veneziano
1492-1500 CE
Jews are expelled from the Iberian peninsula and flee to North Africa and the Mediterranean basin
1526 CE
The rule of the Mughal Empire begins in India, and facilitates the spread of henna traditions from Persia
1567 CE
Henna use is banned throughout the Spanish empire by Philip II
1700-1900 CE
Colonial travellers document henna use among Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Yezidi, and Christian groups in Morocco and other North African countries, the Levant and Mediterranean basin, the Arabian Peninsula, and Western, Central and Southern Asia.
1948-1960 CE
The Jewish communities of North Africa, the Mediterranean basin, and Western, Central, and Southern Asia leave their homes in massive numbers and flee to Israel, the Americas, or Europe, bringing their henna traditions with them
1990-2000 CE
Henna becomes increasingly used and discussed in North America, due both to increased immigration from henna-using communities, and to the rise of 'Indo-chic' and the use of Orientalist motifs in popular culture.