According to Zohary and Hopf (2000, p. 91), O. sativa was introduced to the Middle East in Hellenistic times, and was familiar to both Greek and Roman writers. They report that a large sample of rice grains was recovered from a grave at Susa in Iran (dated to the first century AD) at one end of the ancient world, while at the same time rice was grown in the Po valley in Italy. However, Pliny the Elder writes that rice (oryza) is grown only in "Egypt, Syria, Cilicia, Asia Minor and Greece" After the rise of Islam, rice was grown anywhere there was enough water to irrigate it. Thus, desert oases, river valleys, and swamp lands were all important sources of rice during the Muslim Agricultural Revolution.
In Iraq rice was grown in some areas of southern Iraq. With the rise of Islam it moved north to Nisibin, the southern shores of the Caspian Sea and then beyond the Muslim world into the valley of Volga. In Israel, rice came to be grown in the Jordan valley. Rice is also grown in Yemen. The Muslims (later known as Moors) brought Asiatic rice to the Iberian Peninsula in the tenth century. Records indicate it was grown in Valencia and Majorca. In Majorca, rice cultivation seems to have stopped after the Christian conquest, although historians are not certain.
Muslims also brought rice to Sicily, where it was an important crop. After the middle of the 15th century, rice spread throughout Italy and then France, later propagating to all the continents during the age of European exploration. Rice is not native to the Americas but was introduced to the Caribbean and South America by European colonizers at an early date. The Spanish introduced Asian rice to Mexico in the 1520s at Veracruz and the Portuguese and their African slaves introduced it at about the same time to Colonial Brazil. As various rice and bean dishes were a staple dish along the peoples of West Africa they remained a staple among their descendants subjected to slavery in the Spanish New World colonies and elsewhere in the Americas.
In Iraq rice was grown in some areas of southern Iraq. With the rise of Islam it moved north to Nisibin, the southern shores of the Caspian Sea and then beyond the Muslim world into the valley of Volga. In Israel, rice came to be grown in the Jordan valley. Rice is also grown in Yemen. The Muslims (later known as Moors) brought Asiatic rice to the Iberian Peninsula in the tenth century. Records indicate it was grown in Valencia and Majorca. In Majorca, rice cultivation seems to have stopped after the Christian conquest, although historians are not certain.
Muslims also brought rice to Sicily, where it was an important crop. After the middle of the 15th century, rice spread throughout Italy and then France, later propagating to all the continents during the age of European exploration. Rice is not native to the Americas but was introduced to the Caribbean and South America by European colonizers at an early date. The Spanish introduced Asian rice to Mexico in the 1520s at Veracruz and the Portuguese and their African slaves introduced it at about the same time to Colonial Brazil. As various rice and bean dishes were a staple dish along the peoples of West Africa they remained a staple among their descendants subjected to slavery in the Spanish New World colonies and elsewhere in the Americas.
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