 Throughout much of history, cilantro was referred to as the stinking herb, but all the controversy that it's had hasn't stopped this feisty herb from fighting for its place in history. Records show that coriander seeds were found in the Halhamaar, an 8,000 year old Neolithic cave in Israel. The Egyptians also buried it with illustrious pharaohs around 5,000 years ago, including the famous King Tutankhamun. The Egyptians also called coriander the spice of happiness, possibly because they also used it as an aphrodisiac. The Egyptians also used it for muscle pain and arthritis, but probably also made the Egyptians happy. It was also believed to have been cultivated in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Yes, sir, this crutchety granddad of the herb world has been around the block, taken lots of abuse, and come out ahead. So how did coriander and cilantro conquer the herb world? Watch and find out. And now, the history of coriander and cilantro. Um, coriander means what? Now remember how I just said that cilantro was often referred to as the stinking herb? Well, that's actually because it's technically part of its biological name, Coriandrum Satevon. Give me a word. Any word, and I'll show you how the root of that word is Greek. The core of the word Coriandrum comes from the Greek word Chorus, which means bed bug, or, according to some, stink bug. And its full biological name is loosely translated to mean that cultivated buggy-smelling plant. So, obviously the cilantro haters were apparently behind naming the plant. Can we petition to rename it to Magna Urbum Ferentum, which means the great green herb? Yeah, that's a work in progress. You got any better ideas for a good scientific name? Please let me know in the comments down below. Coriander is part of the same biological family as parsley, which is actually not hard to believe because they do really look alike. They're like twins. And you're probably familiar with some of their other family members, too. Carrots and celery. Don't believe me? Check out Carrot and Celery Leaves the next time you're in the Veggie Isle. You'll see what I'm talking about. Where did coriander start? Coriander is so old. Historians hesitate to say exactly where it made its first appearance. People would most speculate that it originated around the Mediterranean Sea, but what makes it so hard is that early on, it was growing all around Western Asia as well. It's believed that the first full crop cultivation of coriander as a spice took place in the ancient Anatolian region of Turkey. From there it spread like wildfire, subsequently being used by the aforementioned Israelis and Egyptians, plus the Armenians, Russians, Chinese, and many more. Coriander in Ancient Lands Various kings loved coriander. You can find it mentioned in a scroll from King Ashurbanal, King Ashurbanapal, you can find it mentioned in a scroll by King Ashurbanapal of Assyria, King Cyrus of Persia, and King Malak Berda down the second, where both big fans of coriander back in the day. But before all of these kings and queens were bowing to coriander's greatness, the ancient Greeks and Romans were already head over heels for cilantro. Well, mostly. The Greeks were the ones to call it Mr. Stinky Buggy herb after all. As far back as 2000 BC, you have the linear bee tablets from Pylos Greece that talk about coriander being used for perfumes. Every major herbalist of the age mentioned coriander or cilantro in some way, whether positive or negative. Discarities highlighted how coriander and cilantro are helpful for a wide variety of ailments, including pustules, testicular inflammations, intestinal worms, and carbuncles. Hey, exciting! But don't have too much of it, because according to discarities, it can dangerously disturb your thinking process. Okay, good to know, just enough to cover the worms in nether regions. Got it. Roman cookbook Epiceus contained about 70 recipes using both coriander and cilantro, and it was the Romans who were responsible for bringing coriander and cilantro to Great Britain in the first century. Roman statesman Cato told people to eat cilantro leaves to awaken their stale appetites, and the Roman legions used it as a flavoring for their bread in barley gruel while out conquering the rest of Europe. Glad they were staying healthy, not so glad they were killing lots of folks. In fact, coriander and cilantro were considered so exotic and useful at the time, they had a very high status amongst other herbs and spices of the time. But unlike other big status herbs of the era, it wasn't that expensive. Records show in 1254 that cilantro only cost 4 pence a pound, while cloves were 14 chillings. That's 42 times more expensive. Sidebar! You know about those sugar plums dancing around kids' heads at Christmas time? Well did you know that sugar plums are actually a sugar-coated treat that were often made with coriander seeds? And this was happening as far back as the Tudor era. So I guess it should be the dance of the sugar-coated coriander fairy. Yeah, it's not as catchy. Coriander in the Middle Ages. During the Middle Ages, coriander was commonly used to mask the rotting flavor of spoiled meats, and was a popular ingredient in sausage products. Great. Let's get people to eat bad food. And as we head into the second millennium AD, we find the Germans putting coriander to use in a special beer called Gozo. But it was because of coriander that this beer almost went extinct. Can a beer go extinct? As very strict 16th century beer purity laws in Germany forbade the use of anything besides barley, hops, and water in their beer. Jeez people, I mean whatever happened to you like what you like and I like what I like and we can all just have different kinds of beers. Also in the 16th century, William Turner thought that coriander cakes were good for protecting yourself against a strange disease called St. Anthony's Fire. Every time I hear this disease, I just get the song St. Elmo's Fire stuck in my head. Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels, take my way on my future's line in St. Elmo's Fire. Coriander in the New World. While lots of historians talk about how coriander was shipped over to the Americas by the early settlers, it actually first made it to the New World thanks to the Spanish Conquistadors. One of the only good things Cortez did. And this helped it become popular throughout Central and South America. And it's actually from the Mexicans, where we get the name cilantro. Although weirdly, the first time that cilantro appears in print wasn't until 1929 in a Spanish-Mexican cookbook. Coriander in modern times. While coriander did in fact waver in popularity over the years. This feisty herb just kept fighting its way through and getting a bigger and bigger foothold in the world. 18th century distillers found that coriander was an excellent way to flavor gin. In fact it's now so popular that after juniper, it's the second most popular way to flavor gin. Around the time gin makers were making coriander more popular, it was the Russians who were the first to extract coriander essential oil. The esteemed distillation in 1885. In Great Britain, coriander was actually a slang term for the word money, around the 1800s. Hey, you better cough up that coriander, see? Are you going to be swimming with the fishes, see? See? And even in this century, coriander's been used as a slang term in other weird ways. Apparently at one point, coriander was used as a code word on Instagram by women who were trying to talk about an abusive partner. Coriander has also been used as a slang term for when a fight breaks out between friends with one friend coughed in the middle. And that's one weird bit of coriander. I don't want to get involved in it. If you want some more cool coriander and cilantro information, then watch this video about why coriander tastes bad to some, or what's the difference between coriander and cilantro? Please, be kind, take care of each other, and try not to get involved in any weird coriander's out there in the big bad world.