The Food of the Pharaohs… the History of Molokhia

An Ancient Egyptian Superfood 

Molokhia— also written as mulukhiyah, mloukhiya, mlukhiye, mouloukhiya, or mulūkhiyyah depending on dialect and transliteration — is one of the oldest continuously consumed leafy vegetables on earth, made from the leaves of Corchorus olitorius (family Malvaceae). Its culinary use is documented at least as early as classical antiquity. 

From Egypt, the plant spread across the Levant, Sudan/Nubia, North Africa, and — via the early Islamic world — as far as Andalusia, Cyprus, and eventually Japan. Today it is a staple in fifteen or more countries across Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and East Asia, with strikingly different regional preparations: finely chopped soup in Egypt, whole or rough-chopped stew in the Levant, and a slow-simmered dark powder-based sauce in Tunisia. 

Its name carries the weight of royalty (*molokhia* = "of the kings"), and its nutritional density has made it a "superfood" across cultures for thousands of years.

([Wikipedia/Corchorusnolitorius](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corchorus_olitorius])

Examining Ancient Evidence 

Nawal Nasrallah, in her translation of the 14th-century Kanz al-Fawa'id, notes that "food remains from [Egyptian] tombs and coffin murals, that depict baking and other food-related activities, testify to the sophisticated level of their cuisine... These depictions also reveal the abundance of their produce such as molokhia (mulukhiyya)."  

([BBCTravel](https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210802-a-superfood-fit-for-a-pharaoh)).

The same BBC Travel article quotes food historian Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, referring to Egyptians: "They were eating ful (fava beans) and molokhia in pharaonic times, and they're eating ful and molokhia now, because that's what grows and what suits their diet and the climate."

Pharaoh Amenemhat III (1818–1770 BCE) developed agriculture in the Fayoum region, which today produces Egypt's finest molokhia — described as having "wall-to-wall sunshine and well-drained soil" that is "perfect conditions for molokhia, which grows here from May to August in as little as 60 days." 

([BBCTravel](https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210802-a-superfood-fit-for-a-pharaoh)).

A folk legend from the Hyksos period (1650–1550 BCE) claims the Hyksos invaders forced Egyptians to eat molokhia thinking it was poisonous, but the Egyptians thrived on it.

([FeastintheMiddleEast](https://feastinthemiddleeast.com/2021/08/29/molokhia-the-super-food-of-ancient-egyptian-kings/)). 

In classical antiquity, Pliny the Elder recorded that molokhia was used as food in ancient Egypt. ([Wikipedia/Corchorus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corchorus_olitorius)). 

Ancient Greek cognates of the name — μαλάχη (*malákhē*) and μολόχη (*molókhē*) — suggest Mediterranean-wide awareness of the plant. Common mallow (*Malva sylvestris*) was used medicinally by Hippocrates, and the Roman poet Horace wrote that his modest diet consisted "mainly of olives, endive, and mallow" ([Tablet Magazine](https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles). The mallow family broadly had culinary and medicinal standing across the ancient Mediterranean, with molokhia specifically most associated with Egypt.

The first definite historical anchoring of molokhia in the written record comes indirectly through the medieval Egyptian historian al-Maqrizi (d. 1442), who records that molokhia "was the favorite dish of Caliph Muawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan (r. 661–680), the founder of the Umayyad Caliphate."   ([Wikipedia/Mulukhiyah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulukhiyah); [Jordan Travel](https://jordan-travel.com/mulukhiyah/)). This is a retrospective record, not contemporary documentation, but it places the dish firmly in the 7th-century Arab world.

Ibn Waḥshiyya, writing from Kufa, Iraq, claimed in 903 CE to have translated Kitāb al-Filāḥa al-Nabaṭiyya (The Nabataean Agriculture) from an original Syriac text. The work contains a detailed entry on molokhia (ملوكي), noting that the plant:

- "Nourishes the body more than other plants"

- "Grows year round" and "should be planted in late September/early October"

- Is a laxative (ملينة للبطن) and "good for the bladder"

- Lubricates the throat and chest.

([Antoniotahhan.com—NabataeanAgriculture](https://molokhia.antoniotahhan.com/2022/11/27/what-a-10th-century-agronomist-from-modern-day-iraq-had-to-say-about-molokhia/))

★ Important caveat: The dating of this text is "heavily disputed among scholars," ranging from the 14th century BCE to a possible forgery of the Muslim era. Modern scholarly consensus, following Theodor Nöldeke (1875), suggests the work was originally composed in Arabic, though some 21st-century scholars (Hämeen-Anttila, 2006) support an authentic Syriac translation. ([Antoniotahhan.com](https://molokhia.antoniotahhan.com/2022/11/27/what-a-10th-century-agronomist-from-modern-day-iraq-had-to-say-about-molokhia/)).

Al-Hakim bi-Amrillah's Decree (1004 CE)

On the 7th of Muharram, 395 AH (October/November 1004 CE), the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amrillah (r. 996–1021) issued a decree banning molokhia from Egypt. The primary historical source is al-Maqrizi's record of the original decrees, quoted in historian Paul Walker's “Caliph of Cairo: Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah”: 

"It forbade molokhia, (Corchorus olitorius) a green herb used in soup and stews and a great favorite of Egyptians and others in that region, because it was much loved by Mu'awiya B Abi Sifyan, the first of the Umayyad caliphs and the arch enemy of 'Ali and the Shi'a.”

([EgyptianStreets](https://egyptianstreets.com/2020/02/14/a-mad-caliph-the-egyptian-ruler-who-hated-and-banned-molokkheya/))

The true political motivation was therefore Shia-Sunni sectarian rivalry: as a Shiite Isma'ili ruling over a Sunni majority population, al-Hakim banned foods associated with revered Sunni figures. ([Rawi Publishing — Medieval Cairo](https://rawi-publishing.com/articles/medieval_cairo_food?lang=en)). 

Al-Hakim's enforcement was severe: in 1009 and 1014, individuals were publicly beaten and paraded for selling molokhia. One of his stablemen named "Molokhia" was executed for reasons that remain unclear. ([EgyptianStreets](https://egyptianstreets.com/2020/02/14/a-mad-caliph-the-egyptian-ruler-who-hated-and-banned-molokkheya/)). 

Al-Hakim disappeared mysteriously in 1021. His successor Caliph al-Zahir (r. 1021–1035) lifted the ban, and Egyptians "resumed eating their favourite foods.”([Wikipedia/Mulukhiyah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulukhiyah)). 

The Druze, who regard al-Hakim as a divine reincarnation, continue to honor his ban: This makes the 1004 CE ban the only medieval food prohibition with an unbroken living community of observance.

([Wikipedia/Mulukhiyah](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulukhiyah)). 

A competing popular narrative holds that al-Hakim himself was nursed back to health by a molokhia soup, then banned the masses from it  to keep its curative powers for royalty. ([MarkazReview](https://themarkaz.org/an-oral-history-of-mouloukhiya-from-egypt-palestine-tunisia-and-japan/)). (Note: this legend lacks primary sources.)

Why are we at Green Papyrus determined to introduce this ancient superfood to the modern world?

Because Corchorus olitorius L., molokhia, is rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, C, E, folate, potassium, calcium, iron, and beta-carotene with three times the calcium and phosphorus of kale and 70% of the RDA for Vitamin C ([Feast in the Middle East](https://feastinthemiddleeast.com/2021/08/29/molokhia-the-super-food-of-ancient-egyptian-kings/)). In short, it is a nutritional powerhouse whose numerous benefits have been attested to across millennia. An ancient superfood for modern people.

Now available as a convenient green powder for smoothies, soups or recipes.