Mediterranean Olive

Timeline

1. c. 1–200Italian Peninsula · ItalyDuring the Roman Empire, olive cultivation expanded greatly on the Italian Peninsula; villa-style olive groves and pressing workshops spread across Campania and Apulia, and olive oil became a major commodity for daily consumption in Rome and for export trade.
2. c. 100–350Baetica and Tunisia · IberiaThe Roman province of Baetica in Spain and the Carthage region of North Africa became the empire's largest olive oil export bases; olive oil shipped in amphorae by sea supplied Rome and the cities of the provinces.
3. c. 350–500Syria and Palestine · LevantOlive cultivation continued to flourish in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Byzantine Empire; olive oil held an important place in Christian sacramental rites, and olive groves in Syria and Palestine supplied cooking oil to the empire's eastern cities.