Tenth-Century Haute Cuisine

On conquering Persia, the Arabs discovered the splendor and luxury of its imperial court and speedily jettisoned their ancestral dishes in favor of Persian cuisine. See baghdad and persia. The caliphs of Baghdad organized cooking contests among their boon companions, just as Persian emperors had, and gentlemen of their court kept collections of favorite recipes, just as Persian noblemen had. In the tenth century, a book titled Kitāb al-Ţabīkh (The Book of Dishes) was compiled from these court recipe collections, so we know a very great deal about what the aristocrats of Baghdad ate during its golden age, the eighth through tenth centuries.