Nikalibes – Who Knows? The Fruit That Won the Heart of the Roman Emperor

The Mishnah, in Tractate Avodah Zarah, Chapter 1, Mishnah 5, deals with special fruits that should not be sold to idol worshippers because they decorate their idols with them. In the Mishnah, Rabbi Meir's words forbid selling to idol worshippers even 'fine palm, and bulb, and nikalibes.' What is nikalibes?

The commentators wrote that it is a 'fine variety,' and so it is understood, but what is this fine variety?

The Jerusalem Talmud in Tractate Avodah Zarah uses the term 'nikalibes,' while in the Jerusalem Talmud of Tractate Maaser Sheni, it is told about Rabbi Chiya bar Abba who traveled to Rome and saw that 'nikolasia' was sold there at a high price.

Don't you also feel like acquiring such a fine fruit?

It seems that nikalibes, or nikalvas, is the name of a special type of date that grew in the Land of Israel. The Hellenistic-Egyptian writer Athenaeus tells how the historian Nicolaus of Damascus, who spent time in the Land of Israel, brought a special gift to Emperor Augustus - a package of such fine dates. Since then, whenever the illustrious emperor craved fine dates, he ordered that 'Date Nicolaus' be obtained immediately. The imperial name spread throughout the world, creating demand in the Land of Israel, and the dates were sent to Rome, entering history as 'Nicolaus.' Rabbi Meir, living more than two hundred years after Nicolaus, still uses this name.

And who was Nicolaus?

Nicolaus was born in Damascus in the year 64 BCE. He was an idol worshipper but a very learned man. Cleopatra VII, Queen of Egypt, invited him to her palace to be the tutor of her children. Upon Cleopatra's death, Herod, King of Judea, hired him as an advisor. He traveled on behalf of Herod for various diplomatic missions, even in Rome. There, he met Emperor Augustus and was able to provide him with fruits that the Land of Israel excelled in.

After Herod's death, he went down to Rome and devoted himself to historical writing. He wrote the history of humanity in 144 volumes. Famous Roman writers mention him. Plutarch writes: 'Nicolaus of Damascus was a person of a pleasant nature, tall and thin, and had a reddish complexion.' Naturalist Pliny mentions 'Date Nicolaus' among the fine varieties of the Land of Israel. In Nicolaus' writings, there are various fascinating stories and legends about the history of humanity, the people of Israel, and Rome. One of his descriptions is of a delegation that came to Emperor Augustus from King Pandion of India. The delegation included three members. One of them was named Sramana, and to strengthen the seriousness of the delegation, King Pandion ordered Sramana to burn himself alive when he arrived before Augustus as proof of seriousness... Sramana indeed burned himself, and a special monument was erected at the site of the event...

His writings served as one of the sources for the works of Josephus.