The Byzantine Alchemist Christianos and His Procedures on Indian Lac

In the present article, I analyse a text attributed to a Byzantine alchemist, the so-called Christian Philosopher or Christianos. I argue that within this text it is possible to find one of the earliest descriptions, in the Mediterranean world, of lac dye and shellac manufacturing. The text is also useful for establishing a more precise chronology within the debate concerning the date of Christianos, placing him in the early seventh century CE, during the reign of the emperor Heraclius.