The history of the word marzipan is extraordinary. The Dutch dictionary ‘Van Dale' gives the following:

For the explanation of the word one has to go back to the Arabic word ‘mautaban,' which stands for ‘someone who sits quietly like a king.' This word symbolised a Byzantine coin that was used at the time of the crusades in the Levant area. On the coin was a sitting Christ-like figure.

Around 1193 the Venetians started to use a similar coin and called it the ‘matapan.' The word later on indicated a taxation of ten percent in Famagusta, Cyprus. In the thirteenth century it became the name for a box with a weight of 1/10 ‘moggio,' known in Venice as ‘marzapane.' In the fourteenth century it became the contents of the box: confectionery, made from sugar, almonds and rose oil. Since then the Italian word ‘marzapane' has spread over Western Europe.