Tyrian purple
Natural dye extracted from ''Murex'' sea snails / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Tyrian purple?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
SHOW ALL QUESTIONS
"Royal purple" redirects here. For other uses, see Royal Purple (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Byzantium (color), a modern colour.
For chemistry of Tyrian purple, see 6,6'-Dibromoindigo.
Tyrian purple (Ancient Greek: πορφύρα porphúra; Latin: purpura), also known as royal purple, imperial purple, or imperial dye, is a reddish-purple natural dye. The name Tyrian refers to Tyre, Lebanon, once Phoenicia. It is secreted by several species of predatory sea snails in the family Muricidae, rock snails originally known by the name Murex (Bolinus brandaris, Hexaplex trunculus and Stramonita haemastoma). In ancient times, extracting this dye involved tens of thousands of snails and substantial labour, and as a result, the dye was highly valued. The colored compound is 6,6'-dibromoindigo.