In Roman years, Latin doctors wrote about the uses, the pharmaceutical and therapeutic attributes of mastic in combination with other herbs. Some Roman emperors mixed mastic with wine, created a drink equivalent of today’s ouzo with mastic. In Italy it is reported that existed small production of mastic, which however was lower in quality and quantity in relation on that of Chios.

In the Byzantine period the mastic trade was monopoly of Byzantine emperor. Its cultivation yielded considerable gains in the Byzantine empire. Because of that, Chios island met comfortable circumstances in those years. The mastic was well-known in that season’s big commercial centre in Europe and East.