ABSTRACT
Faba bean is an old crop that has been very well known since ancient times. It was probably domesticated in the sixth millennium BC, that is, in a second wave of domestications in the Near East. It spread quickly in all directions, being taken along by colonizers because of its high protein content and as an excellent crop to alternate with cereals, especially wheat and barley. It was eaten by humans and given to animals. For unknown reasons, although the
favism
can be one of the causes, it had a certain religious role in Egypt, and was forbidden by priests — or as a priestly food — but was appreciated by the people. In Rome, where the
Fabaria
was an important religious festival, old Romans believed in a certain connection between the faba bean seed and the spirits of the dead. In addition, the
Fabii
were one of the noblest families of the ancient Rome. It is not surprising that, being an old crop, it had received many names according to the use
given to its products. In English, the common name was
bean
, referring to the typical faba bean seed shape. There were many varieties (landraces), many seed shapes, and many uses. Thus, English farmers talked about
tick beans, horse beans, field beans, broad beans
, etc. In Spain, faba bean is known as
caballares
(for horse feeding),
cochineras
(for pig feeding), and as
habines
(small-seeded varieties) and
habas
(large-seeded ones).
