History of roken tulip Tulip cultivation likely began in Persia (Iran) in the 10th century, and it eventually became a symbol of the Ottoman Empire . Tulips were introduced to the Western world by Augier Ghislain de Busbecq , the Viennese ambassador to Turkey, who wrote of seeing the plants in Edirne, Turkey, in 1551 and later sent some seeds to Austria. The arrival at Antwerp in 1562 of a cargo of tulip bulbs from Constantinople (now Istanbul) marked the beginning of the horticultural tulip industry in Europe. An early recipient of these flowers was French botanist Carolus Clusius , who was an avid bulb grower and is often credited with the spread of other spring bulbs, such as hyacinths and irises , across Europe. In the 1590s he established a botanic garden at the University of Leiden and cultivated tulips there. In 1596 and again in 1598, b...