Tyrian purple Table of Contents Introduction References & Edit History Videos Read Next How Do You Balance a Chemical Equation? Why Is a Group of Molecules Called a Mole? Discover Why Is Ireland Two Countries? What is Holy Week? All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained 9 of the World’s Deadliest Mammals 10 of the World’s Most Dangerous Fish Why Was Nazi Germany Called the Third Reich? 12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written” Contents Science Chemistry Tyrian purple chemical compound Ask the Chatbot a Question More Actions Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/science/Tyrian-purple Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. External Websites National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Tyrian Purple: 6,6’-Dibromoindigo and Related Compounds The Nature - Nature Chemical Biology - Production of Tyrian purple indigoid dye from tryptophan in Escherichia coli Ancient Origins - Tyrian Purple: The Secret Process Behind the World’s Most Expensive Dye (Video) ACS Publications - In Search of Surface-Induced Crystal Structures: The Case of Tyrian Purple Royal Society of Chemistry Publishing - Tyrian purple: an ancient natural dye for cross-conjugated n-type charge transport BBC - Tyrian purple: The lost ancient pigment that was more valuable than gold World History Encyclopedia - Tyrian Purple Cellpress - Cell Chemical Biology - GSK-3-Selective Inhibitors Derived from Tyrian Purple Indirubins Ask the Chatbot a Question Also known as: 6,6′-dibromoindigo, aniline purple, mauve Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Mar 6, 2025 • Article History Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot Related Topics: dye purple pyrrole Purpura haemastoma dye murex (Show more) Tyrian purple, naturally occurring dye highly valued in antiquity. It is closely related to indigo (q.v.).
