and the type of food, but in earlier periods forks were mostly used as cooking and serving utensils.

Although its origin may go back to Ancient Greece, the personal table fork was most likely invented in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, where they were in common use by the 4th century. Records show that by the 9th century in some elite circles of Persia a similar utensil known as a barjyn was in limited use. By the 10th century, the table fork was