A Leaf from the History of Islamic Medicine about the Books Taught in Medical Schools in the Islamic Geography in the 10th Century
Prof. Dr. Kadircan KESKİNBORA
Bahçeşehir University Faculty of Medicine
Almost none of the things pioneered by Islamic scholars; For example, patent rights for Arabic numerals, algebra, and astrolabes of Muslim scholars are not recognized in the West. On the contrary, many Muslim inventions today bear the British, French or German stamp. In contrast, history has written its own textbooks. Textbooks written for medical students in Baghdad and Cordoba became important educational materials for many generations of physicians in the West in ways that even the most ambitious authors of these books could not have imagined.
- Towards the end of the 10th century, the great scholar Gerbert von Aurillac (945-1003) was dealing with medical science material only for his personal pleasure and luxury and on a purely theoretical level, while at the same time, in Islamic countries, medical knowledge was being applied to practice at all times for the purpose of fighting against diseases and death. There, patient care was an important social duty. Hospitals had a high level that was unprecedented in the world. Accordingly, a lot was demanded from physicians. The training of physicians was once again examined in the presence of an inspector physician appointed by the state. Moreover, after becoming physicians, they had to make various preparations and additional training in order to receive the right to work in the hospital and to educate the next generation of medical students. For all this; Educational materials were urgently needed for medical students. But what was there?
A few works of the ancient Greeks were still indispensable for education. What material would the student use to gain a holistic view?
Ali bin Abbas (932-994), the private physician of Sultan Adudü'd-Devle and a contemporary of Gerbert von Aurillac, after critically examining the existing medical literature, said, "Among the works of old and new physicians, there are many places to learn the art of medicine." "I have not come across a single complete work that contains everything necessary," he said. “Hippocrates wrote very little and most of his words are obscure and in need of interpretation. Galen wrote many books, but each of them contains only a part of the art of medicine, and his writings are long-winded and full of repetition. I have not been able to find a single book by Galen that is complete and suitable for the training of practitioners.” says.
He considers all the works one by one and leaves them aside with a negative shake of his head. Oribasius examines Paul von Aegina, “well explained but without method; It would be very difficult for students to learn anything from them.” says . And finally he finds what he is looking for: the writings of Abu Bakr al-Razi (865-925). Although there is nothing to object to in al-Razi's work called "Al-Mansuri", it is a very concise book. On the other hand, “al-Havi” is as perfect as a book can be. All the books are in al-Havi. Its name, meaning "containing everything", becomes "Continence" when translated into Latin. But this book also has its shortcomings. This would be an almost ideal book if its contents did not lack order and connections, and if the book itself did not lack the distinctive method of a textbook. Ali bin Abbas. “Al-Razi did not divide his work into sections. However, from a scientist like him; "Is this expected from a person with tremendous medical knowledge and writing talent?" he wonders and continues: "I think one of two things happened regarding this book: Either because he was afraid that his library would be destroyed one day, or because he wanted to support his memory in his old age." He wrote everything down in notes, or he took these notes for a complete, well-organized, well-categorized book that he would later write, but he was unable to write this book because of his untimely death. Our second guess is more likely.”
There is not enough information about who Razi received education from. During his long journey for education, he visited science and cultural centers in the Khorasan region; After gaining fame in medicine, he went to Baghdad at the age of thirty upon the invitation of Caliph Muktefi-Billah. It is known that he was the chief physician of the hospital in Rey and held the same position in Baghdad. It is known that he was the chief physician of the hospital at the time and held the same position in Baghdad. His fame as the greatest physician of the period took him from one palace to another.
He states that he wrote more than 20,000 pages in his es-Siretü'l-felsefiyye, which is an autobiography. So much so that those who describe him say that they either saw him copying a book or making a draft of it. Against those who say, "If your life is not like Socrates', you cannot be a philosopher,"he stated that no one in his country has surpassed him in the field of medicine, that he has never behaved in any way that does not befit the name of a philosopher, and that he has written nearly 200 works on the disciplines of physics and mathematics, and said, "If this level of knowledge I have reached is not enough for me to be called a philosopher, I wish "If I knew, who is worthy of this name in our age?" He defended himself by saying.
Only a very few rich people could afford such an expensive work as al-Havi, which brought together the opinions of all physicians in an unsystematic way, and also included many unnecessary things, making it very comprehensive as a result. Ali bin Abbas said, “As for me, I will only include in my book the necessary information regarding the preservation of health and the treatment of diseases. That is, only what every competent and knowledgeable physician should know.” By saying this, he accomplishes the task set before him by Razi at a higher level. His book chose a path halfway betweenal-Hawi's detailism and al-Mansuri's summaryism. The book is dedicated to Sultan Adudu'd-Dawla, the founder of Baghdad's great hospital and the supporter of sciences. For this reason, it is called "The Book of the Sultan" (al-Kitap al-Meliki). Indeed, Kitab al-Meliki, a "Book of the Sultan" that we admire even today, is divided into 20 chapters, the first ten chapters of which are described as theoretical and the second ten chapters of applied medicine. Some of its topics include dietetics and medical supplies, basic ideas of capillaries, interesting medical observations, and explanations of uterine movements that occur during birth. For example; “The child does not come out of the uterus on its own, it is pushed by the movements of the uterus.” He also refutes Hippocrates' thesis of the Birth Event by saying.
This book was translated into Latin in Europe by Constantinus Africanus as Liber Pantegni in 1087. The completion and better translation of Liber Pantegni was made by Stephen of Antioch in 1127.
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