Baghdad, The Shining City in Islamic Civilization – Part III

Baghdad, The Shining City in Islamic Civilization Part III

Hasan A. Yahya, a writer from Palestine

The caliph Mamun was responsible for the translation of Greek works into Arabic. He founded in Baghdad the Academy of Wisdom, ( ) which took over from the Persian university of Jundaisapur and soon became an active scientific center. The Academy's large library was enriched by the translations that had been undertaken. Scholars of all races and religions were invited to work there. They were concerned with preserving a universal heritage, which was not specifically Moslem and was Arabic only in language. The sovereign had the best qualified specialists of the time come to the capital from all parts of his empire. There was no lack of talented men. The rush toward Baghdad was as impressive as the horsemen's sweep through entire lands during the Arab conquest. The intellectuals of Baghdad eagerly set to work to discover the thoughts of antiquity.

Harun al-Rashid, Mamun's father, was particularly interested in the physicians brought to his capital. The physicians who had become justly famous under the first caliphs of Baghdad had been students at the Persian school of Jundaisapur. The first representative of the famous Bakhtyashu family came from this school, too. The family furnished physicians to the Abbasid court for more than 250 years. The biography of one of them indicates that the examination of urine was a common practice.

The Nestorian Christian, Yahya ibn Masawayh, wrote many works on fevers, hygiene, and dietetics. His was the first treatise on ophthalmology, but he was soon surpassed in this field by his famous pupil, Hunain ibn Ishaq. Their books are of special value since there is no Greek treatise on the subject.

Particular mention should be made of the man to whom Arab science owes so much, the man who could be called the father of Arab medicine, Hunain ibn Ishaq, also a Christian. In medieval Latin translations he was known as Johannitius. For him the caliph Mutawakkil restored the translation bureau, which had been originally established by Mamun. Not only did Hunain work at translations, but he directed a team of scholars. His enthusiasm was responsible for great progress. He can be credited with having greatly increased the scientific knowledge of the Arabs. By inventing medical and philosophical terms, he was largely instrumental in forming a scientific language. Thanks to him and his collaborators, Arab writers formed the cultural avant-garde for a century or two. In the field of morals, this school was the first to translate the Hippocratic Oath.

Al-Fakhr Razi, the physician of genius known in medieval Europe as Rhazes, profited greatly from these works. His own medical work was extensive. This fine clinician, who had universal interests, had his differences with the Moslem religion because he was opposed to all dogmatism. For this reason, extremely violent diatribes were directed against him. (494 words) www.askdryahya.com

Source:

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/wiet.html and Islamic History,

Yahya, Hasan A. Brief Islamic History, 2010, Createspace

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