Al-Shifa bint Abdullah (الشفاء بنت عبد الله — meaning The Healer) was a folk-healer and companion of the Prophet Muhammad (c.570-632 CE). In the 7th century, she was appointed Chief Muhtasib of Medina. Al-Muhtasib were government-appointed officers who inspected pharmacies to ensure that they were working to official standards (essentially Health and Safety officers).
The book, Pandects (Kināsh), by Ahrūn al-Qiss ( الكناش - أهرن القس — also known as Aaron of Alexandria) was the first medical work to be translated into Arabic during Muslim civilisation. Pandects was translated by the Jewish physician, Masarjis or Masarjawai during the time of the fourth Umayyad Caliph Marwan ibn Al-Ḥakam (623-685) ( مروان بن الحكم ). By order of Caliph ʿUmar ibn ‘Abd al-ʿAzīz (682-720) ( عمر بن عبد العزيز ), the book was made accessible and easily available to the general public. Pandects is thought to have contained the first clear account of the disease smallpox.
The Byzantine physician, Paul of Aegina (625-690), gave the fullest account we have of the surgery of Antiquity. His Seven Books contain the most complete system of operative surgery from Ancient times. Although Paul of Aegina compiled this comprehensive work, he did not claim any originality on his part.
For more on surgery, see:Prophet Muhammed dies and Abu Bakr becomes first caliph , or Muslim ruler
Al-Shifa is appointed the first female health and safety minister by Umar, second caliph, in the city of Medinah and then in Basrah.
When the Arabs invaded Persia and captured Jundishapur (جنديسابور ), its school was aided and encouraged to become the greatest centre of medical teaching throughout the Islamic world. Although Jundishapur Medical School had originally drawn from just a few ancient Greek and Syriac sources, the Muslim Translation Movement vastly expanded the amount of ancient medical knowledge available from all nations. A number of renowned physicians worked and studied at Jundishapur, including Yuḥannā ibn Māsawaih ( يوحنا بن ماسويه ) , Bakhtīshūʿ ibn Jibrā'īl ( بختيشوع بن جبريل ) and Abū Zayd Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq al-ʿAbādi ( أبو زيد حنين بن اسحق العبادي ).
Islam spreads to Persia, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, and later to Egypt.
A windmill powering a millstone is built in Persia.
Islam has spread to all of North Africa
The Umayyad dynasty rules the caliphate from Damascus.
Building begins of the Dome of the Rock Mosque in Jerusalem.
Madhavakara (c.8th-9th century) was an Indian ayurveda practitioner, best known for his work Madhava Nidana. In 73 chapters, Madhava Nidhana lays out the symptoms and diagnosis of a vast number of diseases. The text was later translated into Arabic, influencing the work of Muslim physicians such as Ali ibn Sahl (fl. 850).
The first Bīmāristān (البيمارستان) (hospital) in Islam was opened in the year 707. The hospital is said to have kept lepers in separate wards, providing them with care and regular provisions. However, others have reported that this was more likely a special hospice for lepers than an institution providing multiple specialised services (like later Bīmāristāns).
Islam reaches Spain.
Abu-Mousa Jabir ibn Hayyan (جابر بن حيان التوحيدي, c.721-815) was a chemist, druggist, and physician who was born, lived and worked in Kufa, Iraq. Known as The Father of Chemistry, Jabir ibn Hayyan also produced the first Arabic pharmacological treatise.
Jabir ibn Hayyan is born. He is considered the “father of chemistry.”
Abbasids overthrow the Umayyads and in 762 build a new capital in Baghdad. Spain is ruled by an Umayyad family descendant.
Astrolabe maker and astronomer Al-Fazari dies.
Mathematician Al-Khwarizmi is born. His book Algebr wal Muqabala developed modern algebra.
King Off a mints a Gold Mancus coin, imitating the gold dinar of Caliph al-Mansur.
Caliph Harun al-Rashid establishes the House of Wisdom in Baghdad.
Building begins of the Great Mosque of Córdoba.
First mention of a paper mill in Baghdad.
Caliph Harun al-Rashid presents Charlemagne with a clock that strikes the hour.
ʿAlī ibn al-Abbās ( علي بن عباس الأهوازي, c.9th-10th century) writes the famous medical encyclopaedia, Kamil al-Ṣīnāʿah ( كامل الصناعة الطبية )
Al-Kindi is born. He was a mathematician, philosopher, physicist, chemist, and musician.
The early Muslim polymath, Al-Kindi (c.801-873), was born in Baghdad, Iraq. For more on al-Kindi, see:
Masāʾil fī al-Ṭibb li-l-Mutaʿllimīn (Questions on Medicine for Beginners - مسائل في الطب للمتعلمين ) was compiled by the renowned medical scholar and translator, Abū Zaid Ḥunayn ibn Isḥāq al-ʿAbādi (c.809-873). The treatise was completed by his student and nephew, Hubaish ibn al-Ḥasan al-‘Aʿsam the Damascene - حبيش بن الحسن الأعسم الدمشقي ), and served as an introduction (Madkhal) to the craft and science of medicine. The general principles were presented in a question-and-answer format. Another of Al-ʿAbādi’s works, Book of the Ten Treatises on the Eye, contained the earliest known figures illustrating the anatomy of the eye.
Caliph Al-Ma’mun expands the House of Wisdom; the translation movement intensifies.
By the time of the 7th Abbasid Caliph, Al-Maʾmūn’s rule (813-833), pharmacy was a profession practised by highly-skilled specialists. Pharmacists were required to pass examinations and be licensed. Pharmaceutical preparations were in a variety of forms: ointments, pills, elixirs, tinctures, confections, suppositories and inhalants.
Yūḥanna Ibn Māsawayh يوحنا بن ماسويه (fl.815-857 - known to Latin translators as Mesue Senior or Janus Demascenus) was an enlightened Christian from Jundishapur. He served as director in a Baghdadi hospital - the only known hospital of its time. For half a century, he was the personal physician and eye doctor (Kaḥḥal) of a number of Caliphs, including: Al-Ma’mūn المأمون , Al-Mutaṣim المعتصم ,Al-Wāthiq بالله الواثق , and Al-Mutawakkil المتوكل. Ibn Māsawayh also wrote two books on ophthalmology: 1. Daghal Al-‘Ayn , “The Alteration of the Eye”, العين دغل 2. “Knowing the Ophthalmology Profession: Questions and Answers”, الكحالين مھنة معرفة السؤال و الجواب
Thābit Ibn Qurrah Al-Ḥarrānī was born in Harran, Mesopotamia in the year 823 CE. He moved to Baghdad during the reign of Caliph Al-Mu'taḍid (با المعتض) and enjoyed a very high rank in the Caliph’s court. It was here that he learnt and mastered several ancient languages, including Aramaic, Greek, and Syriac (in addition to Arabic). Thābit became a distinguished philosopher, mathematician, astrologist, and physician. In the field of medicine, Thābit was accomplished enough to become the personal physician to Caliph Al-Mut'aḍid. As an ophthalmologist, he wrote a book entitled Vision and Perception. Although it was a small book compared to those he wrote later, it was quoted by most of the ophthalmologists who followed him. These included Khalīfah, who referenced Vision and Perception in his Al-Kāfī (Sufficient Knowledge in Ophthalmology). Al-Rāzī also referred to it in his Al-Ḥāwī fī Al-Ṭib (Continens). Thābit Ibn Qurrah’s most important contribution to ophthalmology was his treatment of amblyopia, or lazy eye (الغطش). He proposed closing the normal eye with a patch to “force the visual spirit to go into the lazy eye in order for vision to improve”. This was an outstanding breakthrough in the field.
Egyptian-born Jewish physician, Isaac Judaeus (Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān al-Isrāʾīlī, سليمان الاسرائيلي — c.832-955 CE) is born. One of his major influences was the work of Al-Kindi
Abu Mansur opens Al-Shammasiyah Observatory, near Baghdad.
Ali ibn Sahl Rabban al-Tabari, (علي بن سهل ربن الطبري ) writes an encyclopaedia of medicine in Arabic, entitled Paradise of Wisdom (فردوس الحكمة).
Banu Musa brothers publish their Book of Ingenious Devices.
Astronomer Al-Battani is born. He determined astronomical measurements with accuracy.
Al-Qarawiyin University in Fez is completed by Fatima al-Fihri.
Al-Razi (Rhazes) is born. A physician, chemist, and medical teacher, he is considered the “father of clinical and experimental medicine.” His writings were later translated into Latin.
Al-Rāzī (Rhazes) is born. A physician, chemist, and medical teacher, he is considered the “father of clinical and experimental medicine.” Abū Bakr al-Rāzī transferred medicine from the period of translation to the period of originality. Medieval Islamic medics, such as himself, accepted only what was proven right by their own physiological experiments. Al-Rāzī is regarded as one of the greatest clinicians and most original thinkers of Islamic medicine. He, Aristotle and Galen are considered to be the three forefathers of high medical knowledge, ethics, and practice. Al-Rāzī infused medicine with clinical precision and excelled in distinguishing diseases from one another, giving proper attention to their constitution and identity. Al-Samarrai 80 counted 113 books written by Al-Rāzī, the most famous of which are Al-Ḥāwī, الطب في الحاوي (Continens), and Al-Manṣūri المنصوري, which were the fundamental sources of knowledge in Europe until the late 17th century. He also provided a comprehensive critique of Galenic medicine in his book Al-Shukūk ʿAlā Gālīnūs ( شكوك على الفاضل جالينوس/Doubts on Galen). A key area of Al-Rāzī's expertise was ophthalmology. He wrote at least seven treatises dedicated to the eye, vision, diseases of the eye, and ophthalmic treatments and surgeries. Among his other major contributions to medicine and ophthalmology, Al-Rāzī rejected Galen’s theory of vision that “a ray exits the eye to touch the object or objects in front of it and then return to the eye where the vision takes place.” He instead put forward his own suggestion that rays are emitted by the object (or objects) and enter the eye.
Ahmad ibn Toloun, Abbasid governor of Egypt, establishes a hospital in Cairo known to be the first to include a department for mental diseases.
In 872 CE, the Bīmāristān of Aḥmad ibn Tulūn (البيمارستان الطولوني بناه السلطان أحمد بن طولون عامه) was built close to his mosque in Cairo. This Bīmāristān was the first to include a department for mental disorders and behind it was built a pharmacy. Ibn Tulūn provided the pharmacy with a physician on Friday for any medical emergencies among worshippers. Later Egyptian Bīmāristāns include one built by Salahuddin in 1171 CE in the palace of the Fatimid rulers and al-Bīmāristān al-Manṣūrī, (البيمارستان المنصوري) established in 1284 by al-Manṣūr Qalāwun al-Sālihī al-Alfī (The Sultan of Egypt, 1279-1290). In each teaching hospital throughout the Muslim world there was a library rich with books on various sciences, a space in which the chief physician could give lectures in medicine, and wards for medical, surgical, ophthalmic and mental diseases. Outpatient services were also provided.
Physician and inspector of Baghdad hospitals Sinan ibn Thabit ibn Qurra is born. He started mobile hospital services for rural and Bedouin areas.
Sinan ibn Thabit ibn Qurra, physician and inspector of Baghdad hospitals, is born. He started hospital services for rural and Bedouin areas. These small, mobile hospitals, which provided services to prisons and army camps (as well as rural areas) were an important part of the Islamic medical tradition.
Abbas ibn Firnas, pioneer of unpowered fl ight, dies in Córdoba.
Ibn al-Jazzar al-Qayrawani (Aljizar) is born. He wrote the first independent book on pediatrics and social pediatrics: Risalah fi Siyasat as-Sibyan wa Tadbirihim (A Treatise on Infant and Child are and Treatment).
Ibn al-Jazzar al-Qayrawani ابن الجزار القيرواني (Aljizar) is born. He wrote the first independent book on paediatrics and social paediatrics: A Treatise on Infant and Child Care and Treatment. He also devoted a treatise to the medicine and health of the elderly.
Fatimids rule Egypt and North Africa, then, nine years later, Sicily.
Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtader issues the fi rst licensing regulation for medical practice. He established the hospital of Al-Muqtadiri in Bab al-Sham in Baghdad; his mother established Al-Sayyida hospital in Souq Yehia in Baghdad.
Abū 'Alī Khalaf Al-Ṭūlūnī (who died in 914 CE) penned ( أبو علي خلف الطولوني ) “The Book about the Final Objectives and the Composition of the Two Eyes and Their Constitution, Treatment, and Medications” ( كتاب النهاية و الكفاية في تركيب العينين و خلقتهما و علاجهما و أدويتهما )
Yūḥanna Ibn Ṣarabyūn (who died in 935 CE) was a prominent physician from Damascus, Syria. Although he was not as famous as Al-Rāzī, his book Practica (الكناش الكبير) (which was written in Syriac and later translated into Arabic by an anonymous author) was quoted repeatedly and extensively by scholars, including Al-Rāzī. Eleven chapters of the book were dedicated to ophthalmology, providing comprehensive and detailed information on the subject. Gerard De Cremona and Andreas Alpago later translated the book into Latin.
Surgeon Al-Zahrawi (Albucasis) is born in Córdoba. He refi ned the science of surgery, invented dozens of surgical instruments, and wrote the first illustrated surgical book.
Abū al-Qāsim Khalaf ibn ʿAbbās al-Zahrāwī (Abulcasis) was born in Córdoba in 936 CE. He was a distinguished surgeon, inventing numerous surgical instruments and authoring the voluminous illustrated work, Al-Tasrif. The surgical section of this treatise was divided into three parts: the first dealt with cauterisation, the second with dissection, and bloody procedure in general, and the third with the setting of bones. In the second part, he listed 16 chapters, describing operations with great detail and precision. His book was well known and widespread throughout Europe.
Al-Farabi from Baghdad dies. A philosopher and musician, he invented the ancestor of the violin.
Cartographer and writer Al-Masudi describes his visit to the oil fi elds of Baku.
Physicist Ibn al-Haytham is born. His discoveries and theories revolutionized optics.
Al-Hasan Ibn al Haytham (الحسن بن الهيثم) created a new optical tradition and established the basic framework of optics that would prevail until the present day.
Labna, a mathematician and scientist, is appointed private secretary to the Umayyad caliph Al-Hakim in Córdoba.
Al-Azhar University is founded by the Fatimids in Cairo.
Al-Biruni is born. The polymath, astronomer, mathematician, and geographer measured the circumference of Earth
The famous polymath, Al-Biruni, wrote a valuable pharmacological work, entitled The Book of Pharmacology. This provided detailed knowledge of the properties of drugs, as well as outlining the role of the pharmacy and the functions and duties of pharmacists.
Although little is known about Abū Al-Ḥasan Aḥmad Ibn Moḥammad Al-Ṭabarī (who died after 976), he made significant contributions to medicine and ophthalmology. He served as a private physician to Prince Rukn Al-Dwla Al-Bowayhi (933-976 CE) and wrote an important encyclopaedic medical book entitled, The Hippocratic Treatments. Al-Ṭabarī was one of the first to state that, “The cataract is a thick humidity that affects the crystalline lens and makes it opaque.” He was, therefore, 800 years ahead of Hermann Borhaff (1668-1738 CE), who is accredited for discovering that the cataract is a disease of the lens. Although Al-Rāzī and others insinuated something similar vaguely, the exact anatomical location was not disclosed until Al-Ṭabarī mentioned it in his works. Among other major contributions to ophthalmology, he also wrote that remaining in dark places (like prison) for long periods of time could lead to total blindness, and was the first to describe eye diseases caused by gnat-like flies entering the eyes.
Prince of physicians Ibn Sina (Avicenna) is born. He wrote the infl uential Canon of Medicine.
Abū 'Abdullāh Moḥammad Ibn Sa’īd Al-Tamīmī Al-Maqdesī (d.980) ( أبو عبد الله محمد بن سعيد التميمي المقدسي ) was a famous physician who practiced in his hometown, Jerusalem, around 980 CE. He later moved to Egypt where he remained for the rest of his life. Though he mainly treated diseases of the digestive system, he wrote a book on Ophthalmology entitled, Treatise about the Essence of Ophthalmia, Its Types, Causes, and Treatment. ( مقالة في ماهية الرمد و أنواعه و أسبابه و علاجه )
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd-Allāh Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) was famed for his medical skills, as well as being a scholar of philosophy, metaphysics and religion. A prolific writer, he produced Al Qanun Fi Al-Tibb (The Canon of Medicine), a multi-volume treatise that compiled and organised all known Islamic medical knowledge of the era. It became the standard medical text in Europe until the 17th century. Ibn Sīnā built on Galen’s teachings and incorporated Aristotle-style logic into medical diagnosis and treatment. For instance, he made it clear that, if the medical treatment for a bladder stone failed and the cutting operation was to be done, one must choose the surgeon who “knows the dissection of the bladder, the places where it is joined at its neck by the semen channels, and the related vessels so that he could prevent what he should keep away from, such as causing an inability to reproduce or heavy loss of blood or a fistula that does not heal.” In one book, Ibn Sīnā recommended the introduction of a “tube made of gold, silver, or similar metal into the pharynx to assist breathing” in the event of suffocation due to upper airway obstruction. Most probably this tube acted as an oropharyngeal airway: this is thought to represent the first reported use of an endotracheal tube. When such measures failed and the patient's life was threatened, Ibn Sīnā recommended instead making an opening in the windpipe (tracheotomy). As well as an accomplished physician, Ibn Sīnā was a talented poet. He often incorporated medical themes into his poems, writing about anatomy, health preservation during the four seasons, tried medicaments and clinical evidence derived from pulse and urine. These medical didactic poems were called Urjūzah, and Ibn Sīnā’s most famous example was entitled al-Urjūzah fī al-Ṭibb.
The major Baghdadi teaching hospital, al-Bīmāristān al-ʿAḍudī, was built in 981 by Aḍud al-Dawlah (936-983). This centre lasted until its destruction in 1258 by the Mongol invasion and siege of Bagdad.
The School of Salerno had become a renowned medical centre by 985 CE. The school is thought to have been founded around the mid-10th century; however, its origins are unsure and some historians have argued that it was established much earlier. The School of Salerno was the earliest medieval European university and made impressive contributions to medical knowledge.
Sutaita al-Mahamli, a mathematician and expert witness in courts, dies in Baghdad.
The physician ʿAlī ibn Riḍwān (988-1061 CE) was born. He wrote Kitāb Dafʿ Maḍār al-Abdān bi-Ard Miṣr (On the Prevention of Bodily Ills in Egypt/ كتاب دفع مضار الأبدان في أرض مصر )
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Baladī, ( أحمد بن محمد البلدي, died c.990) was the author of one of the first independent books on antenatal care and paediatrics: Kitāb Tadbīr al-Ḥubalā wa-al-‘Aṭfāl wa-al-Ṣibiān wa-Ḥifẓ Ṣihhatihim wa-Mudāwāt al-‘Āmrāḍ al-ʿāriḍah lahum ( كتاب تدبير الحبالى و الأطفال و الصبيان و حفظ صحتهم و مداواة الأمراض العارضة لهم / The Book of Care Regimens for Pregnant Ladies, Infants and Children and Preservation of their Health and Treating the Illnesses They May Suffer From).
Alī Ibn Al-'Abbās Al-Majusi (d.994 CE) was a prominent physician in Baghdad. He dedicated a book entitled The Royal Book (Latin translation Liber Regius) to his mentor Caliph Adud Al-Dawla (الدولة عضد), to whom he acted as private physician. The Royal Book was well known to practising physicians for its completeness, orderly presentation, and precision. It served as a handbook for medics until it was replaced by Ibn Sīnā’s Al-Qānūn, but remained a great reference until the late 13th century.
A'yan Ibn A'yan Al-Maṣrī ( أعين بن أعين المصري, d.995 CE) penned The Book about Eye Diseases and Their Treatment ( كتاب في أمراض العيون و مداواتها ).
Abū Al-Muṭarref 'Abdul Raḥmān Ibn Moḥammad Ibn Wāfid Al-Lakhamy ( أبو المطرف عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن وافد اللخمي ) was a prominent physician from Toledo, Spain. He wrote several works on general medical topics, including a book on simple drugs and a book on ophthalmology entitled, Close Observation in the Diseases of the Visual System ( تدقيق النظر في علل حاسة البصر )
Building begins of Bab Mardum Mosque in Toledo, which uses a unique form of rib vaulting
The 11th century physician, Zāhid al-‘Ulamā Manṣūr ibn Naʿisa the Nestorian ( زاهد العلماء منصور بن عيسى بن ناعسة ), penned a book of aphorisms, questions and answers, based on the scientific sessions that were regularly held at the al-Fāriqī Hospital (established by Prince Nasīr al-Dawlah ibn Marwān ( ناصر الدولة بن مروان ) in Mayāfāriqīn in Diyarbakr). Two other works of Zāhid al-‘Ulamā were Kitāb al-Bīmaristānāt (The Book on Hospitals) and Kitāb fīmā Yajib alā al-Mutaʿallimīn Liṣinā’at al-Ṭibb Taqdīm ʿīlmih (On What Students of the Craft of Medicine Ought to Learn First). These also appear to be related to his practice and teaching experience at al-Fāriqī Hospital.
Astronomer Ibn Yunus dies in Cairo, leaving thousands of accurate records, including 40 planetary conjunctions and 30 lunar eclipses.
'Alī Ibn 'Isā Al-Kaḥḥāl (d.1010 CE) spent his life in Baghdad as a practicing ophthalmologist. His work, Memorandum Book for Ophthalmologists, is one of the oldest textbooks on ophthalmology preserved in its entirety and original language. 'Alī Ibn 'Isā Al-Kaḥḥāl conserved information from the lost works of ancient Grecian authors, such as Oribasius, Aetius, and Paulus. He added to the Grecian methods and concepts both what he gained from his teachers, and experiences from his own practice. The book survived over 800 years, during which time it served as a crucial ophthalmic reference both throughout the Muslim world and in Europe.
The little-known Aḥmad Ibn 'Abdul-Raḥmān Ibn Mandwayh Al-Aṣfāhānī (أحمد بن عبد الرحمن بن مندويه الأصفھاني, d.1019 CE) produced one of the earliest works on paediatric ophthalmology, entitled Treatises about Illness in Children.
Al-Muntakhab fi ʿIlm al-ʿAyn wa-ʿIlalihah wa-Mudāwātihā bil-Adwiyah wa al-Ḥadid ( كتاب المنتخب في علم العين و عللها و مداواتها بالأدوية و الحديد ) (The Selected Book of Diseases of the Eye and its Treatment with Medicaments and Surgery) was a book written by the famous 11th century ophthalmologist, ʿAmmār al Mūṣlī, ( عمار بن علي الموصلي, fl.1020 CE). The work included a number of detailed surgical case reports for the patients he had operated on for cataracts.
Constantine the African was a prolific translator of Arabic medical work into Latin. His work had a major influence on the development of European medicine.
Saʿīd ibn Hibat Allāh(سعيد بن هبة الله), was a teacher of the influential physician, Ibn Jazlah, and many others who practiced at al-Bīmāristān al-ʿĀḍuḍī (البيمارستان العضدي). He also authored a book containing answers to medical questions that had been addressed to him.
Constantine the African moves from Tunisia to Salerno, initiating the transfer of Islamic medicine to Europe.
Petrus Alfonsi is born in Huesca, Al-Andalus. Alfonsi was born Jewish and educated in Hebrew and Arabic. He later converted to Christianity and travelled throughout Europe. Educated in medicine, astronomy and philosophy, Alfonsi was a key figure in the transmission of Arabic knowledge to Western Europe
The Nizamiyya madrasa, the fi rst school in Baghdad, is established by Nizam al-Mulk, the Seljuk minister who appointed distinguished philosopher and theologian Al-Ghazali as a professor
The Norman Conquest of England begins a fl ow of Muslim motifs and ideas into that country.
Abū al-Ḥasan al-Mukhtār ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ‘Abdūn ibn Sa‘dun ibn Buṭlān (ابو الحسن المختار بن حسن بن عبدون بن سعدون بن بطلان, d.1066 CE) was a Christian living in Baghdād. He studied a vast number of philosophical and other works assiduously, and was also a prolific poet. Ibn Buṭlān associated himself with the physician Abū al-Ḥasan Thābit ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Zahrūn al-Ḥarrānī, who taught him a great deal about medicine and its practical application. The book Taqwīm al-Ṣiḥḥah (Rectification of Health), a treatise on hygiene and dietetics, and the best-known of Ibn Buṭlān’s works, presented a guide to medical regimen in tabular form. This made it easy to understand and use for identifying the foods, drinks, environments and activities (including breathing, exercise and rest) necessary for a healthy life. The book illustrates the emphasis laid on preservation of health and prevention of disease during the Medieval Islamic Era, and in general it connects vegetables and fruits with human health and well-being, similar to modern medicine.
'Alī Ibn Ibrāhīm was born and raised in Kafarṭāb كفرطاب , a small town between Aleppo and Ma'arat Al-No'ūman النعمان معرة ,in Northern Syria. He travelled to Egypt, where he practised ophthalmology and died in Cairo around 1067 CE. His father was also an ophthalmologist and 'Alī Ibn Ibrāhīm copied several compounded medications from his father’s handwritten prescriptions. He also wrote the ophthalmic work, Anatomy of the Eye, Its Shape, and Treatment of Its Diseases. However, despite its title, this book spends no more than a few pages describing the eye and its seven coats, three humidities, nine muscles, and four nerves. The book lacks any illustrations or drawings but deals with adnexa (eyelids, lacrimal sac, etc.). The only sentence in the book considered particularly progressive is, “The eye is an instrument of vision and not a seeing organ by itself,” which differs from the ideology of vision prior to the author’s time.
Christians take Toledo. A center at Toledo is established, translating Arabic books into Latin. Ibn Bassal’s Book of Agriculture revolutionizes farming. He is from Toledo, Spain.
Zarrin-Dast (The Golden Hand)/Abu Ruh Moḥammad Ibn Manṣūr Ibn 'Abdullāh Ibn Manṣūr Al-Yamani (d.1087 CE) was a Muslim from Persia, who wrote his book The Light of the Eyes to revive Persian culture after the Arabic language dominated the scientific scene (this was due to the Muslim conquest of Persia around 636 CE). The book was written in the form of questions and answers. However, Zarrin-Dast did not give any credit to the books or authors he quoted frequently, and the 30 eye operations he mentioned in his book are almost identical to those mentioned in the Memorandum by 'Alī Ibn 'Isā, written earlier in the century.
Abu Marwan ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) is born. He is a pioneer of experimental surgery and co-author, with Ibn Rushd (Averroes), of an original encyclopedic medical text. His two daughters became doctors
Abū Marwān ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī al-ʿAlāʼ ibn Zuhr (Avenzoar) ( أبو مروان عبد الملك ابن أبي العلاء ابن زهر ) emphasised the great importance of practical knowledge of dissection in his book al-Taysīr ( كتاب التيسير في المداواة و التدبير ). In the course of discussing the management of inflammatory swellings of the neck when ripe and ready for bursting or drainage, he wrote: “And in case you have mastered the science of dissection, then drain by the scalpel in the way that you will not come across a vein, artery, nerve or anything whose injury will lead to an extra harm to the patient”. In addition, he insisted on an adequately supervised and structured training program for the surgeon-to-be, before allowing him to operate independently.
The first Crusades begin.
Al-Idrisi is born. He produced a world map for Norman king Roger II of Sicily.
By 1100 CE there were famous medical schools in Salermo, Bologna and Montpellier. However, anatomical instruction at these universities was rudimentary. Lectures consisted of a lecturer reading a key text (often the nearly century-old work of Galen), while a butcher pointed to the corresponding body parts.
Taqwīm al-Abdān fī Tadbīr al-Insān (تقويم الأبدان في تدبير الانسان) was a landmark in the scholarly tradition of tabular-form medical writing. It was authored by the 11th century Baghdadite, Yahyā ibn ‘Isā ibn ʿAlī ibn Jazlah (d.1100 CE), ( يحيى لبن علي ابن جزلة ), a pupil of Abū al-Ḥasan Sa`īd ibn Hibat Allāh, ( أبو الحسن سعيد ابن هبة الله ) who was famous for his medical knowledge and skill. Ib Jazlah lived in the reign of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadī bi-Amr Allāh (1075-1094) ( المقتدر بأمر الله ), to whom he dedicated many of his books. In the Introduction to Taqwīm al-Abdān , Ibn Jazlah stated that he wanted to include in his book the essential amount of medical knowledge about diseases, their causes, symptoms and regimens of treatment. He also added that he arranged the book in such a way to be easy to read, full of useful knowledge and presented it in the form of tables.
Baklārish ( ابن بكلاريش) was a Jewish medical scholar in Muslim Spain who possessed vast experience and knowledge in the field of simple medicines. He was the author of Kitāb al-Mujadwalah fī al-Adwiyah al-Mufradah (كتاب المجدولة في الأدوية المفردة/The Tabulated Book on Simple Medicaments) composed in Almeria for al-Mustaʿīn bi-Allāh Abū Jaʿfar Ahmad ibn al-Muʿtamin bi-Allāh ibn Hūd ( المستعين بالله أبو جعفر أحمد بن المؤتمن بالله بن هود ). The book, also known as the Kitāb al-Musta‘īnī ( كتاب المستعيني ) in honour of its above-mentioned dedicatee (ruler of Saragossa, 1085–1110 CE), set out in tabular form the properties, uses, and alternative names (in several languages), of over 700 medicinal substances. It drew on a wide range of Greek and Arabic authorities and local knowledge. A recently acquired manuscript belonging to the Arcadian library, scribed in 1130 is the earliest surviving witness to the text, and provides unique information about the state of medicine in medieval Muslim Spain. To the practical advantage of rapid consultation — the reader can look up the names of the simple drugs alphabetically — is added the great diversity of the material presented, particularly where the substances of mineral and animal origin are concerned. In his introduction, Ibn Baklarish wrote: “I mentioned all that I could gather from different books about each drug whenever I found it necessary to enlighten people about it in case they come across unknown names in prescriptions. A prescription would become useless if its compounder were ignorant of that drug”.
During the Crusades, Christians observed and learnt about Muslim science, technology and medicine. When soldiers returned to Western Europe they often transferred and built on this Arabic foundation of knowledge. Al-Hassan, Ahmed Y. (2006), ‘Transfer of Islamic Science to the West’, FSTC,
Ibn Tufal, author of Hayy ibn Yaqzan, is born.
Knowledge about human physiology was equally valued and admired by the general public, as it was included in many religious-guidance and health-education books addressed to them. An example of this genre is Kitāb Ṣayd al-Khātir , ( كتاب صيد الخاطر ) authored by Ibn al-Jawzī (c. 1114-1200 CE) ( ابن الجوزي ) in three volumes containing aphorisms and wise counsels. These include general knowledge about human physiology, describing functions such as digestion, respiration and reproduction in simple but varied eloquent style.
The learned physician Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī, lived and practised in Baghdād where he was born. He spent his early life studying arts, medicine and memorising the whole of the Holy Qur’an. He also reported on the predisposition of obese persons to falling ill quickly.
Ibn Rushd (Averroes) is born. He wrote an extensive corpus of philosophy in which he stated signifi cant theories in epistemology, natural philosophy, and metaphysics. An accomplished hysician, he wrote the famous treatise Al-Kulliyat fi al-tib, known in Latin as the Colliget.
Abū al-Walīd Muḥammad Ibn Rushd (Averroes, c.1126-1198 CE) is born. An accomplished Andalusian polymath, philosopher, physician, jurist, mathematician, and scientist, his ideas influenced European philosophy. In his al-Kulliyyāt fī l-Ṭibb (the Colliget ( ( الكليات في الطب ), Ibn Rushd ( أبو الوليد محمد ابن رشد ) discussed the functional anatomy of the eye. He stated that: “Vision is, certainly, not due to something that emanates from the eye, as beheld by Galen; but the eye receives the colour by the clear structures inside it, as in the case of a mirror”.
Stephen of Antioch (اسطفان الانطاكي ) translated the work of the Persian physician, Haly Abbas ( علي بن عباس الأهوازي )
Musa bin Maymun (Maimonides) is born and raised in Córdoba, Al-Andalus. He was a philosopher, theologian, and physician who studied in Fez. In Cairo, he was appointed head rabbi of the Jewish community and court physician to Sultan Saladin. For more on ibn Maymūn see:
Daniel of Morley travels to Córdoba to learn mathematics and astronomy, returning to lecture at Oxford.
Robert of Chester translates the Quran and works of Al-Khwarizmi.
Jabir ibn Afl ah invents an observational instrument known as the torquetum, a mechanical device to convert between spherical coordinate systems.
The renowned translator, Gerard of Cremona (جيرارد الكريموني), spent a few years of his life in Toledo studying Arabic. Upon instructions from Emperor Friedrich II, he translated into Latin several major Arabic books, including Al-Ḥāwī by Al-Rāzī, Al-Qānūn by Ibn Sīnā, and Al-Taṣrīf by Abu Al-Qāsim Al-Zahrāwī.
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn al-Ḥusayn Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī (1149-1209 CE) (أبو عبد الله محمد ابن عمر ابن الحسين فخر الدين الرازي) wrote a book entitled Masā’il fi al-Ṭibb (مسائل في الطب/Questions on Medicine). He was reputed for his great commentary on the Qur'ān, but also gave much thought and insight into medicine and its various studies.
Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Saʿīd al-ʿAlā’ī al-Maghribī (ابراهيم ابن أبي سعيد العلائي المغربي) authored a book entitled Al-Fatḥ fī al-ṭadāwī li Jamīʿ al-Amrāḍ wa al-Shakāwīʿ ) ( الفتح في التداوي لجامع الأمراض و الشكاوي/ The Breakthrough in Therapy for all Illnesses and Complaints). It included in tabular form, data on 550 simple medicines spread transversely in 16 columns stretching over two pages. The data for each drug included its name, description, type, selection, temperament, action, usefulness for the head organs, usefulness for the instruments of breathing, usefulness for the instruments of nutrition, usefulness for the body as a whole, mode of use, amount to be used, its harm, offsetting the harm, and substitutes.
Nur al-Din Zangi establishes Al-Nuri Hospital in Damascus, a large teaching hospital.
The major Damascene teaching hospital, al-Bimāristān al-Nūrī al-Kabīr, was built by Sultan Nūriddīn Zangī in 1154. The centre remained in operation until 1899 CE.
The celebrated physician and scholar, Muwaffaq al-Dīn al-Baghdādī, ( موفق الدين البغدادي ) was famous for his detailed study of more than 2000 human skeletons. These led him to refute Galen’s anatomical dogma of the lower jaw. He confirmed the unitary nature of the lower jaw by experimentation in order to check the validity of his predecessor’s knowledge.
Abū al-Qāsim Hibat Allāh ibn al-Faḍl (أبو القاسم هبة الله ابن الفضل, d.1163 CE) was born and bred in Baghdād, where he practiced medicine and wrote poetry. In addition to an Anthology of Poetry, he also authored a book on Medical Notes and another on Questions and Answers in Medicine.
Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad Al-Ghāfiqī (أبو جعفر أحمد بن محمد الغافقي, d.1165 CE) was the greatest expert of his time on simple drugs. His description of medicinal plants was the most precise ever made in Islam: he gave the name of each in Arabic, Latin and Berber.
Temple Church is built in London by the Templars, imitating the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.
Queen Dhaifa Khatoon is born in Aleppo, Syria. She was the daughter-inlaw to Saladin, and a supporter of science and learning.
Song Chi was a Chinese physician, forensic scientist and judge. For his forensic work, he is often considered to be the Founding Father of Forensic Science in China. Song Chi’s book, Collected Cases of Injustices Rectified, compiled crime scene case studies and outlined how to identify perpetrators.
Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi (Saladin) regains Jerusalem. He established Al-Nasiri Hospital in Cairo.
Botanist Ibn al-Baytar is born in Málaga. He wrote a famous pharmacopeia.
Muḥammad ibn Qassūm ibn Aslam al-Ghāfiqī the Andalusian (محمد بن أسلم ابن قسوم الغافقي ) (d. after 1197 CE) utilised the common Arabic question-and-answer format in writing one chapter of his voluminous Kitāb al-Murshid fi Ṭibb al-ʿAyn ( كتاب المرشد في طب العين /The Guide Book On The Medicine of the Eye).
Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad ʿAbdllāh Ibn Aḥmad Ibn al-Bayṭār ( ضياء الدين أبو محمد عبد الله بن أحمد ابن البيطار) was the greatest pharmacist of medieval times and was considered to have written the best work on Simples with the description of more than 1400 medical drugs.
Abū Nasr Sa`īd ibn Abū al-Khayr ibn `Isā ibn al-Masīhī, was a prominent physician and notable teacher. He wrote a treatise entitled Kitāb al-ʿīqṭiḍāb ʿalā ṭarīq al-masʾalah wa-al-jawāb fī al-ṭibb ( كتاب الاقتضاب على طريق المسألة و الجواب /The Book of Extemporization on Medicine in the Form of Questions and Answers).
The Experts' Examination for All Physicians or; Questions and Answers for Physicians was a study guide for students of medicine prepared by ʿAbd al-Azīz al-Sulāmī, (عبد العزيز السلامي) who was Chief of Medicine to the Ayyubid sultan (السلاطين الأيوبيين) in Cairo (1200-1208 CE). It was composed of ten chapters on ten fields of medicine: the pulse, urine, fevers and crises, symptoms, drugs, treatment, ophthalmology, surgery, bone setting, and fundamentals. Each chapter contained twenty questions on the respective subject with the answer to each question. In addition, an authority was cited for each answer. This work sheds light on medical education in the Medieval Islamic Era and is an epitome of the medical knowledge of the time. Contrary to what may be understood from the book’s title, it was not a formal “examination” that was given to students after they had completed their studies, nor was it given to certify practising physicians, but it was used simply as a teaching aid. The questions and answers in this book were derived from the material found in about twenty five cited well-known and readily available medical texts authored by some seventeen writers, including Galen, al-Rāzī, Qusṭā ibn Lūqā, Ibn Sīnā, Isḥāq ibn Sulaimān al-Isrāʾīlī, ʿAlī ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Mājūsī, Ibn Jumayʿ, Ibn Wāfid, ʿAlī ibn ʿĪsā al-Kaḥḥāl, Ibn al-Tilmīdh, Ibn Ridwān and others.
Leonardo of Pisa, known as Fibonacci, introduces Arabic numerals and mathematics to Europe in his book Liber Abaci.
Muwaffaq al-Dīn Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad Ibn Al-Qāsim Ibn Khalīfa Ibn Abī ʿUṣaybiʿah ( وفق الدين أبو العباس أحمد بن القاسم ابن خليفة بن أبي أصيبعة) in his book of medical biographies ʿUyūn al-‘Anbā’ fī-Ṭabaqāt aI-Aṭibbāʾ , (عيون الأنباء في طبقات الأطباء) documented a case of an unconscious person who was still responding to painful stimuli. So, the physician, Saleh Ibn Bahla, (صالح بن بهلة) insufflated air and soap root powder into his nose by using a small bellows, and the person was successfully resuscitated. According to Jaser, this clinical case report documented the use of bellows for respiratory resuscitation 900 years before it was first reported in Europe.
Al-Jazari completes his Book of Ingenious Mechanical Devices.
Ibn al-Nafi s is born. He was a scholar of jurisprudence and doctor who was fi rst to discover pulmonary circulation. He wrote AlSeerah al-Kamiliyah refuting the ideas of Ibn Tufayl’s novel Hayy ibn Yaqzan on the oneness of existence.
Alāʾ al-Dīn Abū al-Ḥasan Alī ibn Abī al-Ḥazm al-Qarshī Ibn al-Nafīs was born in the year 1210 at al-Qarsh near Damascus. He studied medicine in Damascus under the supervision of the distinguished professor Muhadhdhab al-Dīn al-Dakhwār in al-Bīmāristān al-Nūrī’s medical school, and then moved to Cairo where he practiced and taught medicine in al-Bīmāristān al-Naṣirī built by Salāh al-Dīn al-Ayyūbī. In 1285, he became the Chief Physician of the Manṣūrī hospital until he died 1288 at the age of 80. Historians described him as a great physician and a prolific writer, the best among his contemporaries and the most distinguished scholar of his time in the medical profession. Ibn al-Nafīs was also a distinguished authority on Qur’anic studies, Prophetic tradition, Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic philosophy and Arabic language studies. He wrote famous authoritative works in almost all of those sciences, including his book, Sharḥ Tashrīḥ al-Qānūn ( شرح تشريح القانون /On the Benefits of Studying the Science of Anatomy). This work extolled how essential the study of anatomy was for reaching diagnoses and for practising medicine and performing different surgical, orthopaedic or ophthalmological procedures. Furthermore, in this book he wrote a special chapter on the best mode for dissecting the following parts: bones, peripheral vessels and internal organs of the chest (heart, lung, big vessels and the diaphragm). He stated that: “The form of the visible objects does not fall and impress on the glacial humour (crystalline humour, lens)”. In addition, he said: “In our opinion, the need for the humours of the eye (the albuminous or aqueous, the crystalline and the vitreous) is not for the forms to fall and impress on any of them, but to render the inside of the eye humid enough so that its temperament becomes close to that of the brain; thus, when the visual spirit (pneuma) enters into the eye, it will not undergo a change in temperament”.
Abū Ḥamid Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar Najīb al-Dīn al-Samarqandī ( أبو حميد محمد بن علي بن عمر نجيب الدين السمرقندي d.1222 CE) in his work, The Book of Food and Drink for the Healthy People, defined the proper nutritive food as that which is able to replace what disintegrates off the constituent elements of the body parts.
Robert Grosseteste, who studied in Córdoba, becomes fi rst chancellor of Oxford University. He was elected bishop of Lincoln in 1253.
Ibn al-Quff is born. A Christian surgeon and author, he continued AlZahrawi’s eff orts to develop surgery as a science and independent medical specialty. He wrote Kitab al-Umda fi al-Jirahah (The Main Pillars of Surgery).
Abū al-Faraj ibn al-Quff (1233-1286 CE) was an Arab Christian surgeon and author. He continued Al-Zahrawi’s efforts to develop surgery as an independent medical specialty. Al-Quff is well known for his encyclopaedic work, entitled Kitāb al-ʿUmdah Fī Ṣināʿat Al-Jirāḥah ( العمدة في صناعة الجراحة /The Mainstay in the Craft of Surgery). The book comprised 19 treatises covering the anatomy and physiology of simple and compound organs, causation of surgical diseases, general surgical principles, surgical management, and a final, special treatise in the form of an Aqrabāzīn (pharmacopoeia) of drugs used by surgeons. Ibn al-Quff clearly stated that pain relief during surgery should be the responsibility of a second medical man, and not the surgeon performing the operation. Therefore, The Mainstay in Surgery represents the first report in literature of applied anaesthesia and was a step forward to the establishment of anaesthesia as a specialty.
Mamluk dynasty rules Egypt after the Ayyubids and later defeats the Mongols.
King Alfonso el Sabio establishes Latin and Arabic colleges in Seville and commissions the translation of Arabic texts.
Queen Eleanor, Castilian bride of King Edward I, brings Andalusian carpets to England in her dowry.
Ibn abi al-Mahasin al-Halabi writes his comprehensive scholarly and illustrated work on eye diseases, Al-Kafi fi al-Kuhl (The Book of Suffi cient Knowledge in Ophthalmology).
Mongols devastate and rule Baghdad and conquer Syria.
Baghdad was invaded and destroyed by the Mongols. The resulting fleeing of scholars meant that much of the knowledge previously restricted to the East was transmitted to the West.
Abū Al-'Abbās Aḥmad Ibn Uthmān Ibn Hibatullāh Al-Qaysī (d.1259 CE) was born and raised in Damascus. He moved to Egypt with Malik Al-Aziz (العزیز مالك), where he was appointed Head Physician. Al-Qaysī stated that he wrote the book, Final Thoughts about the Treatment of Eye Diseases, upon the order of Sultan Ṣāliḥ Najm (1240-1249 CE) In his book, Light of the Eyes, Ṣalaḥ Al-Dīn wrote that Al-Qaysī’s book was a collection, or summary, of all of the knowledge gathered prior to his time. He commented that the book was well-written, organised, and that Al-Qaysī was very thorough in his description of the diseases and their medications and applications. Despite the fact that he did not add anything new to the field, Al-Qaysī attempted to describe the glaucoma and diseases of the aqueous humour. Moreover, he was hesitant to oppose the old theory about the cataract, stating that it was a disease of the crystalline lens - this leads one to assume that he performed the couching of the cataract himself.
Louis IX founded Les Quinze-Vingts, a hospice for blind people in Paris. Its name (literally, the fifteen twenties) refers to the 300 poor blind Parisiens that it was established to care for. It remains a major medical centre for eye disease.
Marco Polo starts his 24- year journey
Marco Polo starts his 24-year journey
Roger Bacon writes about using convex lens spectacles to treat long-sightedness.
Al-Mansuri Hospital in Cairo is completed after 11 months of construction.
The first paper mill outside Islamic Spain in Europe is established in Bolonga.
Ṣalāh Al-Dīn Al-Kaḥḥāl Al-Ḥamwī (d.1296) was born in Hama, Syria, where he practised ophthalmology. He must have studied the subject under his father, whom he quoted repeatedly when mentioning certain eye medications and ointments in his book The Light of the Eyes and the Collector of the Arts. Ṣalāḥ Al-Dīn not only listed the contributions of his predecessors, but also described several of his own inventions and praised their effectiveness. Ṣalāḥ Al-Dīn explained with great detail the differing theories of vision with drawings to illustrate. The Light of the Eyes is the first book to include a coloured picture of a cross section of the eye.
Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī ibn Khātima al-Anṣārī, ( أبو جعفر أحمد بن علي بن الخاتمة الأنصاري ) the Andalusian physician and scholar in Qur’anic studies, did not leave his city of Almeria when it was hit by the black death epidemic (La peste noire) in June 1347. Not only did he not flee, but he began an investigation into its nature and mode of transmission, while also attending to and caring for patients. Al-Anṣārī recorded all of his observations and findings in his book entitled Taḥṣīl Gharaḍ al-Qāṣid fī Tafṣīl al-Maraḍ al-Wāfid (تحصيل الغرض القاصد في تفصيل المرض الوافد/The fulfilment of the Inquirer’s Aim Concerning All About the Invading Epidemic).
Aztec medical tradition was complex and multifaceted, incorporating elements of physical and spiritual treatment, as well as extensive knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants. The Aztecs had researched and developed at least 1500 different types of medication before their conquest. Interestingly, evidence has been found to show that they used flower petals to wrap up certain substances to produce a capsule-like object for easier ingestion
The Ecumenical Council of Vienne decides to establish schools of Arabic and Islamic studies at universities in Paris, Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca.
Ibn Battuta leaves Tangier on his 29-year journey.
Birth of Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Shaqqurī al-Lakhmī, who witnessed the black death epidemic of 1347, and authored a health-education guide for the authorities and the public outlining how to limit the spread of the disease.
Giotto’s painting “Madonna and Child” uses tiraz, bands of Arabic inscriptions, which mark royal garments and other textiles from the Muslim world.
Ibn Khaldun, the “father of sociology,” is born
The Black Death reaches Alexandria and Cairo from Europe.
The Black Death ( الطاعون ) spread throughout Europe by fleas carried on rats, killing more than 25 million people. There were two main types of plague. Bubonic plague (دبيلي) referred to the painful swellings (buboes) that developed around the neck, armpits and groin of sufferers and had a mortality rate of 30-75%. Pneumonic plague (رئوي) was an airborne disease with a mortality rate between 90-95%.There were many incorrect suspicions for the cause of the disease, including the Gods, foul air (miasma) and Jewish people. In reality, it was caused by the bacterium, Yersinia pestis.
Moḥammad Ibn Ibrāhīm Ibn Sā'ed Ibn Al-Akfānī (d.1348 CE) was a famous scholar, practised in many areas of science. He excelled in physics, mathematics, Islamic Fiqh, medicine, and philosophy. Ibn Al-Akfānī lived and practised medicine in Cairo, where he was the head physician of Al-Manṣūri hospital. He wrote a book on ophthalmology entitled, Uncovering Disorders of the Eye. In this book, Al-Akfānī was probably the first to describe anthrax or charbon accurately and name it “Persian fire” or “Persian fever”, as severe pustules affect the eyelid. He also covered the ocular migraine as a separate entity, the clinical description and symptoms of which are valid till today. Additionally, Ibn Al- Akfānī mentioned the hollow couching needle, indicating that he was aware of the instrument and possibly used it. It was obvious that Ibn Al- Akfānī was very sure of himself and confident in his knowledge. However, his book unfortunately lacks illustrations of surgical instruments as well as tables to classify the diseases. Furthermore, it is evident from his work that Ibn Al-Akfānī was a believer in the spiritual or magical powers of healing.
Emir Mohammed V builds the Lion Fountain, a water-powered clock, in the Alhambra.
Guy de Chauliac, a French physician and surgeon, completed an extensive and influential treatise on surgery, entitled Chirurgia Magna.
Chemist Maryamal-Zanatiyeh dies in Qarawiyin, Tunisia.
Serafeddin Sabuncuoglu is born. An Ottoman surgeon, he continued the work of Al-Zahrawi and Ibn al-Quff by writing an independent surgical textbook.
Yildirim Dâr al-Shifa (a teaching hospital, complete with lecture hall) was built in Bursa by Sultan Yildirim Bayezid
Manṣūr ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yūsuf Ibn Ilyās (منصور بن محمد ابن أحمد بن يوسف بن الياس) (fl.1390 CE) penned his book Tashrīḥ-i badan-i insān ( تشريح بدن الانسان /The Anatomy of the Human Body). The treatise, in Persian, consisted of an introduction followed by five chapters on the five systems of the body: bones, nerves, muscles, veins, and arteries, each illustrated with a full-page whole-body anatomical diagram.
Zheng He starts his sevenepic sea voyages from China. In the largest wooden boats the world had seen, he established China as a leading power in the Indian Ocean, brought back exotic species like the giraff e, and drew tribute from many nations.
The Ottoman scholar, Hajji Pasa, studied at a madrasa in Egypt. After a while he developed an interest in medicine and became a physician. He was later promoted to the post of head-physician at Kalavun Hospital (البيمارستان القلاووني).
Ibn Majid is born in Arabia.He was a master navigator and is said to have guided Vasco da Gama from South Africa to India.
Āhı̇̄ Aḥmed Çelebi was the chief physician to three Ottoman sultans. In 1487-8 CE he wrote an important work, entitled Treatise on the Urinary Calculus in the Kidneys and the Bladder.The monograph compiled together interesting theoretical discussions as well as practical knowledge and recommendations. As well as referencing the common understanding of humours, Āhı̇̄ Çelebi occasionally cited his own experiences as evidence in his writing.
Ulugh Beg publishes his star catalog.
Antonio Benivieni, was an early Renaissance anatomist and pioneer of the autopsy. Prior to the famed work of Andreas Versalius, Benivieni was carrying out many similar postmortum dissections in order to understand the causes of disease and death.
Leonardo da Vinci is born. He was a major contributor to the foundation of the Renaissance
The Printing Press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg. This allowed for the mass, cheap reproduction of books, leading to a cultural academic revolution.
The Bavarian military surgeon, Heinrich von Pfolspeundt, described a very early form of rhinoplasty using an arm skin flap in his Buch der Bündth-Ertznei.
Tan Yunxian was a female physician, practising during the Ming dynasty in China. She was an expert in women’s medicine, writing about her experiences treating postpartum disease, menstrual problems and abdominal lumps, among many other issues.
Koca Mimar Sinan is born. A renowned architect, he built Turkey’s Selimiye and Suleymaniye mosques, as well as many others.
Moses Hamon was a hugely influential physician in the Ottoman courts. Born in Granada, Al-Andalus, Hamon rose to become the chief Jewish physician to Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (r.1520–1566 CE).
Christopher Columbus lands in the New World.
Paracelsus was an influential German-Swiss physician and chemist. He was a pioneer of chemotherapy, describing the use of mercury in the treatment of syphilis. In 1536 he also published Der grossen Wundartzney (Great Surgery Book).
Venice publishes a translation of Al-Tasrif by Al-Zahrawi. Basel and Oxford follow suit.
Al-Zahrāwī’s (Albucasis, c.936-1013 CE) surgical book Al-Tasrif is first published in Latin. The work was an important medical textbook and spread widely throughout Europe. In a later (1532 CE) edition, woodcut illustrations of specific operations were included to supplement Al-Zahrāwī’s own extensive illustrated surgical guidance.
Pierre Franco was an accomplished Renaissance surgeon. He is best known for his novel treatment of hernias without castration, advancing the lithotomy technique and inventing the suprapubic incision. Franco’s work had a major impact on surgery and urology.
Leonardo da Vinci sketched his famous gravid-uterus anatomical drawing. Da Vinci’s drawing is more sophisticated, realistic and artistic than earlier versions; however, it still shows the foetus in a breech presentation.
Ambroise Paré was a military surgeon who pioneered amputation and ligature treatments. Prior to his work, boiling oil had been the standard for cauterising amputation wounds. Paré discovered that a solution of egg yolk, rose oil and turpentine was more effective, leaving soldiers with far less pain and swelling. Perhaps his most impressive contribution, however, was the development of ligatures for use instead of cauterisation in the treatment of wounds.
Piri Reis constructs the earliest known map showing America.
Li Shizhen was a Chinese polymath of the Ming Dynasty. In 1578 he completed the comprehensive Bencao gangmu (Compendium of Materia Medica). This influential pharmacopoeia described 1892 drugs, including plant, animal and mineral substances. The book also contains an early description of smallpox inoculation.
Andreas Alpago travelled to Cyprus, Syria, and Egypt to learn Arabic. He became a great admirer of Ibn Sīnā. His improved Latin translation of Al-Qānūn served as a primary reference for medical students and practitioners until the late 18th century.
The Italian surgeon, Hieronymus Fabricius, is born. Renowned for his work on surgery and anatomy at the University of Padua, Fabricus helped to establish the modern discipline of embryology.
Nicolaus Copernicus publishes De Revolutionibus, drawing on the work of Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Ibn al-Shatir.
The anatomist, Andreas Vesalius (1514-1564 CE), published his hugely influential De Fabrica Corporis Humani (The Fabric of the Body). Vesalius’ extensive work dissecting cadavers led him to question widely-accepted Galenic anatomy. He encouraged others to interrogate ancient knowledge and perform independent research, instigating major advancements in European anatomical studies.
The fi rst German, and probably European, observatory is built in Kassel.
Galileo Galilei is born
The most famous scholar of Timbuktu was Ahmad Baba as-Sudane, the final Chancellor of Sankore University. He penned over 60 books on various subjects including medicine, law, philosophy, astronomy and mathematics.
Johannes Kepler is born. He drew on the work of Ibn al-Haytham in his work on optics.
Johannes Kepler is born. Although he is famed for his laws of planetary motion, Kepler also produced two seminal works on optics. These were the most important contributions to the field since the extensive work of Ibn al-Haytham, half a century earlier.
Molla Kasim served as Head physician at Topkapi Palace.
Istanbul observatory of Taqial-Din is founded. It will close a few years later, in 1580.
Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-ʿUlfī (d. 1579 CE) authored a book entitled Kifāyat al-Arīb ʿan Mushawarat al-Ṭabīb كفاية الأريب عن مشاورة الطبيب (The Clever Person’s Sufficient Substitution for a Doctor’s Consultation).
Isa Celebi عيسى جلبي served as Head Physician at Topkapi Palace.
The microscope is invented by Dutch spectacle-maker, Zacharius Jannssen. This would lead to major advances in the understanding of contagion and disease.
The Canon of Ibn Sina is printed in Rome and, along with Al-Hawi by Al-Razi, becomes a standard text in the European medical curriculum.
The Canon of Ibn Sina is printed in Rome and, along with Al-Hawi by Al-Razi, becomes a standard text in the European medical curriculum.
Paracelsus, an alchemist by trade, rejects occultism and pioneers the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. Burns the books of Avicenna, Galen and Hippocrates. No specific ref found, but for further reading on Paracelsus, chemical medicine and the influence on Ottoman medicine see:
Edward Pococke is born. He spent fi ve years in Aleppo learning Arabic; he also translated Hayy ibn Yaqzan, a precursor to Robinson Crusoe.
Edward Pococke is born. He spent several years as a Chaplain in Aleppo, where he learnt Arabic. Pococke translated Hayy ibn Yaqzan حي ابن يقظان , a precursor to Robinson Crusoe written by Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Tufayl. On his return to England, he argued that Arabic studies were important, "not only for access to works on medicine but so that Christians could dispose of common fables and errors."
Edmund Castell is born. He lectured on the use of Avicenna’s medical work. For more than 18 years, he compiled a dictionary of seven Asian languages
Edmund Castell is born. He lectured on the use of Avicenna’s medical work. For more than 18 years, he compiled a dictionary of seven Asian languages.
Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius is born. In the frontispiece of his Selenographia (Gdansk, 1647), he depicted Ibn alHaytham as symbolizing knowledge through reason, and Galileo Galile is symbolizing knowledge through the senses.
John Wallis is born. A renowned mathematician and member of the Royal Society in London, he translated and lectured on the work of Arabic mathematicians. He included Al-Tusi’s work in is Opera Mathematica.
Robert Boyle, England’s most famous chemist, is born. He sought Arabic manuscripts and had them translated.
Robert Boyle, England’s most famous chemist, is born. He sought Arabic manuscripts and had them translated.
William Harvey published Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus (Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals), in which he demonstrated that blood flowed throughout the body through a system of blood vessels. He identified that blood was pumped away from the heart by arteries and towards the heart by veins, illustrating that the same blood was recirculated, rather than “burning up” within the body. The 13th century physician, Ibn al-Nafīs, had proposed a more simple version of this circulation, whereby blood was pumped back to the heart and lungs but did not flow throughout the entire body. (Gregory, Andrew (2022), William Harvey. Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Lagari Hasan Celebi flies the first manned rocket over the Bosporus.
King Charles I requests that the Levant Company send home Arabic manuscripts on every ship returning to England.
Isaac Newton is born. He kept a copy of the Latin translation of Ibn al-Haytham’s Book of Optics in his library.
Turkish merchants bring coffee to the United Kingdom.
Scientist and astronomer Edmund Halley is born. He translated Arabic editions of Greek mathematics and researched observations of Al-Battani.
At the request of Hevelius, the Royal Society agrees to translate the astronomical manuscript of Ulugh Beg from Persian to Latin in its entirety.
John Greeves publishes a paper in the Royal Society Philosophical Transactions on Egyptians’ use of large ovens to hatch thousands of chicken eggs at a time.
Moroccan ambassador to London Muhammed Ibn Haddu is elected a fellow of the Royal Society in London.
Lady Mary Montagu tests smallpox inoculation in Britain, having witnessed the practice in Turkey.
Moroccan ambassador to London Mohammed Ben Ali Abgali is elected a fellow of the Royal Society in London.
Tripoli ambassador in England Cassem Aga writes about the widespread practice of smallpox inoculation in North Africa and is elected a fellow of Royal Society in London.
Edward Jenner tests inoculation with cowpox.
exceprt Description Field: ...Arabic calligraphy is widespread in Arab and non-Arab countries and is practised by men and women of all ages. Originally intended to make writing clear and legible, it gradually became an Islamic Arab art for traditional and modern works. Skills are transmitted informally or through formal schools or apprenticeships...
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