Tārīkh-i pizishkī i.e., Medical History

Research in history, while revealing the past identity of the individual and society, illuminates the future life with its shining light like a shining lamp.

Historians, by recognizing the principles and beliefs of the past and learning the causes of their success or decline, find the ability to make their own today and paint a better tomorrow. Imam Ali (AS) in letter 49 of Nahj al-Balaghah has said in this regard: "If you learn from the past, you will preserve what is left."

Medical history is one of the oldest branches in the history of science. The history of medicine has started from the day that human beings tried to alleviate their pain, and therefore the history of medicine cannot be considered historical, because we do not have accurate information about distant civilizations. What can be said with certainty is that the first person who was able to relieve pain from himself and others was the first human physician, and for this reason the history of medicine and physician are always the same, although they are different in definition; History of medicine is a description of the principles and beliefs of medicine and the progress of medicine in different eras and in a more general sense is the history of the evolution of medicine and the history of physicians and the life history of physicians. What is evident in the history of medicine is that for many centuries in most memoirs and histories, the biographies of physicians along with their works, writings and beliefs have been mentioned together; As Ibn Nadim's "List", Ibn Jaljal's "Classes of Physicians", Qafti's "History of the Wise", Qufati's "The Eyes of the Prophets Ibn Abi Asiba'ah" and "The Presenter of the Wise", the pillar of the philosophers, the philosopher Al-Dawlah have done so. In fact, the history of medicine and physicians, and consequently the history of hospitals and other trends such as ophthalmology, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, etc. have been gathered together until about one hundred years ago, and in the last century, their history has been separated from each other. .

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In different eras, Iran has always been the center of various sciences especially pharmacy and herbalism. Origin of Iranian medical sciences backs to Avestan period and by emergence of Zoroaster, who was a noble physician. Extense of this knowledge along with others had been expanded which, in turn, had influenced other nations. However, despite impressionability of other nations from Iranian sciences, unfortunately no ancient source for the history of medicine in Iran remained, and all documents regarding these issues had been destroyed due to fire arisen from invasions and wars which burnt down Iranian cultural databases and historical documents. From among these issues, we can mention Iranian traditional medicine which merely exists in Avestan and some Pahlavi books and there are a few point-outs in Greek documents, and unfortunately, there have not yet been any documents and sources in Iranian medicine. Hence, Iranian medical history is divided into three distinct periods: The first period, from pre-Avestian and Avestian eras to emergence of Sassanid Empire; second from beginning to extinction of Sassanid dynasty, and the third, from emergence of Islam up to now, which is known as the golden ages of Iranian sciences. This article is a brief research on the first period of Iranian medicine which begins with Avestian citation to Fereydun (the first physician,) and will continue up to the beginning of Sassanid Empire.

Physicians often used pharmaceutical plants and other non-surgical therapies in Islamic era. This is the reason that texts related to surgical instruments can be seen in medical history of Islamic era compared to other written texts of the same era. This descriptive-analytic study which is based on the review of literature, is an introduction to become familiar with surgical instruments in Islamic era throught which background and the trace of writing this subject and surgery in Islamic era were conducted. This study shows that written texts related to surgery and its instruments in medical sciences in Islamic era have a special status compared to its other fields and it had some ups and downs in different eras. Furthermore, the author of the present article concludes that surgery, as a branch of medical sciences in Islamic era helped these sciences to develop in different aspects and this is obvious in studying text of medical sciences on surgical instruments.

Andalusia can be considered as the most important cross road to transport Islamic and Arabic medical sciences to Europe. This unique situation originates from the fact that the city of Toledo was an important center for Islamic and Arabic cultures. Andalusian translators played an important role in transporting this great scientific movement including medicine. Reymond Toledoian, Jerard Kerimoni, Merghes Talitali and Domeng Gonsalo translated valuable works written by Kendy, Ibn Sarabiun, Razi, Zahravi, Avicenna, Ibn Vafed, Ibn Jazar and others from Arabic into Latin. They opened the gates of scientific Latin and Arabic treasures to Latin Europe and paved the way for future generations.

A comprehensive consideration of Islamic Medicine along with inspiration from teachings of Imam Reza (PBUH) seems to have a particular importance and necessity in order to present a vivid and unbiased illustration of Islamic Medicine System. Also, as it was mentioned in the Prayers of Sha'baniyeh, their followers must neither surpass nor must they fall behind the motion of the infallable (PBUH), but instead, their followers ought to move beside them according to following honest statement: «The one who advanced them will be apostate and the delayed one will vanish and so accompanying them is a must.»

Ibn Jazlah was one of the most notable and classy physicians of the Islamic era in the 5^th century (Hijri) whose famousness has always been reminded in Europe due to his proficiency and exellence. His works were thereafter utilized as models and resources for many other works. His most significant book, Taqwim al-Abdan fi Dadbir al-Insan (Dispositio corporum de constittutione hominis, [Tacuin agritudinum] or The disposition of the bodies out of the constitution of man), as the man implies, consists of tables in which diseases are arranged like the stars in astronomical tables. In this book, more than hundreds of diseases were noted and various methods of their treatments were tabularized. Tabularized medicine is the innovation of scholars in Islamic era which was initiated by Ibn Butlan in the Taqwim al-Sihhah (The maintenance of health) and experienced its maturity by Ibn Jazlah in Taqwim al-Abdan. In this article, along with presenting a brief introduction to Ibn Jazlah and his works, the author mostly had attempted to illuminate his significant role and also his innovations in writing and compiling medical books, especially tabularized medicine and the aim is also to show his influence on later works, as well. At the end of the article, the existing manuscripts of Ibn Jazlah were listed to pave the way for researchers to condut their studies.

The author of the present article has tried to explain about the primary origin of medicine and the features of Galenic medicine at first and then has dealt with the medical principles of Zoroaster’s religion and its relation with good and evil forces and four elements. Discussing about the Achaemenian Kings’ religion, the auther of this article pointed out to their relation with them and Zoroastrian magicians. Also, it was explained how they conflicted with each other which reduces their influence and possibly made them to migrate around and as a result, transformed the base of Iranian traditional medicine and caused its transmission to neighbouring countries. In the last part of this writing a brief study of the status of Greek traditional medicine was presented. The author tried to explain how people of old Greece were deprived of principles of the medicine which was based on the four forces and tastes and and indicated that these principles which had been borrowed from elsewhere, were brought up in Galenic medicine.

We have observed a new approach to medicine in its modern concept in the Qajar dynasty specially after the foundation of Dar al-Fonoon School. In other words, foundation of the above-mentioned school is a pivotal point and a glorious and historic revolution in the process of social and scientific revolution of the society. It is worth mentioning that foundation of this School alongside other factors paved the way to trespass from tradition to modernity although with a lot of shortcomings. These factors are as follows: Increase of international communications (whether at governmental or individual levels), trips taken abroad, increase in dispatching students abroad, increase in foreign advisors and attending physicians and generally, the appearance of modernistic and open-minded discourses among ideational and political elites and some of advocates of western culture. Regardless of these accepted criticisms concerning structural changes, the process of changes in all social and specially scientific fields can be observed including medicine and public health. Therefore, in this era one can find out efforts to replace modern medicine with traditional medicine in a tangible way. The importance of medical developments in these eras become more clear when we compare Iranian society with many eastern and Asian societies. Nevertheless, there is less possibility of understanding changes related to those eras due to the shortcoming in documents and scientific sources in the process of medical changes in Iran and finally, we will reach a superficial judgment concerning medical and health changes in Iran merely based on the sources most of which are repetitive. For example, one of such sources which is one of the best ones, is a book entitled Iranian Medical History written by an English author Seril Elgod. Although it provides the reader with a lot of information, this book contains a lot of exaggerations concerning the effects and roles the English played in the development of Iranian health system which can only be proved through documented and certain sources. In the book entitled Iranian Medical History in Qajarian Dynasty authored by Seril Elgod, a lot of detailed documents regarding Iranian Health and medical changes in Qajarian dynasty have been presented with a critical nature. The present article contains a small sample of those written documents.

This article briefly discusses the historical background of the first society of history of sciences and medicine in Iran which was established by several scholars in 1960. The main objective of this society was introduction of the scientific works of great Iranian scientists and physicians throughout the history of Iran.