Early fragment of the first major Persian medical text

Jurjani, Zayn al-Din Abu Ibrahim Isma'il bin Husayn al-. Dhakhirah-i Khwarazm-Shahi [The Trove of the Chorasmian King].

€ 12.500,00

Early Persian manuscript fragment of al-Jurjani's important medical compendium, the first major medical text to be written in Persian. Al-Jurjani (d. 1136) "went to live in Khwarizm in 504/1110 and became attached to the Khwarizmshahs Kutb al-Din Muhammad, to whom he dedicated his 'Dhakirah' [...] His 'Dhakirah Khwarizmshahi', probably the first medical encyclopaedia written in Persian and containing about 450,000 words, is one of the most important works of its kind; it also exists in an Arabic version, and was translated into Turkish and (in an abbreviated form) into Hebrew" (Encyclopaedia of Islam).

Modelled on the Canon of Ibn Sina (Avicenna), the "Dhakirah" is divided into ten books, covering an incredible range of material: the definition and utility of medicine, the structure and powers of the human body; causes and symptoms of disease, and accidents of the body; the preservation of health; diagnosis, crisis and prognosis; fevers and their treatment; local diseases and their treatment; tumours, ulcers and so forth; the care of the external parts of the body (hair, skin, nails, and so on); poisons and antidotes; and simple and compound drugs.

This codex comprises the beginning of the third book, running from Chapter 3, Section 1 to Chapter 8, Section 3. It deals with the topics of climate from a health-and-hygiene point of view, especially exposure to heat and cold. Al-Jurjani prescribes precautions concerning what would today be called public health issues, dealing with housing, nutrition, habits, etc. and personal diet.

Among the marginalia is an interesting mention (f. 15 verso) of the so-called akatmakat, the drug prepared from the Bunduc nut (Caesalpinia bonducella), whose effect is similar to that provided by peony in Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine, suggesting that this manuscript was in use by scholars or physicians throughout its history.

Comparable manuscripts dated to the 13th-14th centuries CE can be found in the British Library (Cf. Or.11040, Or.6390, Or.5863, Or.5841, and Or.5317).