Medical Science In Andalusia

Abstract

The Muslims began the conquest of Spain in 711 under the leadership of Tariq b. Ziyad (d. 102/720), Their progress stopped after they were defeated by the Franks in the Battle of Belatüşşiheda (114/732) and They continued their existence in this region for about eight centuries. Muslims in charge in Spain pioneered the form of a culture and civilization where people of three divine religions (Muslim-Jewish-Christian) could live together in peace. Andalusian Muslims attached great importance to education and during their time there were very few illiterate people left in Andalusia. This shows that they had a very advanced civilization in the field of education compared to the period. One of the areas where Andalusian Muslims stand out in terms of education is medical science. Those who wanted to study medicine from the students who completed the first and second stages of their education continued their education in the medical field in madrasahs or in institutions opened independently and called 'bimaristan' (hospital). For their studies in the field of medicine, they built hospitals with similar characteristics to today's faculty hospitals, and they also established libraries with enough books for education. Students who received theoretical medicine training in classrooms received practical trainings with activities such as regularly visiting patients under the supervision of specialist doctors, preparing medicines with physicians, conducting experiments on models, cadavers and animals, etc. They also participated in hands-on training with specialist doctors on how to treat patients when examining them. Students who completed all their education in the field of medicine were then tested in order to become doctors. In this way, those who studied medicine and were successful in their education were entitled to obtain a diploma and practice the profession of medicine. These trainings and practices in the medical field are remarkable in that they show how high Andalusian Muslims had reached in the field of medicine.

As well as the importance of medical education, Muslim administrators and the rich had voluntarily competed with each other in the construction of hospitals where patients would be treated and to cover their expenses. They established foundations to cover the salaries of hospital employees, the treatment costs of patients and other costs of the hospital, and through these foundations they provided free treatment services to patients regardless of their religion, language, race and financial situation. It is also seen that important scientists in the field of medicine grew up in Andalusia during this period when such successful medical education was given and treatment applications were carried out. For example, Abu'l-Kassim Halef b. Abbas ez-Zehravi (d. 404/1013) was one of them, and his work "Kitabu’t Tasrif" is remarkable for its wide content and being one of the most sought-after medical books in Europe. Apart from Zehravi, important physicians such as Ibn Culcul (d. 384/994), Ibn Rushd (d. 595\1198) were trained in Andalusia; important works were written in the fields of medicine such as eye, orthopedics, internal medicine and surgery, some of which were taught as textbooks in universities in the West for many years. In addition, it is witnessed that some families (such as the Zuhr family) perform the medical profession by teaching each other from father to son for three or four generations. At the same time, serious studies were carried out on medicine preparation. The positive effects of mixtures made from plants in patient treatment were realized as very important. Today, although medicine and pharmacy are separate specialty fields, it is seen that medicine and pharmacy were combined in Andalusian medicine. For example, Ibn Baytar is an important botanist who took medicine to the next level with his knowledge of deep pharmacy. In this article, the studies of Andalusian Muslims in the field of medicine were discussed in four main headings; “Medical Science in Andalusia", “Important Studies in The Field of Physicians and Medicine Raised in Andalusia", “Botanical Science and Ibn Baytar", "Hospitals in the Islamic World and Andalusia". The importance of Muslims in education, their studies in the field of medical education, the important physicians they trained and the studies they did in the field of medicine have been revealed, as well as the establishment and services of hospitals, the transfer of the knowledge they had formed in the field of medicine to the West and a general evaluation of the situation of Europe in the field of medicine during this time period. Although the medical studies of Andalusian Muslims have been researched in some aspects before, we think that this study will be useful in filling a gap since there is no general and comprehensive study on their medical activities.