Medical Activities In The Artuklu Period

Abstract

Artuqids, who belonged to the Döğer clan of the Oghuzes, came to Anatolia with the Seljuk army, stayed in their service for many years and took part in important duties. In the authority vacuum created by the weakening of the Seljuk State, first the Hısn-ı Keyfa Artuqids in 1092, then the Mardin Artuqids in 1106, and finally the Harput Artuqids in 1112 as independent principalities were established in the south of Anatolia. They adhered to Turkish traditions and customs in terms of state administration and functioning, although the period they were under one roof as a principality was very limited, they lived a similar political and cultural life as separate principalities. They laid the groundwork for the development of science with institutions such as madrasahs, hospitals and libraries they built in Diyarbakır (Amid), Mardin, Silvan (Meyyâfârikîn), Nusaybin, Kızıltepe (Düneysir-Koçhisar), Hasankeyf (Hısn-ı Keyfa) and Harput, where they dominated. The Artuqid rulers, adhering to the general customs of the Turkish rulers, supported the scholars, established various institutions and managed to keep them alive for many years with the foundation system. Although it is known that sciences such as medicine, fezle and logic are taught in Artuqid madrasas other than Islamic sciences, there is limited information on how medical education is given. It is thought that they made a parallel practice with the Zengi, Ayyubid, and Seljuk states with which they were in close relationship. The existence of physicians trained in Artuqid lands who served in these states supports this. It is recorded in the historical records that the majority of the physicians who grew up in the Artuqid period had higher education in cities such as Baghdad, Aleppo and Mosul. It is known that in important cities of the principality such as Mardin, Diyarbakir and Duneysir, meetings were held where the science of medicine was discussed, and works were copyrighted.

Artuqids built hospitals in Silvan, Harput and Mardin. The hospital in Mardin is the most important of these. The hospital, where the famous physicians of the period took charge, served until the beginning of the 19th century. Many physicians were trained during the Artuqid period. These doctors served in the cities of Baghdad, Damascus, Aleppo and Mosul, which were the science centers of the period, outside their own countries. In addition, Artuklu lands hosted doctors from abroad. The famous scientist of the period, al-Cezerî, wrote his book Kitâb fî Maʿrifeti'l-ḥiyeli'l-hendesiyye which he wrote at the request of Artuqid ruler Nasiruddin Mahmud while he was working at Diyarbakır Artuklu Palace designed instruments that serve the field of medicine. While these drawings he made are documents about the level of scientific studies of the period, they reveal the contributions of the Artukids to the field of medicine. In this study, we have tried to deal with the subjects that fall into the science of medicine in the period from the establishment of the Artuqids in 1092 to their collapse in 1409.