A Late Mamluk Medical Regimen for Travellers
Author | : |
Publisher | : BRILL |
Total Pages | : 289 |
Release | : 2024-10-24 |
ISBN-10 | : 9789004708204 |
ISBN-13 | : 9004708200 |
Rating | : 4/5 (04 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: The fifteenth-century travel regimen entitled al-Isfār ʿan ḥikam al-asfār (‘The unveiling of the wisdoms of the books’) written by the Cairene jurist-physician Ibn al-Amshāṭī (d. 1496) is an interesting example of the postclassical medical literature. It includes, besides a travel regimen (written likely as a health guide for the pilgrimage to Mecca), a short pharmacopoeia of single and compound remedies deemed useful for the traveller. The work was composed for Kamāl al-Dīn al-Bārizī (d. 1452), the head of the Mamluk Chancery. The Arabic edition, English translation, and commentary of this text are framed by a detailed introductory study of the Arabic-language tradition of travel regimens and various medico-pharmacological glossaries.