GMJ. 2013;2(4):169-73 www.gmj.ir

Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shirazi (1515-1592 A.D.), a Physician and Social Pathologist of Safavid Era

Seyyed Alireza Golshani1,2, Behnam Dalfardi2,3, Ezzat al-Sadat Motahari1, Mehdi Dehghan Hesampour1, Mahsa Ansari1, Hassan Yarmohammadi2,3 

1Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shiraz University, Shiraz, . 2Research Office for the History of Persian Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran 3Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

The Safavid era (1501–1736 A.D.) was the threshold of spreading security and welfare in the Iranian society. This era provided the chance for the talents to set steps for advancement. One of the characters in the history of Persian medicine who achieved successes in the shadow of the existing peace and security during the Safavid Empire was Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud Shi- razi. While he was ministered in the court of Shah Tahmasb Safavi (King Tahmasb), he enjoyed the patronage of Dar al-Shifa Razavi (Razavi health care service) in Mashhad. He managed to leave a legacy of valuable essay and complications resulting from the abundant experiences he gained through the journey to India. The present paper is a study about Hakim Imad al-Din’s life and his essays.[GMJ. 2013;2(4):169-73]

Keywords: Imad al-Din Mahmud Shirazi; India; Imam-Reza Hospital; Safavid; Shiraz

Introduction medical issues in Qazvin and Isfahan (two Sa- favid capitals located in the center of Iran)[1]. n the end of Medieval period, Savafid dy- The present paper aims to review Hakim Imad Inasty (1501–1736 A.D.) was founded by al-Din Mahmud Shirazi’s biography and his Shah Esmaeil-e Safavi (King Esmaeil). It was most significant remained works. We tried an important and influential Empire in the to take a look at the changes in the Safavid Middle-East and was accompanied by signif- period and understand the reasons for writing icant scientific changes. Art and architecture essays on and syphilis by Imad in that reached their zenith of prosperity and econo- era. my also flourished in the shadow of safety in this period. Nonetheless, the medical sciences Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud gained lower achievements compared to the Shirazi: previous periods. Of course, it does not mean Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shi- that scholars took no positive steps in the razi (1515-1592 A.D.) was a physician, known progress of medicine; rather, compared to the as Imad, and was born in Shiraz in 1515 A.D. later period, renowned physicians appeared (921 A.H.). He lived during the end of Shah and conducted corrective actions regarding Tahmasb (King Tahmasb) and the beginning

 Correspondence to: GMJ Address Correspondence to Hassan Yarmohammadi, ©2013 Galen Medical Journal MD; Student Research Committee, Shiraz University Fax: +98 731 2227091 of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran PO Box 7461686688 Telephone Number: +98 917 3365275 Email:[email protected] Email Address: [email protected] Golshani SA, et al. Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shirazi

of Shah Abbas (King Abbas) governments [2]. quitting addiction to opiate and treatment of Imad al-Din’s father, Hakim Mas’ud ibn- syphilis. In “Jedri” (jedri means a small pox Mas’ud Shirazi, was a physician. In days of appearing in children’s face) which was writ- youth, his father trained him as a physician ten in Persian, he discussed about how to wipe and then, he worked for Amir Abdullah Khan out the signs and symptoms of chicken pox. Astajlu, Shirvan’s (today located in Azerbai- In "Atrilal", he discussed about the nature of jan Republic) ruler [3]. However, he lost his all types of medications and how to use them. reputation and the ruler’s trust due to various He wrote "Amraz Sebyan" in Persian and dis- reasons. Because of his mistake, the ruler cussed about infant and childhood illnesses. caught him in very cold pool during the night In "Ozan and Makayel", he discussed about but he could save his life by eating a lot of how to use medications. "Imad al-Din’s Ex- opium [4]. After that, he suffered from addic- periences" in Persian language was a short tion and palsy; therefore, he wanted to know essay with five and a half pages. By reading this social disease and succeeded in writing this book, we could realize that he gained his the first essay on opium, entitled “Resaleh experiences by reading the Indian scholars’, Ophioun” (The Book Of Opium). In this ’s (980–1037 A.D.), and other pro- book, Imad al-Din discussed about the nature, fessors’ books and could write this valuable chemical properties, advantages, and disad- essay. Another work of Imad al-Din which is vantages of opiates [2]. Then, he worked for not related to the field of medicine was about King Tahmasb and wrote a book in the field of the mineral stones. "Ruby" was a short article medications and drug combinations in Arabic about the properties and composition of Ruby. language entitled “al-Morakkabat al-Shahieh” He also wrote an article on Iranian new year (Royal Vegetables) containing an introduc- which shows his attention to the traditions [7, tion, 25 chapters, and 108 pages [3]. 8]. King Tahmasb gave him the responsibility of In addition to the manuscripts mentioned Imam-Reza’s hospital in Mashhad when he above, he has other medical works in Ara- was aware of his intelligence and knowledge. bic language, as well: “Anatomy Description The aim of establishing that hospital was pro- From al-Qanun” in Arabic language included viding care for the pilgrims. He said that he the description of some parts of Avicenna’s wrote a book on syphilis, entitled “Resaleh Canon book. Imad al-Din was one of the an- Atashak” (The Book of Atashak) when he had alysts of Avicenna’s Canon book who chose free time [4, 5]. the anatomy section of this book and also add- The story of his journey to India was true but ed up his own description to this part which we could not certainly say whether he wrote was more detailed and complete compared to the book before or after this journey because Avicenna’s book. "Sharh-e Qanuncheh" (De- in the introduction of “The Way of Eating scription of Qanuncheh) which was written by Ginseng and Its Benefits”, it seems that he had Mahmud ibn-Umar al-Chaghmini (745 A.H./ spent twenty years in India [3]. 1344 A.D.) in Arabic language and was a ba- His most important works on medicine and sic course in the field of medicine and had pharmacology are listed below: “Resaleh several parts. One of these parts dealt with the Phadzahr” (The Book Of Antidote) was writ- description of Imad al-Din’s Qanuncheh [9]. ten in Persian language. He divided this essay Imad al-Din Shirazi’s family was considered into two parts, animal and mineral, and men- as great doctors in Iran and his son was also a tioned how to use or drink antidote according scholar. Mohammad Bagher was an ophthal- to his personal experiences. This manuscript mologist in the court of king Abbas (1587- could be considered as the first remained writ- 1629). Mistakenly, Cyril Elgood (1893-1970) ing about antidote in Persian language [6]. (British physician and historian of medicine “Bikh-e Chini” or “Choob-e Chini” (Essay in Persia) said that Imad al-Din was Moham- on Ginseng) was written in Persian language mad’s son, whereas he himself has said in his in 947 A.H./1540 A.D. In this essay, he dis- book that Mohammad was his son. His son cussed about the advantages of ginseng for wrote a book entitled "Mature and Elegant"

170 GMJ. 2013;2(4):169-73 www.gmj.ir Golshani SA, et al. Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shirazi Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shirazi Golshani SA, et al.

about eye diseases in 1602 which was con- did not take opium, they had a pale yellow sisted of two parts. The first part was about face and were always weak and sleepy. They the treatment of eye diseases, while the sec- needed greater and greater doses of the sub- ond one was about an ointment for eyes. He stance to achieve the same original effect. The also wrote a book entitled "Fi Moshel" (In effects of a dose of opium last for about four Laxatives) in Arabic language about laxative hours. Then, the body rebounds with a set of medications and how to use them. This book withdrawal symptoms; the symptoms include included twelve chapters [9]. watery eyes, muscle pain, anxiety, agitation, His nephew was also a doctor and a writer. nausea, and insomnia” [12]. Pharmaceutics is one of the central topics in They also drank “Kuknar” (poppy seeds). traditional medicine. In a book on pharmaceu- They went to special houses with their friends tics, we could obtain useful information about and did risible movements. Before drinking, Imad al-Din, but the author’s name was un- they insulted each other, but they made peace known. The book indicated that his nephew and told tales and stories afterwards [12] Tav- was his student and Kamal al-Din Hossein ernier also wrote about taking other drugs: Shirazi was his professor. Unfortunately, we “The other thing which is also bitter and dis- have no clear information about Imad al-Din’s tasteful is named Hashish which consists of death. Seyyed Zol al-Rahman, professor of the dried flowers of cannabis plants and is traditional medicine in Islamic university stronger than all the other beverages. There- and the founder of the Avicenna Academy fore, has forbidden Hashish, but opium in Aligarh, India, said that Imad al-Din died is not forbidden. It was so hard to find some- in 1000 A.H. / 1592 A.D. In addition, Saheb one who did not use to smoke or drink. Irani- Kholdebarin said that he died in Razavi holy ans also indulged in drinking alcohol mean- shrine in Mashhad [9, 10]. while it was forbidden in Islam; they said that we must be tosspot to get rid of sadness and Hakim Imad al-Din and his Essay on Opi- endure the hardship of life" [12]. um Addiction The main causes of addiction in the Safavid One of the vexing problems of the Iranian so- court were social intercourse with Europe, es- ciety in the sixteenth century which is concur- tablishment of friendly relationships with In- rent with the beginning of the Safavid era and dia and Ottoman, sending commercial trans- the life of Imad al-Din Mahmud Shirazi was actions to Iran, giving presents to kings, and excessive consumption of opium. beginning of war between Ottoman and Iran One of the Iranian customs was consuming and Turkish addicted soldiers [13]. opium. They made a small pill of opium about Initially, the dignitaries and affluent classes the size of a pea and swallowed it. Opium ad- of the society were addicted [14]. Gradually, dicts could eat opium because they wanted to Safavid rulers gave opium to their children as be euphoric. Herbalists also had lots of profit a fun. Rulers wanted to ensure that their chil- because of selling opium [11]. Tavernier (1605 dren did not want to be their successors [12]. – July 1689) (a French diamond merchant and Jean Chardin (1643-1713) (a French jeweler traveler) wrote about the outbreak of this so- and traveler) wrote about the outbreak of ad- cial disease: “Young Iranian men and women diction in various classes of the society: “At had the habit of smoking tobacco. They had first, consumption of opium was common smoked tobacco so much that they felt eu- among the dignitaries and it gradually became phoric. The first thing that they prepared to common among the various classes of the so- break their fast during the Ramadan was Hoo- ciety [11]. “They had beautiful boxes to put kah. They knew about its disadvantages, but opium in“[15, 16]. they could not give up opium. The source of When a European tourist visited Iran, he said opium is opium poppy and only the pod por- that pubs were crowded and the people in Is- tion of the plant can produce opium. Opium fahan went there every day to have fun. He addicts admitted that opium was harmful, but also said that it was ignominious for Iranian they said that it was their habit. When they people [14].

170 GMJ. 2013;2(4):169-73 GMJ. 2013;2(4):169-73 171 www.gmj.ir www.gmj.ir Golshani SA, et al. Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shirazi

One of the main reasons of Imad al-Din for sleeping with a woman who had syphilis when writing “Opium” was this social disease and he was drunk. He was infected with syphilis he thought that it was necessary to write about and died” [20]. it. Qasidin Mansure Dashtaki Shirazi in “Khu- lāṣat al-Tawarikh” (Summaries of History) Writings about syphilis said: “I was obsessed about my health and I Syphilis is a sexually transmitted . did not go anywhere. When I met people, I It was carried to Europe by the crewmen re- did not exchange kisses or shake hands.” Al- turning from Christopher Columbus’s (1451- though this disease in Iran was not as danger- 1506) (an Italian explorer and navigator) voy- ous as in Europe, Imad al-Din wanted to write age to Americas. In seven years, one out of about it in the “Syphilis” book [21]. every three individuals was infected and five million out of sixteen million people died. The Conclusion outbreak of syphilis among tribes and fami- lies made the inhabitants of the city anxious By Safavid Empire and King Tahmasb com- and threatened their lives [17]. Before 1569, ing to power, the social situation was great in no books were written about syphilis and the tenth century and culminated at the time Imad al-Din was the first person who wrote of King Abbas. We could say that Iran reached a book on this issue. He said: “No one wrote political stability at that time. In this situation, a book about syphilis. Just Bahā’al-Dawlah one of the doctors who worked in the field of Nūrbakhshī Razi referred to this disease in medicine and had valuable books was Imad his book entitled ‘Khulāṣat al-Tajārib’ (The al-Din Shirazi. King Tahmasb gave him the Summary of Experience) (written in 907 A.H. authority to manage the only hospital in Iran / 1501 A.D.) [18]. which was in Mashhad. He wrote essays about On the whole, we could say that the people “Opium” and “Syphilis” and discussed about were worried about the situation. Sir John the spread of opium addiction and syphilis. Chardin (1643-1713) in his book said: “Syph- Imad al-Din successfully wrote the first essay ilis was epidemic in Iran. The patients did not on opium. His works influenced medical sci- try to cure themselves. The individuals who ences in both Iran and India. suffered from syphilis in Europe oppressed great pain because of the good local weather. Acknowledgements However, the weather is dry and clean in Iran; therefore, the patients could tolerate their pain Research Improvement Center of Shiraz Uni- and the disease did not become severe because versity of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran and they went to the bathroom a lot” [19]. Ms. A. Keivanshekouh are appreciated for im- Of course, it does not imply the insignificant proving the use of English in the manuscript. impact of the disease. Syphilis also penetrated into the Safavid court. Abdul Hossein Navai Conflicts of interest said: “Shah Abbas II was an efficient ruler, No conflict. but he loved drinking alcohol and insisted on

References

1. Zanuri Tabrizi AH. Matrah-al-Anzar 2. Elgood CL. Medical history of Persia fi Trajeme Atebba’ al-Asar Falsof va and the eastern caliphate. Translated by Falasefeh al-Amsar. In: Mohaddes MH, Forghani B. : Amir Kabir; 2007, p editors. Tehran: Sina Cultural and Legal 431. [In Persian] Institute, Shahid Beheshti University of 3. Safa Z. History of literature in Iran. 8th ed. Medical Sciences and Health Services; Tehran: Ferdows; 2000. p 362. [In Persian] 2004, p 266. [In Persian]

172 GMJ.2013;2(4):169-73 www.gmj.ir Golshani SA, et al. Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shirazi Hakim Imad al-Din Mahmud ibn-Mas’ud Shirazi Golshani SA, et al.

4. Torkaman S. The History of Alam Aray 13. Kohi Kermani H. History of opium and Abbasi. Correction by Afshar I. 3rd ed. opium addicts in Iran. Tehran: Elmi Tehran: Amir Kabir; 2003, p 168. [In Publication; 1945. p 117. [In Persian] Persian] 14. Chardin J. ‎Journal du voyage du Chevalier 5. Elgood CL. Medicine in Safavid period. Chardin en persea aux Indes Orientals. Translated by Javidan M. Tehran: Tehran Translated by Abbasi I. Tehran: Tose University Publication; 1978. p 431. [In Publication; 1966. p 282-5. [In Persian] Persian] 15. Polak JE. Persien das land und seine 6. Elgood CL. A medical history of Persia. bewohner. Translated by Jahandar K. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Tehran: Kharazmi Publication; 1989. p 1951. p 371. 435. [In Persian] 7. Kiani H, Nimrouzi M, Parsaei M. 16. Bastani Parizi E. In garlic and onions. Introduction of an Outstanding Scientist of Tehran: Elm Publication; 1988. p 201. [In Iranian and Islamic Traditional Medicine: Persian] Emadodin Mahmoud-Ibn Masoud Shirazi. 17. Cliff JDRT. Syphilis or Most Unfortunate Journal of Islamic and Iranian Traditional History of Incident. Translated by Medicine. 2011;2(3):249-54. [In Persian] Ohadi (Yekta) M. Tehran: Language and 8. Mir MT. Pars famous physicians. Shiraz: Literature (Vahid); 1969. p 74. [In Persian] Shiraz University Press; 1984. p 127. [In 18. Golshani SA. Baha’al-Dawlah Razi Persian] (860-912 AH), the Innovator Surgeon, 9. Zol-alrhman HS. Emad-Aldin Mahmoud Empiricist Physician and Pioneer Shirazi and Works. Translated by Abbas in Immunology. Res Hist Med. SH. Journal of Ghandeparsi. 2004;27:149- 2012;1(4):185-90. [In Persian] 60. [In Persian] 19. Chardin J. ‎Journal du voyage du Chevalier 10. Vale Qazwini Esfahani MY. Kholdebarin. Chardin en persea aux Indes Orientals. Researcher and editor by Muhaddith MH. Translated by Yaghmaei I. Tehran: Tose Tehran: Publication of Dr. Mahmoud Publication; 1993. p 1133. [In Persian] Afshar Foundation Endowment; 1993. p 20. Navai A. Of policy documents and 455. [In Persian] correspondence from the years 1038 to 11. Olearius A. Moskowitsche and persische 1105 BC. With detailed notes. Tehran: Reise‬. Translated by‬ Behpoor Iranian Cultural Foundation Publication; A. Tehran: Publishing and Cultural 1981. p 4. [In Persian] Organization Initiative; 1984. pp 272-3. [In 21. Al-Hossini Alqvmy Qazi A. Kholasat Persian] al-Tawārīk. Researcher and editor by 12. Tavernier JB. Voyages en Perse. Translated Eshraghi E. Tehran: Tehran University by Noori A. Tehran: Sanai Libraries and Publication; 2004. p 959. [In Persian Bookstores Tayed Publication; 1984. p 639-40. [In Persian]

172 GMJ.2013;2(4):169-73 GMJ. 2013;2(4):169-73 173 www.gmj.ir www.gmj.ir