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Focusing on Azerbaijan MEDICINE IN ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL Farid AlAKBARLI AZERBAIJAN Doctor of History BEFORE DESCRIBING THE histORY OF MEDICINE IN AZERbaiJAN, IT MIGHT BE WORTH DEFINING THE histORicaL AND GEOGRAPhicaL BOUndaRIES OF THE REGION BEING DESCRIBED. here is the Republic of Azer- Azerbaijan is the city of Derbent in baijan, which occupies the Dagestan, in the south it is the town Tnorthern part of the historical of Hamadan in Iran, in the east it is region of Azerbaijan, as well as the the Caspian Sea, while the western Iranian and Southern Azerbaijan, boundary is formed by the cities of which includes Iranian ostans (prov- Igdir and Kars in Turkey. inces) of Eastern Azer baijan, Western SUMER LEGACY. Medicine in Azer- Azerbaijan, Ardebil and Zanjan, and baijan has an ancient history dating the ostans of Gilan, Qazvin, Hamedan back millennia [1, 2]. This is evidenced Violet from 17th century manuscript and Merkezi. Several districts of the by numerous historical and archaeo- of “Iktiyarati-Bad’i” by Ali Ibn modern Republic of Armenia were logical data. Among the findings dis- Huseyn Ansari (Zeynalabdin Attar). also part of historical Azerbaijan in the covered on the territory of Azerbaijan Collection of the Institute of past. The northern boundary of the is a human skull with traces of trepa- th Manuscripts of ANAS. historical and geographical region of nation dating back to the 6-5 millen- 52 www.irs-az.com A page from the “Canon of Medicine” manuscript by Ibn Sina (Avicenna). Copied in 1143 AD. Collection of the Institute of Manuscripts of ANAS. leek) were used in making ointments and compresses against infectious Medieval European manuscript with the image of an early diseases of skin and soft tissue [16]. European apothecary where the medicines from Avicenna’s ZOROASTRIAN MEDICINE. Infor- “Canon” were made and sold. mation about medicines and medi- cal science in primordial Azerbaijan is nia BC [3]. cine were the tree-like aloe, pome- contained in an ancient monument Back in the 4th-3rd millennia BC, the granate fruits and black henbane. A of literature of the peoples of Azer- inhabitants of ancient Azerbaijan es- liquor of the skin, flowers and root baijan and Iran, the holy book of Zo- tablished close contacts with ancient bark of the pomegranate was known roastrians Avesta (1st millennium BC). Sumer and Akkad. A powerful Gutian as a good remedy for diarrhea. In fact, While assessing the role of Avesta in tribal alliance emerged during that pomegranate skin is still used in Azer- our culture, it must be remembered period and established its dominion baijan with the same purpose. Exten- that Azerbaijan was one of the cen- over all of Mesopotamia for a hundred sive use of saffron in Azerbaijan’s folk ters of Zoroastrian religion. In fact, the years [21]. There was active cultural ex- medicine also dates back to the medi- main fire worshipping temple, Azer- change between the tribes of ancient cine of ancient Sumer and Babylon. In gushnasp, a “Vatican” for the followers Azerbaijan and Mesopotamians over the Middle Ages, saffron was used as a of Zoroaster around the world, was the hundred years. During this period, tonic improving the appetite [15]. located in the town of Gazaka (Shiz) the Gutian aristocracy was introduced The inhabitants of ancient Azer- in Southern Azerbaijan. Almost all an- to Sumerian and Akkadian medical baijan also imported sesame oil from cient and medieval sources describe texts, while residents of Mesopotamia Sumer. In fact, the modern scientific Azerbaijan as the birthplace of Proph- imported medicinal plants from alpine name of this plant, Sesamum, is de- et Zarathustra [24]. meadows of Azerbaijan. rived from Sumerian shem-shem or The Avesta suggests that back in Physicians of those days widely sem-sem. Sesame was used as a laxa- the 1st millennium BC ancient Azer- used pine and fir needles for poultices tive and styptic. Also imported were baijanis already had some knowledge and compresses. It was believed that the fruits of date palms – their stones of anatomy. The spine was considered the compresses absorb the pus and were used against worms. Vegetables the “pillar and source of life” where heal the wounds. Also used in medi- of the onions family (garlic, onion and sperm was produced. Paramount www.irs-az.com 53 Focusing on Azerbaijan i mportance was attached to the bone a source of life and health, its first vo- air”, incenses such as myrrh and frank- marrow, which was considered the tary was considered the first physician. incense were burned and aromatic seat of life. Medicine in Avesta is de- It was believed that the divine compounds of roses, violets and other fined as the art of keeping the body plant of Haoma (it is still not known plants sprinkled in rooms [3]. in good health. The main methods of for sure what particular herb was Any corpse was considered un- treatment were psychotherapy, herb- in question) grows only in Azer- clean and it was forbidden to touch al medicines and surgery. The Avesta baijan. Ninth century Central Asian it. Dead bodies were isolated in spe- says, “Doctors have three weapons: scholar Abu Rayhan al-Biruni wrote, cial burial structures called Towers of the word, herbs and a knife.” The doc- “Mags believe that this plant does Silence, where only priests wearing tor treating people with the word was not have a stalk. It grows in Azerbai- special gloves and masks could enter. considered the best [5]. jan in places no-one can access” [4]. This limited the spread of pathogens According to the Avesta, the first “Mags” were a hereditary caste of and substantially reduced the scale of physician on Earth was Trita who in- Zoroastrian priests from the Me- epidemic [6]. vented first antidotes and drugs and dian tribe of Mag who were also SYNTHESIS OF EASTERN AND engaged in treatment. The word GREEK MEDICINE. Medicine of ancient “magician” entered European lan- Azerbaijan affected the development guages from the Median language. of science in ancient Greece. The PREVENTION OF DISEASE. At a time teaching of Hippocrates (4th century when mankind knew nothing about BC) that the world consists of four el- germs, the ancestors of Azerbaijanis ements (fire, air, land and water) was had a very basic idea of the invisible borrowed from ancient Azerbaijanis Human skeleton in the manuscript of causal agents. It was believed that the and Iranians [7, 8, 9, 13, 22]. Similarly, “Risaleyi-Tashrih” By Mansur ibn small disease-causing particles are cre- the Greeks borrowed from the peo- Muhammad. Copied on 17th AD and ated and distributed by the god of evil ples of the East the idea that the hu- in 1143 AD. Collection of the Institute Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) who created man body consists of four elements: of Manuscripts of ANAS. 99,999 illnesses. Therefore, everyone mucus, bile, black bile and blood. was obliged to fight disease, insanita- Later, this doctrine became known tion and other evils. Zoroastrians at- as Galen’s theory of humorism. Well- developed basic methods of treat- tached great importance to personal known German Orientalist Gustave E. ment, including surgery. According hygiene. In the 4th century BC, pollu- von Grunebaum pointed to the role to a legend, omniscient God Ahura tion of water sources, wells, rivers and of Zoroastrianism in the development Mazda (Ohrmuzd) sent him from soil was considered a felony punish- of ancient Greek civilization, saying heaven 10,000 medicinal plants that able by death in Atropathena (South- that Eastern wisdom perceived by the used to grow around the tree of eter- ern Azerbaijan). Government officials Greeks and Byzantines “was based on nal life. Trita was also considered one closely monitored the state of the universal human accord and was first of the first votaries of Haoma (ritual environment. To improve the micro- proclaimed by Zoroaster to the Me- drink). Since Haoma was perceived as climate and fight against “unhealthy dians, Persians and other peoples of 54 www.irs-az.com Asia. It affirms the supremacy of the intellect and the development of sci- ences” [22]. Ancient Greeks also borrowed many medicines from the ancestors of Azerbaijanis. In the Hellenistic pe- riod, many Greek doctors worked on the territory of the Media (ancient Azerbaijan). These included Erazistrat (4th century. BC), a Greek physician from the Egyptian city of Alexandria who frequently visited Ecbatana, the capital of Great Media, to study East- ern medicine. It was at Alexandria Academy that ancient Greek medi- cine was enriched with elements bor- rowed from the medical practices of the East [3]. ANCIENT TURKIC MEDICINE. The ancestors of Azerbaijanis, the Oguz Turks, used many wild plants for me- dicinal purposes. In Turkic drugs were called “ota” (from the word “ot”, i.e. herb). Traditional healers, who were Picture of a pharmacist collecting fruit from the Balm Tree. Miniature from the considered custodians of medical manuscript of “Iktiyarati-Bad’i” by Ali Ibn Huseyn Ansari (Zeynalabdin Attar). knowledge and tradition, were called Collection of the Institute of Manuscripts of ANAS. “Otachi”, i.e. herbalists. Turkic epic “The Book of Dada Gorgud” describes a then it entered the mother’s womb. hand by medieval calligraphers be- scene when a wounded soldier was This is how the main character of tween the 9th and 13th centuries [3]. treated with herbs. “A mountain flow- epic legends, shaman and healer Gor- IBN SINA AND AZERBAIJAN. Some er and mother’s milk will heal your gud, describes his birth in one of the of the most valuable medical manu- wound,” Gorgud said. “As soon as he myths: “I came out of the flower, got scripts of our institute include the said these words, 40 slender maid- into my mother’s womb and was born “Canon of Medicine” by Ibn Sina.

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