.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The manuscript bears the following notes with the names of:
On the front doublure of volume II, 'Abdullah Ya'qub bin 'Abdullah 'Issa al-Nasrawi (The Christian)
On f.216r (first folio of volume II), Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Karim al-Harithi al-Dimashqi al-Mutatabbib and Ahmad bin al-Qasim bin Khalifa ... al-ma'ruf bi Ibn Abi Usaybi'a dated AH 640/1242-3 AD
On f.344v (last folio of volume II), an inscription written by Abu Sa'id Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Tahhan al-ma'ruf bi al-Hakim Al-Tabib indicates that the copy was read by Abu al-Hassan 'Ali bin al-Hilali between the years AH 518 and 520/1124-6 AD
Two inscriptions in Syriac are on ff.51 and 138 (volume I).
The annotations
The inscriptions added to the two volumes of the Minhaj al-Bayan have been written by prominent scholars within the two centuries following their copy. They are essential to the understanding of the importance of this work for mediaeval physicians and are a precious illustration of the great Abbasid scientific tradition.
The first recorded owner of this manuscript is Abu al-Hasan 'Ali bin Mahdi bin Mufrij al-Hilali al-Dimashqi (d.1166-7). His nisba indicates that he was from Damascus where he is known to have worked in a bimaristan (Ibn Qaymaz, Kitab Sir A'lam al-Nubala', Beirut, AH 1413, p.491).
Folio 206 recto gives the name of Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Karim al-Harithi al-Dimashqi al-Mutatabbib (d.1202-3), a physician who lived in Damascus and read Euclid and the Almageste in the Bimaristan al-Nuri. He is also known to be one of the architects of this renowned institution founded by Nur al-Din Zenki in 1154.
Ibn Abi Usaibi'a (d. AH 668/1270 AD) to whom this copy was sold in AH 640/1242-3 AD is undoubtedly the most famous of all the persons who owned our manuscript. After having studied medicine in Damascus, he wrote in AH 644, four years after his note, a history of physicians (Uyun al-Anba' fi Tabaqat al-Atibba') which is an invaluable description of the dense network of scholars that developed and flourished through the 12th and 13th century.
The front doublures give us the name of 'Abdullah Ya'qub bin 'Abdullah 'Issa al-Nasrawi, which was Christian or of Christian descent (being the son of 'Issa al-Nasrawi, Jesus the Christian). Together with the Syriac inscriptions on folios 51 and 138, it is a very good illustration to the importance of Christian (mostly Nestorian) physicians in the history of Islamic medicine. In his history of physicians, Ibn Abi Usaybi'a gives a list of more than a hundred of medical treatises, together with the names of 49 physicians who worked in Syria, of which 25 were dhimmis (Christian or Jewish) (L'Orient de Saladin, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 2001, p.198-9).
It is perfectly reasonable to wonder if this copy of the Minhaj al-Bayan was at one point part of the famous library of the Bimaristan founded by Nur al-Din. It belonged to or was annotated by prominent physicians that all lived in Damascus between 1166 and 1242, during the apogee of the institution. Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, whose purchase of the book is recorded in 1242-3 probably spent long hours within the walls of the Bimaristan as he studied medicine with Al-Dawkhar (d. 1270 AD), once director of the hospital (La médecine au temps des califes, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 1996, p.52).
The author
Ibn Jazla was born a Christian in Karkh, a district of Baghdad, probably circa 1030. He converted to Islam and embraced the Mu'tazilite school, characterized by a strong dominance of logic and rationalism in its approach of Islam. He studied medicine with
Sa'id bin Hibatullah (d.1101-2 AD), himself a Christian converted to Islam, and physician to the Caliph Al-Muqtadi (r. 1075-94). Ibn Jazla was later to have the same position to the Caliph. His most famous work, called Taqwim al-Abdan fi Tadbir al-Insan, is a medical synopsis describing the treatment of more than 350 diseases which was translated into Latin in 1280. He also wrote a treatise on Pharmacy, Al-Minhaj fi al-Adwiya al-Murakkaba, for which he was renowned in Baghdad. This work also translated into Latin in which language he is known as Bingezla (R. Shane Tubbs, Ibn Jazlah and his 11th century accounts (Taqwim al-abdan fi tadbir al-insan) of disease of the brain and spinal cord, in J. Neurosurg.: Spine volume 9 September 2008). He was influenced by the works of classical Greek and Byzantine authors but also read Hunayn bin Ishaq (d. 873 AD) and Al-Razi (d. 902 or 935 AD). Ibn Jazla embodies the medical tradition of the 12th and 13th century: of Christian origin, he studied the Antique works and those of his contemporaries, embraced Islam late during his life time (circa 1074 AD), composed major works and eventually ahieved to the most prestigious position in Baghdad. He made important contributions to medicine, notably on the nervous system.
The work
Ibn Jazla dedicated the Minhaj al-Bayan to the Caliph al-Muqtadi. It is an alphabetical list of simple and compound medicines which title can be translated as 'The Pathway of Explanation as to That Which Man Uses'. It was translated into Latin under the title methodica dispositio eorum, quibus homo uti solet. It explains in detail the recipes of each medicine with a profusion of ingredients, each aiming to cure a specific ailment or to improve a state of being. In his earlier works Ibn Jazla for instance stressed the importance of music in the treatment and prevention of diseases.
Interestingly, the Minhaj al-Bayan attracted attention for its culinary contributions (R. Shane Tubbs, op.cit., citing Garbutt N, Hoadley MC, Ibn Jazlah: the forgotten Abbasid gastronome, J Econ Soc Hist Orient 39:42-44, 1996). For the anecdote, Ibn Jazla describes a recipe of a sort of fried crêpe or cake which is seen as an early form of lasagne as the word would be derived from the Arabic lawzinaj. He describes the lawzinaj as finer that qata'if and more quickly digested, but less nutritious (https://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/id/50 from Maxime Rodinson, On the Etymology of Losange, in Petits Propos Culinaire, vol. 23, July 1986, p. 16).
Six copies of the Minhaj al-Bayan are in the British Library, one of which only is earlier and dated AH 489/1096 AD (OR7499). Another copy, dated AH 972/1564 AD is in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (WMS. Or. 44).
On the front doublure of volume II, 'Abdullah Ya'qub bin 'Abdullah 'Issa al-Nasrawi (The Christian)
On f.216r (first folio of volume II), Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Karim al-Harithi al-Dimashqi al-Mutatabbib and Ahmad bin al-Qasim bin Khalifa ... al-ma'ruf bi Ibn Abi Usaybi'a dated AH 640/1242-3 AD
On f.344v (last folio of volume II), an inscription written by Abu Sa'id Muhammad bin 'Ali al-Tahhan al-ma'ruf bi al-Hakim Al-Tabib indicates that the copy was read by Abu al-Hassan 'Ali bin al-Hilali between the years AH 518 and 520/1124-6 AD
Two inscriptions in Syriac are on ff.51 and 138 (volume I).
The annotations
The inscriptions added to the two volumes of the Minhaj al-Bayan have been written by prominent scholars within the two centuries following their copy. They are essential to the understanding of the importance of this work for mediaeval physicians and are a precious illustration of the great Abbasid scientific tradition.
The first recorded owner of this manuscript is Abu al-Hasan 'Ali bin Mahdi bin Mufrij al-Hilali al-Dimashqi (d.1166-7). His nisba indicates that he was from Damascus where he is known to have worked in a bimaristan (Ibn Qaymaz, Kitab Sir A'lam al-Nubala', Beirut, AH 1413, p.491).
Folio 206 recto gives the name of Ahmad bin 'Abd al-Karim al-Harithi al-Dimashqi al-Mutatabbib (d.1202-3), a physician who lived in Damascus and read Euclid and the Almageste in the Bimaristan al-Nuri. He is also known to be one of the architects of this renowned institution founded by Nur al-Din Zenki in 1154.
Ibn Abi Usaibi'a (d. AH 668/1270 AD) to whom this copy was sold in AH 640/1242-3 AD is undoubtedly the most famous of all the persons who owned our manuscript. After having studied medicine in Damascus, he wrote in AH 644, four years after his note, a history of physicians (Uyun al-Anba' fi Tabaqat al-Atibba') which is an invaluable description of the dense network of scholars that developed and flourished through the 12th and 13th century.
The front doublures give us the name of 'Abdullah Ya'qub bin 'Abdullah 'Issa al-Nasrawi, which was Christian or of Christian descent (being the son of 'Issa al-Nasrawi, Jesus the Christian). Together with the Syriac inscriptions on folios 51 and 138, it is a very good illustration to the importance of Christian (mostly Nestorian) physicians in the history of Islamic medicine. In his history of physicians, Ibn Abi Usaybi'a gives a list of more than a hundred of medical treatises, together with the names of 49 physicians who worked in Syria, of which 25 were dhimmis (Christian or Jewish) (L'Orient de Saladin, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 2001, p.198-9).
It is perfectly reasonable to wonder if this copy of the Minhaj al-Bayan was at one point part of the famous library of the Bimaristan founded by Nur al-Din. It belonged to or was annotated by prominent physicians that all lived in Damascus between 1166 and 1242, during the apogee of the institution. Ibn Abi Usaybi'a, whose purchase of the book is recorded in 1242-3 probably spent long hours within the walls of the Bimaristan as he studied medicine with Al-Dawkhar (d. 1270 AD), once director of the hospital (La médecine au temps des califes, exhibition catalogue, Paris, 1996, p.52).
The author
Ibn Jazla was born a Christian in Karkh, a district of Baghdad, probably circa 1030. He converted to Islam and embraced the Mu'tazilite school, characterized by a strong dominance of logic and rationalism in its approach of Islam. He studied medicine with
Sa'id bin Hibatullah (d.1101-2 AD), himself a Christian converted to Islam, and physician to the Caliph Al-Muqtadi (r. 1075-94). Ibn Jazla was later to have the same position to the Caliph. His most famous work, called Taqwim al-Abdan fi Tadbir al-Insan, is a medical synopsis describing the treatment of more than 350 diseases which was translated into Latin in 1280. He also wrote a treatise on Pharmacy, Al-Minhaj fi al-Adwiya al-Murakkaba, for which he was renowned in Baghdad. This work also translated into Latin in which language he is known as Bingezla (R. Shane Tubbs, Ibn Jazlah and his 11th century accounts (Taqwim al-abdan fi tadbir al-insan) of disease of the brain and spinal cord, in J. Neurosurg.: Spine volume 9 September 2008). He was influenced by the works of classical Greek and Byzantine authors but also read Hunayn bin Ishaq (d. 873 AD) and Al-Razi (d. 902 or 935 AD). Ibn Jazla embodies the medical tradition of the 12th and 13th century: of Christian origin, he studied the Antique works and those of his contemporaries, embraced Islam late during his life time (circa 1074 AD), composed major works and eventually ahieved to the most prestigious position in Baghdad. He made important contributions to medicine, notably on the nervous system.
The work
Ibn Jazla dedicated the Minhaj al-Bayan to the Caliph al-Muqtadi. It is an alphabetical list of simple and compound medicines which title can be translated as 'The Pathway of Explanation as to That Which Man Uses'. It was translated into Latin under the title methodica dispositio eorum, quibus homo uti solet. It explains in detail the recipes of each medicine with a profusion of ingredients, each aiming to cure a specific ailment or to improve a state of being. In his earlier works Ibn Jazla for instance stressed the importance of music in the treatment and prevention of diseases.
Interestingly, the Minhaj al-Bayan attracted attention for its culinary contributions (R. Shane Tubbs, op.cit., citing Garbutt N, Hoadley MC, Ibn Jazlah: the forgotten Abbasid gastronome, J Econ Soc Hist Orient 39:42-44, 1996). For the anecdote, Ibn Jazla describes a recipe of a sort of fried crêpe or cake which is seen as an early form of lasagne as the word would be derived from the Arabic lawzinaj. He describes the lawzinaj as finer that qata'if and more quickly digested, but less nutritious (https://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/id/50 from Maxime Rodinson, On the Etymology of Losange, in Petits Propos Culinaire, vol. 23, July 1986, p. 16).
Six copies of the Minhaj al-Bayan are in the British Library, one of which only is earlier and dated AH 489/1096 AD (OR7499). Another copy, dated AH 972/1564 AD is in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (WMS. Or. 44).