Franz Steiner Verlag

Sbr's abridged formulary, the first of its kind in Islam

Author(s): Sami Hamarneh
Source: Sudhoffs Archiv fr Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften, Bd. 45, H. 3
(OKTOBER 1961), pp. 247-260
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
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Sabur's

abridged formulary, the first of its kind in Islam

Sami Hamarneh

By

As a student in the history of pharmacy especially during the

Islamic

in

I became

period,

1957 particularly

interested

in the

Aqr?b?dhln al-Kablr (thegreat formulary)by SIbtjr ibn Sahl

(d.

869). S?b?r's
formulary1 is referred to as the earliest known
document of its kind in Islam, serving as the leading standard in
reports that
shops for three centuries. Brockelmann
pharmacy
in a manuscript
Germany2. Meyerhof

this work

exists

inMunich,
that the Munich

at the Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek
also confirms the report, adding
is the only one extant and that a

manuscript
scholars, furthermore, gave
study of it is almost overdue3. Both
as a complete
the impression of the above mentioned manuscript
of
Because
of
its
Sab?r's
copy
Aqr?b?dhln.
significance, and under

of the
Sonnedecker
teacher, Professor
I wrote to the library inMunich request
a
the
which was kindly furnish
of
microfilm
copy
manuscript
ing
the text, I found that the
ed4. To my surprise after examining

the

instigation of my
ofWisconsin,
University

1 In
using the word formulary here I generally mean a drug compendium
that contains formulas of drug ingredients and simples, the methods of
their compounding, and the preserving and administering of them as medi
cations

in various

forms.

pharmaceutical

Its

purpose

is to be

guide

for

prescribing physicians and dispensing pharmacists of simple and compounded

drugs. When

such work

body,
governing
a legal standard
George

Urdang,

then

enforced
The

or even international
by a local, national
or pharmacopoeia
an official formulary
and
a more
see
the health
For
detail,
professions.

is authorized
it becomes
on

Development

of Pharmacopoeias,

Food

Drug

Cosmetic

Law Journ. 8 (1953) 69? 75. In this context, S?b?r's Aqr?b?dhln deserves
the title of formulary as no other known independent work before it in
Islam.

It

should

not,
because

pharmacopoeia
2
Carl
Brockelmann,

or
an official
be considered
however,
formulary
not enforced
it was
by government
legislation.
Geschichte
der Arabischen
Litteratur
(vol.

1,

Weimar, 1898), 232, Nb. 4; or Leiden ed., 1943, p. 266.

3Max
Meyerhof,
Pharmacology during the golden age of Arabian
also
medicine, Ciba Symposia, vol. 6, Nos. 5?6
(1944) 1857. Meyerhof
(op. cit. p. 1852) explains that the word Aqr?b?dhln as a term for a compen
dium comes from the Greek graphidon meaning tablet. Then the word was
Arabized

to mean

a formulary.

4 I wish here to
express my deep gratitude to the staff of the Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek, Division of Manuscripts, in Munich, Germany for their
courteous cooperation in securing the microfilm that made the study of
thismanuscript (cod. arab. 808) possible.

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248

Hamarneh

Sami

is only an abridged version (mukhtasar) of the original

manuscript
director of the
work. After further inquiry, Dr. W. H?rmann,
that
the microfilm
made
it
certain1
then,
manuscript
department
sent to me

is the complete manuscript

(entitled

as

in their catalog

Cod. Arab. 808.2) related to SIb?r's Aqr?b?dhin and that it is

the only one they have of the work.
Since then I have made a comprehensive
to most

and written

of the known

search of the literature

oriental

libraries

in Europe

and

theMiddle East, seekingto findmore copies of thiswork, but until

of this article none has been reported. It is my hope that

future research will bring to light one or more copies of this work
are not yet
at libraries in the Middle
East wherein manuscripts
the date

completely cataloged. That of course is the logical way to study

because
of the importance of Sabtjr's
any such work. However,
in evaluating
the development
Aqr?b?dhin
in
Islam
and
of the elapse
because
therapy
I was

waiting,

to write

prompted

briefly

and
of pharmacy
of several years of
on this monumental

document. It is hoped that the light to be shed on this topic will

the inconvenience,
inauthenticity, and shortcomings
an
of studying
abridged version, the only one known to exist.
our information of S?b?r
and his
Biography.
Unfortunately,

overbalance

is fragmentary indeed. In the available

Aqr?b?dhin
sketchy reports
we are not told with certainty when or where the author was born,
or wrote his work. But we know briefly of the hospital
educated,
and the good reputation of his literary
with which he was associated
Probably
in literature

al-Nadim2

in 988. This

1
W. H?bmann,
2
Bookshops

letter
as

and most

the earliest

contribution.

encounter

reliable

reference we

is that of the bookseller

ismy
dated

translation

November
and

commercial

21,

educational

Ibn
(al-Warr?q)
of Ibn al-Nadim's
report3:
1957.
centers

were

numerous

at

the time (Philip Hitti, History of theArabs, 6th ed., London, 1958, p. 414).
Educated

and

booksellers

stationers

such

as

al-Nadim

were

learned

men

of high prestige and literary accomplishment. Their shops served as centers

for compiling biographies and bibliographies, copying of manuscripts and
binding

of books.

Universities
work

of Ibn

In

some

ways

they

resemble

book-dealers

near Western

in the Middle Ages and even publishing houses later on. The
al-Nadim,

as

one

of the

earliest

histories

of science

in Arabic,

is considered indispensable forany research on the history of Islamic cultural

achievement.

3Muhammad

report

was

Mukhtasar

ibn Ish?q

copied

al-Duwal

verbatim

ibn al-Nadim,
by

Abtj

(Beirut, 1890) 255.

al-Fihrist (Cairo, 1930) 427. This

al-Fabaj

Bab

Hebbaeus,

T?rikh

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S?b?r's abridged formulary, the firstof its kind in Islam

?S?b?r

was

ibn

Sahl

learned

hospital,

director

of Jundi-Sh?p?r's
(s?hib)
man who excelled
[in his
are: the Formulary
(Kit?b

and

praiseworthy
books he wrote

The

achievements].

the

249

in twenty-two sections (b?bs) which has been the

al-Aqr?b?dhin)
leading standard that was followed in the hospitals and the shops of

and a book on the faculties of diets, their

pharmacists
(Say?dilah);
detriments and their uses. S?b?r ibn Sahl, who was (by the way) a

Christian, died on Monday, the 20th day of Dh?

[the 2nd of December,
The medical
historian, al-Qifti
that he

states1

is the author

al-Hijjah of

869 A. D.]."

255 A. H.

(d. 1248)

in speaking
useful and

renowned

To

the above

of ?several
is al-Aqr?b?dhln".

one of which

of S?b?r

(mash-h?rah) works,
historian
the celebrated
of Arabic
reports, Usaybi'ah,
quoted
continued to
the physician,
medicine
(d. 1270), adds2 that S?b?r,
care for the sick regularly at the hospital of Jundi-Sh?p?r
and that
an ample knowledge
drugs. He advanced

"he had

of simple and com

and found favor in the

of the faculties

[in prestige]
pounded
he
of
the
whom
served, al-Mutawakkil
Caliphs
sight
and his successors and died in the days of al-Mtjhtadi

(847?61)
(reigned

869-870) onMonday the 20th ofDh? al-Hijjah of 255 A. H.," the

in this biography, however,

date stated in earlier reports. Usaybi'ah
renowned
al-Kabir
that S?b?r's
Aqr?b?dhln
"highly
22
17
affirmed
instead
of
the
sections"
by Ibn
comprises
only

mentions3

earlier. But it seems, very possible

and al-Qifti
(see
also page 256, footnote no. 1) that this formulary of 22 sections as
was abbreviated
and abridged to suit the
confirmed by Sarton4
particular need. Therefore, my interpretation of this disagreement
have only seen an abridged copy of the
is to assume that Usaybicah
al-Nadim

and

Aqr?b?dhln
ibn

1'Ali

Y?suf

ibn al-

Q?sim

the

Ikhb?r

al-Qifti,

(Cairo, 1908) 141.

2
Ahmad

it to be

took

Ibn Abi

al-'Arab

(Cairo,

1944)

Usaybi'ah,

follows
George

Cairo's
Sarton,

will

that

besides

historical

be

Tabaq?t
referred

Introduction

more, 1927) 608. Sarton

on Arabic
medicine.
5
states
TJsaybi'ah

eUy?n

Akhb?r

al-Anb?

'Is?, T?rikh

W?sten
al-Hukama

fi 'Tabaq?t

'Ilm al-Nab?t

al

'Ind

44-45.

3 Ibid. See also

Usaybi'ah,

which
4

bi

al-fUlam?

tibb? (Cairo, 1882) 161. See also Ahmad

work5.

complete

(Beirut ed., 1957) 100. This edition

to hereafter.
to the History

of Science

(vol.

1, Balti

also emphasized the great influence this work has

in his

introduction

documents

and

to his monumental
examination

work,Tabaq?t,
of authentic
works,

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he

250

Sami

Hamarneh

work
generally relies heavily on Usaybi'ah's
to
Usaybicah's
report, accepted
biographies, here, contrary
that it consists of 22 sections likewise.
who

feld1,

in other
the fact

in regard to Sab?r
himself it is not clear from these frag
or
not he transferred his residence from
records
whether
mentary
to Iraq to serve the caliphs, and if he had, how long
Jundi-Sh?p?r
he stayed before returning to the hospital of Jundi-Sh?p?r
where
Now

he

continued

as director2.

his work

Elgood

that

believes

after

in residing

at the busy, crowded capital of the

to
Abbasids,
go back to the quiet life of Jundi
preferred
In
Sab?r
any event,
Sh?p?r3.
proved to be a distin
undoubtedly
as
an
as
well
author4. Because
of his
guished physician of his time
and
the
need
of
of
thorough knowledge
drugs,
seeing
hospital and
discontent

being

Sab?r

shops in Iraq
pharmacy
wrote his
Sab?r
compendium,

private

became
al-Kablr
S?b?r's

and

for a reliable

Persia

drug

highly praised
formulary that
a leading standard until the advent of the Aqr?b?dhin
Ibn al-Tilmidh
Allah
of Hibat
(d. c. 1165)5. Although

work was

never

its wide

enforced by government authorities, yet

circles gave it almost the prestige of
It should also be added that by completing

inmedical

acceptance
an official drug standard.
his works, Sab?r
wrote the last chapter we have of the great
contributions that came from the once famous hospital and school
in Jundi-Sh?p?r6.
of medicine

In his formulary, according

to Munich's
abridged copy, S?b?r
one is inclined to
refers frequently to Dioscorides.
Therefore

used

verbal

testimonies

and

On

hearsay.

the

other

we

hand

are

also

told

by Cyril Elgood, A History of Persia and the Eastern Caliphate (Cam

bridge, 1951) 92?93, that S?b?r wrote small formulary (al-Aqr?b?dhln
could be
This
al-Saghir).
1 Ferdinand
W?stenfeld,

spurious.
Geschichte

forscher (G?ttingen, 1840) 25. Here

der Arabischen

S?b?r's

Aerzte

und Natur

"Coinmutatio medicamentorum

a
et compositorum",
in alphabetical
order,
simplicium
arranged
compendium
is mentioned.
2
comes periodically
The
the physician
who
"s?'?r",
Syriac word
meaning
was
to visit
to the director
the patients,
of the hospital.
assigned
3
seems
over
Medical
92. Elgood,
to have
Elgood,
however,
History,

looked the fact that the caliphs at S?b?r's

and

made

S?marr?

as

fIs? ibn Sahar-Bakht

Shtr-Yash?"

time have also desertet Baghdad

royal residence.
25.
Geschichte,

4
W?stenfeld,
6
Two
contemporary

and

their

Ibn

scholars

from

5
Usaybi'ah,

Jundi-Sh?p?r

are

2:100.
Tabaq?t,
also mentioned:

who wrote a book on the Faculties of Simple Drugs

Qutrub.

See Usaybi'ab:,

Tabaq?t,

2:170,

175.

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251

S?b?r's abridged formulary, the first of its kind in Islam

that the Aqr?b?dhln was probably written after the appear

in the Arabic version1 which
of Dioscorides'
Materia Medica

believe
ance

botany with a new system of terminology,

and this in spite of the fact that Dioscorides'
work was at least
partially known earlier in Syriac, the mother tongue of Nestorian
In addition
to the Aqr?b?dhln,
three other works are
Christians.
enriched Arabic medical

also

to Sab?r:

attributed

Between Diet

Difference

toHunayn's

A Refutation
and the Laxative

on the

Booh
A

Medicine',

Treatise

on

Sleep and Wakefulness; and a book on the Substitutionof oneDrug

for Another2".

the meager
information
never wrote a book

Surprisingly,

who

Sahl,
the physicians

father,

Yuhanna
was

is more

His
(813?33)3.
and observation

practice
training. In intellectual matters,
than many of his renowned and

knowledge was based more

rather than on academic

therefore, he was
learned associates:

ibn Bakhtishu',
He was

lower in caliber
ibn
YuhannI

ibn

and
al-Hakam,
jealous and critical of them,
for reason of inferiority complex. But being fond ofmaking
Jurjis

rIsI

ibn Tayf?r4.

Arabic

version

and

Elias

was

which

made

ibn Basil

by Istif?n

and

corrected

ibn Ish?q, has been edited recently by Cesar E.

by his teacher, Hunayn

Dubler

listed

than we

the thick-bearded
al-Kawsaj,
chin, for
reported to have practised medicine
during

surnamed

on medical

1 This

S?b?r's
not

educated

contrariety. He
the reign of al-M?m?n

perhaps

was

mentioned

was

M?sawayh,
Zakariyya

about

and who

by al-Nadim,
son. Beside
Sahl had two sons,
Sab?r,
of whom we only know the names.
and KhtjdhIhtjwayh

among
know of his well
Sahl

available

la Materia

Teres,

M?dica

de Dioscorides

2, Tetuan,

(vol.

1952).

2
Usaybi'ah,

2:100.
Tabaq?t,
fan Asm?
al-Kutub

al-Zun?n

wherein Substitution ofDrugs

Mentioned
wa

al-Fun?n

also

EIajji

by

(Gustav

(Ibd?l al-Adwiyah)

Kashf

Kbalfah,
ed.

Fl?gel

No.

17)

is wrongly interpreted as

I am not sure about

the compounding
of medications.
the authenti
However,
TJsaybi'ah
2:163 mentions
that
himself,
city of these three works.
Tabaq?t,
on the difference
Hunayn
wrote
his book
three treatises,
between
comprising
Diet

and

870?892,

Laxative
that

tamed

al-Mif

at

Medicine
is after

came

S?b?r's

the

instigation
unless

death,

of al-Muctamid
the

was

book

who
written

reigned
before

to power.

3 Sahl died
shortly before al-M?m?n's death in 833, Qifti, Akhb?r, 134.
It is possible that S?b?r stayed inBaghd?d until his father's death. There
after he went to Jundi-Sh?p?r where his professional activity brought him

high
(Berlin,

reputation.
1904) 276.

See

Herman

Schelenz,
4
Usaybi'ah,

Geschichte
Tabaq?t,

der

Pharmazie

2:98?100.

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252

Sami Hamarneh

jokes and drollery he used at times harsh words in his satire and
told smutty anecdotes to ridicule some of them1. Coming
originally
from the Ahw?z
in south western Iran2, he spoke with a Kh?zi
accent and failed to master the classical Arabic.
the son unlike the father appears
to have
Notwithstanding,
a

obtained

high academic
training and attained the respect of his
in itself indeed should be a high compli
colleagues. This attainment
ment to S?b?r,
we consider a few of his great
when
especially
as
the
such
famous
translator and scholar Htjnayn
contemporaries
ibn

of the Arabs, Ya'q?b

(d. 873), and the philosopher
c.
(d.
874).
S?b?r
and Jundi-Sh?p?r.
The name S?b?r
(Persian Sh?p?r)
became popular
in Iran as a result of the fame of king Sh?p?r
I

IshIq
al-Kindi

son of Ardashir
A. D.),
Babak?n
and founder
(reigned 226?240
of the great Sasanid dynasty. After he defeated the Roman Emperor
Valerian
and sacked the great city of Antioch,
I built
Sh?p?r
as a rival

to the capital of the Seleucids. At first

the city "Veh-az-andev-i-Sh?p?r"
(Sh?p?r's
better than Antioch3).
To it Sh?p?r
brought a great number of
Greek war prisoners and immigrants to settle and cultivate its well
Jundi-Sh?p?r
therefore, he

called

irrigated and fertile plains. Soon thereafter, the city was chosen for
an army camp and was converted into a fortified center.
in
Early

the fourthcentury,king Sh?p?r II appropriated the city forhis

royal residence, and invited to it learned Greek men

including
Theodosios
who became the court physician4. During the second
1 Lucien
111-113.
2 The

Histoire

Leclerc,

de

or Kh?zist?n

Ahw?z

la medecine

arabe

in South-Western

Iran

(vol.1,

Paris,

(near

'Abad?n,

1876)
the

rich center of petroleum production) was conquered by theArabs in 638?640,

hence

known

living
main

as Arabist?n.

there many

in

used

language

Because

churches

were

services

of the

of Christians
large population
where
continued
to be the
Syriac
also Bar
See
Hebraetjs,
teaching.

erected
and

T?rikh, 239.
3Donald
Campbell, Arabian Medicine and Its Influence on The Middle
Ages (vol. 1,London, 1926) 46?47. It should be mentioned also that Antioch
was

founded

by

Seleucus,

the

courageous

general

of Alexander

the

Great.

Seleucus named his new city Antioch after his father Antiokus. There
after this city became the great capital of the Seleucid dynasty (312?64
B.C.)

and

continued

4Edward

Jundi-Sh?p?r
put to death.

to be an

G.Browne,
also

MIni

important

center

Arabian Medicine
(Manes)

the

founder

in the early

centuries

of our era.

(Cambridge, 1921) 19?21.

of the Manichaean

In

sect was

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S?b?r's abridged formulary, the first of its kind in Islam

253

half of the fifth century, persecuted Nestorian

Christians who were
forced by the Orthodox
church to leave their institutions in Nisibis
Edessa

(Nasibin),
northern

Syria

and

(al-Ruh?)

and Mesopotamia

other

centers

resettled

of

in
learning
With
Jundl-Sh?p?r.

them they brought a great wealth of the Greek legacy in the

as well

as

in Syriac translation. They soon operated the

hospital and the school for teaching the healing art. Here Greek
learning and Oriental wisdom and aspiration converged and brought
forth, from the seventh century, a renaissance of ancient cultures1.
In the eighth century this revival coincided with a generous patronage
original

by rulers and philanthropists

for the advancement

of learning in Islam.

The strongimpetusof the secondhalf of the eighthcenturyreached

a climax under

the prosperous
his
(786?809),
reign of al-Rashid
son
al-MImtjn
and
their
immediate
enlightened
(reigned 813?33),
successors in the ninth. Opportunities
for education, translations, and
a
in
resulted
cultural
outburst which in many
literary production

respects was unequalled,

anywhere, throughout the first 13 centu
ries of the present era outside the Islamic domain. A number of
from Jundi-Sh?p?r,
such as the Bake
scholars and physicians
as
as
well
tishtj's, and the MIsawayh's,
graduates from its school,

to a great extent in these activities.

participated
In regard to pharmacy, however, the tremendous flow and variety
of new drugs from Arabia, North Africa, and the Orient that poured
on the one hand,
into the Imperium
of the Eastern
caliphate

and the ample opportunity for learning and the availability

of the
on the other helped the rise of
best of revived ancient knowledge
a new class of educated pharmacists. From the early ninth century
many
Persia

hospital and privately

were operated by well

owned

shops in Iraq and

pharmacy
trained pharmacists who upheld the
of the profession. Furthermore,
works

high principles and ethics

related to pharmaceutical
preparations, medical
botany and drug
met
to
and
continued
be
with
still greater
therapy
produced

ibn M?sawayh
for example, wrote
(777?857),
interest: On Wines; On Prescrip
of pharmaceutical
tions and Treatment] On Compounding
of Laxative Drugs \ and a
the middle of the century, Dioscori
book On Perfumery2. About

demand. YuhannI
several works

des' Materia
1Aubery

Medica

was

rendered also

(although not in its entirety)

R. Vine, The Nestorian Churches (London, 1937), 21, 37?42,

and
53-54,
64-67,
2
Fihrist,
Nadim,

89-93.
425?426;

and Usaybi^ah,

Tabaq?t,

2:136.

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254

SAM! HAM

ARNE H

a contemporary of
the same time cAli al-Tabari,
wrote
and Htjnayn,
S?b?r
of
(c. 850) his famous compendium
al-Hikmah which contains a detailed section on
medicine, Firdaws
into Arabic.

At

himself wrote

Hunayn

drugs1.

the

On

following:

the Choice

of

Caustic Drugs; The Theriac; A Summary of theBook ofCalen on

rendered
Simples, first translated into Syriac from which Htjnayn
the first part of five treatises out of eleven into Arabic;
the Secrets
of Compounded Drugs; and a book on the Names ofSimples, arranged
ibn IshIq al-Kindi
in alphabetical
order2. Then Ya'q?b
(d. c. 874)
wrote

on Tried Medicines;

the following: A book

also

Compilation

ofSimples mentionedbyGalen; and A Book ofAqrabadhln*. But it

seem

to call any of the above mentioned

the "chemistry" and
formulary. Although
they discuss
are
treatment
not
of
therapeutic
drugs, yet they
primarily concerned

does

not

appropriate

works

of procuring,
with pharmaceutical
techniques, forms, and methods
and
of
did
Nor
any play role in
compounding
preserving,
drugs.
a
standard
for
Nevertheless
pharmacists.
becoming
leading
they
for the rise of true formularies,

the way

paved

of which

the first

known to us is the timelyAqrabadhln of S?b?r. It filledthe existing

gap and was welcomed
Islamic domain.

by the profession

almost

everywhere

in the

The AbridgedCopy ofS?b?r's Aqrabadhln. As I can judge from

extant

the only

1Muhammad
Rabb?n
2
It

bi'ah,

Geschichte,

and

2:187;

Martin

Professor

and

J. Ludwig

Choulant,

in Istanbul

former

a better

of

ofWisdom)

formulary
ibn
'Ali

represents

recently

b.

'Ali

revised.
See

(aqrab?dhin).
"Abb?s
al-Maj?si,

(vol. 2, Cairo ed. 1877), 540. See also Usay

Handbuch

(Leipzig, 1821) 336.

Levey

a manuscript

1:225?226;

al-Sin?cah al-Tibbiyyah

kunde f?r die ?ltere Medicin

3

(paradise
has been

1928). This work

(Berlin,
wrote
also
that Hunayn

is reported

Tabaq?t,

this Aqrabadhln*

Firdausu'l-Hikmat

SiddIqi,

al-Tabari

Bbockelmann,

K?mil

of S?b?r's,

copy

of Yale

me

showed

University

of al-Kindi's

Aqrab?dhin,

der B?cher

and

he

a microfilm

of
com

recently

pleted an article on thiswork (letterApril 20,1961). However, I am not sure

whether S?b?r (d. 869) or al-Kindi
(d. 874) wrote his Aqrab?dhin first; the
stands

chance

because

of

the

nature

of his

work

at

the

hospital.

4The
Gompositiones of the Roman physician under Tiberius and Clau
dius, Scribonius Largus
(fl. 43 A. D.), which contains a collection of
recipes

and

macognosie,
as
many
uniformed
directly

formulas

of drugs

(Alexander

vol. 1, pt. 2, Leipzig,

the first unofficial

are

formulary
influenced
later

known

arranged

Tschtrch,

1910, pp. 575?579)

formulary.
according

Handbuch

was

der Phar

considered by

in S?B?r's
However,
recipes
to pharmaceutical
forms which

developments.

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255

S?b?r's abridged formulary, the firstof its kind in Islam

new

in purpose, method,
approach
an
As
emphasis.
independent work

of topics, and
arrangement
a new era in the
it pioneered
In the first place it was defini

history of drug formularies in Islam.

and
tely confined to the techniques of pharmaceutical
preparations
their classification according to medicinal
that
forms, a procedure
became
with the apothecary
art. Then, thera
closely associated
uses

and methods

of application
of syrups, collyrias, oint
conserves and pills were clearly presented. As such, this
ments,
work provided pattern for later works not only in Islam but also
in the West.
Its fame extended beyond Jundi-Sh?p?r
and Persia to
peutic

It was well

in the Arab world.

other countries

it was

for whom

upon by pharmacists,
medical practitioners alike. This

and relied

accepted

intended, and
primarily
from the fact that in the

is evident

following centuries many eminent figures in the health field, such

ibn ZakariyyI
as Muhammad
al-RIzi
Ab? al-Q?sim
(865?925),
ibn
c.
'Abd
Allah
al-Zahr?wi
al-Bayt?r
1013),
(d.
(d. 1248), and
(1259), referred to and quoted from it repeatedly.
the same theme al-R?zi,
to ibn al
according

al-'Attar

Kohen

almost
Following
an Aqr?b?dhln,
wrote
and so did M?sawayh
al-Maridini
Nadim,
as
Ibn
the Younger1,
al-Tilmidh
(d. 1164)
(d. 1015), known
whose

Aqr?b?dhln

al-Din

al-Kablr

that of S?b?r,
surpassed
name
to
(1194),
only few among

al-Qalanisi

and Badr
the famous

ones.

title page of S?b?r's

copy2 reads:
''Aqr?b?dhln
abridged
on the copy of the eAdudi hospital3."
Then it goes on

The

based

S?b?r,

1The
Aqrab?dhin of this Jacobite court-physician of al-H?kim
became

1021)
ceutical

an

authoritative

after
preparation
that the "Grabadin"

accept
it. See

Edward

Kremers,

(2nd ed., Philadelphia,

the

that

first European

standard
"Nuovo
copoeias

drug

its introduction
was
and

same

the

manuscript

from

Urdang,

pharma
if we are to

or based

the Arabic
History

(996 to

and

on

of Pharmacy

?
1951) 32 33. It might be of interest to mention

as a
enforced
sanctions
by
legal
pharmacopoeia
for a certain
unit was
the official
political
in Florence,
in 1498. Urdang,
Pharma
Italy,
published

dispensatory

Receptario"
as Witnesses

on

drug
compounding
to the West
in Latin,

translation

George

of World

History,

cine 1 (1946) 46-48.

2This
synopsis copy of S?b?r's

starts

on

work

same

where

page
which
contains

Kitdb
the

Journal

Aqrab?dhin
Bur"

S?'ah

of

the History

inMunich
of al-R?zi

of Medi

(cod. arab. 808)

ends,

in the

two works.

3 'Adudi
hospital was completed in 979, about three years before the
death of its founder, the illustrious Buwayhid king cAdud al-Dawlah.
It
was the greatest hospital constructed inBaghdad until itsdestruction in 1258.

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256

Sami

Hamarneh

on the compounding
to say, "A summary from S?b?r's Aqr?b?dhin
of drugs in sixteen sections1." The part of the manuscript which
contains the Aqr?b?dhin
consists of 22 unnumbered
folios inNaskhi

are several

from 30 to 35 lines in each page. There

comments, aphorisms and added prescriptions

script having
marginal

in different

first page
contains beside
the colophon
of a
Bur'
of
contents
S?*ah
the
table
of
for
the
al-RIzi2,
previous work,
as
sixteen sections of the Aqr?b?dhin
The
follows:
first
arranged
section on tablets
the second on lohochs, third, on
(pastilles);
The

handwriting.

syrups, and robs; fourth, on the adh?n (a fatty or oily extract from
or
certain medicinal
fifth, on plasters
substances);
(poultices
on
on
medical
enemas;
sixth,
seventh,
bandages);
powders;
eigth,
on collyria; ninth, on ointments
on
tenth,
electuaries;
(unguenta);
twelfth, on decoctions and pills; thirteenth, on
conserves, fourteenth, on art of preparing the theriac and how to
test it; fifteenth, teeth and gum medication,
dentifrice, corpulence,
Chloasma and burnishing
and
[of freckles];
sixteenth, on the virtues
on hieras;

eleventh,

of animal

the impetigo
organs and their properties,
(eczema),
treatment of dirt craving, scald-head, and vermifuge.

scabies,
Without

introducing the author or his work and its purpose,

this synopsis copy starts with the text of the first section. We are,
of course, not yet sure whether
the original manuscript
had a
preface or not. If it did, as is usually the case in Arabic works of
this type, then our anonymous
scribe has left us in the dark as to
the real motives
and aims that prompted
to undertake
S?b?r
such monumental
and distortions
project. Moreover,
discrepancies

in the existing copy lead to the belief that the scribe dropped from
the original text and added to itwith liberality, unless that was the
case in the 'Adudi manuscript
from which he copied. On the one
hand, beside the omission of six sections, part of section 7, 8 and
part of 9 are also missing. On the other, there are added recipes in
ibn
sections 5, 12, and 15 attributed
to Abu al-Hasan
ThIbit
ibn
Ibrahim
Th?bit
famous
to
the
Qurrah,
(the
836?901),
'Adudi

d. 970)

hospital
(completed 979), to Ibn al-Ash'ath
a
Ibn Sin!
hair-dye, and to the celebrated

1 The

original

manuscript
It seems

17 sections.
reports
were
known
during
2
The
book Bur"
P.

Guigues,

La

the
S?'ah

Guerison

contains
possible

Islamic

period.

was

edited,

en une

heure

22

sections.

that

several

(Abu Jacfar
(980?1037),

Usaybi'ah
synopses

translated

and

par Razes,

Beyrouth,

of

commented

(d. 1270)
this work

upon

1904.

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by

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Abb. 2. The last page of the abridged copy of S?b?r's Aqrab?dhin

Arab.

808.2),

courtesy

of the Bayerische

Staatsbibliothek

inMunich,

(Cod.
Germany

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S?b?r's abridged formulary, the first of its kind in Islam

quoted prescriptions obviously cannot be in the

which was written much earlier.

These

respectively.

257

original Aqr?b?dhln
According to the Munich

Library's copy (onmicrofilm) the method

text is generally as follows:
of the Aqr?b?dhln
of presentation
or
is first stated, then
The pharmaceutical
preparation
dosage-form
its therapeutic uses, then the techniques
involved in preparation.

are also often mentioned.

The daily dose and time of administration
or
as
is useful God willing"
"It
"It
such
will
heal",
Expressions
are

The concise and to the point approach

is
on
one
entire
In
section
tablets
the
synopsis.
throughout
of
(aqr?s), for example, the text starts as follows: "A presciption
and is useful against thirst, acute
chalk tablets made with manna
is: chalk, 4 dirhams1;
fever and diarrhea. The method of preparation
sometimes

added.

evident

5; seeds of squirting cucumber and gourd, 3

starch, 1; manna,
each is powdered,
sieved and kneaded
dirhams each. Separately,

with the juice of psyllium (bazr qut?n?), thenmade into tablets,

one dirham each. (Then) it is dried in the shade, on the top of a
one

tablet with barley water."

Other
formulas
rose,
wormwood,
blossoms,
tablets,
poppy
promegranate
rhubarb, amber, coral (basad), and cardamom, 27 recipes in all.
The poppy lohoch in section two on lohochs (syrupy medications
sieve.

Dosage,

include

fruits and almond oil are

powdered
drugs, mucilaginous
amount of each;
with syrup or honey) contains "equal
and
gum Arabic,
quince fruit, licorice, sugar-candy2
tragacanth,
in which

blended

in water, boiled
poppy, and double the amount of sugar, dissolved
and the foam is lifted. In this syrup, after it is taken off the fire,
all the drugs are mixed well to be used when needed." Also discussed
1For the
general purpose of this article I wish to give a list of the Islamic
mentioned

weights

and

therein

their

approximate

in both

equivalent

the

Metric and Apothecary (Troy) systems: dirham (Greek drachme) equivalent

to little less than 1 dram Troy, 3.09 grams Metric; mithq?l (10/7 of a dirham)
to

equivalent

over

little

1 dram

dirhams or 7Jmithqals)
or 90 mithqal)
accurate
and

Miles,

less

Hinz,

Metric;

ouqiyyah

or 1 pint,
1 pound
373 grams. However
accounts
the reader may
to:
be referred

Islamische

sche System (Part 1, Leiden,

Sugar-candy,
f?nid, also called

4.1 grams

saccharum
sukkar

(10-5/7

for more

than

detailed

Early Arabic Glass Weights

and Walter
2

Troy,

little over 1 ounce, 31.1 grams; rail (12 ouqiyyah

nab?t

Ma?e

and Stamps

und

Gewichte,

(New York,

George

C.

1948) 6?19;

Umgerechnet

ins Metri

1955).
was
candidum,
or s. faddi.
It

the

term

used

ismanufactured

for
by

the Arabic
recrystalliz

ing the sugar under pressure and by the use of heat. This product continued
to be used inArabic medicine up to modern times.
17

Sudhoffs Archiv 45,3

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258

Sami

Hamabneh

here are the dairy products, which according to the text are useful
milk is considered best. Among
for the chest and lungs. Woman's
like human
animals, the milk of the she-ass is preferred because,
turns
to
to
the
If milk "is
it
cheese
when
stomach.
milk,
passed
for [treatment ] of cough and consumption, chose a healthy she
ass with a four months old young ass and feed her for ten days with
couch, chicory, chopped straw, bran, washed barley, purslane, and

needed

with hay [grass]. Then after cleansing its udder with

hot water it ismilked and the milk is collected in a cup placed and
not to be removed all that time inside hot water, to keep it clean
lettuce mixed

and unchanged. Tragacanth,

gum Arabic, licorice, sugar-candy and
are
8
added
to
ounces, from which 2 ounces are administered
sugar
[to the patient each time], it is useful." Here we have seen emphasis
on cleanliness
The

is used.

and quality of feed to healthy animals whose milk

uses of butter
text moreover mentions
the medical

milk (makhid)and curdled (sour)milk (r?yib)which, especially the

former product, "strengthens the stomach, stops diarrhea, improves
the appetite, reduces fever, helps in hectic-fever and consumption,
is the bleeding
of the rectum which
of
and stops hemorrhage
hemmorrhoids."
Of interest is the description of the recommended
"In Spring, select a young red or yellow
technique for production:
cow that delivered recently. Feed her astringent legumes for two

days. At the evening of the thirdday milk threepints (ratls) inside

If Winter
add one pint of sour cream (dawgh)
earthenware.
from goat's milk, or half a pint if Summer. Add also a bunch of
fresh (tender) mint, preferably mixed with celery, anise, rue, tarra
gon1, and melisa and leave alone. At the end of the day take out
an

the herbs, strain them through a widemeshed

sieve made
of hair,
churn [the filtrate] well inside a small water-skin
(ziqq) or a
Then strain the butter out
glass bottle until butter is produced.
and

1
the

or Artemisia
Tarragon
and
the tender
leaves

oil. The
and

oil

pickles.

See Heber

ed., Philadelphia,
drugs

the

as

is used

dracunculus
stem

the work

Dictionary

is a perennial
ducts
and

for tarragon
Textbook

in which

herb
yield

a volatile

salads,
vinegar,
of Pharmacognosy

sauces
(6th

1948), 874. For the translation of unfamiliar terms and

following

of Ibn
(Cairo,

oleoresin

a seasoning
agent
W. Yotjngken,
have

works

Traite des Simples (3 vols., Paris,

on

Linn.,

contain

al-Bayt?r;
1928);

Reinhart

been

also

consulted:

1877?1881),
Muhamiviad
Dozy,

Ltjcien

Leclerc,

a translation with notations

Sharaf,

Supplement

An

English-Arabic
aux
dictionnaires

Arabes (2 vols., Leiden, 1881) reprinted 1927; and Hans Wehr, Arabisches
W?rterbuch f?r die Schriftsprache der Gegenwart, Leipzig, 1956.

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S?b?r's abridged formulary, the first of its kind in Islam

259

to the
completely from the rest and leave to settle. Administer
an
at
20
to
30
amount
first
is
that
to
be
increased
dirhams,
patient
gradually up to one pint for fourteen days. [After that] one ounce

every other day." In this passage also there is an early reference

to reliance on chemical therapy. With
the medicated
buttermilk
one
text
the
here
of
recommends
administration
dirham of
the
from Basrah

iron dross
brass

scories

are

treated

also mentioned

first with vinegar. Iron dross and

for treatment of the liver and

in section ten on electuaries.

stomach

three on syrups and robs (the inspissated

juice of ripe
or
or
to
with
without
boiled
the
fruits,
sugar,
honey
consistency
of a conserve) is similar to that on lohochs. It contains three formulas
Section

for syrups, ten robs

Section four includes

and

three

14 formulas

that

could

be

considered

either.

on the adh?n

(sing, duhn) such

as the duhn of spikenard, absinth, rue, camomile and myrtle. It
a duhn as a dye and a tonic for the hair.
ends in recommending
Section five has 30 briefly described medicated
for use
bandages
in treatment

of spleen, gout, sciatica, headache,

nine formulas on enemas, mainly

six contains
and

for laxation

and

Hxjnayn

is repeatedly
is seven
fragmentary,
small portion

compounded
confection) includes
and

musk,

etc. Section

against colics (sahj)

as in other places,
two suppositories. Here
cited. Similar to section one on tablets, but

of nine

usually

hernia,

on powders. Eight
is missing
and
remains. Section ten on electuaries

only

(drugs
with honey or syrup in the form of paste or
15 recipes such as cumin electuary, nutmeg,
Section eleven on the hieras
(a type of bitter

quince.
5 recipes including one attributed to Rtjfus
contains
(first
tonics)
and
another to Galen
A. D.).
A.
Section
(130?201
century
D.)
as prepared
in the
twelve contains 9 decoctions
(one designated
one
infusion and 7 formulas for making
cAdudi hospital),
pills,
as cough, golden and absinth pills depending
on whether
or
the emphasis
is on the therapeutic
the potent
action, color,
16 recipes
in
consists
the
thirteen
formula.
Section
of
ingredient

named

of conserves

of gourd, nuts, apples, rose, violet, etc. Section fourteen

of theriacs1. It also explains
describes methods
for the preparation
how "theriac is useful against epilepsy, heart hurry (palpitation), and

in three ways:
animals"
It has power to induce
bites of poisonous
1
Theriac, from Greek theriake (Latin Theriaca) first used as an antidote
against poison of wild animals. Later in the Middle Ages it was regarded
as a
general

remedy

against

poisons.

17*

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260

S.Hamabneh,

S ?b?r's abridged formulary,the firstof itskind inIslam

dryness, it purifies the body by expelling the harmful access of

through urine, stool or perspiration, and it strenghtens the
principal organs of the body for defense. Then the passage mentions
three procedures
of interest in determining whether a theriac is

humors

or not?a
to drug therapy. First,
pharmacological
approach
a
and nauseating
medicine
such as white
potent purgative
try
or scammony
on man,
hellebore
then give him 1/2mithq?l
(see
footnote
from
the
page 257,
1)
prepared theriac, if the effect of this
good

is suppressed, then it is an excellent theriac. Second,

potent medicine
as did Galen,
let a vermin (crawling animal) bite a rooster, then
administer the theriac. If the roster recovers then you will be sure
is very useful. Third, a method
applied recently
a
a
later
doctors
is
to
toxic
dose
of
(Arab)
give
poisonous drug
by
to a rooster, a dog, or any other animal and after that administer
that the theriac

the theriac which

is to be tested for its effectiveness.

Section

fiften

which overlaps with sixteen contains 11 prescriptions for treatment

of skin diseases, and scabies, 4 for preventing hair falling out and
hair dyes, 2 for kidney trouble, 2 against diarrhea, one each to treat

craving and obesity, 10 for skin troubles, freckles and face

cosmetics, 5 for gum and teeth, 3 for nose bleeding and wounds, and
a wart remover. Finally, section sixteen discusses the use of animal

dirt

organs: hair, urine, bones, ear wax, gall bladder, milk, mouse, testicle,
urchin (hedgehog), rooster, hen and duck fats, doves' blood, flies,
locusts, crabs, frogs, and snake's tooth and skin.
The last couple of pages contain a compilation
of recipes and
remedies

for skin ulcer

and

terminate worms

leprosy,

stomach,

eye, fevers, to ex

and prevent pregnancy.

In concluding I am obliged to again emphasize
that because
of
obvious distortion in this only known copy of SIbtjr's
formulary
it is hard to arrive at a definite evaluation
of the man and his
to the medical

field generally and especially to phar

is
it
that
this survey has provided a setting
macy. However,
hoped
to look at the author with regard to his time and place in medical
history. It will most probably be corrected, enlarged or at least,
contribution

effectively presented when a complete manuscript

scripts of the original work come to light in the future.

more

des Verfassers:

Anschrift
Sami

Hamarneh,

Smithsonian

or manu

Institution,

Washington

Division

20, D. C, USA

of Medical

Sciences,

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