The Contribution of the Turkish Physician, Daud al-Antaki, (16th Century) to the Research of Medieval Medical Substances in al-Sham

Daud Ibn Amar al-Antaki was perhaps the pre-eminent Muslim physician of the 16th century. His medical encyclopaedia, Tadhkirat Uli l-al-Bab wa l-Jami li-L-'Ajab al-'Ujab, is a treasure-trove of medieval medical and pharmaceutical information. Scholarly investigation has revealed in its pages descriptions of 73 medicinal substances known to have been in use in medieval and Ottoman Levant. The 57 plants mentioned include both wild and cultivated local species, and even imported flora. All five of the minerals identified as being in use for medicinal purposes are similarly local, and their application can be corroborated from other historical sources. al-Antaki also identifies nine animals whose body parts or by-products were used medicinally and are thus of particular interest and importance to scholars. He likewise refers to other substances whose precise origins and correct usage remain vague. This study deals with the medical application of different substances originating in the Levant, and attempts to assess the nature of Daud al-Antaki's contribution to research into such usage in the medieval and Ottoman Levant.