Johann Martin Honigberger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1795-03-10)10 March 1795 |
| Died | 18 December 1869(1869-12-18) (aged 74) Kronstadt,Austria-Hungary |
| Medical career | |
| Profession | Physician |
| Notable works | Thirty-five Years in the East ... Relating to the Punjab and Cashmere ..., 1852 |
Johann Martin Honigberger (10 March 1795 – 18 December 1869) was anImperial Austrian physician and traveller. He travelled throughAsia toIndia and wrote a book on his experiences in the East. A novel based on his life, written byMircea Eliade in 1940,The Secret of Dr. Honigberger, became popular.
Honigberger was born to aTransylvanian Saxon family inKronstadt which was then part of thePrincipality of Transylvania. After training inmedicine, Honigberger travelled toConstantinople in 1815 and over the following two years he travelled throughout theLevant,Egypt,Arabia andPersia as a government physician.[1]
Whilst inBaghdad he learnt of the exploits of four European generals,Jean-François Allard,Paolo Avitabile,Claude Auguste Court andJean-Baptiste Ventura who had thrived in the service ofMaharajah Ranjit Singh.[2] On being told of the need for medical personnel in the army Ranjit Singh was preparing, he obtained a reference letter and set out forPunjab.[2]
In 1829, he arrived inLahore which was then the capital of theSikh Empire. He would remain in the Punjab for the next twenty years save for an interlude in Europe. During his time in the Punjab, he was fondly known as 'Martin Sahib'.[3] In Lahore, he initially treatedEast India Company soldiers before he was able to attract the attention of the Ranjit Singh who made him a court physician.
In 1834, he returned to Europe, following the road across theSulaiman Range from the Indus intoAfghanistan. He was robbed atBamyan, north ofKabul, but eventually made it throughRussia to reach Europe once more. Between 1836 and 1838 he practiced medicine in Constantinople, experimenting withhomeopathic remedies.[4]
In 1838, he returned to Lahore at the request of Ranjit Singh.[5][6][7] Despite winning the favour of Ranjit Singh, Honigberger held an unflattering opinion of the Maharaja, describing him as of very low stature. Ranjit Singh offered him command of an artillery battalion, but Honigberger refused on want of not being a soldier, eventually however he accepted an appointment as superintendent of the royal gunpowder factory.[7]
He kept an account of his time in the Punjab, and noted that quarantine was frequently used in the management of plague in Punjab.[8] In 1839 Honigberger was present at the funeral of Ranjit Singh, a ceremony he described as abominable, and of which he wrote a detailed account of the burning of four of his widows, and seven concubines.[7] The following year he attended the funeral ofKharak Singh, describing it as horrid yet remarkable, in which three of Kharak Singh's widows were burnt alive along with eleven concubines.[7]
Honigberger was a keen plant collector and whilst in the India he compiled amateria medica of his discoveries. He is credited with organising the first botanical collections in Afghanistan, undertaken on a journey in 1833.[8]
During his stay in Europe in the mid-1830s he metSamuel Hahnemann and was influenced by the idea of homeopathy. He became a student of homeopathy and is said to be responsible for its introduction to Asia, notably using homeopathic remedies to cure the Maharajah's paralysed vocal chords.[9]
