Ibn al-Bayṭār | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Ibn al-Bayṭār in Benalmádena Costa, Spain | |
| Born | 1197 |
| Died | 1248 (aged 51) |
| Known for | Scientific classificationOncology |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Botanist,Scientist,Pharmacist,Physician |
Diyāʾ al-Dīn Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad al-Mālaqī, commonly known asIbn al-Bayṭār (Arabic:ابن البيطار) (1197–1248 AD) was anAndalusian[1]Arab[2] physician, botanist, pharmacist and scientist. His main contribution was to systematically record the additions made byIslamic physicians in the Middle Ages, which added between 300 and 400 types of medicine to the one thousand previously known since antiquity. He was a student ofAbu al-Abbas al-Nabati.[3]
Ibn al-Baitar was born in the city ofMálaga inal-Andalus (Muslim Spain) at the end of the twelfth century, hence hisnisba "al-Mālaqī".[1] His name "Ibn al-Baitar" is Arabic for "son of the veterinarian", which was his father's profession.[4][5] Ibn al-Bayṭār learned botany from the Málagan botanistAbū al-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī with whom he started collecting plants in and around Spain.[6]
In 1219, Ibn al-Bayṭār left Málaga, travelling to the coast of North Africa and as far as Anatolia, to collect plants. The major stations he visited includeMarrakech,Bugia,Constantinople,Tunis,Tripoli,Barqa andAntalya.[citation needed]
After 1224, he entered the service of theAyyubid Sultanal-Kāmil and was appointed chief herbalist. In 1227 al-Kāmil extended his domination to Damascus, and Ibn al-Bayṭār accompanied him there, which provided him an opportunity to collect plants in Syria. His botanical researches extended over a vast area including Arabia and Palestine. He died in Damascus in 1248.[1]
Ibn al-Bayṭār used the name "snow of China" (in Arabic,thalj al-Ṣīn) to describesaltpetre while writing about gunpowder.[7][8]
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Ibn al-Bayṭār's largest and most widely read book is hisCompendium on Simple Medicaments and Foods (Arabic:كتاب الجامع لمفردات الأدوية والأغذية).[3] It is apharmacopoeia (pharmaceutical encyclopedia) listing 1400 plants, foods, and drugs, and their uses. It is organized alphabetically by the name of the useful plant or plant component or other substance—a small minority of the items covered are not botanicals. For each item, Ibn al-Bayṭār makes one or two brief remarks himself and gives brief extracts from a handful of different earlier authors about the item. The bulk of the information is compiled from the earlier authors. The book contains references to 150 previous Arabic authors, as well as 20 previous Greek authors.[9][10] One of the sources he quotes most frequently is theMateria Medica"ofDioscorides who was inspired by Magon, another Amazigh, having also written an Arabic commentary on the work.[11] Another book often cited by him is Book Two of theCanon of Medicine ofIbn Sīnā (Avicenna). Both of those sources have similarities in layout and subject matter with Ibn al-Bayṭār's own book, but Ibn al-Bayṭār's treatments are richer in detail, and a large minority of Ibn al-Bayṭār's useful plants or plant substances are not covered at all by Dioscorides or Ibn Sīnā. In modern printed edition, the book is more than 900 pages long. As well as in Arabic, it was published in full in translation in German and French in the 19th century.[12]
Ibn al-Bayṭār provides detailed chemical information on therosewater and orangewater production. He mentions: The scentedshurub (syrup) was often extracted from flowers and rare leaves, by means of using hotoils andfat, they were later cooled incinnamon oil. The oils used were also extracted fromsesame andolives.Essential oil was produced by joining various retorts, the steam from these retorts condensed, combined and its scented droplets were used asperfume and mixed to produce the most costly medicines.
Ibn al-Bayṭār's second major work isKitāb al-Mughnī fī al-Adwiya al-Mufrada, كتاب المغني في الأدوية المفردة .anencyclopedia ofIslamic medicine which incorporates his knowledge of plants used extensively for the treatment of various ailments, including diseases related to the head, ear, eye, etc.[9]
The first definite mention of saltpetre in Arabic language is that in al-Baytar (died 1248), written towards the end of his life, where it is called "snow of China." Al-Baytar was a Spanish Arab, although he travelled a good deal and lived for a time in Egypt.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)The first use of a metal tube in this context was made around 1280 in the wars between the Song and the Mongols, where a new term, chong, was invented to describe the new horror...Like paper, it reached the West via the Muslims, in this case the writings of the Andalusian botanist Ibn al-Baytar, who died in Damascus in 1248. The Arabic term for saltpetre is 'Chinese snow' while the Persian usage is 'Chinese salt'.28
