Book/Printed Material Commentary on the Little Canon.
About this Item
Title
- Commentary on the Little Canon.
Summary
- The Qānūnjah (also commonly known by its Persian name, the Qānūncha), a medical book by Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Jaghmini, was written in the late-12th or early 13th century and, as the name indicates, was inspired by Avicenna's encyclopedic work, al-Qānūn fī al-ṭibb (The canon of medicine). Al-Jaghmini's work was itself the subject of great interest and in turn inspired numerous commentaries. The present commentary on the Qānūnjah was composed by ʻAli ibn Kamal al-Din al-Astarabadi during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II (ruled 1481--1512) and is dedicated to this ruler. The nisba (name indicating provenance) Astarabadi identifies the author as from Astarabad (Gorgan, in modern-day Iran). Kamal al-Din lists this town as his birthplace in the colophon to his work, although he provides, as well, the nisba al-Makki (i.e., the Meccan), perhaps referring to the city of his forebears. The present manuscript was completed in Constantinople (Istanbul) on Shawwal 24, 1174 AH (May 29, 1761). The scribe, Muhammad Tahir, was an important administrator in the Ottoman administration. He adds as a postscript a Persian quatrain beseeching God to "preserve the belief of those who read this script and pray [for the copyist]." The manuscript contains an addendum, which treats the "perceptive faculties," i.e., the senses of hearing, vision, smell, taste, and touch. The author of this short tract identifies himself as Muhammad, the premier physician at the Dar al-shifaʼ (hospital, or literally, house of healing), and states that he means to facilitate learning about the topic of "the senses" for students studying the Qānūnjah. Although the particular Dar al-shifaʼ is not identified, it should be noted that the Dar al-shifaʼ that was part of the vast medical complex founded by Sultan Bayezid in Edirne in 1488 served as teaching hospital as well as a medical center.
Names
- Āstarābāḍī, 'Alī ibn Kamal al-Din Mahmud Author.
- Avicenna, 980-1037 Associated Name.
- Maḥmūd ibn Muḥammad al-Jaghmīnī, died 1344 Contributor.
- Tāhir, Muḥammad Scribe.
Created / Published
- [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1761.
Headings
- - Iran, Islamic Republic of
- - Turkey
- - 1481 to 1512
Notes
- - Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
- - Original resource extent: 104 folios ; 218 x 160 millimeters.
- - Reference extracted from World Digital Library: A.Z. Iskandar, A Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Historical Medical Library, 1967).
- - Original resource at: Wellcome Library.
- - Content in Arabic and Persian.
- - Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.
Medium
- 1 online resource.
Digital Id
Library of Congress Control Number
- 2021667321
Online Format
- compressed data
- image
LCCN Permalink
Additional Metadata Formats
IIIF Presentation Manifest
Part of
Format
Contributor
- Avicenna, 980
- Maḥmūd Ibn Muḥammad Al-Jaghmīnī, 1344
- Starābāḍī, 'Alī Ibn Kamal Al-Din Mahmud
- Tāhir, Muḥammad