Arabian Drugs in Medieval Mediterranean Medicine 9780748697816, 9780748697823, 9781474413183

Table of contents :
Arabian Drugs in Early Medieval Mediterranean Medicine
Copyright
Contents
Plates
Tables
Preface
1 Introduction
2 Agriculture and Pharmaceutical Innovations: Milestones in Research and Case Studies
3 ‘Arabian’ Substances
4 Discussion and Conclusions
Bibliography
Index of English Names
Index of Arabic Names
Index of Scientific Names

Citation preview

ZohAr AMAr

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E frA iM l Ev

ArAbiAn

Drugs

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E A r ly

M E D i E vA l MEDitErrAnEAn

MEDicinE

E d i n b u r g h S t u d i E S i n C l a S S i C a l i S l a m i C h i S t o r y a n d C u lt u r E

Arabian Drugs in Early Medieval Mediterranean Medicine

Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture Series Editor: Carole Hillenbrand A particular feature of medieval Islamic civilisation was its wide horizons. In this respect it differed profoundly from medieval Europe, which from the point of view of geography, ethnicity and population was much smaller and narrower in its scope and in its mindset. The Muslims fell heir not only to the Graeco-Roman world of the Mediterranean, but also to that of the ancient Near East, to the empires of Assyria, Babylon and the Persians – and beyond that, they were in frequent contact with India and China to the east and with black Africa to the south. This intellectual openness can be sensed in many interrelated fields of Muslim thought: philosophy and theology, medicine and pharmacology, algebra and geometry, astronomy and astrology, geography and the literature of marvels, ethnology and sociology. It also impacted powerfully on trade and on the networks that made it possible. Books in this series reflect this openness and cover a wide range of topics, periods and geographical areas. Titles in the series include: Arabian Drugs in Early Medieval Mediterranean Medicine Zohar Amar and Efraim Lev The Medieval Western Maghrib: Cities, Patronage and Power Amira K. Bennison Keeping the Peace in Premodern Islam: Diplomacy under the Mamluk Sultanate, 1250–1517 Malika Dekkiche Queens, Concubines and Eunuchs in Medieval Islam Taef El-Azhari Medieval Damascus: Plurality and Diversity in an Arabic Library – The Ashrafīya Library Catalogue Konrad Hirschler The Popularisation of Sufism in Ayyubid and Mamluk Egypt: State and Society, 1173–1325 Nathan Hofer Defining Anthropomorphism: The Challenge of Islamic Traditionalism Livnat Holtzman Lyrics of Life: Sa‘di on Love, Cosmopolitanism and Care of the Self Fatemeh Keshavarz A History of the True Balsam of Matarea Marcus Milwright Ruling from a Red Canopy: Political Authority in the Medieval Islamic World, From Anatolia to South Asia Colin P. Mitchell Conquered Populations in Early Islam: Non-Arabs, Slaves and the Sons of Slave Mothers Elizabeth Urban

www.edinburghuniversitypress.com/series/ESCIHC

Arabian Drugs in Early Medieval Mediterranean Medicine

Zohar Amar and Efraim Lev

Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com © Zohar Amar and Efraim Lev, 2017 Edinburgh University Press Ltd The Tun – Holyrood Road 12 (2f) Jackson’s Entry Edinburgh EH8 8PJ Typeset in 11/15 Adobe Garamond by Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon CR0 4YY A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 0 7486 9781 6 (hardback) ISBN 978 0 7486 9782 3 (webready PDF) ISBN 978 1 4744 1318 3 (epub) The right of Zohar Amar and Efraim Lev to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498). Published with the support of the University of Edinburgh Scholarly Publishing Initiatives Fund.

Contents

List of Plates vii List of Tables ix Prefacex Map: The Origin of the Main Medieval Arabian Drugs xiv 1 Introduction 1 Arab Attitude to Science 2 Translation of Greek Science into Arabic 3 Assimilation of Theoretical and Practical Medicine into Arab Culture5 Persian and Indian Medicine 6 Indian Medicinal Substances 9 Baghdad as an Intercultural Centre and the Triumph of the Galenic Medical Legacy 10 The Commercial Aspect 13 2 Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Innovations: Milestones in Research and Case Studies Indian Pharmacology and Galeno-Arab Medicine The ‘Agriculture Revolution’ and the Watson Thesis – Cucurbitaceae Family as a Model ‘Crusader Plants’ Greek Literature and the Physicians of Andalusia as a Model Identification The Suggested Model

48 49 49 59 60 71 72

vi | ara bi a n dr ugs 3 ‘Arabian’ Substances Drugs, Spices and Industrial Substances  Drugs (myrobalan, anacardium, dragon’s blood, tamarind, bamboo, shampoo ginger, purging cassia) Spices (clove, betel pepper, betel palm, turmeric, galingale, nutmeg, perfumed cherry; other substances – Indian aconite, zedoary, purging croton, cassia, berberry, fossil crab, sukk, tarangabin, sandarus, turpeth, neem, cubeb pepper) Industrial Substances (lacca, teac, sappan wood, warras) Perfumes and Incenses (agarwood, camphor, ambergris, sandalwood, jasmine, musk, screw pine) Gemstones (corundum, diamond, bezoar-stone) 4 Discussion and Conclusions

82 83 83

100 120 129 162 228

Bibliography237 Index of English Names 275 Index of Arabic Names 283 Index of Scientific Names 289

Plates

Between pages 82 and 83 All images are from the authors’ collection, or were taken by the authors   1 Fruits of two varieties of terminalia trees: yellow (Terminalia ­­citrina) and black (Terminalia chebula)   2 Fruits of the marking-nut tree (Semecarpus anacardium)   3 Resin and powder made out of dragon’s blood (Dracaena draco)   4 Fruits of tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica)   5 Grains of †abāshīr made of bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris)   6 Fruits of purging cassia (Cassia fistula)   7 Dry flower buds of clove tree (Eugenia caryophyllata)   8 Slices of betel palm nut on leaf of betel-pepper tree (Piper betel)   9 Betel palm nut (Areca catechu) 10 Betel palm tree in Sri Lanka  11 Rhizomes of turmeric (Curcuma longa) and powder made of them 12 Rhizomes of galingale (Alpinia galanga) 13 Fruits and leaf of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) 14 Nutmeg seeds and peels of seeds (mace) 15 Seeds of perfumed cherry (Prunus mahaleb) 16 Seeds of purging croton (Croton tiglium) 17 Fruits and leaves of cassia (Cassia acutifolia) 18 Fruits of berberry (Berberis vulgaris) 19 Sugary secretion (grain) of the Persian manna plant (Alhagi ­­ maurorum) 20 Grains of sandarus (Callitris quadrivalvis) 21 Fruits of cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba) 

viii | a rabi an dr ugs 22 Stick-lacca – secretion of lacca (Laccifer lacca) 23 Wool fleeces dyed with lacca 24 Sawdust of sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan) 25 Sappan wood hues (on wool fleeces) 26 Wool fleeces dyed with warras (Flemingia grahamiana) 27 Fragments of wood and bottle of agarwood oil (Aquilaria agallocha) 28 Leaves, white crystal cubes and bottle of camphor oil (Cinnamonum camphora) 29 Sawdust and wood of red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus) 30 Fragments of wood of white sandalwood (Santalum album) 31 Screw pine tree in Zanzibar (Pandanus odoratissimus) 32 Red corundum (ruby) 33 Raw white and transparent corundum 34 Raw blue and purple corundum 35 Raw diamonds

Tables

1.1 Comparison of some of the theoretical characteristics of Greek and Indian medicine 11 2.1 List of drugs that were not mentioned in Dioscorides and Galen’s book according to Arabic sources 66 3.1 Leading perfumes and incenses in the pre-Islamic world 132 3.2 Leading perfumes and incenses of the Islamic world 134 3.3 Names of the common gemstones in the Arabic literature 164 3.4 Rates of prices of gemstones in the medieval period 170 4.1 Greek vs Persian/Sanskrit names of drugs in various medical books230

Preface

F

or more than 1,000 years Arab medicine held sway in the ancient world, from the shores of Spain in the West to China, India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in the East. Arabic medical heritage, in its late practice, was in fact based on a conglomerate of diverse cultural foundations: Greek, Indian, Persian, Mesopotamian, Syrian, Egyptian, Slavic, Spanish and North African (Maghrib). To our knowledge, no research assessing the relative contribution of each of these components has been done, yet most scholars seem to agree that the influence of the Greek medical heritage, on the one hand, and the Indian medical heritage, on the other, were the cornerstones of Arab medicine. We argue that this process was a ‘melting pot’ in which various scientific and political elements interacted – first, the physicians of the Galenic school versus those of the Indian and Zoroastrian schools and, later, the Near Eastern physicians versus the Andalusian ones. Various cultural and religious elements played a part in this process – stemming from Christians, Jews and Muslims – but they all shared an ‘Arab’ background and identity and, therefore, we are of the opinion that the term Arab Medicine is apposite and more appropriate in this case than that of Muslim Medicine. This period is characterised mainly by the dissemination and documenting of the Classical knowledge, yet also by innovation and originality. This co-existence generated a radical transformation in the spiritual and physical cultures, as well as the daily life in the Middle East, which were conveyed from there to the West. Most of the medicinal substances introduced by the Arabs originated in Southeast Asia; the ways in which they were distributed and assimilated into the Mediterranean region varied, however. Our research focuses on the main x

Pref a ce  | xi substances about which sufficient information was accumulated and that enabled clear-cut identification and assessment of their importance to medieval medicine. The ‘new’ medicinal substances enriched the existing inventory of drugs that was influenced basically by Galenic–Arab pharmacology; some even came to occupy a pivotal position in the practical medicine of the medieval period, such as various kinds of myrobalan. Other substances can be found in our modern-day ‘food basket’ in the form of agricultural crops (sugar, for example), and various spices (clove and nutmeg, for example). In our book we mainly address one aspect: the relative impact of the Greek, versus the Indian, medical heritage on the evolution of Arab medicine and pharmacology. We investigate this issue from the perspective of materia medica that, we maintain, is ultimately a reliable indication of the ‘specific weight’ contributed by each of these medical legacies. In the first chapter, the introduction, the Arab conquests (territorial expansion and government policies) are dealt with before contining with the Arab attitude to science. The translation of Greek science into Arabic is discussed in the next section, as it is crucial for the understanding of the assimilation of theoretical and practical medicine into Arab culture. The geopolitical aspect of this process in the early Islamic period is dealt with through the illustration of Baghdad as an intercultural centre and the pinnacle of the Galenic medical legacy. Persian and Indian medicines are dealt with later, followed by discussion on Indian medicinal substances. Next we deal with the commercial aspect of our story, that is, the ways in which the ‘drugs’ were introduced, traded and transported from the Orient to the West, starting with the history of the ‘Indian trade’ from ancient times and continuing with the medieval Islamic trade (mainly trade routes and commercial centres). The Mediterranean trade is next to be discussed, elaborating on its history, including contemporary Byzantine trade, principal trade routes and important commercial centres. The chapter concludes with a short description of the main groups of traders who were active in the medieval East–West trade. In the first section of Chapter 2 we assess the influence of the legacy of Indian pharmacology on Galeno-Arab medicine. Later, we present Watson’s pioneering research, its advantages and disadvantages, how we have ‘improved’ his methodology and our test case of several species of the Cucurbitaceae family. The following section contains our research dealing with the Crusader

xii | a rabi an dr ugs plants in the Holy Land, to which we applied our new methodology. The next section consists of two studies we conducted as part of the research for the present book. It is here that we introduce the Andalusian scholars Ibn Juljul and Ibn Rushd, and their writings on ‘the drugs not mentioned’ in Dioscorides’ and Galen’s books. The concluding section presents the suggested research model with a description of the methodology we used in the current book. Chapter 3 deals with the ‘Arabian’ substances. We do not purport to include in our book all of the new ‘drugs’ that were distributed by the Arabs, but rather to focus predominantly on those substances that received proper documentation. Moreover, we did not always have sufficient evidence to determine whether or not this drug was new! Therefore, we do not present herein the list presented by Adams at the end of his edition of Paulus Aegineta. Some of the products of our research have been published in several preliminary articles, and in our book we strive to present the reader with a solid piece of updated and thorough research. The historical sources we have used are varied and plentiful, derived from theoretical and practical medical and pharmaceutical literature, alchemy and perfumery books, lexicography, accounts and logs of geographers and travellers, herbal and botanical books, general medieval encyclopedias, commercial literature and the vast Cairo Genizah manuscripts, as well as Byzantine and other Western literature, including commercial documents, the Italian archives and publications of studies. Most of the entries open with quotations from a contemporary Arabic source, the purpose of which is to present the spirit of the era to the reader in a tangible and colourful manner. The reader will be able to get a glimpse of the material-cultural milieu of the medieval Islamic world and the world with which they traded: to learn how medieval people saw the world; what their geographical perception was; how they described other cultures; how they doubted the origin of the drugs; and the arguments on the origin of exotic drugs, their production and other aspects. This is the reason why we have translated the quotations in a free and flowing manner and not in a linguistically literal, professional one – to avoid detracting from the general, larger picture by going into the small and petty details. We start by presenting eight new drugs of ‘Indian’ origin, followed by seven spices from the same origin that were heavily used in medicine and then

Pref a ce  | xiii continue with short entries of thirteen other medicinal substances. After dealing with four drugs of uncertain identification, we proceed to four industrial substances, seven kinds of perfumes and incense and conclude with three gemstones. The book ends with a brief discussion and decisive conclusions. It is our privilege and pleasure to extend our thanks to the following entities for their financial support, without which this book could not have been written or completed: Research Authorities, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Eretz Israel Studies, University of Haifa, Israel, and the Landy Foundation, Cambridge, England. It is with great pleasure that we acknowledge and thank our dear friend and colleague Mr Avraham Latti for years of collaborative work and brilliant translations from the early Arabic sources; without him this project could not have been accomplished. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Professor Yaakov Lev, who read a draft of the manuscript and contributed an elegant critique, invaluable ideas and highly useful remarks; to Dr Yaron Serri for his professional editing of the Arabic and Hebrew terms and his incredible, never-ending knowledge; and to Marianne Steinmetz for her wonderful and professional English editing work. It was truly a pleasure to work with the team members of Edinburgh University Press; their kindness and professionalism made our experience a highly productive and positive one. The photographs of the ‘drugs’ presented in the book were taken in Southeast Asia by the authors, and some were displayed at the authors’ scientific and teaching collections at Bar-Ilan University, Israel and the University of Haifa, Israel (we thank our professional photographer Mr Shahar Cohen). The plates and maps were drawn by the talented graphic designer of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Haifa, Israel, Mrs Marina Bugaev. This book is dedicated to our families, mainly on this occasion to our spouses Tamar Amar and Dr Michal Lev, and our children: Shaked, Yadin, Tzur, Mevaseret, Matania, Avigail Amar; and Hagar, Amitay, Avigail and Ilay Lev. Zohar Amar Efraim Lev Neve Tsuf Zichron Yaakov

Saudi Arabia

en

India

Sri Lanka

d

Indian Ocean

Ambergris

Persian mannaplant Berberry Perfumed cherry Jasmine Bezoar

Yem

Warras Screw pine Dragon’s blood

Cassia

Iraq

The Origin of the Main Medieval Arabian Drugs

Egypt

Mediterranean Sea

Persia

Sin

GEMSTONES Corundum Diamond Fossil crab Lacca Teak

DRUGS Myrobalan Anacardium Indian aconite Bamboo Shampo ginger Purging cassia Sappan wood Purging croton Trupeth

Indonesia

SPICES PERFUMES Musk Tamarind Sandalwood Clove Betel pepper Agarwood Betel palm Camphor Turmeric Zedoary Galingale Nutmeg Cubeb pepper Grains of Paradise

China

1 Introduction

F

our generations after the death of the Prophet Mohammad, founding father of Islam, the era of the first Caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty was characterised principally by conquests and the expansion of the Muslim domain. With the rise of the Abbasid dynasty (750), the Muslim world controlled immense territories, from India to Spain and from North Africa to the Arabian Desert. This was the first time since the conquests of Alexander the Great that such a vast territory was ruled by a single power, the Arabs, making them a ‘global village’. Different kingdoms and cultures were unified under the rule of the Arabs, including the two previous great powers, parts of the Byzantium and the Sasanian Empires. From an economic perspective, the entire Fertile Crescent was under Arab control. This situation created uniquely favourable economic conditions for exchanges of all kinds, since the absence of geo-political barriers allowed for the improved passage of people, merchandise and knowledge from place to place. The double taxation system that had been used at the borders was abolished and even the monetary systems were amalgamated: the dīnār (gold coin) and the dirham (silver coin) were established as legal tender throughout the Muslim empire and were accepted and recognised by the international monetary and economic systems. The Arab rulers’ policy was to retain the previous administrations of Byzantium and Persia in order to prevent economic disruptions or crises.1 The pinnacle of Arab commerce with the territories of southern and eastern Asia was during the reign of the Abbasids (ninth to tenth centuries), which typically reflects the development of the Hindu–Muslim culture.2 The term ‘India’ in the ancient sources referred to vast geographical areas, including the islands of the Indian Ocean such as Madagascar, Zanzibar and the Maldives, as well as southern India, Tibet, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Indonesia and China.3 1

2 | a rabi an dr ugs Arab Attitude to Science The general view emerging from research on the subject is that the Arab conquerors originating from Arabia had either very little theoretical knowledge in the various scientific disciplines of the time or none at all. Consequently, their eclectic policy of openness towards study and innovation facilitated the transfer of knowledge among the various cultures of the conquered populations or others to whom they were exposed on the territorial fringe of southern and eastern Asia.4 But in a relatively new book, George Saliba presents precisely the opposite argument. In his opinion, the Arabs had substantial scientific knowledge prior to the conquests and the translation projects.5 The process of scientific development was extremely advanced by the end of the expansion era, when Islamic control over the lands was established; it seems that only then were those who designed government policy free to promote their spiritual and material cultures, as described by Ibn Khaldūn: Then God brought Islam, and its adherents gained their incomparable victory. They deprived the Byzantines (Rūm), as well as all other nations, of their realms. In the beginning, they were simple (in their ways) and disregarded the crafts. Eventually, however, the Muslim rule and dynasty flourished. The Muslims developed a sedentary culture, such as no other nation had ever possessed. They became versed in many different crafts and sciences. Then, they desired to study the philosophical disciplines. They had heard some mention of them by the bishops and priests amongst (their) Christian subjects, and man’s ability to think has (in any case) aspirations in the direction of the intellectual sciences.6

This process became particularly evident when the era of the great conquests ended and Islamic jurisdiction over the lands was consolidated. The translation of texts from the Classical sources into Arabic encompassed all fields of science such as philosophy, astronomy, mathematics and medicine.7 As far as we can tell, interest in the sciences, which in the Umayyad period was relatively limited,8 intensified significantly when the Abbasid dynasty rose to power.9 Arab historiography credits the improvement in the various fields of science to the second Abbasid Caliph, Abū Jaʿfar ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muªammad al-Man‚ūr (754–5), the stabiliser of the dynasty and

i ntroducti on | 3 founder of the capital city of Baghdad. His predilection for disciplines such as philosophy and astronomy spurred his personal involvement and support of their advancement.10 It was said that he received a copy of the works of the Greek mathematician Euclid and several other translated works on the life sciences. When the Muslim scholars studied them, their desire to obtain more such scientific works increased dramatically.11 Especially prominent for his contribution was Caliph al-Maʾmūn (813–33) who had a deep interest in the sciences and allegedly allocated financial resources for the translation of books written in Syriac and Greek.12 Al-Maʾmūn sent dozens of translators to the Byzantine rulers to search for Greek scientific writings, and then paid them to translate these books into Arabic.13 According to other scholars, al-Maʾmūn gave priceless gifts to the emperors of Byzantium, and in return asked only for books on philosophy. In this way he acquired the books of Hippocrates, Aristotle, Plato, Galen and other Classical scholars, which were translated and studied by the best Arab scholars who gained high prestige; and similarly by authors and translators of books dealing with religion, grammar, poetry, science and genealogy.14 Because of his tremendous endeavours, scholars attribute to al-Maʾmūn the famous translation project entitled Bayt al-Óikma (The House of Wisdom), although this work had apparently been launched on a modest scale before his time. The result of all this activity was the popular perception of the Muslims as the natural successors of the ancient Greeks and as a nation that advocated truth.15 Translation of Greek Science into Arabic The translation of science books that took place in Baghdad during the Abbasid period was not an Arab innovation. The Sasanian model, the ancient initiative of the kings of Persia to translate books written in Greek, Syriac and even Indian and Chinese, preceded them.16 The last of such translations were done by the Christian Nestorians.17 Parts of the medical books that had been translated originally into Persian were later translated from Persian into Arabic.18 According to several historical sources, scattered translation works were done by the Arabs during the Umayyad period. The best known translator of that period was Māsarjawayh, a Jewish physician of the eighth century,

4 | a rabi an dr ugs who wrote an important medical book that is no longer extant.19 The same scholar translated from Syriac into Arabic the medical book entitled Kunnāsh fī al-˝ibb (Medical Pandect) written by a seventh-century Christian physician ʾAhrun al-Qiss, a graduate of the medical school in Alexandria. This book is thought to have been originally written in Greek.20 In a later period, we hear about Bayt al-Óikma, the above-mentioned translation project of the Abbasid rulers. According to Balty-Guesdon this term relates mainly to a meeting place of scholars, whereas the translations were performed in various venues, not necessarily in Bayt al-Óikma.21 Even if there are differences of opinion regarding the actual existence of this institute, no one doubts the activities of the translators. The project lasted for more than a hundred years; it was probably begun during the reign of Hārūn al-Rashīd (786–809), and its zenith was during the time of al-Maʾmūn and al-Mutawakkil (847–61). Unfortunately, we know very little about its modus operandi – whether the work was done in one location or in a particular institution. In any event, it appears that this project clearly employed hundreds of scholars and translators, mainly Nestorians, who worked on a wide variety of scientific writings in astronomy, geometry, philosophy, life sciences and medicine. This activity, however, was limited to the sciences; it did not deal at all with the humanities. Such literature was deemed ‘infected’ with pagan symbols. The nature of the translation occasionally diverged from a straightforward rendering, often including extensive commentaries with new notions while, conversely, pagan perceptions contrary to the monotheistic spirit were amended or even excised.22 According to Lewicka, the Greek medical concept of a non-meat diet as a remedy for the sick, which encouraged an ‘anti-vegetarian’ approach among the medieval Cairenes, may have been inserted into the Arabic–Islamic medico-culinary corpus by Christian Nestorian physicians. These physicians were working in Baghdad and Gondēshāpūr in the eighth and ninth centuries, translating the Hippocratic–Galenic medical texts into Arabic.23 The Abbasid establishment devoted enormous efforts to locating and assembling various and diverse works from all over the Muslim lands and the outside world: Greek and Latin texts, Syriac manuscripts and even Persian and Indian books.24 Most scholars agree, however, that the principal activity in Bayt al-Óikma was in the medical field, that is, translating the great

i ntroducti on | 5 Hippocratic and Galenic corpus from original Greek manuscripts and from Syriac translations and adaptations.25 The most prominent of all translators were the members of the Bukhtīshūʿ family, a prominent Nestorian family from Gondēshāpūr, who had served the Abbasid caliphs for more than 200 years.26 One of the most famous physicians of this family was Yūªannā ibn Māsawayhi (777–857), who belonged to the Galenic medical school of thought, and even served as the head of Bayt al-Óikma.27 His successor, nominated by al-Maʾmūn, was Óunayn ibn ʾIsªāq (809–73) from al-Óīra (southern Iraq). According to most scholars, Óunayn himself is responsible for translating and editing dozens of works. Moreover, he established a group of translators including his son, ʾIsªāq ibn Óunayn and his nephew Óubaysh ibn al-Óasan, ʿĪsā ibn ʿAlī and many others.28 Another contemporary author and translator was Qus†ā ibn Lūqā (820–912), a Christian physician from Óarrān, who wrote and translated a number of medical and philosophy books,29 and Sābūr ibn Sahl (d. 869), a Nestorian physician who studied and practised at the hospital of Gondēshāpūr and was called to Baghdad to serve al-Mutawakkil.30 Assimilation of Theoretical and Practical Medicine into Arab Culture We have meagre knowledge regarding the Arabs’ attitude towards medicine in the early Islamic period, and what we do know is based mainly on later historiographical sources.31 It seems that Ibn Khaldūn was the first Arab writer to criticise traditional Arab medicine, asserting that it was practised by old Bedouin sheikhs, and was not based on any ‘natural law’ or ‘logical theory’, such as suiting medicines to the temperament of the patient.32 Traditional medicine was based on supernatural powers such as jinns. In the Qurʾān, according to Ibn Khaldūn, there is no direct reference to medical issues.33 Part of this traditional medicine was perpetuated later in a genre named ˝ibb al-Nabī or al-˝ibb al-Nabawī (based mainly on Hadīth quoted from Muªammad), although there are signs of influence of later elements of knowledge and medical practice that became known to the Arabs only after their conquests.34 Information regarding medicine in the period of the first Caliphs is also scarce, although from early historical sources we learn that the Umayyad rulers hired physicians, mainly of Christian origin, and students of the Galenic school.35

6 | a rabi an dr ugs It seems that the Galenic medical legacy was not only passed on directly to the Arabs after they had completed their conquests and established their regime but was also conveyed through several channels operating in Persia during the pre-Islamic period. As previously mentioned, many texts were translated from Greek into Syriac, and later from Syriac into Arabic, along with texts that were translated directly from Greek into Arabic.36 According to Budge, it seems that the Syriac medical book he translated and edited belongs to that period (it was also copied later, in the tenth century), and in fact it is the translation of lectures written by a physician who had studied medicine in the medical school in Alexandria.37 Alongside the Greek legacy, other cultural agents, mainly Indian and Persian ones, were operating. All signs indicate that the Abbasid translation project was based on an earlier Sasanian model.38 As mentioned above, Saliba argues that the Arabs began their translation endeavours before the date determined in modern historiographic literature.39 Persian and Indian Medicine According to Arab historiography and numerous modern scholars, most of the Persian scientific books, unlike those of Greek literature, were lost.40 Ibn Nadim mentions various books in Persian, including several that deal with logic and medicine, which were translated into Arabic, and some that were translated from even earlier sources such as Chinese, Indian and Greek.41 However, it appears that some of these books were not destroyed, and a good deal of information was even preserved as part of an oral tradition. In any case, Persian medical texts have barely survived,42 and therefore we have very little knowledge of Persian and local Mesopotamian medicine apart from the medical services the Sasanian rulers received from physicians of the Greek schools, who were considered to be superior.43 An important issue is the question of the existence of a hospital in Gondēshāpūr in Southwest Persia with a medical school adjacent to it. The prevalent notion among scholars was that Nestorian monks who had been rejected by the formal church moved to Gondēshāpūr and Nisibis (Nu‚aybīn).44 When the school of Edessa closed down by order of the Byzantine regime, more Nestorian monks fled to Persia to find shelter.45 The Nestorians belonged to the Galenic medical school, and through their missionary work they reached India, Sri Lanka and China,

i ntroducti on | 7 where they became exposed to the medical knowledge of southern and eastern Asia. According to some sources, Greek and even Indian medical writings were translated into Persian and Syriac in this region. This was done with the enthusiastic support of the Persian rulers, similar to the activity of the centre that was closed down in Alexandria.46 Khusraw I ʾAnūshīrwān (531–79) was one of the most prominent Persian rulers who supported this activity, and it was said that he sent his personal physician, named Burzo, to India. When the doctor returned he brought with him not only games like chess and draughts and the Book of Kalīla and Dimna, but also medical books that had been translated into Persian (and later into Arabic) and even a number of Indian physicians.47 On the nature of the study, Browne writes: ‘Although the medical teaching of Gondēshāpūr was, in the main Greek, there was, no doubt, an underlying Persian element, especially in Pharmacology.’48 However, according to the scholars who dispute the accepted view regarding the existence of a medical centre in Gondēshāpūr in the pre-Islamic period,49 our knowledge of the nature of ancient Persian medicine remains scarce and vague.50 In recent years researchers have become increasingly aware of the theme of ‘Indian–Muslim cultural–scientific relations’ and there is evidence regarding various fields of Arabic science that were based on Sanskrit texts; mathematics is one example thereof.51 Moreover, Indian literature, mainly in the field of astronomy, was translated into Arabic at the behest of the Abbasid rulers.52 Under the auspices of the Barmakid viziers (in power during the regime of Hārūn al-Rashīd and Abū Jaʿfar al-Man‚ūr) the foremost texts of Indian medical theory – featuring the Ayurveda, the compendium of Sushruta, the compendium of Charaka and other medical writings translated into Persian or originally written in Sanskrit – were translated into Arabic.53 Two of the translators, both of them Indian physicians, deserve mention here: al-Hindī Ibn Dahn and Manka;54 the latter translated Kitāb al-Sumūm by Shanak from Hindi into Persian.55 In Baghdad, besides the translation project through which the Arabs were exposed to various medical theories, translators also encountered practical medicine. While many of the tarnaslators were physicians of the Greek school, others, coming from Persia, Egypt and al-Shām, arrived and practised at the Abbasid court as well.56 Several Indian physicians practised in Baghdad

8 | a rabi an dr ugs at the time of the Barmakid viziers.57 One of them, Íāliª ibn Bahla, was among the greatest scholars of Indian medicine;58 he was active at the time of Jaʿfar ibn Yaªyā al-Barmakī.59 A hospital based on Ayurvedic medicine was also operating at that time.60 The affinity of the Barmakid rulers to Indian medicine can be ascribed originally to the head of the family, Khālid al-Barmakī, who was evidently the son of a Buddhist priest before he converted to Islam. It was said: ‘Yaªyā ibn Khālid al-Barmakī sent a man to India, so that he might bring him the medicinal plants found in that land.’61 The Barmakid family, whose wealth and generosity were legendary in the Islamic world, in fact ruled the Abbasid kingdom and controlled its huge administrative apparatus. This was the primary factor in their influence on the shaping of Arab culture at the time. They invited philosophers and physicians to Baghdad from India and imported Indian practical drugs that enriched the inventory of the Greek materia medica.62 The famous Arab scholar al-JāªiÕ (d. 868–9) writes an anecdote about medical knowledge, which had been conveyed to him by a middleman, about a conversation he had with an Indian physician by the name of Bahla in the times of Hārūn al-Rashīd. Al-JāªiÕ mentions the names of other Indian scholars who came to Iraq at about the same time as Bahla; according to Shefer-Mossensohna, and Abou Hershkovitz, some of them seem to be mythical figures rather than historical ones. Other names, like Manka, which appear in additional Abbasid sources and in later ones as well, can be historically verified.63 The historian and Qurʾān commentator al-˝abarī (d. 923) mentions an Indian doctor being invited to al-Man‚ūr. In one case the caliph’s physicians were unable to offer a solution for a severe medical condition, and the caliph had to look elsewhere for a remedy. A nameless Indian physician appeared and prepared a drug for the caliph; after using it and seeing that the drug was effective, he highly praised the Indian physician.64 An assessment of the Abbasid translation project reveals the influence of two main schools of medicine: Greek and Indian, as well as the school of Persian medicine. As mentioned above, as early as the Sasanian Empire, contacts with the Greek and, to a certain extent, even with the Indian schools existed; all of these interactions came to fruition with the translation of Greek, Syriac and Sanskrit manuscripts.65 The Persian school should be seen as an

i ntroducti on | 9 intermediary centre for the transmission of medical knowledge to the Arabs, and not as their competitor. Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz reinterpret medieval Arabic sources of the eighth and ninth centuries and claim that the interest of the contemporary Muslims in Asian science was not a transitory and atypical phenomenon that lacked far-reaching implications. Based on a rereading of Arabic chronicles and biographical dictionaries, they portray how the rather brief contact between Abbasid Iraq and India yielded ‘enduring influences’. They add that two aspects of Muslim medical practice that best demonstrate the Indian influence were ‘the presence of Indian physicians in Baghdad in and around the Abbasid’s court, and the emergence of early Muslim hospitals’.66 Indian Medicinal Substances The influence of Indian and Persian medicine can be seen in the writings of some of the most important figures in Arab science, most of whom were also practitioners, such as Yūªannā ibn Māsawayhi,67 ʿAlī ibn Rabban al-˝abarī and al-Kindī in the ninth century and al-Rāzī (865–925), al-Bīrūnī (973– 1048), Ibn Sīnā (980–1037) and Ibn Waªshiyya in the tenth century.68 The great majority of those regarded as being among the most highly acclaimed Muslim scholars of all times69 were of Persian origin and were given the sobriquet ‘the physicians of Bilād al-ʿAjamʾ.’70 Consequently, the Persian physicians, in their Arabian attire, continued to serve as mediators and guardians of part of the Indian medical legacy.71 Detailed below are several physicians, some of whom were listed above: • ʿAlī ibn Rabban al-˝abarī in his book Firdaws al-Óikma refers to many Indian medicinal substances,72 and in the last few chapters he even mentions complex Indian drugs; several of which bear their Sanskrit names.73 Al-˝abarī notes that his writing is based on the books of ‘the old surgeon’ Sushruta and the physician Charaka.74 • Al-Bīrūnī is considered as one of the most important Muslim scholars. He specialised in many fields, including history, mathematics, linguistics, philosophy and the life sciences, mainly medicine and pharmacology.75 The scientific world of al-Bīrūnī was influenced by both the Indian

10 | ara bi a n dr ugs and Greek cultures;76 however, in his medical book he mentions many Persian medicinal substances. In the introduction to his medical book, for example, he mentions ‘the books of Hindūstān’ in an Indian legend and while doing so he writes about the medical uses of the Indian aconite (bīsh) among the Indians.77 Al-Bīrūnī also gives the ancient Indian names of the substances and shows how a few of these names entered the Arabic language for example: ‚andal – chandal, chandn.78 According to him, the name Íaydanānī – the term for a seller of perfume and medicinal ­­substances – was extracted from the name of the sandalwood plant: ‘So this is how the commodities and the traders of these commodities begin to be called Íaydanānī, which is undoubtedly associated with sandalwood: it therefore became Íaydanānī. It is just possible that Persians because they, like the Indians, were so fond of sandalwood, began to address sandalwood traders as jindanānīs.’79 • Abū Man‚ūr Muwaffaq of Herāt practised medicine in eastern Iran in about 970. He travelled to India, and therefore it is not surprising that his work contains Indian influence. He even writes that ‘in India more active drugs are to be found than in all the other six parts of the world together.’80 He occasionally mentions Indian physicians in his writings, and notes many names of medicinal substances in Persian and Sanskrit.81 According to Laufer, 52 (11 per cent) out of 466 medicinal plants mentioned in Muwaffaq’s book are of Indian origin and are rare in Persia.82 Further examples of physicians who mention Persian medicinal substances in their books of the ninth to tenth centuries AD, and even later, are presented below. Baghdad as an Intercultural Centre and the Triumph of the Galenic Medical Legacy As noted above, Baghdad was the hub and crossroads through which diverse intercultural medical legacies passed: those of the Greek, Indian, Persian83 and the local Mesopotamian. In fact, only the Indian medical legacy was an equivalent alternative, and thus posed a challenge, to the Galenic legacy.84 Moreover, some resemblances between the two medical legacies (theories and doctrines) can be found (see Table 1.1).85

i ntroducti on | 11 Table 1.1  Comparison of some of the theoretical characteristics of Greek and Indian medicine Characteristics Number of elements

Greek–Arab medicine

four – fire, air, water  and earth Quantity of phlegm or the four – white (water), red powers that balance health and  (air), yellow (fire) and their relation to the elements black (earth) Features of the main types four – melancholic, (temperament) of humans  choleric, phlegmatic and sanguine

Indian medicine (Ayurveda) five – fire, air, water, earth and ether (space) three – vata (wind), pitta (bile) and kapha (phlegm) three – vata, pitta and kapha

The Greek and Indian medical schools practised medicine concurrently, each working separately to extend its respective influence through the distribution of its unique medical principles in theory and in practice. This was actually accomplished by the Abbasid rulers, or more precisely by their influential courtiers and the scholars they employed, who directed their medical activities according to personal inclination, family origin and political background. With the ending of the rule of the Barmakid viziers and their expulsion by their master Hārūn al-Rashīd in 803, for disloyalty and on other grounds, their influence faded and they were never heard of again.86 The importance of the Indian medical school with which they were identified declined accordingly. And, indeed, at the time of both al-Maʾmūn and al-Mutawakkil the status of their courtiers and the scholars who supported the Greek medical school grew stronger and hence also their influence on the translation project, until eventually the ‘triumph’ of the Galenic school was accomplished. This school was indisputably adopted by Arab medicine in later periods, while Indian and Persian medicine were pushed aside87 and their influence remained limited or tainted. To illustrate this, we note that out of more than 300 physicians recorded in Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa’s book, only five are of Indian origin,88 and only twenty-two entries are devoted to Persian physicians.89 All the others90 listed in the book, whether they practised in the Classical period or in the author’s own time, in the Byzantine or Arab domain (Iraq, al-Shām, Spain, North Africa and so forth), belonged to the Galenic school.

12 | ara bi a n dr ugs As stated earlier, the ascendancy of the Galenic school derived from various political interests, mainly those of the chief translators who directed the Baghdad project and those of the Barmakid period who represented the Galenic medical school, namely the Syriac Christians. Such translators as the Bukhtīshūʿ family, Yūªannā ibn Māsawayhi, and Óunayn ibn Isªāq belonged predominantly to the same social and professional circles and bequeathed their posts to their relatives or close associates. As mentioned before, some modern scholars believe that the information about the medical centre in Gondēshāpūr and its translation project (that are mentioned only in later sources) is actually a legend invented by the aforementioned Christian (Nestorian) translators, and directed against physicians from other schools who were practising in the Abbasid court at that time. These scholars argue that through this assertion the Nestorians planned to enhance the prestige of their school and validate its legacy as being more developed and superior to its main ‘competitor’ – the Indian medical legacy.91 According to this assumption, the adoption of the Galenic medical school as the official and exclusive representative of Arab medicine was not only thanks to its superiority or better medical practice than that of the other schools. The triumph of the Galenic approach may also be explained by additional factors (that we will discuss later), although it should be noted that it is difficult to determine what the relevant influence of each factor was. Besides the medical and learning centres in Persia and Mesopotamia (Gondēshāpūr and Óarrān), the Galenic legacy had a powerful hold on all former Byzantine centres in Syria and Alexandria.92 Although some scholars suggest that they were beginning to decline on the eve of the Islamic conquests,93 these centres seem to have enjoyed special patronage when the first Arab regime, the Umayyad dynasty, was established in Damascus. The Arabs were exposed to the Classical culture, and the administrative order was founded on the intentional continuation of the preceding Byzantine rule.94 Moreover, historical evidence from this period clearly shows partiality of the Umayyad rulers towards physicians of the Alexandrian medical school.95 Greek texts in this region were more accessible, mainly because the ‘cultural agents’ were Christians, who either possessed these texts or could easily obtain them from their co-religionists in the neighbouring Byzantine Empire. The Nestorian translators were well-versed in translating Greek texts

i ntroducti on | 13 into Syriac in the pre-Islamic period96 and in Sasanian Persia;97 hence, the translation project was not built from scratch. The knowledge, methodology, manpower and professional technique for translation – from Greek into Arabic, or as in many cases from Greek into Syriac and then into Arabic – were not new. The theological aspect played an important part as well. Medicine apparently could not be separated from other sciences, such as philosophy, in which the Arabs clearly preferred the Greek to the Persian and Indian approaches, which were regarded as contradictory to Islamic monotheism.98 The medical legacy of the Greeks, first and foremost Hippocrates and later Galen, even though its ‘leaders’ were pagan, was subjected to ‘purification’ and adoption by the Christians during the Byzantine period and was, therefore, primed for its ultimate acceptance by the Arabs.99 Al-Maʾmūn’s well-known opposition to the Zoroastrians, on the one hand, and his tendency towards the rational Muʿtazilite theological views, on the other, may be added to this argument.100 The relations between the Greek and the Indian medical traditions should be seen in a wider context of all branches of ‘Arab’ sciences; this can be learnt from some works dealing mainly with astronomy,101 mathematics102 and law.103 And, indeed, Persian and Indian influence, which can be identified in Greek theoretical frameworks, helped to enhance them, although it seems that their contribution was minor. For instance, the books of Indian astronomy did not replace the Ptolemaic influence that maintained its dominance over medieval Arab thought.104 Nevertheless, it seems as though there is no better field than medicine to demonstrate so clearly the relative contribution of each one of these traditions to the formation of Arab medicine, in both theory and practice. Despite the dominance of the Galenic medical school, ultimately it was the school of Indian medicine that succeeded in having a long-term impact by means of its unique medicinal substances, as we shall see in the next chapters. The Commercial Aspect In general, our book deals mainly with the trends and distribution of medicinal substances and other products that emerged from the Islamic conquests from the seventh to eighth centuries – a process that persisted through to the tenth to twelfth centuries and even later, having gone through peaks and

14 | ara bi a n dr ugs troughs. Therefore, the late sources in general reinforce our arguments and in the cases where they add information it does not change dramatically the general picture. This is the reason we did not relate to the late sources that deal with the ‘Arabs’ drugs’. ‘Indian Trade’ Cultural contacts, trade and biological translocations between societies widely dispersed in areas spanning the Indian Ocean, East Africa, Arabia and South and Southeast Asia started in early pre-history, becoming dynamic in the Bronze Age and in the Iron Age. Archaeological evidence shows, for example, trade and cultural contacts in the southern part of the Red Sea by movement of obsidian from Neolithic Ethiopia to Yemen, and incense and other goods that were imported to Egypt in the fourth millennium BC. From about 2000 BC African crops reached southern Asia and crops of Chinese and Indian origin, and even domesticated animals such as the Zebu (cattle), reached Yemen and East Africa.105 Commercial contacts between the East (India and the Islands) and the Mediterranean Basin existed as early as the third millennium BC (the ancient Egyptian kingdom) and even earlier. These contacts and trade continued into the Middle Kingdom and the late Pharaonic periods; however, the best documentation of the Indian Ocean–Red Sea trade is from the Hellenistic– Roman period.106 The distribution of domesticated plants, mainly for food consumption, took place in waves throughout the various historical periods. These brand new crops, introduced to the farms of the Mediterranean Basin, contributed to diversifying and enriching the local food basket.107 Ancient relations with the Indian Space were first illustrated circumstantially when, for example, nard and cinnamon were mentioned in the Bible.108 However, new scientific data from research conducted in the last decade strengthens the claim that exotic spices from Southeast Asia were used in the Mediterranean Basin region. For example, in excavations done at the house of a well-to-do family in Terqa, in the Euphrates, a small jar containing charred cloves was found (dated 1600 BC).109 Archaeological evidence of cinnamon was also identified inside small Iron Age flasks (ninth to eleventh centuries BC) in some sites in Israel. The

i ntroducti on | 15 analysis proved that cinnamon was the content of the flasks and, therefore, it is clear proof of trade with Southeast Asia during that period.110 Moreover, remnants of nutmeg were found at al-Dayr al-Baªrī (sixteenth to fourteenth centuries BC).111 It seems that the above-mentioned evidence can inform us of a limited use of these commodities among the Levantine elite. In any case, the evidence is sporadic and non-consecutive. Such evidence of the use of nutmeg, cinnamon and other ‘Indian’ spices and products started to re-emerge and become more common only after the Islamic conquests. It is unclear how these sporadic commercial relations existed; we assume it was through various mediators. The existence of the Kingdom of Sheba on the Red Sea, for example, enabled long-term commercial ties with the Indian Space (this term has a wider geographical meaning, and includes, in a later period, the Islands of the Indian Ocean such as Zanzibar and Madagascar).112 The Arabian Sea corridor led to an early exchange of plant species between the savannahs of India and Africa and was, according to Fuller, a ‘precursor to the later pepper route of the spice trade’. Among the first hints of such trade are corns of black pepper that were found in the nostrils of the mummified Pharaoh Ramses II (1200 BC).113 Direct commercial ties with this space are mentioned explicitly in the Old Testament only during the Persian Period (The Book of Esther 1,1). Analysis of different precious commodities from the Indian Space, which were well-known in the Middle East, attests to the existence of indirect commercial dealings between India and the Middle East, with the nations of southern Arabia acting as mediators. An example of this is the linkage made in the Bible between the frankincense from Sheba and the ‘scented cane from a fair country’ (Jeremiah, 6, 20), which is evidently referring to the Indian Space. In addition, Herodotus (fifth century BC) noted the Phoenician trade between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea at the time of Pharaoh Necho (Herodotus, IV, 42);114 the above-mentioned findings of cinnamon at Iron Age sites on the Mediterranean shore seem to support Herodotus’ writings. Several trade routes linked the Mediterranean with the East; the northern Silk Road to China; and a number of maritime-overland caravan routes: via Petra (Nabataea) and via Palmira (Syria); and routes connecting Ptolemaic, Nabatean and Roman ports at the northern end of the Red Sea with the

16 | ara bi a n dr ugs Indian Ocean.115 Black pepper, for example, was sporadically traded as early as the Biblical period, probably by traders from Arabia who exchanged exotic products with tribes of hunters and gatherers from the shores of the Indian Ocean.116 Pepper was later introduced into the Mediterranean Basin after the conquests of Alexander the Great, and became available as part of the diet only during the Roman period, thanks to the improvement of the overland and Red Sea maritime trading routes with East Africa, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Space.117 Interestingly enough, thanks to archaeological excavations, we know about the presence of Indian communities, as well as Roman ones, on the shores of the Red Sea. Two examples are Brernike118 and Myos Hormos (Qu‚eir al-Qadīm).119 Remnants of black pepper were found in both Roman and Egyptian trading ports. Moreover, a pitcher with 7.5 kg of black pepper, dated to the first century AD, was found in Brernike.120 With the expansion and intensification of overland routes, as well as the Red Sea maritime route, the communication and commercial relations between East Africa, the Persian Gulf and the Indian Space improved. As mentioned above, not only Roman strongholds were established in these spaces, but also an Indian population existed in various locations on the shores of the Red Sea; this information may be gleaned from remnants of Indian jars, ceramic artefacts and vessels. This may be the explanation for the Indian food stuffs, spices and drugs that were found there.121 The commercial ties between the Abbasid Empire and the East are known from both Arabic sources and evidence found in archaeological excavations. These include proof of trade with China122 and India123 during the ninth century and are a continuation of the Hellenistic–Roman trade.124 This route is called by some scholars the Persian Gulf–Syrian Desert Route, of which Baghdad and Ba‚ra were the centres. According to Meloy, the expansion of Islam across the Indian Ocean was a by-product of commerce and conversion rather than of conquests. The diverse cultures, religions and nations of this region were somehow united due to the monsoon weather system that governs the entire ocean. The monsoon winds enable mariners to travel long distances faster, and more efficiently, using relatively inferior maritime technology. The regularity of the winds induced extensive points of contact between the various cultures.125

i ntroducti on | 17 The Fatimid Caliphate was formed thanks to economic prosperity in Egypt, in contrast to the demise of the Abbasid Caliphate that suffered economic collapse in Iraq. This process was accompanied by a major emigration of talented and skilled men, merchants and administrators alike, from Iraq to Egypt. And, indeed, Egypt became the main transit market between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean world. In this regard we should mention that several scholars, such as Franz-Murphy, suggest that the economic prosperity of medieval Egypt may have hinged on the Egyptian textile industry of the ninth to the twelfth centuries and not only, or primarily, on the transit trade of spices and medicinal substances or its ‘passive role in the East–West trade’.126 Lewis argues that the Fatimids, from a very early stage of their regime, deliberately attempted to redirect the continental trade routes linking the Mediterranean and the Asian world, through the Red Sea, in general, and Aden in particular.127 An interesting explanation for this is presented by Bramoullé who claims, based on contemporary Arabic sources, that the Red Sea is an internal sea crossing into territories under Fatimid control. Moreover, he claims that ‘the Fatimid ardently wanted to increase their ideological influence in the Muslim world, rather than their power over new maritime space’.128 Practically, according to Ashtor, ‘the Fatimids made a great effort to divert the spice trade from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea and established commercial bases on the way to India’.129 islamic trade

Islam inherited a rich mercantile legacy from Mesopotamia, Syria and Egypt, which boasted a long history of commercial activity and international trade. Shatzmiller defines Islamic trade as ‘comprehensive; it includes both international and inter-regional movement of goods by Muslims and non-Muslims to and from lands under Islamic rule and the use of maritime and overland routes’.130 Cities such as Alexandria and Damascus flourished due to their strategic location at the cross-roads of a number of trading routes of the Middle East. However, from the seventh century new cities that served as commercial centres had been established (such as Ba‚ra, Fus†ā† and Kūfa). The commercial centres were inhabited as early as the eighth century by Arabs, Persians,

18 | ara bi a n dr ugs Syrians Jews and local people from the vicinity, who were, as was accurately described by Abulafia ‘united if not in faith, at least in speech’. Similar to other Islamic cities, Ba‚ra was a product of ‘mushrooming growth’, that is, a unique growth rate, from zero to in the region of 200,000 inhabitants in less than 30 years (seventh century).131 The great economic centres of the Islamic world were tied together by successful and esteemed merchants, exploiters of the regional diversity of the Muslim world. Moreover, Abulafia claims that Islam was a civilisation whose wealth was composed of essential commodities from lands beyond its territory (Christian Europe, the Spice Islands of Asia and from black Africa). The international trade through the lands of Islam towards Europe enhanced the development of the Muslim trade. Actually, the trade of the Muslim world was carried out not only by Muslims; Jews, Hindus, the Greek Orthodox and Copts took an active and crucial part in it. The Jewish merchants, for example, acted as intermediaries between the Muslim empire and Christian Europe.132 Interestingly enough, in many cases the trade on the ‘Indian’ islands was done as barter; the islanders received iron in exchange for ambergris, and due to the significant language barriers, the dialogue (or commercial negotiation) was done by gesticulations.133 In another case clove was traded, along with other products on islands of the China Sea.134 This phenomenon, which was called ‘silent trade’, was common among the Arabs.135 In any case, trade contributed to economic growth by efficient distribution and allocation of resources, efficient organisation of supply to market demand, the raising of personal income for traders, labourers and service people and by raising state income through an increase in taxes that the state could collect. All of these, according to Shatzmiller, fed a demand for luxury items, brought along the maritime routes.136 The history of the Islamic trade has been divided by some scholars into two periods: one of early Islamic trade and the other of the late period or Primacy of Egypt.137 The first period (650–1000) was characterised by urbanisation of the Islamic world parallel to the demise of the former Byzantine economy. As mentioned before, agricultural technologies and crops were introduced and conveyed from the East to the West, for example, textile technology and experts from Persia to Egypt and the Maghrib and silk-workers from Syria

i ntroducti on | 19 to southern Spain. Moreover, due to the flourishing trade, industrial centres were established often far away from the specialised production or centres of raw materials, organic or inorganic. The combination of local specialisation and ease of transportation within the Islamic world stimulated both the longand short-distance trade of various products, industrial and agriculture alike. The Islamic economy, and mainly its two centres in Iraq and Egypt, relied on ‘bimetallic currency’ of gold (dīnār) and silver (dirham).138 Shatzmiller suggests that in this period the Islamic territories exhibited considerable economic growth that was achieved by an interaction of several factors, the main one being an increased money supply. The regular supply of dirhams throughout the entire period enabled structural changes to take place in the three sectors of agriculture, manufacturing and service, and sustained economic growth throughout. Regions in which these were lacking, such as Muslim Spain or the Syrian coastline, could not benefit from such growth.139 Several groups of merchants were active in the international trade between East and West in this period; the activity of some, mainly the Jewish groups of the Tustaris and the Rādhānites, are described in detail below. These groups benefited from the presence of Jewish communities along the trading routes.140 Shatzmiller’s new approach regarding the diagnostic economic indicators in the period from the seventh to the eleventh centuries attests to rational and efficient economic institutional behaviours that include: An increase in monetisation, money supply and circulation; the formation of credit institutions; the development and elaboration of state fiscal institutions with an efficient system of tax collection; the creation of legal institutions to uphold property rights; limited demographic growth compensated by the import of slaves and internal migration in sufficient numbers to provide for a rise in productivity; increased output in the manufacturing sector as a result of increased division of labour and literacy of the workforce; an increased volume of trade, efficient markets, commercial techniques and the development of efficient transaction costs.141

The second period (950–1500) coincides with the political separation of Shiite Fatimids from the Sunni regime of the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad. The new court that was established in Cairo, its administration and the new socio-economic bourgeois class created an increasingly growing demand for

20 | ara bi a n dr ugs luxury products such as perfume, silk and gemstones, bringing wealth to the traders while the wars of the Fatimids and the huge demand for timber, pitch, iron and military products brought fortune to the suppliers of these products. Moreover, the gold that was imported from central Africa and the silver from Europe also contributed to the economic rise of Egypt. All of the above, together with the rising European demand for spices and other luxury products from the East, caused a shift in the trading routes from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea during the late tenth century and the eleventh, whereby Cairo became the new commercial centre of the Islamic world, and of the East–West trade.142 In any case, our knowledge of the commercial activity of the period from the tenth century to the thirteenth is based mainly on the Cairo Genizah documents.143 The Genizah merchants were well-acquainted with the trading routes between Egypt, Sicily, the Syrian coast and Tunisia. An important commercial hub at that time was al-Mahdiyya in Tunisia, which was built as a commercial and political centre in the mid-eleventh century and seized the local primacy of Qayrawān. Such a large and central port as al-Mahdiyya made it easy for the Jewish merchants of Fus†ā† to compare price and quality of goods from a variety of sources. Moreover, according to Abulafia, these traders were ‘aristocrats of commerce’, and favoured rapid travel on large boats. On the other hand, Aden was probably chosen as a hub for the India trade for the same reasons. For various reasons (religion, security and so forth) the Jews preferred sea and river passage to land travel.144 Goldberg emphasises the important role of the ‘Genizah merchants’ in the intra-regional and international trade of agriculture products and its contribution to the Islamic economy as well as the central position of Cairo and Fus†ā† in this economy.145 One important aspect of the long-distance trade of that period was the quality of the products. Al-Dimashqī writes that the best galingale is one with natural colour, without any decay, moisture or black spots. This comment suggests that spices such as galingale were sometimes exposed to damage due to the moisture of the sea while being transported from the East.146 trade routes

There were several routes for Indo–Arabic–European trade; historically, according to Seland, and as mentioned above, there were two main axes in

i ntroducti on | 21 ancient Indian Ocean trade (mainly Roman period first to third centuries): the Persian Gulf–Syrian Desert and the Red Sea–Nile. Seland argues that although the Persian Gulf–Syrian Desert route was much shorter geographically, it took four times longer. In any case it appears that the annual rhythm of the use of these routes was in ‘response to the ocean winds, desert climate and river floods’.147 The Persian Gulf–Syrian Desert route extended from India to the Persian Gulf and from several Gulf ports by land via the Syrian Desert to the Levant, and from there, on to Europe.148 The traders along this route made use of ports such as Moscha (present-day Oman),149 Sīrāf on the Persian coast (near the Straits of Hormuz) that was used for the Arabs’ trade with India and China,150 as well as the port of Kish situated between Sīrāf and Hormuz. According to Whitehouse, based on Arabic historical sources as well as archaeological findings, these ports dominated the marine routes of the Gulf and the China–India trade, mainly during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.151 Al-ʾI‚†akhrῑ writes that in Sīrāf all of the products that came by sea were loaded on to ships – ambergris, camphor, gemstones, bamboo, pepper, agarwood, sandalwood and all kinds of perfumes, spices and drugs – and from there they were exported to Persia and all other parts of the world.152 The Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Kish in 1170, describes its market and the commercial activity there as ‘being the place to which the Indian merchants and those of the islands bring their commodities … those from India import great quantities of spices, and the inhabitants of the islands live by what they earn in their capacity as brokers for both parties. The island is home to approximately 500 Jews.’153 The Persian Gulf–Syrian Desert route was replaced by the Red Sea–Nile route. However, equally significant, Kennedy argues, was the slowly changing nature of trade in the Mediterranean, shifting from combined marine and land trade with Muslim North Africa to marine trade only, with Christian Europe. Luxury products of the East, including spices and medicinal substances, became highly sought-after products, not solely in the Muslim territories but also in Western Europe.154 The other Red Sea–Nile marine route155 departed from India and passed through Aden156 to the Red Sea and was at first, similar to the Byzantine period, mainly through Clysma (Qulzum; Suez),157 and from there by land to

22 | ara bi a n dr ugs Cairo. Another option was by using several ports on the Egyptian shores of the Red Sea such as ʿĪdhāb, which became more important from the eleventh century onward.158 Ports on the Sudanese shores such as Berenike159 and Myos Hormos (Qu‚eir al-Qadīm), which were used in the Roman period, were also used by the Fatimids.160 According to Whitcomb, the archaeological artefacts found in the exacavations of Muslim ʿAqaba from the seventh century to the twelfth, indicate participation in an extensive trade network connecting Egypt and Syria with Iraq and China.161 Proof of the trade with China includes old celadon and porcelain objects that were unearthed in Islamic strata in archaeological excavations in East Africa as well as in Sīrāf (Iran), Qu‚eir (Sudan) and ʿĪdhāb, Alexandria, Qū‚ and Fus†a† (Egypt).162 According to Shatzmiller, the significance of the Red Sea corridor in the Roman and Abbasid economies may be viewed as two examples of imperial economies. In terms of maritime trade, the nature of the goods carried through the Red Sea corridor did not differ very much from those imported during the Islamic era. These included ‘Chinese live animals, furs and hides, ivory, pearls, mother of pearl, precious and semiprecious gemstones, lacquered dye, silk, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, spikenard, nutmeg, indigo, cotton and precious woods’. The author adds that, in general, the Roman Empire favoured overland communication for their armies and transport.163 Two main reasons have been suggested by Shatzmiller for the prolonged decline in Red Sea corridor trade from Late-Antiquity to the eleventh century: ‘demographic decline’ and ‘the disappearance of monetary circulation in the Mediterranean lands during the three centuries preceding the Islamic conquest’. The movement of goods and people along the Red Sea corridor may not have disappeared altogether, especially in comparison to the role it would assume from the eleventh century onwards. Shatzmiller claims that the maritime trade did not cease entirely, but its role in the economic growth of the eighth century to the tenth was relatively minor. That shift followed a change in ‘the geographical location of resources, manpower, precious metals, agriculture, manufacturing and markets, from the Mediterranean to Central Asia.’164 Gil describes in detail several kinds of boats sailing in the open sea and on the Nile. They sailed chiefly by wind power. However, they were equipped with oars as well. In general, the boats sailed when the sea was calm

i ntroducti on | 23 and the wind was blowing in the desired direction, conditions that in the western Mediterranean occurred mainly during the summer months until mid-September.165 The amounts of products and the size of the shipments to Egypt mentioned in Genizah sources (mainly of the eleventh to thirteenth) are astonishing. Goitein illustrates this through a letter written by Ma∂mūn, the head of the Jewish merchants in Aden, in which he describes how he dispatched a consignment of sixty camel loads of lac to Egypt (3,000 Ra†l = about 7,500 kg), and eight camel loads of pepper (300 Ra†l = 750 kg).166 commercial centres

The trade with India (mainly by Muslims and Jews) in ‘Indian’ products, including drugs (in the Mediterranean Basin) yielded enormous profits. Genizah sources of the eleventh and twelfth centuries mention profits of 100 per cent, and similar figures emerge from studies dealing with fifteenthcentury ‘Levant Traders’.167 We would like to briefly present below two of the important centres of this trade. The port of Aden, located on Yemeni soil at the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, and situated on the fringes of intersecting worlds, occupied the centre of western Indian Ocean commercial networks in medieval times. According to Margariti, who presents the city and its medieval commercial activity in her book Aden, the city ‘flourished as a safe haven, a place where maritime and market risks could be managed, profits maximised, and losses mitigated’. And, indeed, from the tenth century onward, the city served as a major commercial hub on the main axis of the trade system that linked the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean.168 According to al-Muqaddasī, Aden was an important trading post, which consisted of trade with China. Among the products traded there he mentions ambergris, as well as fine linens, shields and even slaves and, as he writes, ‘and indeed so much more that were I to enumerate all of it in detail, the book would be unnecessarily long’.169 Many products were transported through the port during the Ayyubid period, among them drugs, spices and perfumes from the East, including camphor, lacca and tamarind.170 Hundreds of commercial documents and private letters that were found in the Cairo Genizah, together with the writings of Muslim travellers and geographers, enabled scholars like

24 | ara bi a n dr ugs Goitien, Friedman and others to depict the important role of Aden in the ‘India trade’.171 Oman ‘ʿUmān’ was another important trading post; according to al-Muqaddasī, various products were imported via its port, many of which were pharmaceutical, perfumes, spices and industrial goods such as aloe, bamboo, brazilwood, camphor, coconut, lead, musk, onyx, pearls, pepper, saffron, sandalwood, sandarus, sapphire and teak, as well other products such as ebony, iron, ivory and silk.172 Mediterranean Trade The commercial activity of the Mediterranean Sea has been studied by many scholars interested in the human history of the ‘Great Sea’.173 Stillman claims that ‘although most Jews throughout the Islamic world were craftsmen and laborers, there were always Jewish merchants involved in commerce at every level’.174 On the eve of the Islamic expansion, however, shipping in the Mediterranean was dominated by the Church, the State, rich merchants and middle-class entrepreneurs (including Jews). As an example, Khalileh writes about the ships of the church of Alexandria that sailed to India, Sri Lanka and Marseilles at the end of the Byzantine supremacy over the Mediterranean.175 And, indeed, we learn from Byzantine sources that Alexandria was an important market for aromatics; moreover, government control of the trade of materia medica in the early Byzantine period was exercised through taxes. Once the drugs entered the Byzantine Empire, their market prices were regulated as well. According to McCabe, the Price Edict of Diocletian lists more than 100 medicinal substances (plants, minerals, resins and so forth) as well as perfumes, incense and dyes such as cardamon, cassia, iris oil, ginger, mastic, myrrha, myrobalan, pepper, rose-oil and saffron.176 In the sixth century, the Alexandrian merchant Cosmas describes the suppliers and the markets of the drugs in the Indian Ocean. For example, he elaborates on pepper vine cultivation and the harvesting and trade of its fruits. Interestingly enough, he also writes about the new drugs on the market since Dioscorides’ time, such as cloves and musk.177 A unique and important insight into the practicality of the medieval Mediterranean trade is beautifully portrayed by Goldberg, based on roughly 1,500 commercial documents. These consist mainly of letters found in the

i ntroducti on | 25 Cairo Genizah collections around the world, which have been studied by numerous scholars for more than a century. These documents, written mainly by Jewish merchants, reveal some hidden aspects of this period and its commercial activity. According to Goldberg, Jewish merchants played several roles in the commercial activity of the tenth-century Islamic Mediterranean; for example, they packed, processed and delivered typical regional products from the fields to the markets; they brought products from small towns and the countryside into the major Mediterranean markets and distributed goods in the opposite direction, as well; and they also imported products from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean into the Mediterranean Basin region. The Jewish merchants had enormous freedom and flexibility in terms of merchandise, markets, means of transportation and so forth; these were based, according to Goldberg, on their being in possession of ‘mobile capital’ and on their ‘monetized’ trade. Interestingly enough, no attempts on their part at monopolising production were detected. Moreover, although the Jewish merchants were largely in competition with their Muslim counterparts, in many cases they were their partners. Another feature typical of the Jewish merchants was that they did not customarily invest in means of transportation such as camels or ships; nor did they trade in grains. In this way they differed distinctly from the groups of medieval Italian merchants that operated in the Mediterranean Basin.178 Mediterranean commerce comprised of an enormous range of ­­commodities, from everyday necessities to luxury goods; from raw materials to manufactured products; from the East with its spices, drugs, aromatics, perfumes, dyes and textiles to Christian Europe with its metals, timbers, minerals,179 ceramics, furs, leather and slaves.180 In this context, it is noteworthy that ‘the house’ of Ibn ʿAwkal (Jewish merchant) (990–1040) handled no less than eighty-three commodities and their abundant varieties.181 According to Constable, although a few medieval traders specialised exclusively in one type of commodity, others dealt with an ‘astonishing array of goods, combining staples with luxuries, and local products with exotic foreign imports particularly “spices”’. She claims that they ‘saw the wisdom of mixing cargo. So that if a load of flax were ruined by seawater, the small bag of pearls in one’s pocket might still save the journey from being an utter loss – or at least pay one’s passage home.’182

26 | ara bi a n dr ugs Events that occurred through the eleventh century and mainly the twelfth, such as the strengthening of the Kārimī merchants and their domination of the Indian trade, Bedouin raids in Tunisia, the Norman conquest of Sicily, Crusader wars and increasing power of the Italians, gradually led to the decline of international Jewish commercial activity and to the Jews’ concentration on the local Egyptian markets. Interestingly enough, other processes occurred in the same period: the European textile industry evolved and flax and cotton produced in Egypt were processed in Italy and Sicily and the cloths were then sold in Egypt and the Middle East. Moreover, the rulers of Egypt increasingly engaged in commercial activities, mainly the spice trade, to acquire wealth to defray the cost of their wars.183 According to McCabe the arrival of the European traders (the Rūm) in Tripoli, for example, had a rapid, radical effect on the market; prices of commodities such as flax, pepper, indigo, lac and sal-ammoniac shot up by 20 to 40 per cent.184 As a result of the Crusades (1099–1291) the commercial activity expanded, mainly thanks to the Italian communes.185 The Levant trade continued into the thirteenth century and beyond, and even minor cities in southern Europe were involved.186 Trade in spices (and drugs), which continued well into the fifteenth century, yielded profits, as well as high prices. The reasons, according to Ashtor, were, mainly, the increasing demand in Europe, the fact that the upper and middle classes had become so accustomed to the consumption of spices that the Levant traders could raise the price and still sell amply and the high risk and danger of undertaking commercial activity in the Mamluk period.187 An interesting insight into the abundance of spices and drugs that were traded in the early fourteenth-century Mediterranean can be learnt from a list of spices (from 1310 to 1340), presented in Pegolotti’s book concerning the practice of commerce that consists of 288 spices.188 An interesting note made by Constable portrays the period and explains the price of exotic products that were imported to Europe from the East thus: ‘By the time that spices, porcelain, or silk from the Far East arrived in the western Mediterranean – perhaps given as royal gifts or sold to buyers in Palermo, Cordoba, Fez or Barcelona – they had probably been on the road for several years and had passed through many hands (with a mark-up in price along each stage of the way).’189

i ntroducti on | 27 trade routes

Medieval Mediterranean trade was conducted on three major trade routes and axes: A. Western maritime route connected trading towns of southern Europe, mainly Italy (that is, Amalfi, Venice and Pisa), with Sicily (mainly Palermo) and North African ports (that is, Susa, Tripoli and al-Mahdiyya).190 Based on hundreds of commercial documents, mainly letters, Goldberg claims that in the eleventh century the main routes of Jewish traders from Alexandria towards the West were to Palermo and Qayrawān.191 B. Eastern maritime route connected Italian port cities mainly with Alexandria and Fus†ā†, but also with the ports of Ascalon, Sidon and others on the Syro-Palestinian coast. These routes connected the Christian North with the Muslim South.192 According to Goldberg, who reconstructed both the secondary and primary routes (‘trunk routes’) of trade between Egypt and al-Shām, the ‘trunk routes’ in Egypt were between Fus†ā†, Alexandria and Tinnīs (ports on the Mediterranean shores). From Tinnīs the trunk routes to al-Shām included the main ports of Ascalon, Tyre and Tripoli.193 C. Internal Muslim routes connected the trading centres of Muslim Spain, North Africa and Sicily with Alexandria and Fus†ā† and with the markets of Palestine and Syria. Although most of these were maritime routes, in 1060 the voyage along the coast of North Africa was replaced by periodic overland caravans, mainly during the autumn and winter months when poor sailing conditions existed.194 Since sails were the standard for merchant ships, winds, currents and other patterns of weather dictated the seasons of sailing in the Mediterranean, and most of the commercial maritime activity and sailing took place in the ‘extended’ summer months from April to November. Sailing in the winter was more dangerous, however; sudden storms would sometimes occur in the summer as well, causing the loss of ships, lives and commercial goods.195 According to Constable: The more favorable pattern of winds and currents along the northern shores promoted the growth of European Christian traffic at the expense of the more southerly routes preferred by Muslim and Jewish shipping between ports in the Dār al-Islām. Northern shipbuilding techniques and greater

28 | ara bi a n dr ugs access to timber may also have tipped the balance in favor of Christian maritime traffic in the Mediterranean during the later Middle Ages.196 commercial centres ( eleventh to twelfth centuries )

Qayrawān was integrated into the Mediterranean trade as early as the tenth century. The East to West overland routes passed through this city, and their commercial activity is well documented in the Cairo Genizah. The short distances between Tunisia, Morocco and Spain, and the existence of Jewish communities there induced commercial relations, both maritime and land. As mentioned before, thanks to the Fatimids, the international trade of the Maghribs became mainly maritime. In the eleventh century al-Mahdiyya was established as the capital of ʾIfrīqiya. According to Ben-Sasson, Qayrawān maintained its importance as a commercial centre and an intermediary between Europe and Central Africa.197 Al-Mahdiyya, along with other port cities on the Maghrib shores, such as Bougie and Ceuta, were centres for the export of Central African and Saharan products, mainly gold. The gold was sold to the European merchants, mainly Italian, Spanish and Sicilian; in return they sold European goods, mainly textile.198 The Genizah’s commercial documents provide evidence of the importance of Sicily as a commercial bridge between East and West.199 The Jewish traders of the island, mainly under Islamic rule (827–1061), imported large quantities of a great range of products including dyeing materials (alum, lacca, yellow myrobalan, saffron, sappan wood, warras and so forth), spices and perfumes (ambergris, camphor, cassia, clove, cubeb pepper, musk and so on), drugs (aloe, bamboo ash, myrobalan, purging cassia and so forth) and other commodities, most of which were exported to Andalusia and Europe.200 Alexandria had always possessed natural advantages, being a harbour and boasting a good geographical location mainly in relation to other important Mediterranean ports. The city, first established in its present location in 332 BC, was an extremely important port and even a capital city, until the Muslim conquest, mainly thanks to the establishment of Cairo and the central place of importance it held. After the Muslim conquest no major political or administrative centre was located on the sea coast – similar to the way in which Alexandria gave way to Cairo-Fus†ā†, Antioch to Damascus,

i ntroducti on | 29 Caesarea to Ramla and Carthage to Qayrawān.201 In this way Cairo-Fus†ā†, and not Alexandria, served as the primary naval base for Fatimid war ships. This made it the focal point of an extensive network of Mediterranean trade, even though Alexandria was the port through which most of the commodities were shipped, exporting mainly linen, dyes for cloth, spices, sugar and pix, and importing chiefly silk, oils, soap, wax, honey, metals, wood, hides and coins. Camel caravans went from Alexandria to the Maghrib and into the desert regions.202 According to Genizah documents, prices of articles of the trans­­ Mediterranean commerce such as pepper, silk and sal-amoniac were cheaper in Cairo-Fus†ā† than in Alexandria.203 Hundreds of Genizah documents prove that Fus†ā†, the inland city, was the commercial and financial capital of Egypt; it was the money market, banking centre and international supply centre for Egyptian commodities, mainly flax and all other goods that were brought from the East. The powerful demand emanating from Europe sent European merchants running to Egypt, especially to Cairo-Fus†ā†, to acquire merchandise for their home markets.204 Flax was the principal commodity in the medieval Egyptian economy; throughout the eleventh century and most of the twelfth it was probably the single most important commodity exported from Egypt to the West.205 byzantine trade

The Byzantine Empire lost nearly 75 per cent of its domain to the Arab conquests, but ironically came out stronger, with a homogeneous territory, more easily defendable borders, a strong navy and a vigorous economy. Another major change in the Mediterranean Basin, mainly the loss of Western Europe markets, compelled the Levantine merchants to seek out new markets and opportunities in the vast new Islamic Empire. The Arab trade and commerce with Byzantium, which had suffered ups and downs, never ceased and ultimately assumed an important role in Muslim–Christian relations.206 The international and domestic commercial routes in Byzantium had changed, and a new class of merchant-mariners was established; they were granted freedom of movement and permitted to search, purchase and exchange goods.207 In spite of their wars against the Muslims, the trade between Muslims and Christians slowly started to take shape.208 A similar class of merchant-mariners

30 | ara bi a n dr ugs started to emerge in the port cities of Italy and assumed a share of the trade between the Muslims and the Byzantines. In the eighth century, Amalfi and Venice gradually boosted their commercial activity. Products such as lumber, dried fruits, cheese, wine, linen, silk and cloth were imported from southern Europe to the Maghrib; in exchange, the European merchants bought olive oil, soap, wax (Tunisia), linen, sugar, alum, spices, drugs and dye products (Egypt). However, gold, and, later, spices, such as pepper, were the most sought-after.209 According to Khalileh, freedom of commerce and navigation continued in the eastern, western and southern parts of the Mediterranean during the first century of Muslim domination of these regions; this was despite the wars and naval raids between Christians and Muslims. Moreover, the Arab conquests made it possible to ‘unite the two arteries used since antiquity for the long-distance trade between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean’.210 The breakup of the Islamic Mediterranean territories into fragments in 827 motivated the rulers to create commercial ports and expand their domestic and international commerce. And, indeed, dozens of commercial centres were operating on the shores of the Mediterranean Basin, bringing together merchants of different religions, races and languages.211 Moreover, it can be said that, generally speaking, political boundaries never impeded the freedom of movement of persons or goods in the Mediterranean, with the exception of wartime. Interestingly enough, the reality was that while, as a rule, Jews and Christians engaged in trading with all regions, Muslim merchants tended to limit their sphere of operation to Islamic markets.212 In the mid-eleventh century, Egypt replaced Tunisia as the hub of Mediterranean international commerce. And indeed we learn from the historical sources that throughout the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Italian and Byzantine merchants visited Egypt, where they purchased spices and other goods from India.213 Udovitch claims that after several centuries of modest economic exchange between the southern and northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea, in the eleventh century vast commercial activity commenced in the Mediterranean Basin.214 Lopez characterises it as the ‘commercial revolution’;215 according to Udovitch, the rapidly growing trade within and across the Mediterranean world soon became ‘a permanent, structural

i ntroducti on | 31 feature of its economic and political life’. This phenomenon was mainly driven by demographic growth in and around the Mediterranean Basin, which gave rise to a remarkable expansion in the demand of goods in both Europe and the Islamic world. This generated a ‘veritable seller’s and producer’s market’ the commercial activities of which were undertaken to satisfy that demand.216 Western pharmacology did not change immediately and, more importantly, production and trade of medicinal substances continued under the regulation of the Arab authorities. Moreover, since the Arabs had adopted the Greek medical tradition and its literature, this ensured a constant demand for imported medicinal drugs.217 And, indeed, numerous Byzantine sources of different kinds attest to the use of medicinal substances of ‘Indian’ origin. For example ambergris, camphor and galingale are mentioned in the medical book of Aëtius of Amida.218 Cosmas, the Egyptian monk of the sixth century, describes in detail the products of India and Sri Lanka, including corundum, coconut, musk and pepper219 as well as prestigious products that were probably imported from China such as silk, clove and sandalwood.220 The Book of the Eparch, in which the ordinances of the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI (ninth century) are presented, mentions agarwood, ambergris, balsam, camphor, cinnamon, musk, myrrh, nard and pepper among the perfumes and spices that were permitted to be sold. This attests to the distribution and use of these substances in Europe as early as the ninth century.221 Similar substances are mentioned in a book by a Byzantine veterinarian (tenth century) such as musk, ambergris, nutmeg, agarwood and galingale.222 McCabe elaborates on the above mentioned substances and on the drugs, spices and perfumes in the Byzantine sources (fourth to tenth) devoting special attention to the ‘new’ substances.223 Groups of Traders Several groups of merchants were operating in these commercial activities, in which traders of various religious and ethnic groups cooperated. Much can be learnt about the commercial activity of the East–West trade as well as the Indian–Arab–European trading system. We will discuss and elaborate below on the predominant groups, including the Tustaris, Rādhānites, Kārimīs, Maghribis, Amalfitans and Venetian merchants.224

32 | ara bi a n dr ugs Tustaris – According to Gil, the trade in the Persian Kingdom was in the hands of the Jews, who traded mainly in silk. Their special place in international commerce continued during the Muslim period, and they relocated to Baghdad and other commercial centres in the Persian territories, including Tustar and al-ʾAhwāz (Khūzistān). Later, they were to be called Tustaris after the name of the city.225 Arabic sources, which provide valuable information about the first generations of the family, mainly regarding their political activities during the Fatimid Caliphate, assert that they were very wealthy and served as bankers, trustees, large traders and suppliers of precious goods, mainly gemstones, to the Fatimid court. Letters and documents found in the Cairo Genizah teach us more about the second and successive generations and their commercial activities. Based on these documents, Gil argues that the family was Karaite. Analysis of the letters reveals that the family’s commercial activity concentrated on three major aspects: large-scale international maritime shipping, export/import with the Abbasid regions and monetary activity (transferring vast sums of money and holding large trusts). The gemstone trade probably started in order to fulfil the rulers’ lust for special and expensive goods, mainly precious stones and unique saddles (thousands of them were found in their possession, according to the sources and legends). According to Genizah letters, the Tustaris were also heavily involved in exporting flax, the single most important export commodity of Egypt in the eleventh and twelfth centuries (one letter mentions a shipment of 8,000 kg of flax that was exported to Qayrawān and another of 4,500 kg shipped to Sicily). They also traded in various kinds of textiles, mainly expensive and unique ones, as well as in clothing. Another aspect of their commercial activities was the trade in perfumes,226 spices and dyes; the Genizah letters inform us of international trading in products from the East such as myrobalan, lac and pepper that were exported to the Maghrib and other Mediterranean ports (for example, a shipment of 600 kg of pepper sent from Alexandria to Qayrawān above and beyond the two previous shipments!). According to Gil, it is no wonder that the Maghribi traders struggled to send their sons to work for the Tustaris to acquire and perfect their skills and to establish commercial networking; indeed, the Genizah documents echo the vast networking and international relations of the Tustaris.227

i ntroducti on | 33 Rādhānite – Jewish merchants, whose caravans spanned Eurasia from the Seine basin and central Spain to the Chinese Empire during the ninth and tenth centuries, have been studied for more than a century and a half (since1865).228 The Rādhānites were described by early Arabic sources, such as Ibn Khurdādhbih (ninth century), who provides detailed information regarding their widespread international commercial activities. Gil, who discusses the various assumptions regarding their origin and trade routes that were published by many scholars along the years, asserts that their origin was from the city of Gocha (Jūkhā in Arabic), situated on the eastern bank of the Tigris River. After the Abbasid revolution, they relocated to Baghdad and were renamed for their place of origin. He also concludes that the detailed description of their trade routes and commercial activities portrayed by Ibn Khurdādhbih is ­­accurate. According to him the Rādhānites spoke six languages (Arabic, Persian, Greek (rūmiyya), Slovenic, ʾIfranjiyya and ʾAndalusiyya) and traded in various goods, mainly from the East – agarwood, camphor, cinnamon, jewellery, musk and silk – but also from the West – brocades, furs, slaves and swords. The trade routes (a combination of maritime and overland) spanned from Western Europe (Bilād al-ʾIfiranj and ʾAndalus) to China and India (Sind and Hind), and included the medieval Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, North Africa, Palestine, Syria and Khurāsān. They also extended to Antioch, Byzantium (al-Rūm), the Caspian Sea, Constantinople, Khazar, Slovanic lands and Transoxiana.229 Ibn Khurdādhbih describes the four main routes of the ‘Jewish merchants’: A. From the West (Western Europe or the Maghrib) through the Mediterranean to Farama (Baluza) (sea), Farama to Kolzum (also Qulzum = Suez) (land), Kolzum to India, India to China (sea). B. Western Europe – Antioch (sea), Antioch to al-Jābiya (land), al-Jābiya on the Euphrates to Baghdad (river), Baghdad to Obolla on the Tigris (river), Obolla to Oman, Oman to Sind, Hind and China (sea). C. Spain or France to Sousal-Akza (Morocco) (land and short journey by sea), Sous-al-Akza to Tangier, Qayrawān and Cairo (land), Cairo to Ramla, Damascus, al-Kūfa, Baghdad and Bas.ra and from there to Sind, Hind and China (land). D. Western Europe to Rome, to the country of the Slavs, to Khazars (land), Khazars to Kalkh (Caspian Sea) and from there (Persia) to China (land).230 As mentioned above, the historiography of the research of the Rādhānites is long and their origin, activity and influence on the Arabic and international commerce and finance during

34 | ara bi a n dr ugs the medieval period has been dealt with by many scholars.231 In any case it seems that in the ninth century their activity began to decline.232 Kārimī – According to standard definitions, the Kārimī were a ‘group of Muslim merchants operating from the major centres of trade in the Ayyubid and Mamluk empires’, that engaged in the spice trade between Egypt, on the one hand, and Yemen, southern Arabia and India, on the other. The origin of their name is not clear and has been discussed in detail by scholars.233 Fischel writes that, in general, they have often been portrayed as major (Muslim) traders operating in Mamluk Egypt and trading mainly in spices and incense.234 Ashtor adds that some were operating in Syria as well.235 Bramoullé,236 using Genizah documents and citing Vallet,237 suggests that all Egyptian traders that sailed during the navigation season (June–November) were called Kārimī. Moreover, they did not use regular modest Red Sea vessels specialising in coastal shipping and coast-to-coast navigation, but larger vessels that were able to transport greater volumes of goods and to sail in a more direct route between Aden and Egypt.238 The Genizah offers the earliest occurrence of the term ‘kārim’, and thus proof of their existence and activity.239 Wansbrough and Margariti claim that the kārimī were a loose federation of Muslim merchants, and in early sources the term applies mainly to convoys of ships travelling in the western Indian Ocean to and from Egyptian ports. Moreover they assert that Jewish as well as Christian merchants were part of the Kārimi.240 Arabic sources elucidate for us that the Egyptian rulers built a special fleet to protect the commercial activity of the Kārimī.241 The commercial routes used by the Kārimī can be reconstructed thanks to historical sources supported by findings from archaeological excavations: the Indian commodities reached Aden and from there by ship through the Red Sea to the western side of the Egyptian Sudanese coast, to ports such as ʿĪdhāb, Qu‚eir al-Qadīm and even al-˝ūr or Suez. According to Fischel, ʿĪdhāb was favoured by the Kārimī merchants thanks to its easy accessibility, good harbour facilities and high waters; however, Qu‚eir al-Qadīm was nearer the city of Qū‚, on the Nile, an important commercial centre near Cairo that reduced the need for land transportation.242 The Nile had always been an important transportation route in Egypt since ancient times;243 however, from Arab sources as well as

i ntroducti on | 35 from Genizah documents we learn that shipping on the Nile was not an easy task due to slippery mud in the winter, goods that got wet from the rain or when falling into the water or attacks by pirates. The traders used various kinds of boats; the main kind used for sailing on the Nile was the Usceri (ʿUshshārī) galley that sailed mainly at night. The Usceri also sailed on the open sea during the summer, a season when the sea was calm.244 The Kārimī owned warehouses (funduq) at commercial centres and ports along the Red Sea – Nile route, such as Cairo-Fus†ā†, Aden, Alexandria, Jidda, Qū‚, Taʿiz and Zabīd; however, we do not know exactly in what way they were organised. In any case, there are indications that they controlled the traffic of mass commercial shipping between Egypt and Aden and that Indian shippers governed the marine traffic between Aden and their homeland.245 The commercial and financial activity of the Kārimī, whose fortune was estimated at one million dīnārs or more, helped sustain Cairo as the international capital of finance and trade. The profits earned by the Kārimī, which were higher than those permitted by Islamic law, were made by family-owned operations and firms and by various means of commerce and financial tools, such as bartering, paying cash and cheques, and operating as a banking institution. Their most important clients were sultans (Mamluks), kings (Yemen, Mālī) and emirs, whom they assisted by granting credit and even by supplying armed troops.246 The Kārimī merchants eventually lost their power in the fifteenth century due to political and economic actions taken by the Mamluk sultans.247 Maghribi Jewish traders operated mainly from the coasts of North Africa and created a uniquely original and efficient system that was based, according to Greif, on ‘an economic institution which enabled 11th century traders to benefit from employing overseas agents despite the commitment problem inherent in these relations’.248 This system has been studied and analysed by modern economists using economic research tools and methodologies that focused on issues such as networking, institutions, reputation and coalition.249 european groups of merchants

The most important players on the Mediterranean commercial scene were the groups of European merchants, mainly Italians, such as the Amalfitans, Venetians, Genoese and Florentines, and later on the Catalans and Castilians.

36 | ara bi a n dr ugs We will briefly discuss a few aspects of the two main important groups – the Amalfitans and the Venetians: Amalfitans – The new ‘Indian’ drugs and other products reached the Byzantine Empire and West Europe in various ways – some through Arab commerce, for example, through the relations between Carl the Great and Hārūn al-Rashīd,250 or through the marine trade routes of the Mediterranean.251 As mentioned above, the Italians achieved the greater portion of this commercial activity towards the high Middle Ages.252 Among the first were the Amalfitans that traded with the Fatimids as early as the ninth and tenth centuries.253 According to Lev, the huge estimated value (90,000 dīnārs), conveyed by Arabic sources, of goods exported from Egypt to Europe by the Amalfitans should be treated seriously. He suggested that ‘only spices and other luxury goods of local or Indian origin could be the explanation for such a high estimate’.254 Amalfitans became a one of the most important players on the Mediterranean commercial scene and, according to Citarella, ‘gave life to a network of mercantile establishments which at the time of its greatest expansion extended to southern Italy, Sicily, Tunisia, Egypt, the Middle East and the Byzantine Empire’. According to various historical sources, the Amalfitans were present in many Muslim and other Mediterranean ports, and even established colonies of merchants in a number of cities, including Cairo. The unique organisation of the Amalfi commerce enabled them to operate successfully for more than 300 years. The commercial fortune of Amalfi relied mainly on the trade privileges within the Byzantine Empire that enabled them to sell spices, oriental products and luxury items obtained from the Eastern Mediterranean markets in Italy. On the other hand, they maintained intimate relations with the Arabs, mainly the Fatimids, from an early stage; these relations were even guaranteed within a liberal grant of charters of protections they received. The importance of the Amalfitans for Mediterranean commerce is well-known and widely documented; however, their contribution to the industry and economy of Italy, via the import of raw materials (fibers, linen, cotton, fixers and so forth) should be mentioned as well.255 Venetians – The rise of Venice from a ‘small community scattered over cluster of islands in the north Adriatic to a major maritime power in the

i ntroducti on | 37 Mediterranean in the 12th century was furthered by a conjunction of political, military and economic developments over several centuries’.256 Venice lived ‘between two worlds: the land and the sea, the East and the West, yet belonging to niether’. Much has been written on the Venetians and their role in commercial activity in the medieval Mediterranean; according to Crowley, by the tenth century the Venetian ‘were selling Oriental goods of extrodinary rarity’ at important fairs in Italy.257 Jacoby writes on their role that ‘the Venetian operations underscore the interdependence and complementary nature of the Byzantine and Egyptian economies’. Before the establishment of the Frankish state in the Levant, they had established a ‘triangular trading and shipping pattern’ that connected Alexandria, Venice and Constantinople; the ports of the Levant and Byzantine acted as transit stations and markets in this context.258 A great deal of information was supplied through the publications of Ashtor. His research activity was mainly based on the archives of the Italian Republic, groups of merchants and notary documents. Ashtor indicated their control and dominance on the international trade and the transfer of merchandise, including drugs, from the ports of Egypt and the Levant (Syria and the Land of Israel) into Europe. Some of these were based on goods from East Asia. In fact, the Venetians are responsible for the fact that the lion’s share of the trade and economy of the Levant, for example, were related to Europe more than the Muslim home front.259 The Venetian activity in the region started with the beginning of the Crusader’s conquests and the privileges they accepted from the Jerusalem Kingdom, and became stronger from the end of the fourteenth century with the additional framework of various contracts with the Mamluk regime.260 As captured by Howard, trade ‘not only offered Venetian merchants the experience of visiting the East – and even of living there for extended priods – but also created the wealth to sustain the building activity in which oriental characteristics might be revealed’.261 Notes 1. Cahen, L’Islam, pp. 35–42; Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 11–12; Watson, Agricultural Innovation, pp. 1–6. 2. Flood, Objects of Translation, pp. 15–25.

38 | ara bi a n dr ugs 3. Maqbul, ‘Hind’; see also: Yoeli-Tlalim, ‘Islam and Tibet’. 4. Watson explains this phenomenon as Arab fascination with the new and different: Watson, Agricultural Innovation, pp. 1–3, 77–80. 5. Saliba, Islamic Science, pp. 4, 28–72. 6. Ibn Khaldūn, The Muqaddima, III, p. 115. 7. Many studies have been written on this topic; see, for example: Endress and Kruk, The Ancient Tradition; Montgomery, Science in Translation, pp. 60–173. 8. Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic, pp. 24, 26. 9. Kennedy, The Early Abbasid; Kennedy, When Baghdad. 10. Al-ʾAndalusī, Kitāb ˝abaqāt, p. 48. 11. Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 28–60. 12. Ibid., pp. 75–104. 13. Dodge, The Fihrist, II, p. 584; Ibn Khaldūn, The Muqaddima, pp. 115–16. 14. Al-ʾAndalusī, Kitāb ˝abaqāt, p. 48. 15. Various approaches are known regarding the authenticity of this institution and its existence, see, for example: Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’; Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 75–104; Balty-Guesdon, ‘Le bayt al-Óikma’. 16. Dodge, The Fihrist, II, p. 574; Montgomery, Science in Translation, pp. 77–81. 17. Meyerhof, ‘The background’; Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 20–7; Montgomery, Science in Translation, p. 60. 18. Dodge, The Fihrist, II, p. 581. 19. Ibn al-Qif†ī, Tārīkh al-Óukamāʾ. 20. Ibn al-Qif†ī, Tārīkh al-Óukamāʾ, p. 80; Meyerhof, ‘The background’, pp. 1,851–3; al-ʾAndalusī, Kitāb ˝abaqāt, p. 88. 21. Balty-Guesdon, ‘Le Bayt al-Óikma’. 22. Sabra, ‘The appropriation’. 23. Lewicka, ‘On Hellenistic medicine’, pp. 502–3. 24. Dols, ‘Syriac into Arabic’; Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, ‘Early Muslim medicine’, p. 288. 25. Dols, ‘Syriac into Arabic’. 26. Sourdel, ‘Bukhtīshūʿ’; Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,853; Browne, Arabian Medicine, pp. 23–4. 27. Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,853. 28. Meyerhof, ‘New light’; Browne, Arabian Medicine, pp. 24–5; Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic, pp. 25–6; De Lacy, How Greek Science, p. 112. 29. Bos, Qus†ā ibn Lūqā’s, pp. 1–2; Ali and Qadry, ‘Contribution’. 30. Kahl, ‘Sābūr b. Sahl’, p. 694; Kahl, Sābūr ibn Sahl, pp. 11–12.

i ntroducti on | 39 31. According to Conrad there is no evidence for the existence of hospitals in Arabia before the Umayyad and Abbasid periods. Conrad, ‘Did al-Walid’; Serikoff, ‘The Islamic’, p. 22. 32. Ibn Khaldūn, The Muqaddima, p. 116. 33. Conrad, ‘The Arab-Islamic’. 34. Elgood, ˝ibb-ul-Nabī; Elgood, A Medical History, pp. 63–5; Johnstone, ‘Tradition’, p.29; Jalil, ‘˝ibb al-Nabī’; Perho, The Prophet’s Medicine; Conrad, ‘The Arab-Islamic’, pp. 124–25; Serikoff, ‘The Islamic’, p. 25. 35. Savage-Smith, ‘˝ibb’; Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,853. 36. Dols, Syriac into Arabic; Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, pp. 21–4. 37. Budge, Syrian Anatomy. 38. About Sasanian translation activity, see: Dodge, The Fihrist, II, pp. 575–78, 581. 39. Saliba, Islamic Science, pp. 4, 28–72. 40. Ibn Khaldūn, The Muqaddima, p. 114. Ibn Khaldūn writes that Caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Kha††āb gave the order to destroy them all, due to his fear that they contained writings that oppose Islamic laws; however, the same was said as being the reason for the fire at the famous library at Alexandria, see: Ibn al-Qif†ī, Tārīkh al-Óukamāʾ, p. 244. Other scholars pointed out that it is not authentic historical reality, but a legend that appears in later sources, as of the thirteenth century, see: Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, p. 18; Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,851; Abbou Hershkovitz, ‘The mystery’. According to another version, the school of science in Alexandria was not destroyed, but relocated at the time of the Umayyad ruler, Umar II (717–20), to Óarrān and Antioch, see: Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, pp. 20–21; al-Masʿūdī, al-Tanbīh, p. 122. 41. Dodge, The Fihrist, II, pp. 575–8, 581, 589–90. 42. Browne, Arabian Medicine, p. 22. 43. Meyerhof,‘The background’, p. 1,848; Ullman, Islamic Medicine, p. 16; Dols, ‘The origins’. 44. Reinink, ‘Edessa grew’, pp. 49–59. 45. Elgood, A Medical, p. 46; De Lacy, How Greek Science, pp. 37–8; Drijvers, ‘The School of Edessa’, pp. 49–59. 46. Montgomery, Science in Translation, p. 79. 47. Browne, Arabian Medicine, p. 21; Meyerhof, ‘The background’, pp. 1,848–50; Ullman, Islamic, p. 19; Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 24–8; el-Gammal, ‘The relations’; Montgomery, Science in Translation, p. 79. 48. Browne, Arabian Medicine, p. 22.

40 | ara bi a n dr ugs 49. Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 369; Conrad, ‘The Arab-Islamic’, p. 101; Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic, pp. 20–1; Shahbazi and Richter-Bernburg, ‘Gondēšāpur’. 50. Regarding the ‘Myth of Gondeshapur’ or Jundīshāpūr, see: Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, Early Muslim Medicine, pp. 282–3. 51. Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, ‘Early Muslim medicine’, pp. 275–6. 52. Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, p. 25; more about the Barmakids and their origin, see: Van Bladel, ‘The Bactrian’. 53. Dodge, The Fihrist, II, pp. 826–7; Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 383;  Pormann  and  SavageSmith, Medieval Islamic, pp. 21–2, 36; Ullman, Islamic Medicine, pp. 19–20; Ali and Qadry, ‘Contribution’, p. 53; Levey, Early Arabic, pp. 10–17. 54. Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 383; el-Gammal, ‘The relations’, p. 40. 55. Levey, Medieval Arabic, p. 6; Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, pp. 474–5. 56. El-Gammal, ‘The relations’, p. 40; Abbot, Two Queens, p. 150. 57. Sezgin, Geschichte, III, pp. 187–202. 58. Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 383; Hamarneh, ‘Development’. 59. Ibn al-Qif†ī, Tārīkh al-Óukamāʾ, p. 215; Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, pp. 475–6. 60. Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 383; Hamarneh, ‘Development’, p. 368; SheferMossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, ‘Early Muslim medicine’, p. 287. 61. Dodge, The Fihrist, II, p. 826. 62. Ibid., pp. 826–7; Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, p. 26. 63. Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, ‘Early Muslim medicine’, pp. 277–8; al-JāªiÕ, al-Bayān wa-l-Tabyīn, pp. 91–2. 64. Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, ‘Early Muslim medicine’, p. 278; Kennedy, The History of al-˝abarī, XXIX, p. 89. 65. Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 26–7. 66. Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, ‘Early Muslim medicine’. 67. Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,854. 68. Sezgin, Geschichte, III, p. 294. 69. Meyerhof, ‘The background’, pp. 1,854–62; el-Gammal, ‘The relations’; Ali and Qadry, ‘Contribution’. 70. Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, pp. 413–73. 71. Shefer-Mossensohna and Abou Hershkovitz, ‘Early Muslim medicine’, pp. 294–5. 72. Schmucker, Die Pflanzliche, p. 12. 73. Al-˝abarī, Firdaws al-Óikma, pp. 407–12, chapters 35–6.

i ntroducti on | 41 74. Schmucker, Die pflanzliche, pp. 45–6; Ullman, Islamic Medicine, p. 41; Meyerhof, ‘Alî a†-˝abarî’s’. 75. Gillispie, Dictionary, II, pp. 147–60. 76. Lawrence, ‘Al-Biruni’s approach’; Peters, ‘Science, history and religion’; Rosenthal, ‘Al-Biruni between Greece and India’. 77. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, pp. 5–6. 78. Ibid., p. 206. 79. Ibid., p. 4. It seems that this may be the reason that pharmacists in Arabic are called ‘Íaydana’ or ‘Íaydalānī’ and pharmacy has been ‘Íaydaliyya’ until the present day. 80. Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,861. 81. Al-Harawi, Kitāb al-ʾAbniya, pp. 4–6. 82. Laufer, Sino-Iranica, pp. 581–5. 83. On the contribution of Iran to Arabic medicine, see: Richter-Bernburg, ‘Iran’s contribution’. 84. Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 381. 85. Said, The Role, p. 77. 86. Gutas, Greek Thought, p. 129. 87. On the preference of the Greek and Syriac translations over the Persian texts during the rule of al-Maʾmūn, see: Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 75, 79. 88. Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, XII, pp. 473–7. 89. Ibid., pp. 413–72. 90. Except for seven Arab physicians from the pre-Islamic period. See: Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, VII, pp. 161–82. 91. Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 381; Conrad, ‘The Arab-Islamic’, p. 101; Savage-Smith, ‘˝ibb’, p. 452; Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic, pp. 20–1. 92. Meyerhof, ‘The background’, pp. 1,849–52; Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, p. 19; according to Montgomery, Science in Translation, p. 63, it had already begun at the time of Justinian the Great in 529. 93. Conrad, ‘The Arab-Islamic’, p. 100. 94. On the tendency towards continuity between the Byzantines and the Umayyads, see: Amar, Agricultural Produce, pp. 41–4. 95. Savage-Smith, ‘˝ibb’, p. 452; Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic, p. 24. 96. Dols, ‘Syriac into Arabic’; Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,848. 97. Gutas, Greek Thought, pp. 17–25. 98. On the destruction of Persian scientific books due to content deemed unsuited to the Islamic spirit, see: Ibn Khaldūn, The Muqaddima, p. 115.

42 | ara bi a n dr ugs 99. On the adaptation of Galen to the monotheistic trend, see: Ullman, Islamic Medicine, pp. 30–1; Temkin, Hippocrates, pp. 116–25; Temkin, Galenism, pp. 62–74. 100. Conrad, ‘The Arab-Islamic’, pp. 104–5; Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 384; Serikoff, ‘The Islamic’, p. 22; Rekaya, ‘al-Maʾmūn’. On the relations between al-Maʾmūn, al-Kindī and the Muʿtazilite, see: Walzer, Greek into Arabic, pp. 176–87. 101. Régis, ‘General survey’, I, pp. 1–19; Régis, Thābit B. Qurra; Houzel, ‘The new astronomy’. 102. Plofker, Mathematics in India, pp. 255–71; Plofker, ‘Use and transmission’. See also Pingree, ‘The Greek’. And see also various articles in: King, Islamic Mathematical. 103. Jokish, Islamic Imperial Law, chapter 6, pp. 397–405. 104. Régis, ‘Eastern Arabic’; Pingree, ‘Islamic astronomy’. 105. Fuller et al., Across the Indian Ocean, pp. 545–7. 106. Tomber, Indo-Roman Trade, pp. 54–87; for more about the IndoMediterranean trade along with the history, see: De Romanis and Maiurom, Across the Ocean. 107. Zohary, ‘The diffusion’; Zohary and Hopf, Domestication. 108. For example: Song of Songs 4: 14; Exodus 30: 23–6. 109. Buccellati and Buccellati, ‘Terqa’. 110. Namdar et al., ‘Cinnamaldehyde’. 111. Naville et al., The XIth Dynasty Temple. 112. Maqbul, Hind. 113. Fuller et al, Across the Indian Ocean, pp, 547–8; Manniche, An Ancient Egyptian, p. 136. 114. Cary, Herodotus, pp. 250–1. 115. Sidebotham, ‘Ports of the Red Sea’. 116. Fuller et al., Across the Indian Ocean, p. 547. 117. Higgins, Greek and Roman, p. 153. 118. Wendrich et. al., ‘Berenike Crossroads’. 119. Van Der Veen et al., ‘Plant remains’. 120. Wendrich et al., ‘Berenike Crossroads’, pp. 68–9; Tomber, Indo-Roman Trade, pp. 76, 83; Van der Veen et al., ‘Plant remains’, p. 228. 121. Tomber, Indo-Roman Trade, pp. 72–3. 122. Jun-yan, ‘Relations’; Chaudhuri, Trade, pp. 49–51; Whitehouse, ‘Abbasid’. 123. Chaudhuri, Trade, pp. 49–50; Whitehouse, ‘Abbasid’.

i ntroducti on | 43 124. Lev, ‘A Mediterranean encounter’, p. 143. 125. Melon, ‘Trade’. 126. Franz-Murphy, ‘A new interpretation’. 127. Lewis, ‘The Fatimids’. 128. Bramoullé, ‘The Fatimids’. 129. Ashtor, ‘The Kārimī’, p. 52. 130. Shatzmiller, ‘Trans-continental trade’, p. 119. 131. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 405–11. 132. Ibid., p. 403. 133. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, P. 95; Ibn al-Faqῑh, Kitāb al-Buldān, pp. 12, 67. 134. Ibn al-Faqῑh, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 69. 135. Bonner, The Arabian Sillent Trade. 136. Shatzmiller, ‘Trans-continental trade’, pp. 126–7. 137. Shatzmiller claims that three chronological cycles can be observed in the history of medieval Islamic trade: the eighth to tenth, eleventh to thirteenth and fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. Each demonstrates changes in the economic fundamentals of their political units and institutions, in the global conditions affecting precious metals and transport systems and in the sources that we use to study them; see: Shatzmiller, ‘Trans-continental trade’, p. 119. 138. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 411–21. 139. Shatzmiller, ‘The role’. 140. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 411–21. 141. Shatzmiller, ‘Economic performance’. 142. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 411–21. 143. Goitein, A Mediterranean, pp. 148–346. 144. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 420–41. 145. Goldberg, Trade and Institutions, pp. 337–61. 146. Al-Dimashqī, al-ʾIshāra, p. 36. 147. Seland, ‘The Persian Gulf’. 148. Ibid. 149. Seland, ‘Moscha’. 150. Lev, ‘A Mediterranean encounter’, p. 143; Whitehouse, ‘Abbasid’, pp. 64–7. 151. Whitehouse, ‘Maritime trade’; on Muslim commerce in the Indian Ocean, see: Risso, Merchants and Faith, pp. 9–54. 152. Al-ʾI‚†akhrῑ, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 154. 153. Whitehouse, ‘Maritime trade’, p. 330. 154. Kennedy, The Prophet, pp. 343–4.

44 | ara bi a n dr ugs 155. See in details: Cooper, The Medieval Nile. 156. Smith, ‘Have you’; Smith, ‘More on the port’; Margariti, Aden. 157. Mayerson, ‘The Port of Clysma’. 158. Bramoullé, ‘The Fatimids’, p. 129; Cooper, The Medieval Nile, pp. 238–45. 159. Wendrich et al., ‘Berenike Crossroads’. 160. Peacock and Blue, ‘Overview’. 161. Whitcomb, ‘Excavations’. 162. Kawatoko, ‘Archaeological finds’; Mikami, ‘Chinese ceramics’; Rougeulie, ‘Medieval trade’. 163. Shatzmiller, ‘Trans-continental trade’, pp. 126–7. 164. Ibid., pp. 126–7. 165. Gil, ‘Shipping’, pp. 151–3; regarding boats and sailing at that period, see: Agius, Classic Ships of Islam. 166. Goitein, ‘From the Mediterranean’. 167. Ashtor, ‘Profits’; Ashtor, ‘Spice prices’. 168. Margariti, Aden. 169. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 170. Smith, ‘Have you’. 171. See, for example: Goitein and Friedman, India Traders; Goitein and Friedman, India Book. 172. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 173. Abulafia, The Great Sea, mainly pp. 241–354; Braudel, The Mediterranean. 174. Stillman, ‘Jewish merchants’. 175. Khalileh, ‘Trade’. 176. McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, pp. 278–80. 177. McCrindle, The Christians Topography; McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, p. 282. 178. Goldberg, Trade and Institutions, pp. 115–19. 179. On the importance and uses of minerals in the Islamic civilisation, see: Strohmaier, ‘Minerals’. 180. Khalileh, ‘Trade’, p. 820. 181. Stillman, ‘Jewish merchants’. 182. Constable, ‘Merchants’, p. 135. 183. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 432–4. 184. McCabe, ‘Imported materia edica’, p. 252. 185. See, for example: Abulafia, ‘Trade and crusade’; Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’; Ashtor, ‘European trade’; Prawer, The Latin Kingdom, II, pp. 352–4.

i ntroducti on | 45 186. Abulafia, ‘The Levant trade’; Day, ‘The Levant trade’. 187. Ashtor, ‘Profits’, pp. 273–4. 188. Pegolotti, La Pratica, pp. 293–7; the list is translated by Lopez and Raymond, Medieval Trade, pp. 108–14. 189. Constable, ‘Merchants’, p. 135. 190. McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, p. 246. 191. Goldberg, Trade and Institutions, pp. 300–5 (based mainly on the travels of Ibn ʿAwkal and Nahray ibn Nissīm groups of traders), see especially: Map 10.1–2 on pp. 301–2. 192. McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, p. 246. 193. Goldberg, Trade and Institutions, pp. 215–29, see especially: Map 8.1 on p. 219. 194. McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, p. 246. 195. Constable, ‘Merchants’, p. 148. 196. Ibid., p. 148; for more information regarding the effect of climate, geography and technology, see: Pryor, Geography. 197. Ben-Sasson, The Emergence, pp. 67–89. 198. Lev, ‘A Mediterranean encounter’, pp. 138–9; Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 462–4. 199. See Roth, ‘Sicily’; Ben-Sasson, The Jews; Goldberg, Trade and Institutions. 200. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, pp. 77–82. 201. Udovitch, ‘Medieval Alexandria’; Bareket, ‘Alexandria’. 202. Ibid. 203. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, pp. 221, 223, 229. 204. Udovitch, ‘Medieval Alexandria’. 205. Gil, ‘The flax trade’; Udovitch, ‘Medieval Alexandria’, p. 280. 206. Abulafia, ‘The role of trade’; Citarella, ‘Merchants’, pp. 241–61. 207. Citarella, ‘Merchants’, pp. 241–61. 208. For more on this in detail, see: Kampbell, The Economy of Conflict. 209. Citarella, ‘Merchants’, pp. 241–61. 210. Khalileh, ‘Trade’. 211. See Khalileh, ‘Trade’ for a detailed list of such centres. 212. Ibid. 213. Balard, ‘Notes’; Laiou, ‘Exchange and trade’, mainly pp. 750–1. 214. Udovitch, ‘International commerce’, pp. 239–40. 215. Lopez, The Commercial Revolution. 216. Udovitch, ‘International commerce’, p. 240. 217. McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, p. 282–4.

46 | ara bi a n dr ugs 218. Aëtius of Amida, Libri Medicinalis. 219. McCrindle, The Christians Topography, pp. 360–5. 220. Ibid., p. 366. 221. Freshfield, Roman Law, pp. 30–5. 222. Oder and Hoppe, Corpus Hippiatricorum, VII, p. 48. 223. McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, pp. 282–9. 224. About the various merchants groups that were involved in the cross-cultural commerce of the medieval Mediterranean, see: Constable, ‘Merchants’. 225. See detailed discussion regarding the name and the geographical origin: Gil, The Tustaris, pp. 1–23. 226. On the role of perfume in the Islamic civilisation, see: Anderson, ‘Perfume’. 227. Gil, The Tustaris, pp. 29–37; Fischel, Jews in the Economic, pp. 68–89. 228. See, for example: Rabinowitz, Jewish Merchants; for a high-quality review of the research into their origin, see: Bareket, ‘Rādhānite’, pp. 558–9; Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, p. 415–19. 229. Gil, ‘The Radhanite’; Rabinowitz, Jewish Merchants; Gil, The Tustaris, pp. 13–14; Bareket, ‘Rādhānite’. 230. Rabinowitz, Jewish Merchants, pp. 139–50; see a modern interpretation and geographical identification: Bareket, ‘Rādhānite’, pp. 559–60. 231. Pellat, ‘al-Rādhāniyya’; for an interesting discussion regarding the activity of the Rādhānites in Europe and their relations with the local Jewish communities, see: Toch, The Economic History, pp. 193–200. 232. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, p. 418. 233. See in detail: Labib, ‘Kārimī’. 234. Fischel, ‘The spice trade’. 235. Ashtor, ‘The Kārimī’; Labib, ‘Kārimī’. 236. Bramoullé, ‘The Fatimids’, pp. 133–4. 237. Vallet, Pouvior commerce, pp. 407–10. 238. Bramoullé, ‘The Fatimids’, pp. 133–4. 239. Margariti describes eleven Genizah documents in which Jewish merchants speak about ‘kārim’; these ‘leave no doubt of their stake in the institution’. See Margariti, Aden, pp. 152–3; see also Goitein and Friedman, India Traders, pp. 22, 50, 150, 239, 259–60, 264, 378, 480, 482–3, 509, 518–20. 240. Wansbrough, ‘The Medieval Kārim’, p. 300; Margariti, Aden, p. 152. 241. See in detail: Labib, ‘Kārimī’; Agius, Classic Ships of Islam, pp. 237–8. 242. Fischel, ‘The spice trade’, pp. 162–3. 243. For more about medieval navigation in the Nile, see: Cooper, ‘No easy option’.

i ntroducti on | 47 244. Gil, ‘Shipping’, pp. 151–7; for a detailed discussion regarding the river boat and deep-sea vessels, see: Agius, Classic Ships, pp. 297–320. 245. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, p. 439; For more about the funduq and its role in medieval Mediterranean, see: Constable, Housing the Stranger. 246. See in detail: Labib, ‘Kārimī’. 247. Abulafia, ‘Asia, Africa’, pp. 442–3. 248. Greif, ‘Contract’, p. 525. 249. See, for example: Greif, ‘The fundamental problem’; Greif, ‘Reputation and coalitions’. 250. McCormick, Origins, pp. 714–15. 251. Lev, ‘A Mediterranean encounter’, pp. 140–3. 252. Citarella, ‘Merchants’. 253. Kreutz, ‘The ecology’; Citarella, ‘The relations’. 254. Lev, ‘A Mediterranean encounter’, p. 143. 255. Citarella, ‘Merchants’, pp. 276–82; Citarella, ‘The relations’. 256. Jacoby, ‘Venetian’, p. 371. 257. Crowley, City of Fortune, pp. 6–7. 258. Jacoby, ‘Venetian’, p. 391. The relationship between Venice and Byzantium was of intense complexity, see: Crowley, City of Fortune, p. 15. 259. Ashtor, ‘European trade’. In the next chapters we will present the information based on Ashtor research. 260. Regarding the Venetian trade with the Levant at the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, see: Ashtor, ‘The volume’; Ashtor, ‘Observations’. 261. Howard, Venice and the East, p. 14.

2 Agriculture and Pharmaceutical Innovations: Milestones in Research and Case Studies

I

n this chapter we present the history of the research into the subject presented above with some adjacent issues, its criticism and the results of new research projects we have conducted that directed us to the methodology used and presented in this book, which deals specifically with the breadth of the phenomenon of the ‘new’ medicinal substances introduced and disseminated by the Arabs after their conquests and the special trade conditions that subsequently became available. Our first assumption is that most of these medicinal substances were unknown in the Middle East and Europe, and Arab control over the vast expanse of its conquests from India to Spain made possible the transfer and distribution of these substances from southern and eastern Asia. As mentioned above, many scholars have noted this phenomenon, yet focused and systematic research of this issue has never been conducted. The main goal of our present research is to reconsider this phenomenon, that is, to reconstruct as complete a list as possible of all the ‘new’ medicinal substances that were more widely distributed than in the pre-Islamic period; to study the contribution and influence of these substances on the theoretical and practical medieval medical legacy;1 to understand how, and to what extent, these substances merge with the development and distribution of ‘new’ technologies and industries that evolved in the Middle Ages such as textiles2 and paper,3 and with the new trends, demands and fashions regarding perfumes, ornaments and foodstuffs; to trace the main routes of trade in these substances in the new ‘Arab space’; and to assess the actual relevance that should be ascribed to the Greek and Indian legacies in the formation of Arab 48

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 49 medicine and pharmacology. To do so, we will first propose a ­­methodology for the clearest possible identification of these new ‘Arabic’ substances. Indian Pharmacology and Galeno-Arab Medicine The field of materia medica is of leading importance in an assessment of the influence of the Indian legacy on Galeno-Arab medicine. One must ask how deeply and extensively southern and eastern Asian medicinal substances, namely from China,4 Tibet,5 India,6 Sind, Persia and Mesopotamia, penetrated the Galenic inventory after, or more precisely, thanks to the Arab conquests of the seventh century. Modern scholars have noted the phenomenon of medicinal substances and spices that were introduced as a result of the Arab conquests,7 although no systematic research so far has been conducted. A few researchers name some of them: cloves, nutmeg, camphor, senna, sandalwood, ambergris and musk.8 Others observe that the names of some of these substances have penetrated modern European languages, for example, nāranj – orange, kāfūr – camphor and misk – musk.9 Furthermore, the distribution of new medicinal substances by the Arabs joins other medicine-related pursuits that were developed in their time, such as alchemy10 and pharmacology, and new techniques devised for concocting medical potions with Latinised names that attest to their Arabic origin, such as syrups, juleps, alcohol and more. Above all, the contribution of the Arabs was by giving pharmacology its rightful place and distinguishing it from medicine.11 The aims of our research are, therefore, to systematically re-examine the distribution of the ‘Arab’ drugs and to understand the extent of this phenomena and its effect on the Arabic pharmacology of the medieval period. We will also delineate the main routes of distribution of these drugs in the new Arabic space and beyond. Therefore, we would like, first, to propose a methodology that will enable us, as clearly as possible, to identify these new drugs that were distributed in the Arabic period. The ‘Agriculture Revolution’ and the Watson Thesis – Cucurbitaceae Family as a Model Many signs indicate that the Muslim rulers utilised the diverse building and agricultural techniques that existed in the huge area that had come under

50 | ara bi a n dr ugs their control, and would transfer knowledge, experts and cheap labour from one geographical location to another. In Iraq, for example, the Umayyads initiated extensive agricultural activities12 in which they transferred Indian workers (Zu††), as well as black African slaves, from East Africa (Zanj) to other regions, bringing with them new crops and cultivating techniques.13 This process was repeated in the lower rift valley (the Jordan Valley) as well. Experts in irrigation systems were brought, probably from Iran, to build an underground irrigation system that included a network of wells, canals and pools (qanat). Interestingly enough, Jewish sources ascribe the project to one of the Umayyad rulers.14 Besides the transfer of new crops, some evidence exists for the transfer of domesticated animals such as the water buffalo (jāmūs), with their zu†† breeder from Pakistan (sind) through Iraq to al-Shām.15 Another example is the transfer of the binnī fish to the Óula Lake (al-Shām) from the city of Wāsi† in southern Iraq.16 Remains of the Umayyad agricultural initiative and activity in the Jordan Valley are also preserved in local tradition as mentioned by the Jerusalem physician al-Tamīmī (tenth century), regarding the oil that was pressed from the balsam tree of Jericho, known as the Jericho Balsam (Balanites aegyptiaca): The oil is produced, as in the ghawr of Jericho found in the range of Jerusalem, from the seed of the fruit named Zaqqūm and similar to the kind of myrobalan (Terminalia sp.) ʾihlīlaj name zaqqūmī. And the people of this region, the old and the wise, claim that its origin is the ʾihlīlaj kābulī that was transferred by the Umayyad from Kābul during their rule and seeded in the Jordan Valley. Big trees grew out of the seeds and they exist there ever since. However, the soil of Jericho changed the fruits and the nature of the ʾihlīlaj, and therefore it produces green fruit in the shape and image of the ʾihlīlaj, though they lack the ability of acting as an astringent.17

The Umayyad conquered Kābul in the mid-seventh century, thus opening the route to India from which myrobalan, one of the most important drugs in the East, was exported – the ʾihlīlaj kābulī (Terminalia chebula).18 However, we doubt the statement regarding the import of al-Zaqqūm to the Jordan Valley during the Umayyad period. Although both varieties are similar, according to the system of classification they represent two distinct botanical species. The importance of such a tradition is the record of the Umayyad

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 51 agriculture ­­project that may have included the grafting of various crops that were ­­conserved two hundred years after their rule. In addition to their medicinal uses, many of the ‘new Arabic drugs’ were also used for perfumes, incense and spices, and for various industries such as dyeing and tanning. Such evidence should be examined on the basis of the book written by the Canadian scholar Watson already mentioned above. Watson argues that the Muslim conquests sparked off an agricultural revolution by creating new advantages and opportunities. Watson’s thesis is based mainly on an analysis of the distribution of fourteen key tropical crops originating in South and East Asia. These are sorghum, rice, hard wheat, sugarcane, cotton, bitter orange, lemon, banana, coconut, watermelon, spinach, artichoke, colocasia, eggplant and mango, which he maintains had spread through the Middle East and later Europe19 as a result of the Muslim conquests. We can add to the list two kinds of mungo beans (māsh): green kind – Vigna radiata, and the black kind – Vigna mungo, as well as various kinds of gourds, which we discuss later (cucumber, Dudaʾim melon). Imports of new varieties and the development of existing crops were part of these phenomena as well. Several scholars disagree with Watson’s thesis on the grounds that some of the crops he mentions were introduced to the Middle East in pre-Islamic periods from India along the regular trading routes.20 Ashtor, who showed that some of Watson’s crops were known as early as the Roman period, is particularly critical, declaring that Watson’s presumed ‘agricultural revolution’ did not really take place.21 Generally speaking, we accept Watson’s thesis, with the exception of certain details and his claim as to the extent of the revolution. Lately, Decker reached a similar conclusion to ours, challenging Watson’s proof through the study of four crops: durum wheat, Asiatic rice, cotton and artichoke.22 One of the problems of Watson’s thesis derives from his lack of adequate knowledge of Jewish halachic literature, mainly the Mishnaic23 Tosefta,24 which was written in the eastern part of the Middle East during the Roman– Byzantine period. This vast literature conserves a treasure trove of knowledge and information regarding many aspects of life in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the case of agriculture, the most important is the ‘Zeraʿim’ tractate of the Babylonian (written in Babylonia) and Jerusalem Talmud25 (written in the

52 | ara bi a n dr ugs Land of Israel). This literature, which contains many Persian ­­expressions, mentions products as well as merchandise that were traded and used in the Middle East before the Arab conquest such as coconut26 and musk oil.27 However, despite the weakness and gaps in Watson’s thesis, we agree in general with the statements concerning the distribution of new crops, agrotechnical methods and merchandise after the Muslim conquests. We dispute, however, the magnitude of what the ‘agriculture revolution’ implied and some of the examples presented in his book. For instance, some of the crops that Watson mentions, such as rice, ‘hard’ wheat, watermelon and the colcasia (taro), were disseminated in the Land of Israel during the Roman and Byzantine periods, whereas other crops were known and grown only sporadically (cotton). New crops, such as various species of citrus, banana and eggplant, did not gain a central place in local agriculture; nor did they replace or push aside the traditional basic crops, on which the subsistence economy of the earlier periods was based, but rather contributed to the enrichment of the existing agricultural inventory. It is important to note that most of the crops in the Land of Israel were grown on the eastern and western slopes of the central mountain range, where tropical and subtropical conditions exist; as a result, the influence of the Arab conquerors in these regions was mostly recognised.28 The cultivation of sugar cane, which played a central part in medieval agriculture and the economy, is exceptional,29 as are local changes in the textile sector.30 According to our perception, which we will try to prove later in this chapter, the ‘new crops’ (as well as the ‘new drugs’, which are the subject of the current book) can be divided into two groups: new plants that were brought and distributed by the Arabs; and the continued cultivation of existing crops. In order to support our argument, we present herein the results of studies we have conducted on the history of certain species of vegetables of the Cucurbitaceae family and the change they underwent in their cultivation and distribution from antiquity to the Middle Ages. These provide good historical examples for the diversity of new and old crops. Two species cultivated in the wake of the Arab conquest, the watermelon31 and melon,32 were undoubtedly already well-established in Levantine agriculture and diet from biblical times to the Classical period. But the conquest also led to the development and distribution of new types of sweet and fleshy watermelons

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 53 similar to our own in present times. Two new species that were brought and distributed by the Arabs (the cucumber33 and the Dudaʾim melon34), were studied as well. The cucumber, a new vegetable, joined them and was added to the diet. These are but a few examples of the many crops, medicinal substances and spices that were distributed and dispersed during the Middle Ages from southern and eastern Asia to the Middle East, and thence to Europe. In order to demonstrate a new and improved approach for the investigation of the natural history of these crops, some of which are discussed by Watson, we will briefly describe a few species from each group. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and melon (Cucumis melo) – Watson counts the watermelon (Citrullus lanatus=C. vulgaris) among the new crops distributed by the Arabs. He maintains that no real evidence exists as to its cultivation in ancient Egypt and that the ancient wall illustrations there depict colocynth (Citrullus colocynthis). The Hebrew ʾava†iªim appears once in the Bible, along with kishuʾim and other vegetables that the Israelites had eaten in Egypt and sorely missed during their sojourn in the desert (Numbers 11:5). But Watson’s statements cannot withstand a reexamination of the data: the colocynth is a wild plant with a bitter fruit. It has highly purgative properties and, taken in high dosage, is even toxic. It is thus very unlikely to have been cultivated as a crop for human consumption. By contrast, there is much archaeo-botanical evidence for the cultivation of watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and melon (Cucumis melo) in Egypt from the second millennium BC.35 Watermelon seeds were also found in Bronze Age Bāb al-Dhirāʿ in ancient Moab, now Jordan, and in Iron Age Tel ʿArad in the Negev, Israel.36 The Jewish sources of the Roman and Byzantine periods (Mishna, Tosefta and Talmud) frequently mention watermelon and other field crops of the Cucurbitaceae family37 so there is no doubt that watermelon was cultivated in the countries of the Levant centuries before the Islamic conquest. Although these sources do not precisely specify the normal characteristics of these subspecies (colour, internal texture, taste and so forth), close scrutiny of the text offers an insight into some of them. For example, the practice of scalding the watermelon suggests the possibility that it was a subspecies of the plant traditionally cultivated today in southern Egypt and Sudan: Citrullus lanatus var. citroides. Its fruit has a white pulp. It is not very juicy. It is eaten

54 | ara bi a n dr ugs raw or boiled. The watermelon subspecies that was eaten raw probably had a soft pulp and tasted bland or even sweet. Furthermore, watermelons are listed with other sweet and juicy fruits eaten raw like grapes, pomegranates and figs.38 Moreover, we firmly reject the opinion that the biblical ʾava†iaª is the colocynth (bitter gourd). Scholars and scientists take this species to be the ‘father’ (genetic source) of the cultivated watermelon. An intermediate phase in its domestication was detected in seeds found in various archaeological sites in Egypt.39 Furthermore, a population of Citrullus lanatus var. colocynthoides was identified in sand dunes of Nitzana in southern Israel. These plants have a fleshy non-bitter watermelon fruit 20 cm in diameter and are used as fodder.40 After the Islamic conquests, alongside the local varieties, new types of watermelon became widespread: green watermelon (al-ba††īkh al-ʾakh∂ar) and yellow melon (al-ba††īkh al-ʾa‚far). These displaced some local types and were named according to their alleged origin: India (al-ba††īkh al-hindī), Pakistan (al-ba††īkh al-sindī) and Palestine (al-ba††īkh al-filas†īnī).41 The third suggests their assimilation into the traditional agriculture of the Levant.42 The twelfth-century Andalusian herbalist al-ʾIshbīlī includes both melon and watermelon in his entry al-ba††īkh. Describing ‘al-ba††īkh al-filas†īnī’ (the Palestinian watermelon) he lists synonyms (al-ba††īkh al-shāmī (‘Syrian watermelon’), dullāʿ, ba††īkh hindī, ba††īkh sindī and ba††īkh shatawī), and writes that its fruit is fleshy with a high water content. There were three types: one with red seeds, another with black seeds and the third was the colocynth (ªanÕal). Al-ʾIshbīlī adds that of the dullāʿ there is a fourth type, grown in al-Murāba†īn Desert in southern Morocco,43 which is similar to the colocynth, but its juice is sweet and tasty, as if containing sugar.44 The distribution of the various types of watermelon seems to have been a long process. Later sources of the Mamluk period (1250–1517) mention certain varieties of watermelon known for their beauty, sweetness and small number of seeds,45 to note only a few of these accounts.46 Describing the crops of Aleppo (Syria), Ibn al-Shiªna mentions a green watermelon notable for its sweetness and thin peel. Aleppo residents ascribe its source to a region named Shūsh near the Euphrates River, thus accounting for its being called shūshī. Its seeds were taken to Gaza every year and yielded remarkably sweet

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 55 fruit. According to the same source, if the seeds of these fruits were sown, the crop of the second year was dissimilar in its attributes to that of the previous year.47 Al-Nābulsī (1715) writes about varieties of the contemporary watermelon in his book on agriculture, including the kind grown in al-Shām featuring a striped peel, very sweet fruit and white seeds. He also notes an ancient tradition asserting that the seeds of this type had been brought from Persia (ʿajam).48 A similar process occurred with melons: for example, the thirteenth-century physician al-Baghdādī mentions an Egyptian tradition that ascribes the so-called ʿAbdallī or ʿAbdallāwī melon to ʿAbd-Allāh Ibn ˝āhir, governor of Egypt during the regime of al-Māʾmūn. This melon had a thin peel and an overall inferior taste, although in some cases it was sweet.49 We assume that it was associated with the governor due to his efforts to import it, or it may simply have been cultivated in his time. Al-Baghdādī adds that the people of Egypt preferred a new type of melon al-Khurāsānī or al-‚īnī (Chinese).50 Here is clear evidence of the importing of new varieties of watermelon from southern and eastern Asia and Persia, regions that opened up following the Islamic conquests. In light of the foregoing, information regarding another special melon grown in Khwārizm and named bāranj is of special interest. Thaʿālibī describes it as: ‘reputedly the sweetest and nicest-tasting of all melons. They were first exported to al-Maʾmūn, then to al-Wāthiq, being packed in snow inside leaden containers.’’51 The melons of Khwārizm were praised by Ibn Ba††ū†a some centuries later as being ‘incomparable’ in flavour: ‘The melons of Khwārizm have no equal in any country of the world, East or West, except perhaps the melons of Bukhārā, and next to them the melons of ʾI‚fahān. Their rind is green and flesh is red, of extreme sweetness and firm texture.’52 Watson’s assumption that the Muslims distributed new varieties of fleshy, sweet watermelon and melon is thus partially supported. Nevertheless, the crossbreeding and cultivation of excellent local types were known in the Levant long before the Muslim conquests. Chate melon (Cucumis melo var. chate) – The kishuʾim and the ʾava†iªim (watermelons) of the Bible (Numbers 11:5) were identified by most Aramaic translators of the Scriptures, and by later scholars, as a field plant of the Cucurbitaceae family called chate melon (Cucumis melo var. chate).

56 | ara bi a n dr ugs Archaeo-botanical evidence of this species in ancient Egypt exists as well.53 On the other hand, the kishuʾim appear in the Septuagint as sikus and in the Vulgate as cucumis – collective names for varieties of the Cucurbitaceae family such as melon (Cucumis melo), chate melon (Cucumis melo var. chate) and apparently also cucumber (Cucumis sativus). However, the identification of kishuʾim with cucumber is late, first appearing in the Middle Ages.54 This error came about only when the cucumber appeared as a result of the Muslim conquests, probably because of the similar shape. This seems to have contributed to the view in the Arabic sources that the cucumber is a type of ‘qiththā’.55 In other words, in the Middle Ages names were transformed concurrently with the division into two groups of traditions for identifying the ancient melafefon – European and Arab. European commentators who identify the Talmudic melafefon as a kind of melon (influenced by the Jerusalem Talmud and the Greek language); Arab commentators who identified it as khiyār (Cucumis sativus).56 Returning to the Biblical kishuʾim, according to the text it seems to be a specific type of crop, and solid evidence favours its identification with the chate melon. Moreover, a close reading of descriptions in the Classical sources suggests that, at least in some cases, regarding some kinds of cucumis, they were indeed varieties of chate melon. For example, this crop was covered with white ‘down’, which was not a typical attribute of the cucumber.57 Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) – Unlike the watermelon and the chate melon known in the agricultural tradition of the Middle East and the Mediterranean Basin in the pre-Islamic period, the cucumber seems to be among the new crops introduced and distributed by the Arabs. It is not listed by Watson, although all signs indicate that it originated in India and penetrated the Middle East after the Islamic conquests. Evidence of it in ancient Egypt and the Levant in the biblical period is neither clear nor solid, so it should be treated with a certain degree of caution.58 True, there is a record of the remains of cucumber seeds from the eighteenth dynasty in Egypt, and possibly from other periods as well,59 but scholars have pointed out the difficulty and uncertainty of a clear distinction between cucumber and melon seeds, so that care is essential in dealing with its existence or cultivation in ancient Egypt.60

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 57 The Greek expression for the Hebrew melafefon refers to the melon, like the biblical ʾava†iaª in Numbers 11:5. Evidence for this is the reference to the ‘hair’ on the fruit, which is not a feature of the present-day cucumber (Cucumis sativus).61 Moreover, three species of the Cucurbitaceae family appear frequently in Jewish sources from the Roman period, occasionally together: ‘Chate melons and gourds and water melons’ (Mishna, Peʾa 1:5; Maʿasrot 1:4). The cucumber is never mentioned. In fact, solid evidence for the cultivation of the cucumber in the Middle East, positively identified by its Arabic name khiyār, exists only after the Muslim conquests. The most important source is Abū Dāwud Sulaymān ibn Juljul (944–94). He was an Andalusian physician born in Cordoba who wrote a short treatise as an addendum to Dioscorides’ codex. Analysis of this work and the medicinal substances mentioned in it is discussed in detail below.62 The cucumber (khiyār) is described in Dietrich’s edition in Arabic and German as:63 ‘a kind of qiththāʾ; however it has bulges on its peel, like warts, and it is shorter than the qiththāʾ in size, and its leaves are like the leaves of the al-qiththāʾ al-bustānī, its nature is cold and moist, and it suits whoever suffers from fever, and when its fragrance is smelled it cools the brain’. The Persian name for cucumber, khiyār, also evinces this vegetable’s origin, or more precisely the route it took from Asia to the Middle East through Persia.64 Al-Bīrūnī certifies that khiyār is a common name for the cucumber in Iraq; however, in Khurāsān its name is khiyār bāzhrnag.65 Dudaʾim melon (Cucumis dudaim) has small (3–6 cm) diameter and smooth, round fruits of wild and feral melons that are bland, bitter, sour or slightly sweet.66 The name dudaʾim is taken from the Biblical Hebrew dudaʾim (Genesis 30:14–16; Song of Songs 7:14) for mandrakes, Mandragora spp. (Solanaceae). As both mandrakes and dudaʾim melons bear exotically fragrant fruits of similar shape and colour, they were often associated with each other.67 Dudaʾim melons reached the westernmost Mediterranean, Tunisia and Andalusia, from the East, Persia and Central Asia. From historical records, it appears likely that dudaʾim melons were first selected in Persia. Nonetheless, their close resemblance to wild melons suggests the possibility that dudaʾim

58 | ara bi a n dr ugs melons may have been first selected further East, simply as a beautifully ornamental and sweet-smelling ecotype, and then dispersed to neighbouring Persia and from there to distant locations.68 To our knowledge, there is no description of melons of the Dudaʾim group in Mediterranean antiquity.69 The earliest mention of dudaʾim melons that is known to us appears in Sābūr ibn Sahl book’s al-Aqrābādhīn (The Dispensatory) (c. 850) (South-Western Asia). One prescription (no. 184), calls for the use of the rinds of twenty dastabūyah.70 A compound Persian word, ‘dastabūyah’ is, literally, ‘hand perfume’,71 for dudaʾim melons.72 Muªammad Abū al-Qāsim ibn Óawqal, a Kurdish native, travelled extensively around the Islamic Empire. In his travelogue, titled Configuration of the Land, he writes that he saw the highly aromatic dastabūyah, dudaʾim melons, in what is now north-western Iran, in 969.73 Abū Rayªān al-Bīrūnī writes in his book of pharmacy and materia medica titled al- Íaydana fī al-˝ibb (c. 1048), that the Arabic shammām are the Persian dastabūyah or dastabūyah, small melons that look like colocynths, Citrullus colocynthis, having red, green and yellow stripes, and a pleasant odour.74 The Persian-language version of the Tora (Pentateuch), dating to 1319, translates the Hebrew dudaʾim (mandrakes of Genesis 30:14–16) as dastambouha.75 Ibn al-Bay†ār writes that the dastabūyah, dudaʾim melons, were called shammām and luffāª in Syria, although, to be exact, the luffāª were the fruits of mandrakes. These were small melons of the same shape and size as colocynths, striped with red, green and yellow, and pleasantly aromatic.76 He also quoted Ibn Māsawayhi (777–857) as writing that the dastabūyah, dudaʾim melons, relaxed the stomach.77 Dudaʾim group melons were first described in Andalusia and North Africa at the beginning of the tenth century by Isªāq ibn Sulaymān al-ʾIsrāʾīlī (Isaac Judaeus), a medical author of Qayrawān (Tunisia), in his Kitāb al-ʾAghdhiya wa-l-ʾAdwiya (Book of Foods and Simple Remedies) (c. 920) where he wrote that the striped melons were the dastabūyah but were thought by common people to be a kind of luffāª (mandrakes).78 In the Cordoban Calendar (second half of the tenth century)79 and the Calendar of Ibn al-Bannāʾ of Marrakech (c. 1310),80 the luffāª were listed as being sown in April, together with the khiyār (cucumbers, Cucumis sativus). Muªammad ibn Aªmad al-Tamīmī, a physician from Jerusalem who lived in the tenth century,81 was quoted by Ibn al- Bay†ār82 as writing that the dastabūyah were

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 59 what Egyptians erroneously called luffāª, and were also known as shammām. They resembled round watermelons but were smaller, distinctly striped, red and yellow like a garment called ʿattābiyya and had an aroma was like that of the mandrake, as it was pleasant, cooling and induced sleep. Nasiri Khosraw, a traveller from Marw, Khurāsān (modern Turkmenistan), who wrote in Persian, listed in his Sefer Nameh (Book of Travels) the dastabūyah as among the fruits and vegetables he saw when visiting Old Cairo in December 1048.83 Ibn Ri∂wān, an eleventh-century Egyptian physician84 was quoted by Ibn al-Bay†ār85 as writing that the dastabūyah have warm rinds that aid the stomach and digestion. Other later medieval sources (eleventh to fourteenth centuries) from both the East and the West (Andalusia) describe the plant, its names and its uses.86 ‘Crusader Plants’ Among our efforts to find a reasonable methodology for the identification of plants that were distributed by the Arabs, we would like to present herein another example of research dealing with the distribution of plants in the medieval period. Dudai and Amar studied the hypothesis that a few wild plants were brought or spread from Western and Central Europe into the Middle East as a consequence of the Crusader expeditions. This hypothesis is not supported by historical records and relies mostly on circumstantial evidence. From a phyto-geographical analysis of the adventive flora of the Land of Israel, it seems that the origin of the ‘alleged’ species is western Mediterranean, while the vast majority of the adventive plants in Israel are of tropical origin. Interestingly enough and in support of the common assumption, these ‘Crusader’ plants are found predominantly near the ruins of Crusader fortresses and villages scattered throughout modern-day Israel. Some examples of the plants suspected of integration within the local wild flora during the Crusader period are: oleaster (Elaeagnus angustifolia), tree spurge (Euphorbia dendroides), Sicilian (wall) snapdragon (Antirrhinum siculum) and great (common) snapdragon (Antirrhinun majus). A remarkable member of this plant group is the wormwood tree (Artemisia arborescens), a medicinal plant and a spice, which was reported by researchers as having been introduced to the eastern Mediterranean by human agency,87 and from there to the Land of Israel.88 In the framework of this study, the chemical

60 | ara bi a n dr ugs ­­ composition and properties of the various etheric oils of the wild ­­population of Artemisia arborescens in Israel were studied in comparison with the population of this species in Western and Central Europe and in North Africa. Dozens of compounds were identified in the plants that were collected in Israel, such as: a-thujone, b-thujone, chamazulene and camphor, which were then used as chemical identification markers. The conclusion resulting from our research was that the plants that grow wild in northern Israel near Crusader fortresses are mainly of the ‘camphoric’ kind, similar to the European variety and different from North African plants. The results therefore hint at the origin of the northern plant population of tree wormwood and the ways in which it was distributed and introduced into northern Israel.89 Greek Literature and the Physicians of Andalusia as a Model Certain methodological measures make it possible to determine and define the ‘new’ medicinal substances introduced after the Islamic conquests. These measures are, for example, the use of historical sources that specifically mention the substances,90 philological analysis of their names, analysis of their phyto-geographical origins, distribution of medicinal plants and archaeobotanical findings. One of the most important ways to reconstruct and identify the array of pre-Islamic ‘new’ drugs is to detect substances that are not mentioned by, or in, the writings of Classical sources such as Aristotle, Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Galen and others. We assume that their absence from the Classical sources, and their appearance as common substances in the Arab medical literature, teach us that they were either introduced to the field of pharmacology, or the scope of their medical use was enlarged by the Arabs. In due course we will deal with the problematic aspects of this assumption and its reliability and validity as an exclusive measurement. But first, let us present it as a model, as having already appeared in medieval Arabic literature. A few medieval Arab scholars, mainly Andalusian, discussed the omission of medicinal substances in the writings of Classical authors. According to Abū Dāwud Sulaymān Ibn Juljul,91 Ibn Zuhr,92 Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muªammad al-ʾIdrīsī,93 Ibn al-Bay†ār,94 Maimonides,95 al-Ghāfiqī96 and Ibn Rushd,97 about 100 medicinal substances found in Arabic sources (the

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 61 vast majority ­­ being of plant origin, the minority of animal origin and a few ­­precious stones and compound drugs) are not mentioned by Dioscorides and Galen.98 Although the geographical origin of at least half of these substances was southern and eastern Asia, the intention of these medieval authors was not to emphasise that these were ‘new’ substances. This method, however, merits a separate discussion of its reliability and validity with respect to each and every substance. In general, we can accept this approach based on a detailed analysis of these lists. In fact, the combination of all the above measures, or at least most of them, can determine adequately, although not absolutely, the group of medicinal substances that were distributed by the Arabs from southern and eastern Asia to the Middle East and Europe.99 If we add to this list a few other substances mentioned sporadically by other physicians, such as Ibn Samajūn, al-Ghāfiqī and Ibn al-Bay†ār, we come up with a list totalling about 100 substances (many of them not identified), which were categorised as typical drugs and edible fruits and vegetable, spices and perfumes. Some of these substances arrived from regions that were part of the huge territory controlled by the Arabs, such as al-Shām, Yemen and the area between the Black and the Caspian Seas, regions that stretched to the northernmost points reached by the Arabs on their trade routes.100 We also know that Arab traders went to India and China – possibly also Tibet – from very early times. This raises the question of whether knowledge was conveyed through the translation of texts or through traders, or (most likely) both. An example of one plant whose medicinal use (mainly as a purgative) spread from Egypt and Arabia due to the Islamic conquest is senna, also named senna maki (Cassia acutifolia). Dioscorides and the Arabic Herbalists Pedanius Dioscorides, a Greek physician and one of the first pharmabotanists (that is, botanists who specialised in materia medica while ­­ ­­practising medicine), lived in the first century AD and practised medicine as a surgeon for the Roman legions of Nero and Vespasian. He is known mainly for his book De Materia Medica, a medical codex listing hundreds of medicinal substances from the plant, animal and mineral worlds he collected while travelling through many countries with the legionary armies.

62 | ara bi a n dr ugs The ­­medicinal substances are systematically described, along with their various names and medical effects and properties. Due to its practical nature the book was used as a basic text in the fields of pharmacology and medicine for 1,600 years.101 Dioscorides’ book was translated from Greek into Arabic as part of the Abbasid translation project, probably at the time of al-Mutawakkil.102 The translator was Stephanos, son of Basileios of Baghdad, and his work was later collated, edited, proofread and updated by the well-known medical translator Óunayn ibn I‚ªāq. One problem here was that Stephanos translated only the names of substances that he recognised, leaving those he did not in their original names.103 Shortly after its completion the translation reached al-Andalus where it attracted no particular attention. No more work on the identification of unfamiliar substances was done, either in the East or in al-Andalus, until the time of al-Na‚ir ʿAbd al-Raªmān (who ruled 912–61). In 948 the Byzantine emperor in Constantinople, Romanus I, presented his friend al-Nā‚ir with an illustrated manuscript of Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica written in ancient Greek. In the absence of a competent Greek reader the manuscript was set aside and remained unused until it was sent to Cordoba in 951 by a Byzantine monk called Nicola, who at that time was teaching the finest physicians the art of translating from the Greek. Among this group of physicians we may mention Óisdai Ibn Shaprut and Ibn Juljul.104 Ibn Juljul and Dioscorides The Andalusian physician Abū Dāwud Sulaymān ibn Juljul was born in Cordoba in 944 and died after 994. He began his medical education at the age of fifteen, and within ten years he had become a renowned physician and medical authority. He devoted most of his time to identifying the medicinal substances listed in Dioscorides’ monumental work and even wrote a book on the subject in 982. In it he explains and elaborates on their names (Kitāb Tafsīr ʾAasmāʾ al-Adwiya al-Mufrada min Kitāb Diyasqūrīdus).105 Another text by Ibn Juljul, which is the most important in relation to our discussion, is a short article he writes as an addendum to the Codex of Dioscorides: ‘An article on the drugs not mentioned in Dioscorides’ book, those that are used in medicine and are beneficial and those that are not used and are noted just

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 63 for the record’ (Maqāla fī dhikr al-adwiya allatī lam yadhkurhā Diyasqūrīdus fī kitābihi mimmā yustaʿmalu fī ‚ināʿat al-†ibb wa-yuntafaʿu bihi wa-mā lā yustaʿmalu li-kaylā yughfalu dhikruhu).106 The text was first published by Dietrich.107 Ibn Juljul’s addendum contains the names of sixty-two medicinal substances with a brief description of each, and the origin, characteristics and medicinal uses of some of them.108 A number of substances on Ibn Juljul’s list are also sporadically mentioned by Spanish and North African medical authors. A similar list of substances, almost complete, appears in the introduction to the medical book of al-ʾIdrīsī. These two lists show great ­­similarity – in fact, they are almost identical, differing only in minor details.109 Ibn Juljul points out in his article that these drugs were not mentioned by Dioscorides because he had never seen them or because they were not in use in his time.110 However, we argue here that the list compiled by Ibn Juljul should be ascribed far more significance. According to our analysis,111 the great majority of substances he mentions are plants, a few are of animal origin and the rest are inorganic substances, such as minerals, precious stones and soils.112 Not all of the drugs on the list are identified, and for some we suggest possibilities below. From his writings, Ibn Juljul seems not to have been familiar with some of the substances or, alternatively perhaps, scholars disagreed about their identification or their precise name. In a few cases he places some of them in the category of ‘those not used and noted just for the record’.113 Spices and gemstones had already been imported from India in earlier historical periods and, indeed, some of the ‘new’ crops are mentioned in the Classical sources, such as sugar; however, their potential was revealed and practically actualised much later, thanks to Indian cultural agents who re-imported the products with their full medical and industrial potential and practical technology. Moreover, there are examples of certain drugs that were mentioned in the Classical literature, but mistakenly thought by the Arab practitioners not to have been mentioned or, perhaps, they were not familiar with them (those not mentioned by Galen, however, do appear in Pliny, Dioscorides or Theophrastus);114 for example: ʿunnāb (jujube, Ziziphus vulgaris), sabistān (Asyrian plam, Cordia myxia) and ªabb al-zalam

64 | ara bi a n dr ugs (Rush-nut, Cyperus esculentus). It is clear that some of these drugs appear in the Classical sources; however, either the translators or the Arabic practitioners mis-identified them. Therefore, these phenomena do not reflect new drugs. Even though Johnstone notes the division of medicinal substances according to their geographical origin,115 this matter seems not to have been dealt with adequately. Examination of the origin of the medicinal plants on the list, according to Ibn Juljul’s remarks as well as phyto-geographical analysis, reveals that more than half are tropical plants that grow on the islands of the Indian Ocean such as Madagascar, Zanzibar and the Maldives, as well as in southern India, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and China; all of these locations were referred to in the past as ‘India’.116 Many of these substances and other exotic spices proliferated in the Middle East and North Africa, and later reached Europe, due to the Muslim conquest in the seventh century. Note that already in the Classical world, medicinal substances, incense and spices such as cinnamon, nard and pepper were brought to the Middle East and Europe via the Indian trade routes117 and, indeed, these substances are mentioned by Dioscorides. However, those were only a few representatives, in contrast to the rich inventory of drugs that became prevalent after the Arab conquest.118 Most of the plants from which the medicinal substances that Ibn Juljul mentions were derived did not pass beyond the borders of ‘Indian’ ­­agriculture; only their products were distributed along the trading routes. These were not foodstuffs in general but medicinal substances, spices and perfumes. A deeper examination of the ‘Indian’ medicinal substances reveals that not all of them were new in the domain of the Islamic empire. Some of them were already in use in Mesopotamia in the pre-Islamic period, such as the perfume made out of deer musk and coconut, which are mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud as early as the fourth and fifth centuries AD.119 This attests to the fact that although the elimination of the border between the Byzantine and the Persian empires by the Arabs furthered their distribution, the process of dissemination had begun even earlier. In this category we should also mention substances with typical Persian names, such as bahman ʾabya∂ and bahman ʾaªmar, būzīdān, bustān ʾabrūz, māhī zahra and ʾisfānākh. It seems

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 65 that ʾihlīlaj kābulī and yāsamīn, the latter appearing under the same name in the Babylonian Talmud,120 were originally from Persian territory, and only after the Muslim conquest were their uses expanded – not only westward but to China as well.121 The Arab conquerors, who originated from Arabia, contributed some of their own original substances to the global inventory; these were called ‘Yemeni’. Other substances were brought from al-Shām (the Levant), mainly from the Mount Lebanon area, which was known in the medieval period as a rich source of medicinal plants.122 Some of the medicinal substances listed in Ibn Juljul’s article had wide international distribution, such as the perfume derived from the sperm whale. These are included on the list of plants not mentioned by Dioscorides because he was not acquainted with them or because they were not used medicinally in the Classical period. In any event, their addition to the Graeco-Arab inventory of medicinal substances indicates that Arab contribution to the distribution of drugs was two-way, that is, from Southeast Asia to the West and also in the opposite direction. Moreover, in the Middle Ages even typical Galenic drugs penetrated Ayurvedic medicine due to the influence of Arab pharmacology on Indian traditional medicine.123 Ibn Rushd and the List of Drugs not Mentioned by Galen Another important source of our knowledge of the drugs not mentioned in the Classical literature is Abū al-Walīd Muªammad ibn ʾAªmad ibn Muªammad, Ibn Rushd, also known as Averroes (born in Cordoba, Spain in 1126, and died in Marrakech, Morocco, in 1198). Ibn Rushd came from an important family of jurists, acquired a very good education from the best teachers in Seville, and became an excellent medical practitioner who served several princes. Ibn Rushd’s achievements include writings in the fields of astronomy, philosophy, religion, law and medicine.124 He, like other physicians of his times, referred to Galen in his writings. In his major work on medicine, al-Kulliyyāt (Generalities), written between 1153 and 1169, he even devoted a chapter to drugs not mentioned in Galen’s De simplicium medicamentorum temperamentis ac facultatibus.125 The subject matter of the al-Kulliyyāt relies heavily on Galen and Hippocrates, who are often ­­mentioned by name.126 Ibn Rushd’s list, found in the fifth book, consists of

66 | ara bi a n dr ugs forty-one drugs, of which twenty are identical to drugs mentioned in Ibn Juljul’s and al-ʾIdrīsī’s lists. Analysis of the list reveals that most of the simples (thirty) are of plant origin, five are of animal origin, four are precious stones and two are ­­compound drugs. Phyto-geographical analysis of the identified simples of plant origin in Ibn Rushd’s list shows that, similar to Ibn Juljul’s list, more than half are tropical plants grown on the islands of the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Zanzibar and the Maldives), South India, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and China. As mentioned above, in the past all of these geographical locations were considered parts of ‘India’.127 Comparison of Ibn Rushd’s and Ibn Juljul’s Lists All the drugs omitted by Galen and Dioscorides and that do appear on the two lists as ‘new’ drugs consist altogether of eighty-four items. Most of the drugs on these lists became prevalent thanks to the Muslim conquests (about 100 by our estimation) (see Table 2.1). Table 2.1  List of drugs that were not mentioned in Dioscorides’ and Galen’s book according to Arabic sourcesa Source:  Arabic medieval sources used in the table (IR – Ibn Rushdb IJ – Ibn Juljulc ID – al-ʾIdrīsīd IB – Ibn al-Bay†āre MP – Maimonidesf MA – Maimonidesg)

No.

Arabic name

Scientific name (identification)h

English name

Sources

1. 2.

halīlaj(!) ʾa‚far ʾihlīlaj kābulī

Terminalia citrina Terminalia chebula

IJ, IR, ID IJ, IR, ID

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

ʾihlīlaj ʾaswad i khiyār shanbar tamr hindī balīlaj ʾamlaj

8.

khūlanjān

Terminalia chebula Cassia fistula Tamarindus indica Terminalia bellerica Phyllanthus emblica (= Emblica officinalis, Terminalia emblica) Alpinia galanga

Yellow myrobalan Chebulic myrobalan Black myrobalan Purging cassia Tamarind Belleric myrobalan Emblic myrobalan

IJ, IR, ID

qāqulla kabīr jawzbuwā kabāba qaranful zurunbād darawnaj

Amomum melegueta ? Myristica fragrans Piper cubeba Eugenia caryophyllata Zingiber zerumbet Doronicum sp.

Galingale [Galanga] Grains of Paradise Nutmeg Cubeb pepper Clove Shampoo ginger Leopard’s bane [doronicum, panther strangler]

9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

IJ IJ, IR, ID IJ. IR, ID IJ, IR, ID IJ, IR, ID

IJ, IR, ID IJ, IR, ID IJ IJ, IR, ID IJ, IR, ID IJ

 

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 67

No.

Arabic name

Scientific name (identification)h

English name

Sources

15.

bahman ʾabya∂

White-behen

IJ, IR, ID

16. 17. 18.

bahman ʾaªmar būzīdān †abāshīr

19.

fawfal

Centaurea behen, Daucus carota ssp. Maximus No identification No identificationj Bambusa vulgaris or burnt elephant bones Areca catechu

20. 21.

tānbūl ʾamīrbārīs

Piper betel Berberis sp.

22. 23.

harnuwa fulayfila

24. 25. 26. 27. 28.

No identificationk Vitex agnus castus, Carum copticuml maªlab Prunus mahaleb jawz al-hindī (sic) Cocos nucifera nāranj wa-laymūn Citrus aurantium & Citrus limon bustān ʾabrūz Amaranthus sp.m balādhur Semecarpus anacrdium

29. 30.

zarnab yāsamīn

No identificationn Jasminum sp.

31.

khayzurān

Bambusa sp., Ruscus aculeatus

32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38.

kāfūr misk ʿanbar duhn al-turunj duhn al-kādhī shayyān ‚andal

39.

baqqam

Cinnamomum camphora Moschus moschiferus Physeter catodon Citrus medica Pandanus odoratissimus Dracaena draco Santalum album, Pterocarpus santalinus Caesalpinia sappan

40. 41. 42. 43. 44.

sāj mūsh dārbandī mawz khiyār qarn al-khutuwwo

Tectona grandis Collyrium (eye-powder) Musa paradisiaca Cucumis sativus No identification

45. 46. 47.

yāqūt ªajar al-mās ªajar al-bāzahr

Corindon (corundum) Diamond Bezoar stone

IJ, IR, ID IJ IJ, IR, ID

Bamboo (chalk, tabashir) Betel palm (areca IJ, IR, ID nut) Betel pepper IJ Berberry [Lebanon IJ berberry] IJ Ajwain IJ Perfumed cherry Coconut palm Orange & Lemon Amaranth or Basil Anacardium (marking-nut tree, marsh-nut) Jasmine Bamboo or butcher’s broom Camphor Musk Ambergris Citron Screw pine Dragon’s blood Sandalwood (white, red) Brazil wood (Sappan wood) Teac Collyrium Banana Cucumber Narwhal or other animal Corundum Diamond Bezoar stone

IJ, IB IJ IJ IJ IJ, IR, ID IJ IJ, IR, ID, IB IJ IJ, IR, ID IJ, IR IJ, IR IJ IJ IJ IJ, IR, ID IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ, IB IJ, IB IJ, IR, ID, MP

(Continued)

68 | ara bi a n dr ugs Table 2.1  (Continued) No.

Arabic name

Scientific name (identification)h

48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53.

ªajar al-baht ªajar al-khall

54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60.

rībās julubbān bādhinjān mash ʾisfānākh †arkhūn ªabb al-zalam

No identificationp No identification No identificationq Lichen No identificationr Anamirta paniculata (= Menispermum cocculus) Rheum sp. Lathyrus sp. Solanum melongena Phaseolus mungo Spinacia oleracea Artemisia dracunculus Cyperus esculentus

61.

wars

62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75.

kurkum ʾihlīlaj hindī kashūth taranjubīn ªajar al-zabarjad zumurrud ªajar al-ʿaqīq luʾluʾ ªajar al-bijādī sabistān sandarūs sanā sukk al-misk sukk al-ʿaf‚

76.

shaqāqul

77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83.

ʿūd al-†īb ʿunnāb ªabaq qaranfulī qāqulla ‚aghīra lakk lisān al-ʿa‚āfīr bādhinjān

qanbīl jawz jundum shajarat al-kaff māhī zahra

Flemingia grahamiana (= F. rhodcarpa), Memecylon tincrorum Curcuma longa Terminalia arjuna Cuscuta sp. Manna from Alhagi maurorum

Cordia myxia Callitris quadrivalvis Cassia acutifolia Composed remedy from musk Composed remedy from Indian astringent Malabaila secacul = Pastinaca schekakul Aquilaria agallocha Ziziphus vulgaris Ocimum basilicum var. pilosum Elettaria cardamomum Laccifer lacca Fraxinus sp. Solanum melongena

English name

Lichen Cocculus indicus

Sources IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ

Rhubarb Vetch Eggplant Mungo bean Spinach Tarragon Rush-nut, earth almond Warras

IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ IJ

Turmeric Indian myrobalan Dodder Manna Olivine Emerald Cornaline Pearl Red garnet Sebesten Arae tree Senna

IJ IJ, IR, ID IR IR IR IR IR IR IR IR IR IR IR IR

Arabian hartwort

IR

Agarwood Common jujube Sweet basil Cardamom Lacca Ash Eggplant

IR IR, IB IR IR IR IR MA

IJ

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 69   No.

Arabic name

84.

sara†ān hindī, sara†ān baªrī sult

85.

Scientific name (identification)h

Secale cereale

English name

Sources

Fossil crab

IB

Rye

IB

Notes

a The first sixty-two drugs are according to Ibn Juljul’s book. b Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt. c Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung. d In the right margin of Fātiª ms. of al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium, I, pp. 2–3, the copyist added: ‘After a while I found a lot of them to which he paid no attention, and he also omitted many drugs that he did not mention.’ e Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ. f Ben Maimon, Poisons, p. 18. g Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, pp. 24, 15. h This column gives the scientific names of identified substances with certainty or high probability. i In some cases ʾihlīlaj kābulī is called ʾihlīlaj ʾaswad, which should not be confused with the ‘Chinese kind’; see Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 196. j The Spanish physicians stated that this was an Indian plant, and added that in their time it was mistaken for other plants such as the orchid; see Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 140; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, p. 122; Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, no. 56. Indeed, the būzīdān should not be identified as an orchid, which is clearly mentioned by Dioscorides: III, no. 144, see Gunther, The Greek Herbal. k This plant is also mentioned in other sources (Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 261; Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, no. 113) and even several identifications (for example, Capsicum minimum; Aquilaria agallocha) have been suggested. But these are not suitable for plants from the Slavic area, as mentioned also by Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, II, p. 299. l See Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, no. 259. m al-ʾIshbīlī (I, p. 108) writes it almost identically in his entry ‘bustān al-Jawārī’ (garden of the adolescent). At the end he adds that the plant was sown recently in his country and that it was common in Egypt. Ibn al-Suwaydī (p. 6a) identifies bustān ʾabrūz with (Ocimum basilicum); compares al-Kūhīn al-ʿA††ār, Minhāj al-Dukkān, p. 219. n If the origin of this plant is really India there is no justification for its identification as Taxus baccata mentioned in the literature; see Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, no. 137; Lev, Medicinal Substances, p. 151. o qarn al-khutuww, identified with a whale (Monodon monoceros); see Richter-Bernburg, ‘Albert Dietrich’, p. 149. Another option of identification is a bone of a bull’s forehead, See: Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 270. p Described as a kind of a pearl, see: Ruska, Steinbuch, pp. 10–13. q For different identification suggestions see Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, no. 327. r According to Ibn Juljul a few other plants in Spain such as Leontice leontopetalum and Anastatica hierochuntica were named the same.

The aim of the Arab physicians in presenting their lists of drugs not mentioned by Classical sources, namely Dioscorides and Galen, was not to determine that these were ‘new’ drugs distributed for the first time in their period.128 Instead, they treated the matter as an omission that should be rectified; so we may gather that they apparently were not always aware that the vast

70 | ara bi a n dr ugs majority of the simples were not commonly known in the pre-Islamic period. In any event, the lists serve as a reliable first indication of these drugs. Yet this estimation in itself is not sufficient, since we may assume that ‘Indian’ simples were used in the Mediterranean Basin prior to the Islamic conquest but are not mentioned in the Classical sources for various reasons. Therefore, the sum total of all of these assumptions may reasonably determine, although not with absolute certainty, the group of southern and eastern Asian substances that were distributed in the Middle East and Europe. As mentioned before, the phenomenon in which Arabic sources sporadically dealt with drugs that were not mentioned by the Classical sources was detected in the writings of other Andalusian medical sources such as Ibn Zuhr, Maimonides, al-Ghāfiqī and Ibn al-Bay†ār. The School of Spanish (Andalusian) Physicians Ibn Juljul and Ibn Rushd can be associated with the predominant school of physicians in al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) and North Africa (al-Maghrib), namely a combination of herbalists and pharmacists specialising in medicinal substances who regarded themselves as Dioscorides’ authentic successors.129 Unlike the Eastern physicians, the Spanish physicians believed that a medical practitioner must be an expert in materia medica, even though this was the pharmacist’s role, because of his concern for the patient’s well-being. Moreover, the Andalusian physicians were well-acquainted with the pharmacists, their shallow knowledge and their want of integrity, and therefore did not trust them. This is why physicians in Spain frequently supplied their patients with drugs themselves. The financial aspect may have been at play, as well.130 So despite the fact that the Abbasid translation project took place in Baghdad, the breakthrough in the study of Dioscorides’ book and in the identification of the substances actually occurred in Spain. This was one of the main characteristics of the Andalusian school of medicine, in which Ibn Juljul was among the first members. The process was complete by the time of Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī131 and his student Ibn al-Bay†ār, who wrote several works on this field of research.132 Nor were the new studies and research of Dioscorides’ Codex restricted to translation (tafsīr): they also entailed editing, and later interpretations and identifications. This vigorous intellectual ­­activity characterises the involvement and support of the Ayubbid rulers, mainly

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 71 Sultan Íalāª al-Dīn.133 The passage of time and lack of an unbroken tradition of identification and acquaintance with the plants described by Dioscorides were undoubtedly among the factors that constrained not just the Abbasid translators in Iraq, but the Andalusian scholars as well. The scientific activity of the Andalusian physicians was characterised by a high sense of criticism and a fresh and meticulous examination of whatever was written by the best physicians before them, including correction of quotations that were mistakenly attributed to Dioscorides and Galen, as is portrayed below by al-Ghāfiqī: Most of them repeated the mistakes of their predecessors. Therefore, some of them made errors in collating the words of others, as did Ibn Wāfid when he confused the text of Dioscorides with that of Galen on two different remedies and thought they were the same; and others did not tell the truth, as was the case with Ibn Sīnā when he ascribed to them words which they never said … I made a complete record of all the remedies that were mentioned by Dioscorides and Galen and added to their words those of their successors, as correctly as possible.134

Identification The methodology for the identification of plants mentioned in historical sources has been practised since the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, especially by scholars such as Linnaeus and his milieu, who were mainly interested in the identification of the plants mentioned in religious literature.135 Among the most prominent and well-known early scholars we should mention Celsius Olaf (1670–1756)136 and Fredrik Hasselquist (1722–52)137 and among the later ones, Immanuel Löw,138 Norman and Alma Moldenke and Yehoda Feliks139 The principles of such identification and the means that are available to the modern researcher integrate the scientific methods of various disciplines and include, among others, the following procedures: identification in accordance with analysis of textual descriptions in its literary, cultural and real-life context; comparison with parallel texts from different cultures and geographical regions; comparative linguistics; a survey of recent ­­commentary literature and modern studies; phyto-geographical analysis; ­­ ethno-pharmacological data; and archaeobotanical findings. The system used for the identification

72 | ara bi a n dr ugs of the medicinal substances in our book is based on the same method, on various dictionaries, on the ethno-pharmacological and historical survey we have carried out and more. Identification of medicinal substances mentioned in medieval sources is a problematic and complex issue; the available texts are either literary, and therefore do not reflect the realia of the period or geographical region, or casual and deal with the everyday life of the medieval people (they are not literary, so the writing is not bound by the official or accepted rules of orthography). In several studies we conducted in the past, we tackled some of these difficulties with the aid of previously conducted field and historical research.140 The knowledge and experience we acquired have proven very useful for the present work. Of special importance is the comparative collection of materia medica of the Middle East that was assembled a decade ago, consisting of hundreds of substances.141 Purchasing these substances in traditional markets in Israel and other Middle Eastern locations142 and recording their traditional uses improved our identification methods and gave rise to new methods for handling and examining the substances directly. In general, the identification was accomplished by analysis of the text and the context, and by comparison with the medieval medical literature, namely the dictionaries of terms used in the materia medica. Yet, the most important criterion, which took us to the highest and most satisfactory level of identification, was the continuous and reliable ‘tradition of identification’. Many substances that appear in the texts are used for medical purposes by various ethnic groups.143 Records of such uses in Middle Eastern capitals in the recent past and in present-day markets have been kept by various scholars, for example, Meyerhof,144 Ducros145 and others.146 For purposes of identification we also used specialist botanical dictionaries such as that of Issa Bey147 and Bedevian.148 The Suggested Model After dealing with the identification issue, we would like to present the criteria that have guided us in our present study, that is, the determination of the medicinal substances that were distributed by the Arabs: • Phyto-geographical origin – the ecological/geographical origin/habitat of the substance (plant, animal or in-organic). The vast majority of the ‘new’

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 73 substances derives from tropical origins and grows wild in southern and eastern Asia and the islands of the Indian Ocean, but cannot grow in the Middle East and Europe. Some of these, mainly spices, are imported from these regions until the present day, whereas others were introduced later to tropical regions in South America. • Substances that are not mentioned in the writings of the Classical sources such as Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny, Galen, Aëtius of Amida, of Tralles, and Paul of Aegina until the Arab conquest. As mentioned before, medieval Andalusian scholars such as Ibn Juljul, Ibn Zuhr, Ibn Rushd and al-ʾIdrīsī wrote about it centuries ago. • Written sources – literary sources that specifically mention the distribution of one or more of these substances by the Arabs, for example the orange.149 Here we made an effort to learn and present the Jewish sources written in the Land of Israel and Babylonia during the pre-Islamic period and onward, as these sources have been under-exploited in the research literature so far, especially against the background of the very poor sources coming out of Iran and Iraq during that period. The main sources are therefore the Jerusalem Talmud and, more importantly, the Babylonian Talmud. Into these later texts were inserted and integrated by Jewish sages called Savoraim (sixth and seventh centuries),150 who form the link between the Talmuds and the period of the Geonim (seventh to eleventh centuries), which corresponds to the Abbasid and Fatimid periods. In Geonic literature we find, for the first time, Halachic references (in discussions of blessings) to new crops such as banana, eggplant and sugarcane. This is why we consider this medieval period of Jewish literature as a highly important sensor and resource for the study of agricultural innovation that took place in the Middle East after the Arab conquest, as well as the ‘new’ medicinal substances distributed by the Arabs.151 • Indirect references to ‘new drugs’ in Arabic literature are medicinal substances with names that testify to their origins from southern and eastern Asia, China, India, Pakistan (Sind), Tibet and so forth. The Arabic term ‘hindī’ (Indian) has a broad meaning that includes all the products and merchandise exported from the above-mentioned geographical areas and the islands of the Indian Ocean, that is, Madagascar and Zanzibar.152 This measurement is significant only in cases in which the

74 | ara bi a n dr ugs given ­­substance we are dealing with was not known during the Classical period. An example of this problematic issue is cinnamon, named in Arabic dār‚īnī, meaning its origin is from China, but, cinnamon was already known in the Classical period and even prior to it.153 The historical sources we have used are varied and bountiful – from theoretical and practical medical and pharmaceutical literature, alchemy and perfumery books, lexicography, accounts of geographers and travellers, herbal and botanical books, general medieval encyclopaedias, commercial literature and the vast Cairo Genizah manuscripts, as well as Byzantine and other Western literature, including commercial documents, the Italian archives and publications regarding their studies (all of which are heavily cited in the entries in Chapter 3). • Comparative linguistics – a substance with a name that originates, or is synonymous with, either Sanskrit or Persian terms but has no Greek, Latin or Spanish equivalent. It should be noted, however, that it is possible that some of these ‘new’ substances were assigned European synonyms in later periods. • Archaeo-botanical findings – through the absence of any archaeological remains of a substance in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe until the Arab conquest, and their existence from the medieval period onward. However, we have to be aware that archaeo-botanical findings are sporadic and do not reflect the whole picture of reality. The evidence from this ‘branch’ of research is therefore limited and enables us to draw conclusions strictly in a positive way, that is, from the actual existence of findings and not from their absence. The combination of all, or at least some, of the above-mentioned criteria may sufficiently determine, although not absolutely, the group of medicinal substances distributed by the Arabs from southern and eastern Asia to Europe and the Middle East. This may be the place to express our reservations, from a methodological point of view, concerning the lack of abundant information regarding the technique used in the distribution of substances and its pattern. We are therefore restricted in the quality of the information we have at hand, and in many cases what we write are primarily assumptions.154 For example, we have no

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 75 precise data about all of the trade routes and trading stations for distribution of the substances from India, through Sind (present-day Pakistan), to Persia, Mesopotamia and the Middle East, or alternatively from India through Arabia and East Africa to the Middle East. Yet, it is clear that various caravan routes existed (similar to the Silk Road)155 along which various cooperative trade activities were conducted. One of the main centres was Kābul in Afghanistan, which was conquered by the Umayyads in the mid-seventh century and was regarded as the gateway to India.156 One of the most important medicinal substances brought from this region was ʾihlīlaj kābulī (Terminalia chebula). Notes 1. See: Amar and Lev, ‘The significance’. 2. Amar, ‘The revolution in textiles’. 3. Amar, ‘The history of the paper industry’; Amar et al., ‘The paper and textile industry’; al-Hassan and Hill, Islamic Technology. 4. On the Chinese drugs mentioned in the Arabic medical literature, see: Aziz, ‘Arabs’ knowledge’; Pormann and Savage-Smith, Medieval Islamic, pp. 22–3, 36. Chinese medicinal substances were distributed during the early Arab period, but translated medical Chinese texts appear much later, from the thirteenth century. On the transfer of medical knowledge from China to the West and vice versa (including Mongolian Iran), see: Buell, ‘How did Persian’. 5. Regarding the trade in musk see, for example, Akasoy and Yoeli-Tlalim, ‘Along the musk routes’. 6. Maqbul, Hind. 7. For example, Adams, The Seven Books, III, pp. 424–79. 8. Thompson, The Mystery and Romance, p. 102; Campbell, Arabian Medicine, p. 55; Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,848; Riddle, ‘The introduction’; Stannard, Pristina Medicamenta, p. 1,560; Rogers, ‘The Arab contribution’; Ali and Qadry, ‘Contribution’, p. 51; Savage-Smith, ‘˝ibb’. See also: Adams, The Seven Books, III, pp. 424–80. 9. Hill, Islamic Science, pp. 76–84; Anawati, ‘Arabic alchemy’. 10. Ali and Qadry, ‘Contribution’, p. 52; Campbell, Arabian Medicine; Hamarneh, ‘The climax’. 11. Ali and Qadry, ‘Contribution’, pp. 51–3. 12. Udovitch, The Islamic Middle East, pp. 181–91. 13. Morony, Iraq after, pp. 271–3.

76 | ara bi a n dr ugs 14. This area was inhabited by a population of brown-skinned and curly-haired people who may have been the descendants of slaves brought there by the Ummayads. See Albright, ‘The archaeological results’, p. 4; Amar, Agricultural Produce, pp. 46–7; Yellinek, ‘The Mysterious Rabbi’, p. 79. 15. Al-Balādhurī, Kitāb Futūª, pp. 168, 171, 229–30; see in detail: Amar and Serri, ‘When did’. 16. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 162. 17. Amar and Serri, al-Tamīmī’s, pp. 20–1. 18. Flood, Objects of Translation, pp. 16–17; Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 218–21. 19. Watson, Agricultural Innovation. 20. Crone, ‘Review’; Johns, ‘A Green Revolution’; Cahen, ‘Review’; Amar, Agriculture, p. 335; a summary of the proponents and opponents of Watson’s theory was prepared by Decker. See: Decker, ‘Plants and progress’. 21. Ashtor, ‘Review’. 22. Decker, ‘Plants and progress’. 23. The basic compilation of the Oral Law of Judaism was compiled in about the third century AD. 24. The Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishna. 25. A collection of Rabbinic notes about the Jewish oral tradition written in the Land of Israel during the second to fourth centuries AD. 26. Bavli, ʿEruvin 58a. 27. Bavli, Berachot 43a; The Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 6, 6: 10d. In Bavli Óullin 28a; Pesaªim 42b; Jasmine in Shabbat 50b; Musk in: Berachot 43a; Coconut palm in ʿEruvin 58a. 28. Amar, Agricultural Produce, pp. 334–6. 29. Ashtor, ‘Levantine sugar industry’; Amar, Agricultural Produce, pp. 300–25. 30. Amar, ‘The revolution in textiles’. 31. Amar and Lev, ‘Watermelon’. 32. Paris et al., ‘Medieval emergence of sweet melons’. 33. Amar and Lev, ‘Watermelon’. 34. Paris et al., ‘Medieval history’. 35. Zohary and Hopf, Domestication, pp. 193–4; Smartt and Simmonds, Evolution of Crop Plants, pp. 93–4; Germer, Flora, pp 127–8; de Vartavan et al., Codex, pp. 78–88. 36. Liphschitz and Waisel, ‘Dendroarchaeological investigations’, pp. 34–5); Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, p. 137. 37. Feliks, Plant World, p. 164; Löw, Die Flora, I, pp. 550–3.

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 77 38. Mishna, Maʿaseroth 2: 6. 39. Zohary and Hopf, Domestication, p. 193; Germer, Flora, p. 127. 40. Danin and Shmida, ‘Watermelons’. 41. Ibn Biklārish, Kitāb al-Mustaʿīnī, p. 42; al-Baghdādī, Kitāb al-ʾIfāda wa-lʾIʿtibār, p. 75; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 98. 42. For information on the sale of ba††īkh sindi in Acre, see: Ibn Jubayr, Riªla, p. 314. 43. The region was ruled by the Almoravids from western North Africa to Andalusia. 44. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, pp. 86–7. 45. Lewis, ‘An Arabic account’, p. 484. 46. See full data in Amar, Agricultural Produce, pp. 264–5. 47. Ibn al-Shihna, Al-Durr al-Muntakhab, p. 253. 48. Al-Nābulsī, ʿIlm al-Milāªa, p. 135. 49. Al-Baghdādī, Kitāb al-ʾIfāda wa-l-ʾIʿtibār, p. 73. 50. Ibid. 51. The book of curious and entertaining information: Bosworth, The La†āʾif, p. 142. 52. Defremery and Sanguinetti, The Travels, III, p. 547. 53. Germer, Flora, pp. 128–9. 54. Epstein, The Gaonic, p. 123; Catane, Otzar ha-Leʿazim, p. 13, no. 3,211. 55. For example, al–Bīrūnī wrote in the entry (khiyār) that it is known as ‘qiththā’ in Arabic and ‘sikus’ in Greek. Said and Elahie, al–Bīrūnī’s, p. 140. Both Ibn al-Bay†ār and al-Baghdādī wrote that it is one of the types of the faqqūs; see al-Baghdādī, Kitāb al-ʾIfāda wa-l-ʾIʿtibār, p. 72; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 80. 56. Allony, Studies in Medieval, p. 189; Ben Maimon, Mishna, I, p. 101. 57. See Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XIX, 70; compare: Mishna, Maʿasrot 1: 5: ‘ha-kishuʾim ve-ha-daluʿim mi-she-yifkesu’ meaning – ‘The chate melon and the gourds when they have lost their hair.’ 58. For example, sculpted models have been found in ancient Egypt of what looks like cucumbers, although scholars identify them as melons or faqqūs. See Wilson, Egyptian Food and Drink, pp. 22–3; Janick et al., ‘The cucurbits’, p. 1,449. 59. Germer, Flora, pp. 129–30; de Vartavan et al., Codex, p. 89. 60. Zohary and Hopf, Domestication, p. 195. 61. For details, see: Janick at al., ‘The cucurbits’. This work assembles and analyses all Jewish and Roman sources of that time, including the findings of ancient Egypt.

78 | ara bi a n dr ugs 62. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 63. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung. Cucumber (khiyār) was one of the plants that al-ʾIdrīsī (1100–66 AD) listed as not mentioned by Dioscorides: see: al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium, I, pp. 2–3; II, p. 3. 64. See: al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium, II, p. 499. The scholar Ibrāhīm Ben Mrād holds the same view, although he mentions other Arabic philologists who claim it is an Arabic name: Ben Mrād, Al-Mu‚†alaª al-ʾAʿjamī, II, pp. 360–1; Said and Elahie, al-Bīrūnī’s, p. 140. 65. Said, al–Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 140. 66. Kirkbride, Biosystematic, pp.79–82; Robinson and Decker-Walters, Cucurbits, pp. 65–70. 67. Amar, Agricultural Produce, pp. 285–7. 68. Paris et al., ‘Medieval history’. 69. Janick et al., The Cucurbits; Paris et al., ‘The cucurbitaceae’; Paris et al., ‘Medieval herbal’. 70. Kahl, Sābūr ibn Sahl’s Dispensatory, p. 85 (Arabic), p. 190 (English). 71. Steingass, A Comprehensive Persian–English. 72. Kashani and Kashani, The Combined New; Soltani et al., ‘Characterization’. 73. Kramers and Wiet, Kitāb Íūrat, p. 314 (Arabic), p. 360 (French). 74. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, pp. 358–60. 75. Paper, Ha-Tora, p. 35. 76. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 69; IV, p. 110. 77. Ibid., II, p. 93. 78. Al-Íabbāª, Kitāb al-ʾAghdhiya, pp. 349–51. 79. Pellat, Le Calendrier, p. 76. 80. Ibid., p. 40. 81. Amar and Serri, al-Tamīmī’s. 82. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 93. 83. Schefer, Sefer Nameh, p. 51 (Persian), pp. 150–1 (French). 84. Dols, Medieval Islamic Medicine. 85. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 93. 86. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, pp. 30–1; Amar, Agricultural Produce, p. 285; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 387; Clément-Mullet, Le Livre, II, pp. 222–3; El Faïz, Ibn al-ʿAwwām, pp. 683–4. 87. Davis, Flora, V, p. 318. 88. Zohary, Geobotany, p. 322; Feinbrun-Dothan, Flora Palaestina, III, p. 353. 89. Dudai and Amar, ‘Tree wormwood’.

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 79 90. For example, al-Masʿūdī describes the trade route of the orange from India to Oman, Iraq, al-Shām and Egypt; see: al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, II, pp. 438–9. 91. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung. 92. Ibn Zuhr, Kitāb al-ʾAghdhiya, p. 89. 93. Al-ʾIdrīsī was born in the North African coastal town of Sab†a (now Ceuta) (1100– 66), al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium, I, pp. 2–3, II, p. 3. 94. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ. 95. Maimonides disagreed with ʿAlī Ibn Ri∂wān (eleventh century), who was of the opinion that the eggplant was known by Galen and ‘the right essence [truth] is that Galen did not know it and therefore did not remember [mention]’. Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, pp. 24, 15. In another place Maimonides writes that the bezoar stone was not mentioned by Galen; see: Ben Maimon, Poisons, pp. 18–19. 96. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged. 97. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, pp. 268–72. 98. It should be mentioned that Ibn Juljul listed sixty-two drugs (Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’), and Ibn Rushd listed forty-one (Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’). In a survey we did on Ibn al-Bay†ār’s book Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ it was found that twenty drugs about which he wrote were not mentioned by Dioscorides and Galen; for example: bādharnabūyah (I, p. 74) [lemon balm, Melissa officnalis]; sult (III, p. 24) [Rye, Secale cereale]; maªlab (IV, p. 141) [perfumed cherry, Prunus mahaleb]; yāsamin (IV, p. 201) [jasmine, Jasminum officinale]; al-mās (III, p. 40) [diamond]; yāqūt (IV, p. 202) [Corundum]. 99. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’; Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’. 100. Gil, ‘The Radhanite’; Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 101. Dubler, ‘Diyūsk.urīdis’; Riddle, Dioscorides on Pharmacy; Agha, Bibliography. 102. On the translation project, see: Meyerhof, ‘Sultan Saladin’s physician’; De Lacy, How Greek Science; Balty-Guesdon, ‘Le bayt al-hikma’; Gutas, Greek Thought. 103. Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, p. 493; al-Qif†ī, Tārīkh al-Óukamāʾ, p. 190; al-ʾAndalūsī, Kitāb ˝abaqāt, pp. 80–1; Meyerhof, ‘The background’. 104. el-Gammal, ‘The relations’; Ibn Abī ʾU‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, pp. 493–4. 105. Wüstenfeld, Geschichte, no. 57; Leclerc, Histoire, I, pp. 430–2; Brockelmann, Geschichte, I, §237, p. 422; Sarton, Introduction, I, p. 682; Dietrich, ‘Ibn Djuldjul’; Johnstone, ‘Ibn Juljul’. 106. Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, p. 495. 107. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung. See review article: Richter-Bernburg, ‘Book review’. 108. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’.

80 | ara bi a n dr ugs 109. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium, I, pp. 2–3; II, p. 3. Two more substances are mentioned: ‘sunbul’ and ‘kurrāth’, but it seems that this is a transcriber’s error since both substances are mentioned in Dioscorides’ book. The term ‘sunbul’ is nard (Nardostachys jatamansi); see Dioscorides (I. 7), see: Beck, Padenius Dioscorides. ‘kurrāth’ is leek (Allium porrum); Dioscorides (II.1 79), see Gunther, The Greek Herbal. 110. Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, p. 495; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 21; RichterBernburg, ‘Albert Dietrich’. Unfortunately, Ibn Juljul’s words and the quotations attributed to him have not survived, but are referred to in Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa’s writings. 111. Amaret al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 112. The term ‘jawz jundum’, although identified as a lichen species, is included in ancient medicine as †īn (earth). 113. Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, p. 495. 114. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, pp. 270–2. 115. Johnstone, ‘Ibn Juljul’, p. 40. 116. Maqbul, ‘Hind’. 117. Miller, The Spice Trade; Groom, Frankincense. 118. Riddle, ‘The introduction’. 119. Berakhot, 43a, as ‘mushk’; ʿEruvin, 58b, as the Persian name ‘nargila’. 120. Shabbat, 50b. 121. Aziz, ‘Arab’s knowledge’, p. 227. 122. Al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat, pp. 199–200; Amar, ‘Ibn al-Bay†ār’. 123. Hameed, ‘History of drugs’. 124. Arnaldez, ‘Ibn Rushd’, III, pp. 909–20; Gillispie, Dictionary, XII, pp. 1–9; Steinschneider, Die europaischen Ubersetzungen, pp. 671–7; Brockelmann, Geschichte, pp. 604–6; Leclerc, Histoire, II, pp. 99–109; Sarton, Introduction, II, pp. 355–60; Ibn Abī ʾU‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, pp. 487–90. 125. Galen, Claudii. 126. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, pp. 268–72. 127. Maqbul, ‘Hind’. 128. This explains why lisān al-ʿa‚āfīr, as a plant that was not mentioned by Galen, is mentioned and identified as Fraxinus sp. by Dioscorides (I. 108), see: Gunther, The Greek Herbal. 129. Ben Mrād, Buªūth, pp. 287–96. 130. Ibid., pp. 422–3. 131. Amar, ‘Abū al-ʿAbbās’.

agric u l t u re and pha rma ceuti cal in no va tio n s | 81 132. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Tafsīr; Sankary, The Cilican; Dietrich, Dioscurides Triumphans; Amar and Serri, ‘Ibn al-Íūrī’. 133. Meyerhof, ‘Sultan Saladin’s physician’. 134. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, pp. 56–7. 135. On the history of the identification of the plants mentioned in the Bible, see: Moldenke and Moldenke, Plants of the Bible, pp. 1–15. 136. Celsius, Hierobotanicon. 137. Hasselquist, Iter Palaestinum. 138. Löw, Aramaeische Pflanzennamen; Löw, Die Flora. 139. Feliks, Plant World, pp. 3–12. 140. Lev, Medicinal Substances; Lev, ‘Reconstructed materia medica’; Lev and Amar, Practical. 141. Lev and Amar, ‘Ethnopharmacological survey’. 142. Ibid. 143. Lev and Amar, ‘Fossils’. 144. Meyerhof, Der Bazar. 145. Ducros, ‘Essai sur le droguier’. 146. Salah et al., Herb Drugs. 147. Issa Bey, Dictionnaire. 148. Bedevian, Illustrated Polyglotic Dictionary. 149. Al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, II, pp. 438–9. 150. Ephrathi, The Sevoraic Period. 151. Amar, ‘Agronomic innovations’. 152. Maqbul, ‘Hind’. 153. Amar, Incense, p. 124. 154. Indeed the trade issue is an entirely different matter, larger than described here. Here we limit ourselves to textual transmissions. 155. Whitfield, ‘Was there a Silk Road?’; Whitfield, The Silk Road. 156. Flood, Objects of Translation, pp. 16–17.

3 ‘Arabian’ Substances

T

his chapter is dedicated to the description of the main medicinal substances that were distributed as a result of the Muslim conquests. Out of nearly 100 substances, we have chosen to present nearly half, for which we dedicate entries. Most of the entries discuss substances that were clearly ­­identified, along with evidence of practical uses in medical books and prescriptions, as well as commercial documents. In general, we have not included compound drugs or other substances regarding of whose identification the later practitioners (twelfth and thirteenth centuries) were not certain. Moreover, we have not included agriculture crops, which had already been studied and published by Watson;1 in other words, we are dealing here with typical medicinal substances, some of which were also used as spices, perfumes, dyes and gemstones. These drugs were commonly used for long periods, many of them until the nineteenth century. In this manner, the long-term contribution of the Arabs in introducing the ‘new’ drugs in the Old World will be clearly demonstrated. Each entry is constructed according to the following pattern: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Names: English, Arabic, scientific Description and phyto-geographical distribution Substance origin according to the written sources and philological analysis Evidence of trade and anecdotes Medicine: qualities, nature, degree (according to the Humoral Doctrine), description of the main medical uses and other uses according to the medical literature, prescriptions and so forth. 82

Plate 1  Fruits of two varieties of terminalia trees: yellow (Terminalia citrina) and black (Terminalia chebula)

Plate 2  Fruits of the marking-nut tree (Semecarpus anacardium)

Plate 3  Resin and powder made out of dragon’s blood (Dracaena draco)

Plate 4  Fruits of tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica)

Plate 5  Grains of .tabāshīr made of bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris)

Plate 6  Fruits of purging cassia (Cassia fistula)

Plate 7  Dry flower buds of clove tree (Eugenia caryophyllata)

Plate 8  Slices of betel palm nut on leaf of betel-pepper tree (Piper betel)

Plate 9  Betel palm nut (Areca catechu)

Plate 10  Betel palm tree in Sri Lanka

Plate 11  Rhizomes of turmeric (Curcuma longa) and powder made of them

Plate 12  Rhizomes of galingale (Alpinia galanga)

Plate 13  Fruits and leaf of nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)

Plate 14  Nutmeg seeds and peels of seeds (mace)

Plate 15  Seeds of perfumed cherry (Prunus mahaleb)

Plate 16  Seeds of purging croton (Croton tiglium)

Plate 17  Fruits and leaves of cassia (Cassia acutifolia)

Plate 18  Fruits of berberry (Berberis vulgaris)

Plate 19  Sugary secretion (grain) of the Persian manna plant (Alhagi maurorum)

Plate 20  Grains of sandarus (Callitris quadrivalvis)

Plate 21  Fruits of cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba)

Plate 22  Stick-lacca – secretion of lacca (Laccifer lacca)

Plate 23  Wool fleeces dyed with lacca

Plate 24  Sawdust of sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan)

Plate 25  Sappan wood hues (on wool fleeces)

Plate 26  Wool fleeces dyed with warras (Flemingia grahamiana)

Plate 27  Fragments of wood and bottle of agarwood oil (Aquilaria agallocha)

Plate 28  Leaves, white crystal cubes and bottle of camphor oil (Cinnamonum camphora)

Plate 29  Sawdust and wood of red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus)

Plate 30  Fragments of wood of white sandalwood (Santalum album)

Plate 31  Screw pine tree in Zanzibar (Pandanus odoratissimus)

Plate 32  Red corundum (ruby)

Plate 33  Raw white and transparent corundum

Plate 34  Raw blue and purple corundum

Plate 35  Raw diamonds

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 83 Drugs, Spices and Industrial Substances Drugs myrobalan

Its nature is cold in the first degree and dry in the second degree, because it consists of a cold element of earth and a burnt element of earth which is less than the cold one in strength, and the proof for that is the astringency – which is to be found in its flavour – together with a bitterness.2

Myrobalan (Cherry Plum) (ʾamlaj; balīlaj, ʾihlīlaj, halīlaj); Terminalia sp. (Combrotaceae) The Terminalia genus has 200 species. The trees are tall with their fruit containing 30 per cent tannin, which is used for both curative and industrial purposes. The use of the myrobalan fruit as a remedy was well-known in India and China since early times while Greek and Roman medical treatises allude neither to the tree nor to its fruit.3 Several species of myrobalan are mentioned in the medieval commercial, industrial and medical literature (Plate 1). The main ones are: Yellow myrobalan (Terminalia citrina) (ʾihlīlaj ʾa‚far); Black myrobalan (Terminalia chebula) (ʾihlīlaj, halīlaj ʾaswad, kābulī); Indian myrobalan (Terminalia arjuna) (ʾihlīlaj hindī); Belleric myrobalan (Terminalia bellerica) (balīlaj). The last one, Embelic myrobalan (Phyllanthus emblica) (ʾamlaj), belongs to a different botanical family (Euphorbiaceae). Remnants of fruits of Phyllanthus emblica (=Emblica officinalis) were found among the Roman archaeo-botanical assemblage of the Egyptian port Berenike on the western shore of the Red Sea, along with rice, bamboo, coconut and mungo bean.4 We have no evidence that myrobalan was used or mentioned by Classical sources; according to Ibn Juljul and Ibn Rushd, myrobalan species were not mentioned by either Galen or Dioscorides.5 Yet, myrobalan of different kinds is mentioned in the Middle East from the early Islamic period in connection with the medicinal uses of its fruit. In Europe, no information on myrobalan is available until trade in its fruit began.6 Myrobalan species were imported from tropical Asia and Africa, where they were cultivated (India, Burma, Madagascar),7 and then exported to the Mediterranean region

84 | ara bi a n dr ugs through Aden,8 and from there to Europe.9 The Kābulī species was exported from Kābul in Afghanistan.10 The fruits of the myrobalan species were used for ink production, dyeing and tanning.11 In other cases, a jam was made from the ripe fruits.12 Dried fruits of myrobalan are referred to in many trade-related documents found in the Genizah.13 Myrobalan was imported to Egypt through the trading routes of the Indian Ocean. From Aden (Yemen) it was transported to Egypt through the port of GhayÕa.14 Many Genizah fragments, such as letters between merchants based in Fus†ā† and Alexandria, deal with trade in myrobalan.15 From Egypt, cargoes of Indian and yellow myrobalan were exported to Qayrawān16 and Sicily17 through Mahdiyya.18 Cargoes were also sent from Egypt to the Levant – that is, the ports of Ascalon,19 Tyre20 and Tripoli21 – and thence overland to the interior. For example, eleventh-century Genizah documents reveal that myrobalan of Egyptian origin was sold in Jerusalem, although the precise route is not clear (presumably via Ramla). In a letter sent from Ramla to Jerusalem on which the signature of ʿAmram ha-Rofe was identified, the addressee was asked to send some medicinal substances, including kuhl and myrobalan.22 In another letter, sent from Jerusalem to Fus†ā† in 1053, Naharay Ben Nissim is asked to send myrobalan for the treatment of the sender’s wife.23 The Jewish traders of Sicily, mainly under the Islamic rule (827–1061), imported quantities of myrobalan along with various products (including drugs, dyeing materials, spices and perfumes) and other commodities, most of which were exported to Andalusia and Europe.24 The plant is also mentioned on a list of substances in which the Crusaders in Acre traded during the thirteenth century.25 Sometimes the order to sell was sent from Fus†ā† through Alexandria to a merchant in the West. In other cases, the sellers had no notion of the cargo’s final destination. Distances and final destinations were determined by market forces. This is illustrated by a letter from Naharay Ben Nissim to a merchant in the eleventh century, as follows: ‘and the shipment, of which the myrobalan is a part this year, please let me know where you sent it’.26 Prices can be ascertained from other documents, showing that yellow myrobalan was the best and, therefore, the most expensive, kind. The Indian species was the second best and Chebulic was the cheapest.27 As with other

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 85 substances, the price of myrobalan varied according to market conditions. For example, a merchant from Alexandria writes in a letter (summer 1062): ‘Chebulic myrobalan has no demand.’28 A year later (in Mahdiyya, 1063), the market was rising. The price of Chebulic myrobalan was 2.5 dīnārs per mann while yellow myrobalan was ten dirhams per qin†ār. In both cases, only small quantities were sold.29 In Alexandria (1065), the price of yellow myrobalan was already five to six dīnārs with a concentrate of fine Chebulic myrobalan going for one dirham per mann.30 In any event, there is no doubt that the difference between purchase and sale prices was large. In Fus†ā† ten manns were sold to a middleman in Sicily (1059) for 3.3 dīnārs, whereas one qin†ār of yellow myrobalan sold for 1.25 dīnārs.31 Yellow myrobalan was imported, along with saffron, sappan wood, lacca, alum and so on, into Sicily for dyeing cloth and fabric, which were the main industries of the island under the Islamic rule.32 In medieval medical literature, myrobalan varieties were described as being used as a cathartic drug also intended to cure ear diseases and throat pains, counteract swellings in the mouth, serve as a component in an abortive medication, strengthen breathing, stimulate coitus, harden the penis and increase sperm, prevent diarrhoea and strengthen the gums, teeth and brain.33 According to Ibn al-Bay†ār, the various myrobalan species were used mainly to treat and cleanse a weak stomach.34 Interestingly enough, Abū al-Khayr al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ writes about the three kinds of ‘pepper’ mentioning the balīlaj, ʾihlīlaj ʾaswad and ʾamlaj. He also names them as the ‘three rounded brothers’.35 One of the ways to dispense the myrobalan was to make a jam out of the fruits and to use them medicinally. Al-˝abar⁄, for example, testifies that such a jam was used to strengthen the stomach, remove moisture, treat haemorrhoids and reduce black bile.36 The Arabic medical authorities differed regarding the number of myrobalan kinds that were sold in the markets and used for medicine. Abū al-Khayr al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ describes six kinds while others, such as Ibn Māsawayhi, mention four.37 However, most of the sources, including Ibn Rushd and Ibn Juljul, describe five kinds of myrobalan: ʾa‚far, kābulī,38 hindī, ʾamlaj and balīlaj.39 Contemporary sources, such as Abū al-Khayr al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, deal with the identification of the different kinds, quoting and citing many physicians and botanists.40 Forgeries when selling fruits of myrobalan are described by al-Shayzar⁄41 while forgery of myrobalan jam is recorded by al-Qurashī.42

86 | ara bi a n dr ugs Five kinds of myrobalan are mentioned frequently and recorded on twenty-four lists of drugs and in fifty-five prescriptions, appearing in practical medical documents found in the Cairo Genizah. These documents later teach us that their actual medieval uses were mainly for the treatment of eye disease, hallucination, stomach and digestion, weak eyesight, migraine, diet, invalid’s diet and as an aphrodisiac.43 Due to the importance of myrobalan in the daily life of the medieval Arab world, in general, and that of the inhabitants of the Eastern Mediterranean, in particular, we hereby present their main uses according to selected medieval medical Arabic sources: ʾIhlīlaj kābulī (Black myrobalan): al-˝abar⁄ testifies that a jam made of black myrobalan was used to reduce black bile, strengthen the stomach and treat haemorrhoids.44 According to Ibn Juljul, this Indian drug was brought from Kābul, which borders India. He adds that its nature is slightly hot with dryness. It purges the black bile that is formed from the yellow (bile), its dose being four mithqāl.45 Ibn Rushd, who also writes about the ability of the plants to ‘purge black bile gently’, adds that ‘it is one of the best drugs for purging this bile’.46 Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk writes that it is a cold and dry drug. It extends life, ‘prevents old age’, treats haemorrhoids and strengthens the gums, hair (preserving its black colour) and stomach. From his personal experience, the ʾihlīlaj kābulī strengthens the heart and promotes happiness.47 Ibn al-Bay†ār writes, while citing other important Arabic medical sources, that black myrobalan reduces black bile, and reiterates most of the above mentioned uses.48 ʾIhlīlaj hindī (Indian myrobalan): Ibn Juljul writes that it has some heat and dryness with its dosage being the same as that of the Kābulī kind. He adds that some practitioners also call it ‘the Chinese one’ and it, too, removes black bile.49 Ibn Rushd adds that, through the ability to ‘burn black bile’, it cures head diseases that derive from the stomach. Moreover, he claims that using it frequently sharpens the senses and thinking and slows down hoariness.50 Ibn al-Bay†ār writes that the Indian myroblan reduces yellow bile.51 ʾIhlīlaj ʾa‚far (Yellow myrobalan): al-˝abar⁄ writes that a jam made of yellow myrobalan was used to remove intestinal worms.52 According to Ibn Julul, its dominant characteristics are coldness and dryness, possessing the

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 87 power to purge yellow bile. He cites medical sources claiming its purging effect when in the form of juice or, alternatively, resin.53 Ibn Rushd also writes that it is used to purge yellow bile ‘gently’, adding that it can be used as a potion made of myrobalan fruits soaked in water or as a powder.54 Ibn al-Bay†ār writes, supporting his claims by citing other Arabic medical authorities, that it is a cold and dry drug, beneficial as an astrigent, which reduces yellow bile and strengthens the stomach.55 Balīlaj (Belleric myrobalan): Abū al-Khayr al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ describes the fruit as ‘similar to the gall nut and the walnut. Its colour is grey-yellow. It has a round, fleshy and oily seed which has the pleasant flavour of pistachio or hazel nut.’56 Ibn Juljul writes that coldness and dryness are its dominant attributes, it has the ability to remove the yellow bile gently and its astringency is pleasant. He adds that it has a special quality for relieving gas and haemorrhoids and dries the moisture in the intestine and the stomach.57 Ibn Rushd asserts that ‘some have claimed that it only purges bile’.58 ʾAmlaj (Embelic myrobalan): According to al-˝abar⁄, the ʾamlaj is a cold drug, which strengthens the stomach and is beneficial for the hair, being similar to the balīlaj.59 Ibn Rushed writes that it increases sexual desire, stops spitting and vomiting, sharpens the mind and is useful against haemorrhoids. He also writes that ‘some have said that it quenches thirst’.60 According to Ibn Juljul, its dominant properties are coldness and dryness. It is also a somewhat sour astringent. He adds that it breaks fever ‘caused by yellow bile’. When cooked with camel’s milk, it is called sīr ʾamlaj and is beneficial for gas and haemorrhoids and dries the moisture of the intestine and stomach.61 A compound laxative named triphala (ʾa†rīfal, ʾi†rīfil, ʾi†rifil, ʾitriful, ʾi†rīful in Arabic) was known and used in the medieval Arab world and the Mediterranean. According to Sbath and Avierinos, it is ‘a confection made of the three varieties of myrobalan: chebulic, embolic and belleric’.62 Levey believes that it is the ‘Arabised’ form of the Indian name. It applies to three kinds of myrobalan, kābul, belleric and embolic, which ‘strengthen the organs of the nervous system and aid the digestive organs with regard to excess waste’. They usually consist of equal weights due to their similar usefulness and strength.63 Several records of triphalas were found in the Cairo Genizah and studied, one of which supplies a recipe for yellow ʾi†rīful that was used in the treatment of piles (haemorrhoids).64

88 | ara bi a n dr ugs Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk writes that all five kinds of the myrobalan (ʾihlīlajāt) were used to promote good spirits.65 This may be explained mainly by its ability to reduce and remove black bile, which was considered in Arabic medicine as the main reason for depression (as well as cancer, leprosy and so on). anacardium

Repeat, repeat (your learning), and you will not need the anacardium.66

Anacardium (marking nut tree, marsh-nut) (balādhur); Semecarpus anacardium (Anacardiaceae) The anacardium is a deciduous tree, about fifteen metres in height, of the sub-Himalayan tract and found throughout the hotter parts of India; however, it is not found in Burma or Sri Lanka. The fruit is of the size and shape of a broad bean, black in colour and quite hard and dry on the outside (Plate 2). The central cellular portion of the pericarp is full of an oily, black, acrid juice. Anacardium is known in India as the ‘marking nut tree’, since the tannin-like substance extracted from the fruit is useful in marking fabrics.67 It is also known there as a plant that possesses pain-relieving properties.68 The plant was not known by either the Greeks or Romans.69 Māsarjawayh, the Persian Jewish physician (eighth century), was one of the first sources to mention the balādhur along with the purging cassia, musk, camphor, galangal and rhubarb.70 Other Arabic sources, mostly medical authorities, mention the plant named balādhur as well as its uses, merited mainly with the improvement of memory.71 al-ʾIshbīlī mentions the balādhur a number of times in his book and names a few synonyms.72 He compares the red colour of the fruits of the baqqam tree to the colour of jawz al-balādhur.73 Al-Bīrūnī writes with regard to the name of the balādhur that ‘in the Roman language it is called ʾanaqardiyā’. He describes it as ‘a fruit that resembles tamarind fruit but is bigger. The pulp of the fruit is like the kernel of an almond. It is sweet, not dangerous with a shell-like peel like that of an almond. The shell has a hole, which contains a sticky, black and odourless “honey”.’74 Several Arabic sources mention China, Íiqilliya and Jabal al-Nār as sources of anacardium.75 Ibn Rushd describes the balādhur as ‘hot in the fourth degree and dry at the end of the range of the second degree. It is useful against hemiplegia and limpness. It restores the power of memory when that is lost, by virtue

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 89 of its moisture.’76 According to Ibn Juljul, the balādhur ‘grows in India and elsewhere and is a heart-shaped chestnut (qas†al ) black in colour, tasting like almonds and encased in honey, which is the balādhur honey. Its nature is hot, dry, burning, beneficial for cold illnesses such as hemiplegia (fālij), half-face paralysis (laqwa) and dementia (nisyān) and is called in the Roman language ʾanaqardiyā, meaning heart-shaped.’77 Medical treatment using anacardium has severe side effects that can even cause death. Therefore, the dosage must be precise. In addition, a special diet should be administered to neutralise the poison. It was said about the Arab historian (of Persian origin) ʾAh.mad Ibn Yah.yā al-Balādhurī (ninth century),78 who was active in the court of the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakkil, that he was admitted into hospital and died (892) because he had drunk a potion made of anacardium without knowing its lethal effect. This was the way he ‘gained’ his family name ‘al-Balādhurī’.79 Indeed, according to al-Bīrūnī, the plant was ‘counted amongst the poisons which corrode the humours’. Interestingly enough, ‘yogurt counteracts its alexipharmic properties, to some extent, whilst walnut oil destroys its potency’. He adds, with regard to its medicinal uses, that the balādhur ‘acts as a vesicant and corrodes the blood and the humours. It also excises body warts and removes the scars left by leprosy and tattooing. It cures alopecia but promotes internal hot inflammations. A special drug was made out of the plant called maʿjūn ʾanaqardiyā.’ According to al-Bīrūnī, it was especially useful in diseases associated with paralysis, nerve and facial paralysis and amnesia. It was also considered a stimulator of phantasmagorical vision and melancholia.80 Al-Rāzī asserts that a concentrate of balādhur prevents pannus and injuries. He cites other sources that deal with the ability of the plants to alleviate forgetfulness, improve memory, aid sufferers of paralysis and calm nerves, but reiterates that it is, nonetheless, very dangerous.81 In his book on Forgetfulness and Its Treatment, Ibn al-Jazzār highly recommends the use of the balādhur. For example, he says that: The electuaries of the balādhur and all the confections of which it is made and which the ancients composed have beneficial effects through the same activity mentioned above, with regard to all the other warm, compound drugs. Their usefulness lies in their special quality, which they derive from

90 | ara bi a n dr ugs the balādhur or similar drugs. The special quality of the balādhur is its usefulness against forgetfulness. If one drinks half a dirham of it, it helps counter forgetfulness and memory loss.82

In another manuscript (Hebrew) of the same book, a few detailed recipes are given. One of them mentions balādhur’s honey and remarks that it should ‘increase the memory, sharpen the brain, eliminate forgetfulness and help deal with black bile’. This recipe includes the following substances: three kinds of myrobalan, black pepper, long pepper, thyme, ginger, balādhur’s honey, clove, beaver testicles, chamomile, sugar and almond oil.83 The balādhur was widely mentioned in medieval Jewish literature mainly due to its use by Jewish scholars to improve their memory and scholarship. A few seventeenth- and eighteenth-century scholars active in Jerusalem used the anacardium despite the known risks of its use. On the other hand, other scholars opposed such use and advocated repetition as the preferred way to memorise. This was the background for the known Hebrew proverb (Repeat, repeat and you will not need the balādhur) (ªazor ªazor ve-ʾal titzarekh la-balādhur).84 dragon ’ s blood

… and it is the ʾaydaʿ and dam al-ʾakhawayn, and the resin of an Indian tree shaped like a palm tree that secretes this resin. It is bright red. Therefore, its final product is called – al-fu‚ū‚ī [like rock crystals/precious stones]. It is beneficial for [treating] bleeding from the chest and the rectum and is sprinkled over wounds if they are still bleeding. It coagulates them quickly. Its nature tends to be cold. In al-Andalus, it is found on the Island of Cadiz. This was told to me by credible people who saw this with their own eyes. There are not many there; only one tree.85

Dragon’s blood (shayyān, dam al-ʾakhawayn; shiyyān); Dracaena cinnabari (Dracaenaceae) The modern substance named dragon’s blood is obtained from various species of several distinct plant genera. These have been scientifically identified and studied in laboratories.86 Scholars suggest that dragon’s blood was produced originally from Dracaena cinnabari and later from Dracaena draco.87 Dragon’s blood is the name of a bright red resin for medicinal uses.

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 91 This natural resin had been used in antiquity for diverse medical and artistic purposes (Plate 3). It was renowned for its deep red colour and also was a staple for medieval alchemy. Many ancient legends describe the growth of a dragon tree on the spot where mythical beasts fought a dragon to the death.88 We identify the early medieval dragon’s blood mentioned in the Arab sources as Dracaena cinnabari. It is a monocot evergreen tree with a typical umbrella-shaped crown localised in the Haggeher Mountains in the central eastern part of Socotra. This island, part of Yemen today, is situated on the African continental shelf, 225 km east of Cape Guardafui, Somalia, and is characterised by a high level of endemism (37 per cent). The genus Dracaena comprises in the region of 60 to 100 species.89 Dragon’s blood appears in several Roman sources but in general was not a common medicinal substance. For example, Greek writers called it ‘Indian cinnabar’. The name ‘dragon’s blood’ dates back to the first century AD when a Greek sailor wrote about an island in the Red Sea where the trees yielded drops of cinnabar.90 Pliny mentions a liquid by the name blood of dragons used as an antidote and medicinal substance.91 The plant was not mentioned by Dioscorides, as was verified by several early Arab scholars and medical sources, such as Ibn Juljul.92 Early Arabic sources had opposing ideas regarding the substance and its origin (resin, decoction or a mixture of the two). Various sources tried to ‘guess’ its geographical as well as botanical origin.93 In general, the Arabic sources mentioned the geographical sources of dragon’s blood as India,94 Socotra95 and al-Juh.fa.96 Some wrote that it was a red resin that was kneaded and formed into chunk-like shapes.97 Thanks to its red colour and as reflected in the Arabic sources, mainly the Óisba literature, dragon’s blood was one of the substances used for forgery, that is, for the production of fake versions of expensive medicinal substances such as musk98 and saffron.99 Al-Qurashī writes a detailed description: And some imitate the musk using Turkish rhubarb or dragon’s blood … The forgers of the musk create the ‘musk pouch’ from peels of myrobalan and Indian garden cress … All of these should be kneaded with water and pine resin to create the musk. After that, the ‘mouth’ of the musk is sealed with resin. The fake musk pouch is dried in the oven. It is possible to identify the

92 | ara bi a n dr ugs forgery of the musk by opening the pouch, groping the contents and tasting it. If it is sharp like fire, it is not a forgery. If it does not burn, it is a fake.100

Interestingly enough, al-Shayzarī writes that the dragon’s blood itself was an object for forgers. According to him, lacca was melted and mixed together with crushed burnt red brick and maghra, red chalk hematite (Fe2O3). The mixture was kneaded and disks were made when dried. The disks were later broken and crushed, together with the substance, and then sold as dragon’s blood.101 Dragon’s blood was widely traded in the medieval period by the Arabs (and the Jews). For example, it was mentioned in a merchant’s letter found in the Genizah dispatched from Qayrawān to Cairo regarding substances required in Palermo.102 As mentioned above, the substance was extensively used by the Arabs for medicinal purposes. For example, al-Kindī, the famous Arab chemist and physician in the middle of the ninth century, writes that dragon’s blood was used to treat fistula, haemorrhoids, cancer and looseness of the gums.103 Ibn Juljul describes the drug, its names and medical uses, mainly for the treatment of bleeding from the chest and the rectum: ‘and it is sprinkled over wounds if they are still bleeding and coagulates them quickly; its nature tends toward coldness’.104 Other physicians add that it was used for the treatment of wounds.105 Evidence of the practical medical uses of dragon’s blood in medieval Egypt was found in the Cairo Genizah. It was mentioned in three lists of materia medica.106 Later sources such as R. Nathan Ben Yoel Falaquera (thirteenth century) recommend the use of the plant to strengthen the stomach and treat bleeding, open wounds and diarrhoea.107 Local people from Socotra still use it to cure gastric sores, dye wool, act as a glue and decorate pottery and houses. In modern Egypt, it is used in powder form as a haemostatic and cicatrising agent.108 In Iran, it is used to stop haemorrhages and relieve pain in the legs and feet.109 tamarind

I contracted deadly malaria on my travels [in South India] and feared this was the end of my life. Then, God directed me to the tamarind, which was very common there. I used half a kilo soaked in water and drank it for three days. God healed me … I very much hated this city and asked to leave it.110

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 93 Tamarind (tamar hindī, al-h.umar), Tamarindus indica (Caesalpiniaceae) The tamarind is the fleshy brown fruit of a tall evergreen tree (up to 25 m) that grows in tropical Africa and Asia. The tree is cultivated today in Africa, India and Mexico. The fruit pods contain large, kidney-shaped seeds (Plate 4).111 The pulp of the fruit was considered an astringent in ancient India and was used as a tonic in case of menorrhagia and as a safe laxative. The leaves were used to treat eye disease and jaundice.112 According to most scholars, the tamarind was not mentioned in Classical sources; actually it was first mentioned by early Arabic sources.113 Ibn Juljul, for example, mentioned two kinds of tamarind (Indian and Egyptian) and writes that ‘the inhabitants of Ba‚ra call it al-h.umar … its fruits are thin black pods covered with a honey-like sap which sticks to the hand. There are solid red seeds in the pods.’114 Several other early Arabic sources mention the al-h.umar as a synonym for tamarind. It was written that tamarind was grown in Oman and Arabia between the ‘two mosques’ (Mecca and Medina).115 According to al-ʾIshbīlī, the tamarind was also named ‚ubbār. Interestingly enough, he asserts that the plant was not mentioned either by Dioscordies or by Galen, which means that it was brought to the West after their time.116 Other sources such as al-Shayzarī and al-Qurashī wrote about the forgery of the tamarind, with plums (dried and crushed) and, according to another technique, using wax, salt and vinegar.117 Tamarind was among the many products transported through the port of Aden during the Ayyubid period, along with spices and perfumes including camphor and lacca.118 According to documents found in the Cairo Genizah, tamarind was traded by the members of the Jewish community in Cairo.119 It was exported from Egypt and other places to the Maghrib and Sicily.120 According to early Arabic medical sources such as al-Kindī, the tamarind fruit was used in an infusion and its seeds in a decoction.121 Ibn Qā∂i adds that the fruit suppresses yellow bile, strengthens the heart, slows down rapid the pulse (caused by heat) and lowers the temperature of the blood.122 In a letter to the Egyptian ruler, Maimonides recommended a summer diet that includes tamarind.123 Marco Polo writes that drinking tamarind and sea water is a trick that the people of Gujarat (West India) use in order to induce vomiting among captured foreign traders to check for concealed gemstones in their stomachs.124

94 | ara bi a n dr ugs Al-˝abar⁄ compares the medical properties of the plum and the tamarind, subsequently claiming that the action of the tamarind is gentler. Both fruits were used to treat intestinal parasites (worms), prevent vomiting and stop itching.125 Ibn Rushd writes that tamar hindī ‘is cold in the third degree and dry in the second degree. The reason for that is that it consists of an element of water mixed with a little heat which softens that wateriness and functions as an instrument for its penetration … It purges yellow bile gently.’126 Ibn Ba††ū†a testifies that the fruits of the tamarind saved his life from a deadly fever he caught while travelling in southern India. He mentioned that for three days he drank water in which tamarind had been steeped and recovered.127 According to Ibn Juljul, tamarind ‘removes yellow bile, breaks the heat of the blood and its sweetness is combined with strong sourness. It quenches the thirst when sucked. Its dosage is 8 mithqāl if dissolved in water; then this drunk. It might slightly abrade the intestines due to its sourness.’128 R. Nathan Ben Yoel Falaquera recommends tamarind as a purgative and as a way to cool the body in case of fever.129 Tamarind appears in fourteen Genizah fragments of practical medicine, in eight lists of materia medica and in six prescriptions, for relief of fever, cough and as an aphrodisiac. It was also mentioned in several medical books as a simple remedy for the treatment of dry, brittle and split hair and in advice on diet and beverages for invalids.130 bamboo

Some of the perfumers forge the †abāshīr with burnt dry bones. It is possible to detect this forgery if the substances are put in water. When it is fake the bone sinks whilst the †abāshīr floats. It was said that the †abāshīr is the core of burnt cane from which †abāshīr is derived after it burns.131

Bamboo (chalk, tabashir); (†abāshīr). There are several species: Bambusa vulgaris and B. arundinacea (Poaceae).132 It is a tall grass that grows rapidly and contains a large amount of silica. The stem is wide and round (10 cm in diameter). It is common in tropical habitats. In medieval times, the bamboo was burnt, and the ashes, which form crystals of a bluish-white, hard, lightweight substance, were called in Arabic †abāshīr (Plate 5).133 This word may derive from the Sanskrit tavak-ksina,

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 95 meaning vegetable juice.134 The bamboo canes are called in Arabic khayzuran, which are mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud (fifth century) as kney de-h. izra.135 There, it was used as a strong material (for example, as poles for fences) since it was better than the regular canes. The Andalusian scholar al-ʾIshbīlī describes the plant thus: ‘In India, the bamboo grows on river banks. The Indians use it for various needs, including building boxes, shelves … It is not a local plant.’136 The bamboo is native to southeast Asia, specifically India, Sri Lanka and Sind.137 It was imported to the Levant through the ports of Oman138 and Persia.139 ˝abāshīr was one of the subtances traded in the Mediterranean region, according to Genizah documents.140 It was traded between the cities of Mahdiyya, Cairo and Qayrawān as well as Palermo in Sicily (for example, in a letter sent from Qayrawān to Egypt in the middle of the eleventh century, †abāshīr was mentioned as being needed in Palermo).141 Indeed, the Jewish traders of Sicily, mainly under Islamic rule (827–1061), imported quantities of bamboo ash along with various products (including drugs, dyeing materials, spices and perfumes) and other commodities, most of which were then exported to Andalusia and Europe.142 The †abāshīr was not mentioned in Classical sources. It was first described by early Arabic sources such as Ibn Juljul. Ibn Juljul teaches us about its identification and origin as follows: ‘It is sometimes white and sometimes grey. It is an Indian drug regarding which there is disagreement. Some say it is burnt bone of elephant whilst others say it is the root of the qinā, which is the Indian cane. This [the latter] is correct.’ From one version of Ibn Juljul’s manuscript we learn (cited from ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Íālih.) that he ‘has already seen those who burn the bones and sell them in place of the †abāshīr’.143 Indeed from Arabic ªisba literature, we learn more about such forgeries. Al-Shayzarī and al-Qurashī, for example, claim that some traders forged chalk by adding ashes of burnt bones to the ashes of burnt bamboo. The way to reveal this forgery is to place the substance in water. The ashes of the bones sink while the real bamboo chalk floats.144 Al-Qurashī asserts that the †abāshīr is the ‘heart’ of burnt cane and the best is the kind that is lightweight, white and collapsible. He adds that it is a third-degree cold substance and has some astringency.145 Chalk was used in various ancient cultures to treat fever, asthma, cough and paralysis and as an aphrodisiac. According to al-Kindī, chalk was used to

96 | ara bi a n dr ugs treat mouth sores and throat problems, protect soft gums from heat, as a sternutative and for night blindness.146 According to al-˝abari, chalk reduces high fever, prevents vomiting and heals mouth sores in children.147 Ibn Juljul adds that ‘its nature is cold and dry. It is beneficial for the treatment of acute fevers, strengthens the hot liver by reducing its heat, dries the rotten moisture of the stomach and stops the “loose” stomach caused by yellow [bile].’148 Ibn Rushd writes that the chalk ‘is the “flesh” of the knobs of qinā basswood. It is cold and dry in the third degree. Its beneficial property is that it is useful against heat, inflammation, yellow bile, for strengthening the stomach and for palpitations, agony and sorrow.’149 R. Nathan Ben Yoel Falaquera writes that chalk is used to treat eye diseases, pulse rate and thrush.150 Maimonides advised the Egyptian ruler to use chalk and other substances to strengthen his heart.151 Chalk appears on six lists of materia medica and as a medicinal substance in eleven practical prescriptions found in the Cairo Genizah as having various uses. It was also mentioned in medical books in preparations for jaundice with acute fever and palpitation, loss of teeth, strengthening the stomach and against diarrhoea resulting from weakness of the liver, and bile corruption, as well as a powder for the treatment of diarrhoea, quartan fever, burning black bile and phlegm. White chalk was used to treat sufferers of bubo and scrofula.152 shampoo ginger

It is [zurunbād] a hot and dry Indian drug, which strengthens the heart, refines thick black-bilious blood, is beneficial for [banishing] evil thoughts and for whoever talks to himself. It is similar to ginger.’153

Shampoo ginger (pinecone, gingerhorse ginger, pain ginger) (zurunbād); Zingiber zerumbet (Zingiberaceae) The genus Zingiberaceae is represented by approximately 140 species of a plant disseminated throughout tropical Asia. It is a perennial rhizomatous herb, native to India. It comprises two stems, one being sterile and 30 to 80 cm long and the other bearing flowers 15 to 30 cm long. The flowers are pale yellow. The fruit is a white capsule bearing numerous black seeds. According to medieval Arab medical sources,154 the plant was cultivated in India155 and China.156

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 97 Arab writers disagree with regard to the geographical and botanical origin of the zurunbād. However, they mainly write that it was imported from China. They describe the product they saw and used as having rounded stalks similar to birthwort (Aristolochia sp.) and being ginger in its taste and colour. The imported substance was in the form of pieces of rhizomes, with rounded, dry segments, the size of walnuts and similar to bamboo.157 Medieval Arabic medical literature describes the plant as an extremely dry and hot medicinal substance used to treat the womb and insect bites.158 According to Ibn Rushd, the zurunbād is ‘hot in the third degree, dry in the first degree, cleans and dissolves flatus and is useful for those who have [ingested] lethal poisons. It is especially good for relieving menstrual pains. It stops vomiting. It has scented leaves. Būlus said that it can be substituted by a drug called dār ‚īnī.’159 Ibn Juljul also writes that it is a hot and dry drug similar to ginger, of Indian origin, adding that it strengthens the heart, ‘softens’ the thick blood of black bile and is beneficial to ‘bad thoughts’ and people who talk to themselves.160 Ibn al-Bay†ār writes that the zurunbād is well-known among practitioners both in the East and the West (Maghrib). After a detailed description of the various appearances of its rhizom, he names and cites its diuretic properties and many uses, such as preventing bad smells (onion, garlic and alcohol), helping in the aim to gain weight, expelling black bile, improving mood and memory and treating heart conditions, toothaches, headaches, depression, snake bites and so on.161 purging cassia

It is of the big trees and a kind of carob. Its leaves are similar to carob leaves but longer and shinier and have inlets … The fruit is hard, the insides of which are split into layers … In between the layers, there are seeds, similar to the seeds of Andalusi carob, red with hard pulp. The purging cassia grows in India, the Levant and even a few in Egypt. The tree managed to grow in our land, at Seville, but died due to the weather conditions.162

Purging cassia (Pudding-pipe, Indian laburnum) (khiyār shanbar, kharrūb hindī, qiththāʾ hindī); Cassia fistula (Caesalpiniaceae)

98 | ara bi a n dr ugs It is a tall tree with egg-like foliage, which is paired in the leaf structure and inflourescence, consisting of yellow-orange flowers. The pipe-like fruit is long (up to 50 cm) with the seeds separated by dividers (Plate 6). Ripe fruit is blackish. The flesh is sweet and smells like carob. It is a well-known ornamental tree in regions of tropical and sub-tropical climates. This tree is indigenous to tropical Africa and India. The plant is not mentioned in the Classical sources. In this category, it is part of the lists of both Ibn Juljul163 and Ibn Rushd.164 It is first mentioned by Jewish practitioners in Hebrew medical literature by the physician Assaf165 and Arabic medical literature by Māsarjawayh, a Jewish physician of the eighth century.166 The Arabic names of the plant hint to its origin: kharrūb hindī (Indian carob) and qiththāʾ hindī (Indian chate melon).167 The name khiyār shanbar is Persian168 and testifies to the route of its distribution from India to the Middle East through Persia. According to al-Bīrūnī, the name was extracted from Sanskrit, in his writing that in ‘Hindi, it is known as kinar and kad and nay hindu in Sigzi’.169 Arabic medical literature affirms that the tree was cultivated in various locations including India, Kābul, Ba‚ra and Yemen.170 Another kind was cultivated in Egypt (Ibn Juljul), with its fruits being exported to al-Shām (Levant).171 Other sources claim that the tree was cultivated in the Levant as well.172 An Egyptian kind was also mentioned.173 Its fruits were exported to al-Shām.174 Ibn al-Bay†ār quotes the description of the fruit by Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī, who visited the Levant in or around 1216, as follows: ‘A well-known tree whose fruits are known in Alexandria, Egypt from where they are borne to a-Shām.’175 A few sources claim it was cultivated in al-Shām as well.176 Al-ʾIshbīlī mentions a purging cassia tree that managed to grow in Seville but died due to its unsuitability to the local climate.177 Several merchants’ letters found in the Genizah describe the trade in purging cassia in Cairo, Jerusalem and Mahdiyya.178 For example, in a letter from the Genizah (eleventh century), a Jerusalem merchant, ʿEli ha-Kohen Ben Yeh.ezkel, reports to his family in Egypt of the sale of a crate of purging cassia from Ramla.179 In a guidebook for merchants written by the Italian Pegolotti (1340), the Cassia fistula is mentioned, including its sale in the city of Acre.180 The trade in purging cassia was common in the medieval period.181 Many sources, including the Genizah, give an account of the trade in the fruit

‘ara bi a n’ substances | 99 of the purging cassia in sixteenth-century Egypt, especially the role played by Jews.182 Of special interest is a document that mentions Rabbi Yitzh.ak Ben Shlomo (the ʾAri), a famous kabbalist leader in Safed, who traded in this fruit during his stay in Egypt.183 Fredrik Hasselquist describes the cultivation of the plant in Egypt and the preparation of its fruit for curative purposes.184 From the Óisba literature, we learn that there were deceitful traders who would sprinkle water on the fruits that were wrapped in cloth to increase their weight.185 Moreover, it was forbidden to sell the dividers between the seeds (that resemble coins and therefore were called fulūs – small copper coins) when they were unripe, since they were believed to be harmful. These dividers could be sold only when they were ‘ripe’, that is, after three to ten years, similar to the sweet viscous juice/syrup (honey) that was prepared from the fruits.186 According to most medieval physicians, the quality of the purging cassia fruit was considered to be generally moist with its temperature balanced between hot and cold. The physician Assaf asserts that the tree grows in Yemen and Ethiopia and it is of a hot and dry quality. According to him, the best is the red one that has ‘the scent of old wine’.187 Al-Bīrūnī describes the different varieties of the purging cassia and discusses their qualities.188 Ibn Rushd writes about the medical uses of the khiyār shanbar: ‘This especially purges burnt yellow bile, extinguishes heat in the blood and dissolves tumours. This drug purges gently like tamarind, [but is] stronger [than tamarind] in dissolving things. A potion may be made by using it in the same way as tamarind.’189 Ibn al-Bay†ār, citing Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī, describes the plant. Other physicians report on the use of the peel for curative purposes. Noted among the medical uses are the cleansing of internal organs, reducing of swellings, soothing of nerves, curing of sore throats and, mostly, purging.190 According to Maimonides too, the cassia is a mild and safe purgative.191 Elsewhere he cites al-Tamīmī, who states that the fruit counteracts the poison of snakes and scorpions and strengthens the womb of pregnant women.192 Ibn Juljul writes about lubb al-khiyār shanbar that: It is a fruit of a tree whose interior is a thin circle. There is a layer between this ‘circle’, the heart, which is black. In it, there is a honey-like sap which sticks to the hand and whose taste is sweet and sour. The Egyptian kind

100 | a rabi an dr ugs is sour and scratchy for its first year and decreases yellow bile and breaks the heat of the blood as well as being beneficial for the hot swellings of the throat and liver. Its dosage is 8 mithqāl when it is dissolved in water with its nature tending to coldness.193

Purging cassia appears in the Cairo Genizah on three lists of materia medica and eight prescriptions (for diet, as an aphrodisiac and as a plaster). It was also mentioned in several Genizah excerpts of medical books.194 Purging cassia was soon used for medicinal purposes in Europe and considered a basic medication found in every pharmacy. Saladino d’Ascoli lists the purging cassia among the varieties of fruit that serve for curative purposes and that can be kept for only one year.195 Spices clove

Clove is grown on an island from which it is imported. The traders descend to the shore, leave their merchandise and return to their boats. The next morning they return to the shore and find cloves near their products. If the trader finds it favourable, he takes the cloves and leaves his merchandise … The islanders eat fish, bananas, coconuts and cloves. Eating fresh clove increases one’s longevity and prevents white hair.196

Clove (qaranful); Eugenia caryophyllata (Myrtaceae) The clove is a tropical evergreen tree that grows in Madagascar, Indonesia, the Muluk Islands and the islands of the West India. The tree is 8 to 13 m high. Its leaves are shiny and leathery. The flowers form clusters at the end of the branches. The young flowers are green at first, later turning red. The spice is made from the dry flower buds (Plate 7). Cloves as well as pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg are among the first spices mentioned in Indian and Chinese literature.197 Arab authors indicated that the clove was not mentioned in Greek medical literature.198 Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ deduces that the clove was brought to the West only after their time.199 However, in fact, clove was already known in the Classical period although it seems to have been a rare and costly import product. Pliny describes the clove tree briefly: ‘Called the caryophyllon, which

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 101 is reported to grow on the Indian lotus-tree, it is imported here for the sake of its scent.’200 However, he did not mention its medicinal uses. The clove was mentioned in Byzantine works of the sixth century. Paulus Aegineta writes about its properties as a medicine201 while the Egyptian Cosmas the monk describes the clove as an import product that comes from China (Tzinista) along with silk and other luxury products.202 The Arabic name of the clove, qaranful, derives from the Greek name caryophyllon. The clove became a common spice and an affordable, accessible medicinal substance only after the Muslim conquests. According to Arabic sources, clove was imported from Sofala (South Africa),203 India,204 China,205 Shalheh Island,206 Nicobar islands207 and Ethiopia208 through the port of Aden (Yemen).209 Ibn al-Faq⁄h describes the trade with the islanders of Bar†ayīl in the China Sea by means of barter. He adds that the clove was an important component of their diet. The islanders used to eat it fresh and therefore had a long life. It prevented white hair.210 According to Marco Polo, the European traveller of the thirteenth century, the island of Java was a ‘very rich island producing pepper, nutmeg, spikenard, galingale, cubebs, cloves and all the precious spices found in the world. It is visited by great numbers of ships and merchants, who buy a great range of merchandise, reaping handsome profits and rich returns.’211 Clove was one of the substances identified in an early Egyptian druggist’s account (ninth century) written on papyrus.212 The Muslim traveller Ibn Ba††ū†a describes the abundance of spices and perfumes in the region of the island of java. He mentions that the clove trees are big and grow mainly in the regions occupied by the non-Muslims and less in the Muslim regions. ‘What is imported to our countries are sticks named by our people ‘nuwwār al-qurunful’ (flower of clove).’ Later, the author confuses clove and mace.213 This reflects a phenomenon encountered in the writings of many Arabic authors, who were very familiar with the spice as a product but had never seen the tree or plant itself. In the case of the clove, while some authors visualised the clove tree as Christ’s jujube thorn (Ziziphus spina-christi) others imagined it as sweet lime (Citrus medica).214 Al-ʾIdrīsī asserts that the clove was cultivated on the islands of Indonesia (Java). He describes collecting the spice and processing it thus: ‘the “mature” flowers were soaked in water, then dried and afterwards sold to traders arriving at the island’. 215 Al-Qazwīnī adds that the

102 | a rabi an dr ugs flowers (or fruits in the original source) were soaked in fresh water, similar to the present-day procedures before drying. In his opinion, islanders did this in order to prevent others from cultivating the tree elsewhere.216 Several legends were created and passed on regarding the origin of the clove, several of which contain a kernel of truth, as can be seen in the following story: Muh.mmad ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Misqī is quoted as having said that he had seen people in Baghdad buying ‘Dīnār al-Marwāniyya’, which were minted by the Caliph ʿAbd al-Maliq ibn Marwān (685–705). The people explained that when they reached an island near India,217 they exchanged them for cloves. They put the money in a bag, on which they wrote the name of the local trader, and left it on the beach in an agreed-upon place. The next day they received the cloves without having seen the local trader or the clove trees. He adds that at a certain point the importation of the clove ceased for a few years and therefore it became extremely expensive.218 Clove was an important commodity mentioned in many Genizah documents, mainly concerning eleventh-century trade and commerce in cities such as Cairo, Alexandria, Mahdiyya, Qayrawān, Palermo and Tripoli. For example, in a Genizah letter dated 1045, a Jewish merchant from Cairo tells his counterpart in Jerusalem of the purchase of an expensive substance ‘qirfat qaranful’ identified as clove.219 The Jewish traders of Sicily, mainly under Islamic rule (827–1061), imported quantities of clove along with various other products, including drugs, dyeing materials, spices and perfumes and other commodities, most of which were exported to Andalusia and Europe.220 The ‘girofle’ (clove) is presented as merchandise that was taxed in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem during the thirteenth century221 and is also listed among the substances exported to Europe.222 This trade continued well after the Crusaders had left the Levant. For example, clove and other spices are mentioned as goods bought by a Venetian trader in the fifteenth century in Ramla.223 Clove is one of the more delicate spices, light in weight and costly; therefore, it was transported overland. The economic historian Ashtor estimates that its price in the Levant was low. So, European merchants found it worthwhile to buy it there and transport it to their respective countries.224 Clove was also mentioned among the most esteemed perfumes in Arabic poetry.225 It was included among the preferred perfumes given as presents and

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 103 gifts to kings and rulers along with nard and camphor.226Clove was used as an ingredient to season and aromatise food and beverages. Al-Kindī mentioned several recipes for making perfume out of cloves.227 In a refining process, a concentrate could be produced which was considered even better than rose water. The clove concentrate was added to various perfumes and cosmetic pastes used by women.228 It was also used in cooking and baking. Arabic medical literature defined the clove as a hot and dry drug.229 Ibn Māsawayhi writes: ‘It is hot, gentle, good for the stomach, fainting, vomiting caused by the damp humour and some liver ailments that entail putrefaction and damp humour.’230 Similarly, Ibn Juljul writes, ‘With a pleasant fragrance, [it] strengthens the heart, brain, stomach and internal organs (intestines).231 It is one of the finest perfumes.’232 Al-Kindī describes intensive use of the clove in medicinal preparations to freshen the breath and treat the gums and stomach disorders.233 Maimonides quotes al-Tamīmī who asserts that the clove is very useful as a cure for hysteria and epilepsy and as a component in a remedy used to treat heart palpitations.234 Al-Rāzī adds that ‘it is used in drugs that sharpen the eyesight and remove the crust from the eye’.’235 Elsewhere it was said that it ‘wakens one from fainting and stops vomiting’. According to al-Nuwayrī, the preferred use is ‘clove pulverised with Syrian apple. The concentrate should be mixed with mint.’236 It is a diuretic and prevents pregnancy if a woman takes it daily for one month. On the other hand, when powdered and drunk with milk, it strengthens male potency.237 Maimonides reports different medicinal applications of clove as a component in a general remedy that also includes pomegranate seeds and sugar.238 He also states that it is a component in an aphrodisiac pill used to stimulate erection and enhance sexual pleasure.239 The medieval Jerusalemite/Cairean ophthalmologist Benevenutus lists clove among the substances in his ‘Jerusalem Electuary’ that he prescribes for curing cataracts. Other substances in this remedy are honey, beaver testicle glands, saffron and coconut.240 Al-Qazwīnī quotes Ibn Sīnā, who states that the clove sweetens the breath, improves eyesight, and prevents loss of consciousness. He also writes that the clove is effective against nausea and that its scent strengthens the brain and heart and uplifts one’s spirits.241 Evidence for the actual medical uses of cloves was found in the Cairo Genizah. It appears in fifteem practical medical documents (nine lists of

104 | a rabi an dr ugs ­­materia medica and six prescriptions). It was also widely mentioned in ­­fragments of medical literature found in the Genizah.242 betel pepper

You should know that these people and indeed all the peoples of India, are addicted to this habit, which affords them some satisfaction, of carrying almost continually in their mouth a certain leaf called tambur. They go about chewing this leaf and spewing out the resulting spittle. This habit prevails especially amongst the nobles and magnates and kings. They mix the leaves with camphor and other spices and also with lime and go about continually chewing them. This habit is very beneficial to their health. If anyone is offended by somebody and wishes to insult and affront him, then when he meets him in the street he collects the mixture in his mouth and spits it in the other’s face.’243

Betel pepper (tānbūl); Piper betel (Piperaceae) It is a slender climbing vine (5 m) with heart-shaped leaves, tiny yellowgreen flowers and small spherical fruits (Plate 8). According to an aggregate of biogeographical, historical and linguistic sources as well as archaeological evidence, the plant was introduced to India from its wild origin in the islands of southeast Asia as early as the Bronze Age.244 In various tropical lands and islands, the inhabitants chewed the seeds to expel stomach worms and as a sedative and astringent.245 Neither the plant nor its leaves were mentioned in Classical sources, early Western literature or the Jewish Sages’ writings. It was first mentioned in Arabic sources.246 Early Arabic sources mention the plant and its uses extensively. Ibn Ba††ū†a, for example, writes that the betel pepper was planted in a similar way to vines, near a hut built from reeds or nearby coconut trees, to enable it to climb. He asserts that the leaves are useful, with the best being yellow. The Indians highly regarded the plant: ‘If a person visits his friend and gives him 5 tānbūl leaves, it is as if he gave him the whole world and everything in it, as if the visitor is rich and distinguished.’247 Al-ʾIdrīsī adds that the betel pepper is a climber from the same family of the ‘Cucurbitaceae’. Its flavour is distinctive and similar to the clove, while its fragrance is pleasant. He describes a common

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 105 way, customary in India, to improve the flavour of the leaves by kneading them with lime.248 From these sources, we also learn about the geographical aspects of the cultivation and distribution of the betel pepper. When al-ʾIdrīsī describes the products of the group of islands situated east of Sri Lanka, he refers to coconut trees, sugarcane and betel pepper.249 Ibn Ba††ū†a reports the consumption of betel pepper leaves in many locations in Asia, Arabia and Africa as part of ceremonies and at the end of meals and feasts. According to him, serving the betel pepper leaves, which were very expensive, was a sign of appreciation and honour toward the guest. For example, he describes an Indian tradition according to which, on the third day following a person’s death, a ceremony is conducted in which the participants drink rose water, eat sweets soaked in rose water and in the end chew betel pepper leaves. The visitors and guests were offered the same fare. The family of the deceased could eat it only on that particular day. Ibn Ba††ū†a emphasises that the betel pepper leaves were considered more precious than gold or a piece of jewellery.250 In his description of Yemen, al-Qalqashandī writes that in some regions, such as the city of Êafār (al-Shih.r region) in the southern shores of Yemen, betel pepper and other Indian trees are cultivated. From his description of Ethiopia, we learn of a local plant whose consumption increases the sharpness of the mind and induces happiness. However, it reduces appetite and sexual desire. He claims that the local people use it similarly to the way that the Indians use the betel pepper, since the plants are similar, with their uses being mainly reducing sleeping, eating and sexual drives.251 In most cases, the leaves of the betel pepper were chewed together with betel palm fruits (fawfal) by dignitaries, sultans and kings of India and their guests at feasts, receptions, weddings and even funerals and memorial services, in most cases at the end of the meal.252 From Arabic medical literature we learn that Ibn Sīnā recommends betel pepper to improve the smell of one’s breath and strengthen teeth and gums. A decoction of the leaves with wine is also recommended for skin diseases as well as for improving the smell of gases and aiding in digestion.253 Ibn Juljul writes in his book on the medicinal substances not mentioned by Galen that tānbūl is ‘an Indian leaf of a fragrant tree which the Indian people commonly use by chewing it every morning. It makes the lips red, gives a pleasant odour to the breath, and gladdens the heart. Its nature is medium hot.’254

106 | a rabi an dr ugs Betel pepper appears in medical documents found in the Cairo Genizah. On a list of materia medica, one segment mentions its use as a treatment to ease queasiness after meals, and in medical books it is included in recipes for the treatment of palpitation, and as a purgative, an emmenagogue and an abortifacient.255 The leaves of betel pepper were traded in the Genizah society256 as was its fruit, which is mentioned in merchants’ letters regarding its trade in Alexandria and Cairo in the eleventh century.257 betel palm

At the end of the main course of the meal, the servants arrive with tubs of tānbūl and fawfal, each one of the dinner-guests is given some crushed fawfal and fifteen leaves of tānbūl tied with red silk rope. Then the servants praise the name of God. All the dinner-guests stand up and leave.’258

Betel palm (areca nut) (fawfal, ʾa†mā†); Areca catechu (Arecaceae) A tall tropical palm tree of the Asian region its fruits are shaped like chicken eggs and its seeds are grey (Plates 9, 10).259 According to a collection of biogeographical, historical and linguistic sources as well as archaeological evidence, the plant was introduced in India from its wild origin on the islands of Southeast Asia as early as the Bronze Age.260 The plant and its fruits were not known in the West and nor were they mentioned by the Classical sources. Al-D⁄nawar⁄ in his book on plants, places the fawfal in the classification of the palm trees.261 Ibn al-Jazzār writes that the plant is from China.262 However, Ibn Wah.shiyya writes that it is not indigenous to Iraq, but rather imported from India.263 Arabic sources such as Ibn Ba††ū†a describe the betel palm claiming that it grew on various islands, including Java and Andaman.264 He adds that the inhabitants of these islands traded in their fruits.265 Ibn Ba††ū†a records the use (chewing) of betel palm fruits together with leaves of betel pepper (tānbūl) at feasts and even memorial services, in most cases at the end of the meal. The consumption of the fruits improves one’s digestion, breath (smell of the mouth), colour of the face and gums (red), ‘brings’ happiness and prevents yellow colour and thirst. Both kings and their wives and female slaves chewed betel palm fruits before engaging in sexual activity.266

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 107 According to al-D⁄nawar⁄, the pungent-tasting black fruits were used by women to colour their lips and gums red. This was done by chewing the pleasantly fragrant fruits together with the leaves. Men also used the fruits thanks to their pleasant fragrance.267 The Andalusian scholar al-ʾIshbīlī asserts that the plant was not mentioned either by Dioscorides or Galen. Al-ʾIshbīlī, citing earlier sources, describes the tree as a palm, similar to the coconut, bearing clusters on which the fruits grow. They are red, white and grey and the size of hazelnuts. According to al-ʾIshbīlī, the tree does not grow in Arabia but only in China and India. The main medicinal uses of the fruits are strengthening internal organs and treating inflammations. Al-ʾIshbīlī also mentions other names of the fawfal, including al-bunduq al-hindī and ʾa††.268 According to Ibn Juljul, fawfal is: An Indian drug, the ʾa†mā†, a al-bunduq al-hindī and the fruit of a delicate Indian palm tree, which sways because it is so thin. It has clusters that bear the fawfal, a red kernel shaped like a bird’s heart with a pleasant fragrance. It gives a pleasant odour to the breath and strengthens the heart. Its nature is cold and dry.269

In his book on the medicinal substances that were not mentioned by Dioscorides, Ibn Rushd writes, ‘It has several varieties. Its potency is similar to that of ‚andal. When drunk in quantities of one to two dirhams, its purgative property is mediocre.’270 Fawfal was also mentioned by al-ʾIdrīsī on his list of drugs that were not mentioned by Dioscorides.271 Al-Nuwayrī, citing earlier scholars, asserts that ‘the power of the betel palm is similar to that of the sandalwood. It was believed to be a cold drug that caused constipation and was beneficial for the treatment of inflammations, swellings and eye diseases.’272 Ibn Wah.shiyya writes that when the betel palm is chewed, it enhances saliva, strengthens the gums and the stomach and awakens people that have fainted.273 Betel palm appears on one list of materia medica and in one practical prescription found in the Cairo Genizah. It also appears in recipes for treatment of liver disease and was mentioned in medical books, some of which dealt with skin diseases. The seeds were chewed as stimulants and astringents and to expel worms.274

108 | a rabi an dr ugs turmeric

It is a drug that the people of Iraq call kurkum. It is the yellow roots. The roots are stiff, similar to ginger, but have concave surfaces. When ground, you see that the powder is yellow. The people of al-Shām call it hurd.’275

Turmeric (kurkam, kurkum, hurd, shajarat al-kha†ā†īf, zaʿfarān hindī, ʿurūq ‚ufr);276 Curcuma longa (Zingiberaceae)

A tropical perennial plant (90 cm), with a short stem and knobby rhizomes,277 turmeric rhizomes were used in the past, mainly in Southeast Asian countries, as a common spice and medicinal substance (Plate 11).278 Kurkum is mentioned once in the Bible together with the precious perfumes of the ancient world.279 However, it was identified by ancient and medieval sources, as well as by modern scholars, as saffron (Crocus sativus).280 Maimonides maintains the same identification in most of his writings. However, in one case he describes kurkum as having yellow roots. We claim that there was a transformation in which the turmeric received the Arabic and Hebrew name (kurkum/karkom) from the saffron due to the similarity of its main use – yellow dyeing. This happened after the Islamic conquests, which contributed to the introduction and distribution of turmeric as a spice, drug and yellow dye.281 We accept Miller’s claim that turmeric was not mentioned by the Classical sources. There is no evidence of its use in the Levant and the Mediterranean Basin before the Islamic conquests.282 In medieval Arabic literature, turmeric had several names and was mainly called ‘Indian saffron’.283 In his book Kitāb al-Nabāt, al-D⁄nawar⁄ mentions that kurkum derives ‘from the names of the saffron’.284 Al-ʾIshbīlī also calls turmeric ‘the Indian saffron’ and gives a detailed description in his book of two varieties of the plant, turmeric and khālīdūnyūn †ūmāghā. He writes that the root is yellow and solid while its taste is bitter, sharp and ‘burns’ the tongue.285 Similar to the Arabic language, one of the names for turmeric in Europe in medieval times was ‘Indian saffron’, which served as a cheap substitute for saffron.286 Turmeric was not mentioned by the Classical sources. It was first mentioned in the West in the early Arabic sources. For example, Ibn Juljul mentions kurkum (identified by us as Curcuma longa) in his book on the plants

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 109 that were not mentioned by Dioscirides. Ibn Juljul describes the uses of turmeric and its various names in Iraq and the Levant.287 Ibn al-Jazzār affirms the existence of turmeric in China and Yemen.288 Al-ʾIshbīlī writes that turmeric was cultivated in India and Ethiopia.289 Several travellers left their first impressions regarding turmeric and its various uses and ‘cultures’. For example, Ibn Ba††ū†a recorded a unique use of turmeric that he had seen in India on the way to Delhi. The inhabitants of this city hunt the sqnaqūr (medical skink = Scincus scincus), empty its innards and fill it up with turmeric, which was known as a substitute for saffron. The author writes that he did not eat this dish, since he was disgusted by it.290 Ibn al-Bay†ār discusses the identity of the plant and notes that ‘the turmeric that is known to us comes from the roots imported from India’. He later cites a source stating that the people of Ba‚ra say that turmeric is saffron. They likened it to saffron because it produced the same yellow colour as saffron.291 Indeed, turmeric is mentioned along with saffron in the chapter dealing with dyeing materials. A phrase in Arabic was quoted: ‘karkama thawbuhu’ (his cloth became yellow).292 Al-ʾIshbīlī reports that the plant was being used in his time for dyeing cloth yellow.293 In the Middle Ages, turmeric was exported from the Eastern countries to Europe, in contrast to the direction of the trade in saffron.294 An example of this kind of trade appears in a commercial document dated 1412 that describes the purchase of turmeric roots in Ramla on behalf of a Venetian trading house whose representatives resided in the city of Óamath (Óamā) in Syria.295 Turmeric was among the merchandise traded in Sicily by the Jewish traders, according to the Genizah.296 Moshe Poriat (seventeenth century) relates that he saw cheap turmeric (of low quality) in the markets of Jerusalem.297 Turmeric rhizomes were used in Asian medicine for the treatment of liver infections and jaundice.298 In Arabic medical literature, turmeric was considered a hot and dry drug.299 It was used for the treatment of various eye and skin diseases.300 Ibn Juljul writes in his book: ‘It is included in ointments beneficial for eczema and dries the abscesses. Its nature is hot and dry. Some say it is the root of shajarat al-kha†ā†īf.’301 The powder of the turmeric rhizomes served as a component in medications to strengthen the teeth, treat sore throat, swellings in the mouth, mouth sores and haemorrhoids, as a toothpaste

110 | a rabi an dr ugs that ­­strengthened gums, to counteract various poisons and for the treatment of insanity.302 The fact that turmeric is featured on five lists of materia medica found in the Cairo Genizah (eleventh to thirteenth centuries) and in two practical prescriptions (one of which was for treatment of eye diseases) is proof of its practicality and availability.303 In Asian traditional medicine, the yellow powder served as a remedy for diseases of the intestines and liver, to cure colds and ulcers and as a component of a skin ointment.304 In India, medical properties are attributed to turmeric for strengthening the heart and stomach while in Java it is used to cure diseases of the urinary tract.305 galingale

God endows each land and country with different and special advantages. Otherwise, commerce would not have been established and advanced and people would not have got to know each other. He endows a land with a desert and another country does not receive it. Therefore, God blessed the lands of Sind and India with various kinds of perfumes and precious stones such as corindons [corundum] and diamonds … and with various kinds of agarwood, ambergris, clove, galingale, cinnamon, coconut, myrobalan, bamboo ashes, sappan wood, sandalwood, pepper and other wonderful products.306

Galingale (Galanga) (khūlanjān, khawlanjān); Alpinia galanga (Zingiberaceae) Galingale is a perennial tropical plant, originating in Southeast Asia. Its rhizome is dark reddish-brown, cylindrical and marked at short intervals by raised rings, which are scars of the leaf base (Plate 12). It has been used as a condiment, a spice and a medicine since early times.307 Galingale was not mentioned by the early Classical sources, a fact emphasised by both Ibn Juljul and Ibn Rushd, who included it on their lists of the drugs not mentioned by Galen and Diascorides.308 Other sources such as al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ noted this as well.309 Al-Qalqashand⁄ asserts that khūlanjān is a name of Persian origin, which entered the Arabic language, together with other drugs that were brought from Southeast Asia, such as camphor and sandalwood.310 Galingale is mentioned in the medical treatise of Aëtius of Amida311 and also by later Byzantine sources.312

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 111 In a description of the city of Aden and its importance, al-ʾIdrīsī writes that it is the port from which the ships of Sind, India and China sail.313 Besides galingale, he mentions many imported goods from these locations, including susbtances such as agarwood, camphor, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coconut, cubeb pepper, lead, musk, myrobalan, nutmeg and pepper.314 Ibn Khurdādhbih mentions galingale as one of the goods imported by the Arabs from the area of the China Sea.315 Marco Polo writes that galingale was a product of Java, along with pepper, nutmeg, spikenard, cubebs and cloves.316 Galingale was one of the spices imported by the merchants of Italy from Greater Syria and Egypt. In fact, it appears in European medical prescriptions from the ninth century onwards317 and was traded in the Levant well into the fifteenth century.318 Galingale is mentioned in the Genizah documents as being exported from Egypt to Sicily (Palermo) through North Africa.319 Al-Dimashqī writes that the best galingale is the one with the natural colour without any decay, moisture or black spots. This comment illustrates that spices such as galingale were sometimes exposed to damage due to the moisture of the sea during transport from the East.320 Early Arab medical literature describes the plant and its medical uses. Ibn Juljul asserts that it is ‘a hot and moist Indian drug, which increases coital lust, has a pleasant smell and strengthens the cold stomach, liver and internal organs’.321 Ibn Rushd writes regarding galingale that ‘it is good for a moist stomach, improves the smell of the breath, digests food, soothes nerves and strengthens sexual potency’.322 According to al-Kindī, galingale was used to treat stomach ailments and excessive addiction to sex, to strengthen respiration and used as toothpaste.323 Ibn al-Bay†ār cites many physicians and lists several uses: treating stomach ailments, increasing appetite, easing digestion, reducing flatulence and improving the memory.324 According to Maimonides, it was one of the ingredients in a medication called ‘the great ʾi†rīfil’ and also served to cure haemorrhoids, strengthen the bodily organs, mainly the heart, to sharpen the senses and delay ageing. The plant was listed among the hot and dry drugs.325 Evidence of the practical use of galingale in medieval Middle East is its appearance in practical prescriptions and on three lists of materia medica found in the Cairo Genizah.326 The use of galingale as

112 | a rabi an dr ugs a spice started in Europe during the medieval period, as can be learnt from contemporary menus.327 Galingale is an essential spice and food-flavouring product as well as a medication, or part of one, used in Asian folk medicine for various applications, such as treatment of rheumatic ailments and respiratory diseases, as an aromatic agent and as a tonic and aphrodisiac.328 In Egypt, the galingale root still serves as an aromatic drug and a carminative, and arouses sexual desire.329 nutmeg

It is an Indian drug, hot, dry, with a pleasant smell, gives a pleasant odour to the mouth, strengthens the stomach and the heart, removes gases, digests the food and is one of the most wonderful spices.330

Nutmeg (jawzbuwā, dārkīsa, jawz al-†īb); Mace (basbāsa); Myristica fragrans (Myristicaceae) It is the fruit of an evergreen tree growing in tropical Southeast Asia, mainly on the islands of the eastern Indian Ocean. The fruit is peach-shaped with a single, large seed. The seed is encased in a red, net-like aril or mace, which is also used (Plates 13, 14).331 Nutmeg was mentioned in the writings of the Jewish sages (Mishna). The Hebrew expression ‘rashey besamim’ (chief of the spices) was identified by medieval scholars as ‘jawzbuwā’ – nutmeg in Arabic.332 Maimonides mentioned the ‘basbāsa’ (mace) as being among the predominant Jewish spices.333 From the seed of the nutmeg, two spices are produced: the seed, jawzbuwā in Arabic, and its cover, or peel, basbāsa. Some of the medieval sources did not know that the two spices share the same botanical origin, since the separation was done in India before it was exported. Some Arabic sources claim that nutmeg was not mentioned by Dioscorides.334 Early Arabic sources write about nutmeg, mentioning its origin (India) and describing it as a fruit of a size similar to a hazel nut. It is firm with a pleasant fragrance and spicy taste.335 Al-Thaʿālib⁄ writes that nutmeg is among the unique products of India.336 According to Ibn al-Faq⁄h, nutmeg, similar to other medicinal substances such as camphor, cloves and sandalwood, arrives from al-Zābaj in the south near China from a city called

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 113 Qan‚ūr.337 In another place, he writes that the basbāsa is one of the special products of the islands near Sri Lanka.338 In a description of the city of Aden, al-ʾIdrīsī writes that it is a small city but its port is very important, since boats from India, China and Sind sail over and bring with them the finest produce of China, including nutmeg. According to him, the sources of nutmeg are a few islands in the China Sea, especially one called al-Íanf.339 Other early sources also write that India was the main source of nutmeg and other medicinal substances and perfumes.340 As mentioned before, in many cases the Arab authors had never been to India or China and therefore could not describe the shape or size of the medicinal plants. One example of this phenomenon is a description of a clove tree drawn by Ibn Ba††ū†a. Ibn Ba††ū†a claims that cloves are leftovers of the flower of the tree and that its fruits are nutmeg jawzbuwā while the flowers are the mace basbāsa.341 According to Watson, the Arabs began to trade in nutmeg in the sixth century; by the twelfth century it was well-known in Europe.342 It was carried overland from India via Mecca to the ports of the Levant343 and Egypt,344 and from there to Europe. For example, nutmeg appears in a medical prescription in a Byzantine veterinary book of the tenth century.345 Marco Polo writes that nutmeg was one of the products of Java along with pepper, spikenard, galingale, cubebs and cloves.346 Peels and seeds of nutmeg were frequently mentioned in letters of Genizah merchants sent from Mahdiyya, Qayrawān and Palermo to Alexandria and Cairo. Egypt appears to have been an important trading centre for nutmeg exported from Asia.347 Nutmeg was a delicate and expensive commodity in the market of Acre as is evident from the tax lists of the first half of the thirteenth century.348 Evidence of the continuity of the overland transport and trade in the fifteenth century and the high value of nutmeg is found in a letter of 1411. The letter, written by an Italian trader, describes the caravans from Mecca to Damascus and thence to Ramla. Half of the merchandise remained in Ramla while the rest was carried by Italian ships to Europe.349 Arabic medical writings teach us about the medicinal uses of nutmeg. Al-Kindī writes that nutmeg was an ingredient in a medication to strengthen

114 | a rabi an dr ugs breathing.350 Ibn Rushd writes that nutmeg is ‘a hot and dry drug … It has a nice odour. It cleans the stomach’s languidness of a putrid humour and strengthens it. It is useful for the liver and also the spleen of people that suffer from cold.’351 According to Ibn Juljul, nutmeg strengthens the stomach and the heart, removes gases and digests food.352 Ibn al-Bay†ār relates that the nutmeg aril (mace) was used as a remedy and was named ‘dārkīsa’ in the al-Shām region.353 Maimonides also writes that nutmeg was a hot and dry drug354 prescribed to strengthen the stomach, improve the appetite and enhance sexual desire. He also quotes al-Tamīmī describing the ‘royal beverage’ containing nutmeg. This was used as medication for the elderly, for colds and for rheumatic pains.355 Evidence of the actual uses of nutmeg in the medieval Middle East is its inclusion on two lists of materia medica and in two practical prescriptions found in the Cairo Genizah. Nutmeg is also mentioned in medical books found in the Genizah in recipes for the treatment of colic, coughs and colds.356 According to Benevenutus, nutmeg was used to treat cataracts.357 Nutmeg appears in medical recipes in medieval Europe, for example, for the treatment of stomach ailments.358 perfumed cherry

A round berry covered with a blackish/reddish peel, its exterior has a woody peel whilst the content is tasty and white with a pleasant fragrance. It has some bitterness in it. It is a fruit of a tall tree having coarse bark and is used in compounds of cleaning materials.’359

Perfumed cherry (mahaleb cherry) (maªlab); Prunus mahaleb (Rosaceae) It is a tall deciduous tree or large shrub growing to a height of 2 to 10 m with a grey-brown trunk (up to 40 cm diameter). The leaves are ovate, 1 to 5 cm long and 1 to 4 cm wide, and the flowers are small (8 to 20 mm), white, fragrant and arranged in groups of three to ten. It blooms in mid-spring. The fruits are elliptic, bald, small and thin-fleshed cherry-like drupes (8 to 10 mm). They are green at first, turning red then dark purple to black when mature (mid to late summer) and have a bitter flavour (Plate 15). The seeds are slightly open and fragrant. The trunk is used as bracket for cherry trees.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 115 The wood of the tree, which is hard, is used for making household utensils and smoking pipes while the leaves are used as a condiment for milk. The seeds are used as a condiment in baking and cooking.360 Perfumed cherry was probably not mentioned by the Classical sources361 but is widely described in Arabic sources.362 Al-ʾIshbīlī mentions two kinds of perfumed cherry: white and black. According to him, the tree has leaves similar to those of the henna tree (Lawsonia inermis (Lythraceae)) while the trunk is similar to the sour cherry (Prunus cerasia (Rosaceae)). He mentions that it grows in humid locations in Spain and the Canary Islands and is also known in the Levant, where it is called ‘Andalusī’.363 According to other medieval authors, the perfumed cherry trees grow in Lebanon’s mountains and in Azerbaijan.364 Ibn al-ʿAwwām writes that the tree grows quickly but is not resistant to prolonged drought. The preparation of the maªlab seeds involves boiling them in ­sugared water.365  Perfumed cherry was traded, according to merchants’ letters from the Genizah, in Cairo, Qayrawān and Sicily.366 Perfumed cherry was one of the substances identified in an early Egyptian druggist’s account (ninth century) written on papyrus.367 A few medieval medical authorities, such as al-˝abar⁄ and Maimonides,368 write that the perfumed cherry is a cold and dry drug, beneficial for improving bad odours.369 Ibn Waªshiyya describes the production of medicinal oil from the seeds of perfumed cherry cooked in oil supplemented by other medicinal plants.370 Al-Bīrūnī notes the use of the seeds for washing hands because of its pleasant scent.371 According to al-T⁄fāsh⁄ (first half of the thirteenth century), seeds of perfumed cherry were used, along with castor oil, sesame and camphor, for a cosmetic preparation for cleansing and brightening the face.372 Al-Kind⁄ asserts that crushed seeds of perfumed cherry were used to produce blends of perfumes, thanks to their fine fragrance.373 Perfumed cherry appears in medieval medical documents found in the Cairo Genizah (on eight lists of materia medica and in one prescription). This is unequivocal proof of its practical medical use and trade during that period in the Middle East and in the eastern Mediterranean region.374

116 | a rabi an dr ugs other substances

All of the entries mentioned in our book, regardless of the length of the material, received significant exposure in Arabic medical literature, both theoretical and practical, regarding their medicinal uses. However, while writing these entries, we have chosen to focus on other aspects, such as origin, distribution, trading routes and anecdotes. The quality of the sources in these aspects differs from entry to entry. Moreover, the amount of information does not testify to the prevalence or importance of the drug. For example, the prestige of bezoar stone was marginal. Yet, due to the many anecdotes, it ‘received’ greater exposure. On the other hand, the cassia, which appears in our book as a short entry, used to be, and still is, one of the most commonly used traditional drugs, found in every spice and traditional pharmacy. Indian aconite (Aconitum ferox) (Ranunculaceae), both the Persian and the Arabic name is bīsh, which originates from the word ‘visha’ in Sanskrit,  meaning  poison. The Classical physicians mention the European aconite (Aconitum napellus). The Indian aconite was first mentioned in Arabic sources thanks to the influence of Indian and Persian practitioners according to whom there were several kinds of bīsh of various origins, mainly from China, India and Afghanistan. The Indian aconite was mainly referred to as a strong poison and used, among other things, to treat leprosy.375 Zedoary (Curcuma zedoria) (Zingiberaceae), zadwār in Persian, jadwār in Arabic. It is an Indian plant that was used in the past as an antidote in the treatment of poisoning. Zedoary was mentioned, among other spices and drugs that were sold in Ramla, in commercial documents found in the Cairo Genizah and dated 1412. A European plant growing in Spain had a similar name and was identified as Aconitum anthora.376 Purging croton (Chinese castor oil plant)  (Croton tiglium) (Euphorbiaceae), ªabb al-mulūk, dand, khirwa⁄ ‚⁄n⁄ in Arabic. According to the Arabic sources, it is a plant from India and/or China, where the Arab and Persian practitioners

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 117 became familiar with it. Its main medicinal uses are as a strong purgative and a vomiting stimulant (Plate 16). 377 Cassia (Cassia ssp., mainly Cassia acutifolia = Senna alexandrina), (Fabaceae), sanā, sanā makkī in Arabic. The plant grows wild in Upper Egypt, Sudan, Somalia and India. In the past, the vast majority of trade in cassia was done through the port of Alexandria. From there, and then through the Mediterranean (Sicily, for example), it was exported to Andalusia, North Africa and Europe. Another trading route was through Óijāz and Yemen. Although its main medicinal use was as a purgative (leaves and pods), cassia was also used to treat epilepsy and chickenpox (Plate 17).378 Berberry (Berberis sp., mainly Berberis vulgaris, Berberi daceae), ʾamīrbārīs in Arabic, zirishk in Persian. The plant was not mentioned by the Classical sources, yet Arabic sources do mention several kinds. It seems that the medicinal use of the plant entered Arabic medicine from Iraq and Iran. There, it was used to treat liver ailments such as jaundice and stomach ulcers, prevent diarrhoea and strengthen the stomach. In Lebanon, Berberis libanotica is still known to this day as a drug for various skin diseases, including acne (Plate 18).379 Fossil crab  (sea crab, Indian crab), sara†ān hindī in Arabic. Arab physicians wrote that it was not an ordinary marine crab, but a crab that was dried and hardened, ultimately becoming stone-like (fossilised). In this form, it was used as a drug. The origin of the fossil crab or stone crab is in the China and Indian Seas. It was mainly used for the treatment of eye cataract as a collyrium. The fossil crab is still used in Indian traditional medicine, mainly for the treatment of obstructions and lithiasis in the urinary system.380 Sukk  Sukk is an Indian compound drug with several variations. Maimonides describes it as ‘date juice with gall-nuts (ʿaf‚) and Indian drugs (astringent and aromatic)’. Similarly, Ibn Kaysān writes a detailed recipe that includes crushed burnt gall nuts soaked in black grape juice, boiled together and dried in the sun. Sometimes musk was added. Dry pills for medicinal uses were made of

118 | a rabi an dr ugs the above-mentioned ingredients. Sukk was also used in perfume. Sukk was mentioned in a commercial document of a North African trader (1038) who reported on the transport fee he paid on it in Alexandria. According to Ibn Sīnā, this compound drug had a secret recipe that was known only to the Chinese, who called it ʾūmālī.381 Tarangabin (Persian manna plant) (Alhagi maurorum=Alhagi camelorum) (Leguminosae), taranjubīn in Arabic. The sugary liquid of this plant, when dried, turns into yellow-brown grains (Plate 19). Several medieval commentators mistakenly confused it with the Biblical manna eaten by the Israelites in the desert. Tarangabin was considered to be one of the medicinal substances that were imported from the Persian region (Khurāsān, for example). Tarangabin was used for the treatment of cold coughs and stomach aches, acting as an expectorant and gentle purgative.382 Sandarus  (identified as Arar tree) (Callitris quadrivalvis) (Cupressaceae), sandarūs in Arabic, is an evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the regions of the western Mediterranean, North Africa and Southeastern Spain. The white crystals of resin were produced from the tree trunk from which a medical potion and incense were made (Plate 20). In a commercial document from Alexandria (1065) found in the Cairo Genizah, a shortage of sandarus is reported. Among its medieval medicinal benefits, we should mention that it was used to stop bleeding, ease toothaches and treat haemorrhoids.383 Turpeth (Ipomoea turpethum = Operculina turpethum) (Convolvulaceae), turbad in Arabic. The origin of the Arabic name is the Sanskrit name trivrit. A perennial herbaceous endemic to India, it is extensively mentioned in the medieval Arabic medical literature as a hot and dry drug, mainly as a purgative made of its roots. Turpeth was mentioned among the drugs that were ordered by a Jewish North African trader from Egypt to be sold in Palermo, Sicily, in the middle of the twelfth century. Three packages of turpeth bought in the port of Acre and sent to Italy are mentioned in an Italian commercial document (1481).384

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 119 Neem (Melia azedarach) (Meliaceae), ʾazādadrakht in Arabic. The origin of the Arabic name is Persian, meaning ‘the free tree’. The neem tree, which was introduced from India to Persia, was not mentioned by the Classical sources. During the medieval period, it was introduced as an ornamental and medicinal tree to various lands, including Syria and Palestine. The neem is known as a poisonous tree, used as an insecticide, on the one hand, and as an antidote, on the other. A potion made from its leaves was used to kill lice, make the hair grow and strengthen it.385 Cubeb pepper (Piper cubeba) (Piperaceae), kabāba, ªabb al-ʿarūs, in Arabic, is a perennial ivy of the tropical regions. The round fruits have a characteristic, identifiable smell and taste (Plate 21). It was not mentioned by Classical sources. It was imported from India, Java and China through Aden to Egypt and Sicily and from there to Europe. Cubeb pepper was used as a spice and a hot and dry drug for treatment of sore throats, for curing teeth and gum ailments and strengthening the stomach and internal organs. It was also used to expel bad odours, improve the appetite and open obstructions. ‘Acting as a diuretic it can break [kidney] stones.’386 uncertain identification  

Most of the substances featured on the long list of the new ‘Arab’ drugs were identified with great assurance. However, as early as the medieval period, there were differences of opinion regarding the identification of some of these drugs or others whose exact identification was lost over the years. In this section, we present some examples to illustrate these phenomena.387 Būzaydān  This is the Persian name of a medieval Arabic drug. Yet, contemporary scholars questioned its identification. Some insisted it was a kind of orchid, while physicians of the ‘Spanish School’, such as Maimonides and al-Ghāfiqī, claimed it was a medicinal tree originating in India.388 Qinbīl  The Arabic name comes from the Sanskrit. It is a kind of fine earth (turba) from India, or from Yemen, according to other

120 | a rabi an dr ugs sources. It seems that in the medieval Arabic world, scholars were not in complete agreement about its identification. Meyerhof writes that ‘the powder of kamala is a red dust that covers the fruits of the tropical plant Rottlera tinctoria or Mallotus philippinensis’. It was used to treat various skin diseases, to dry abscesses and acne and to expel intestinal worms.389 Jawz jundum (jawz kundum)  The name, which is half Persian and half Arabic, means ‘wheat nut’. Based on the description of various Arabic sources, it seems to be a generic name for different kinds of lichens from Ba‚ra (Iraq), Khurāsān (Iran) and Syria. According to the sources, it ‘lands from the air’ and accumulates on the rocks. It is collected and wettened with water. It then becomes a sticky tin, which is used to treat various skin diseases including irritations and scalp ringworm (tinea capitis).390 Jawz al-qayʾ, al-daf ʿ  Emetic nut. Arabic sources describe the Jawz al-qayʾ 391  and write that its dry flowers or fruits inhibit vomiting, among other medical benefits.392 We accept the Meyerhof and Sobhy theory that the Arabic sources, until the seventh century, were referring to Trichilia emetica (Meliaceae),393 a tall evergreen tree (20–35 m high) similar to the walnut tree, which grows in the sub-Saharan Africa and steppes of southern Arabia (Yemen).394 Many sources dealt with its origin395 and medicinal uses.396 Strychnos nux-vomica (Loganiaceae) was brought from eastern Asia and became the new Jawz al-qayʾ from about the seventeenth century. It is a small tree from Southeast Asia whose seeds had been used in the past for the extraction of strychnine.397 Industrial Substances lacca

It does not grow in the Arabs’ lands … It is a resin that is condensed on the wood and covers it as if it was its bark. When cooked, a colour called ­al-lukk is produced. This colour is used to dye the leather named al-lakkāʾ.398

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 121 Lacca (lakk), Laccifer lacca (Kerridae) The best-known species, which was the main source of the production of lacca in the past, was the scaly insect called Laccifer lacca. It is a small parasite (mature females are 5 mm long) that lives in India, Pakistan, Thailand, China and Burma on the leaves of certain trees, such as the sacred fig (Ficus religiosa). The origin of the name lakkha or laksha is Sanskrit, which means one hundred thousands, an allusion to the enormous number of young caterpillars that hatch from the eggs or the number of the insects on the tree. The source of the lacca is a secretion of the insect’s body. The substance secreted from all insects in the colony produces a dark, yellow-brown crust that protects them. The substance that crystallises on the tree trunk, called stick-lacca, is collected and used as a bordeaux-red pigment used for dyeing fabrics (Plates 22, 23). Lacca was mentioned in Indian sources as early as the Veda era (1500–600 BC) and in later Chinese sources.399 It seems that one of the first references was made by Aelian (the beginning of the third century BC) based on the Greek historian Ctesias (fourth century BC) in his book on the history of Persia. Aelian writes that there is an insect on trees in India that produces resin from which the Indians produce a dye for colouring their gowns.400 Lacca was barely mentioned in Classical sources.401 It seems that until the Byzantine period its use was restricted. In fact, fabrics dyed in shades of reddish-purple were found in some sites in Syria, such as Palmira. At that time, in the late Roman and Byzantine periods, fabrics were not dyed in the Middle East.402 A trader’s logbook from the middle of the first century AD describes the trade in lacca between India and Egypt.403 The name lacca as a red substance was first mentioned in the Jewish sources in the Babylonian Talmud.404 The linguistic origin of the lacca is, as previously mentioned, Sanskrit; in Persian it was called lakk, which was its Arabic name as well.405 The Arabs did not know the manner in which lacca was produced aside from the fact that it was created on trees in India. Some authors wrote that it was the resin of the sappan wood baqqam in Arabic (Caesalpinia sappan)406 while others suggested that it is a kind of honey-dew melon, manna in Arabic, which falls from the sky on to the tree or a kind of qirmiz, similar to the one found in Armenia.407 According to al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, lacca is produced on the thin branches of trees

122 | a rabi an dr ugs that grow in Armenia and the lands of India.408 Lacca was among the many products transported through the port of Aden (Yemen) during the Ayyubid period, along with spices and perfumes such as camphor and tamarind.409 Al-D⁄nawar⁄ writes that the stick-lacca does not grow in the Arab lands. He adds that the resin is condensed on the wood and covers it ‘as if it was its bark’. A colour named al-lakk is produced by cooking it and is used to dye leather.410 The use of lacca reached new markets with the Islamic conquests, together with many other medicinal substances and industrial products, and extended from India to the Middle East and from there to Europe.411 The wealth of records from the Cairo Genizah regarding the trade in and use of lacca in the Middle East, Egypt and in other locations in the Mediterranean region is worth noting.412 According to Forbes, the use of the red colour made from lacca by the Arabs was probably more significant than that made out of kermes (also known as scarlet dye, made from Kermes sp.) and purple (made from Murex brandaris) in the Byzantine period.413 The advantage of the lacca scales is the fact that they live within ­colonies on the branches. It is easier to obtain large amounts of the substance in comparison with the quantity obtained from the gland of the purple murex or from the scarlet scale that had to be collected from the trees one at a time. It seems that the low price of lacca, the quality of its colour and the lack of profitability in producing a similar colour from scarlet scale or purple murex brought about the collapse of those industries in the Middle East.414 Lacca was imported, along with saffron, sappan wood, yellow myrobalan, alum and so on, into Sicily for the process of dyeing cloth and fabric, the main production of the island under Islamic rule (827–1061).415 The medicinal uses of lacca were not mentioned in the Classical literature.416 It served as a drug in the Mediterranean Basin only after the Islamic conquests. The Arab practitioners classify lacca as a hot and dry drug. Ibn Sīnā reports that lacca helps in weight loss, reduces heart rate, strengthens the liver and cures various ailments.417 According to al-˝abar⁄, it opens severe obstructions in the stomach.418 According to al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, lacca can be helpful in weight reduction if a drink made out of lacca, water and oxymel is drunk for a long period.419 According to Ibn Rushd:

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 123 It is a gum, hot and dry in the first degree. It is renowned for strengthening the liver and opening its obstruction. It is also good for the stomach and spleen as well as being useful against kidney and bladder pains. It increases sexual potency.420

Ibn al-Bay†ār sums up the medicinal uses of lacca from various medieval medical authorities as serving mainly for the treatment of jaundice, liver inflammation and weight loss.421 Regarding the practical uses of lacca, we learn mainly from medical documents from the Cairo Genizah.422 Interestingly, lacca was used in the medieval Middle East as the basis of a forgery of another red medicinal substance, the dragon’s blood dam al-ʾakhawayn (Dracaena draco).423 teak

It is one of the types of tall trees with a large treetop. The leaves are very big, shaped like a banana leaf or a shield which can hide a grown man, and it smells like walnut. Elephants like these leaves very much. The tree grows in India and Iraq. Its lignin is red, similar to red sandalwood. Sometimes its colour is blackish. The tree has a strange smell. Its wood is used for building … According to Abu Hanifa, most of the buildings in Iraq and Baghdad are built of teak wood.424

Teak (sāj), Tectona grandis (Lamiaceae) Teak is a large, deciduous tree that is dominant in mixed hardwood tropical forests. It has small, fragrant white flowers and papery leaves that are often hairy on the lower surface. It is native to Southeast Asia and today occurs naturally only in the Indian Peninsula, Myanmar, northern Thailand and northwestern Laos. In Sanskrit, the tree is called sagun while in Indian saka or saga is similar to its Aramaic name saga and in Arabic sāj. The teak tree was not mentioned either by Dioscorides425 or in the Greek botanical literature.426 In the Maris Erythraei of Periplus (first century AD), various trees, such as ebony and teak, are mentioned as being traded in the port of Omana (present-day Iran), six sailing days from Hormuz.427 These were probably exported from the Indian region.428

124 | a rabi an dr ugs The Jewish literature from the late Roman and Byzantine periods mentions the teak tree as an expensive wood used in making furniture.429 The Babylonian Jewish Sages even identified it with the Biblical tidhar (Isaiah, 41, 19).430 Teak is an example of an expensive wood that was known in a limited way in the Classical period. It was probably imported through Persia. Its use as a superb building material increased after the Islamic conquests. Ibn al-Bay†ār, while citing other medieval sources, describes the teak tree as the tallest tree of all, casting a gigantic shadow. Its wood is black and strong featuring long branches and many leaves.431 Ibn Ba††ū†a describes the construction of the Mosque in al-Madīna in Óijāz, carried out by ʿUmar ibn al-Kha††āb, and noted that the ceiling was made of teak wood. According to him, when al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik enlarged the mosque, he used marble and golden teak.432 When describing the route to India, Ibn Khurdādhbih mentions the teak trees he saw in the city of Sandān.433 Ibn al-Faqīh describes the merits of various countries and explains how important diversity is to commerce. When writing about the products to India and Sind, he mentions teak among other important woods, such as bamboo, sandalwood, pepper and sappan.434 Al-Thaʿālibī’s description of the endemic virtues of India includes a list of unique animals (such as elephant, rhinoceros and parrot); teak is one of the precious medicinal substances (along with ivory, corundum, clove, white sandalwood, pepper and nard).435 According to al-Muqaddasī, Oman was a transit station for numerous medicinal substances and perfumes, including musk, saffron, sappan wood, ivory, pearl, corundum, cocoa nut, aloe, iron, lead, bamboo, sandalwood and teak.436 Ibn Juljul (quoting Abū Óanīfa al-Dīnawarī; author of the essay Kitāb al-nabāt) writes that the teak tree is: An Indian wood that tends to be black, stiff and … grows high in the sky. It has very large leaves. If you wrap your leg with one of its leaves, it will be protected from the rain. A renowned type of oil is pressed out of the sāj fruit, known as duhn al-sāj, with which they adulterate the gland of the musk [deer] by sprinkling it in the gland. It trickles into the musk in such a way that it can never be removed, adding some weight to the contents of the gland … The nature of the sāj is hot. Its wood is sold at a high price.’437

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 125 Ibn al-Bay†ār writes about a cream that was made of the teak fruits with which some people imitate musk. Whenever it was added to the musk, nobody could identify the forgery. He adds that it is a cold and dry drug whose ashes are used to treat eye diseases (as kohl). Its sawdust mixed with water reduces heat, treats inflammations and swellings and expels worms.438 Ibn Waªshiyya writes that the tree is unknown to him, but cites another source regarding the medical use of its leaves. Specifically, a liquid pressed out of its wet leaves was smeared on severely inflamed legs to ease inflammation.439 sappan wood

And after the island of Sri Lanka, there is an island called al-Rāminī. This island is home to the unicorns, camphor and gold deposits … and on this island there are many sappan wood trees, which are cultivated. Its fruits are similar to the fruits of the carob tree whilst its taste is like squirting cucumber440 and similarly inedible. It is said that its fibers are beneficial for the treatment of poisoning … There are bamboo and nutmeg. Unlike other islands, there is also sandalwood there.441

Sappan wood (Brazil wood) (baqqam), Caesalpinia sappan (Leguminosae) A small and spiny tree, its flowers are yellow with elliptical pods 8–10 cm long and 3–4 cm wide. The origin of sappan wood is southern and central India. It also grows in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries. Red dye is produced from the orange-red lignin (Plates 24, 25). The Arab writers commented that sappan wood was not mentioned in the Classical literature, including the materia medica of Dioscorides.442 However, there is evidence of the use of sappan wood in eastern Turkistan, India and Japan in the early periods (second century BC to sixth century AD).443 Sappan wood was distributed throughout the Middle East and Europe by the Arabs after their conquests. The origin of its Arabic name baqqam is Sanskrit.444 Sappan wood is defined in the Arabic literature as an Indian tree that was also brought from East Africa (zanj).445 al-Dīnawarī writes explicitly that ‘it is not one of the Arab plants’. He also writes that when the wood is cooked it is possible to dye with it.446 The main use of the sappan wood was dyeing textiles in varieties of red and purple but also as a medicinal substance. When

126 | a rabi an dr ugs sappan wood reached Europe in medieval times, it was called ‘Bresel Wood’. It was mistakenly confused by commentators, since the twelfth century, with trees mentioned in the Bible such as ‘Gofer Wood’ (Genesis, 6, 14) and ‘Almog Wood’ (Kings, I, 10, 11–12).447 Later, after the discovery of the American continent, the Portuguese found a similar tree in South America (Caesalpinia echinata). The tree was given the European name Bresel wood. Later Brazil became the name of the country in which it was found.448 In fact, sappan wood and lacca were used as cheap substitutes for dyes like the expensive purple one produced from the royal purple snails, until the late Byzantine period. This was not mentioned any further in medieval commercial documents. The sappan wood was used to fake the purple colour (ʾurjuwān)449 and the same was done with saffron by cooking dodder (Cuscuta sp.) in a tincture of sappan wood.450 The proper way to check for high-quality and fresh sappan wood was, according to al-Dimashqī, to examine the brightness and strength of its colour (strong red or golden yellow) and its white thin patina since, over time, both the colour and the quality diminished.451 Arab writers describe and record various locations in which sappan wood trees were grown and cultivated: the island of Sofala (southeastern Africa – Mozambique),452 parts of India, Sri Lanka and other islands around it.453 Marco Polo asserts that it also grew on the islands of Java and Nicobar.454 The trade in sappan wood, similar to spices from East Asia, was through Oman.455 The fact that sappan wood, similar to lacca, became a common and popular dye is well demonstrated in dozens of commercial documents found in the Cairo Genizah. These reveal that lively commercial activity with sappan wood occurred in the medieval Mediterranean.456 In a letter from the Genizah, dated 1060, the merchant Yaʿakov Ben Yosef of Ashkelon writes to Naharai Ben Nissim of Fus†ā† that he wishes to order various medicinal and industrial substances, such as tanning sumach, gall-nuts, myrobalan, tin and ‘baqqam’ (sappan wood).457 Sappan wood was imported, along with saffron, yellow myrobalan, lacca, alum and other substances, into Sicily for the purpose of dyeing cloth and fabric, the main production of the island under Islamic rule (827–1061).458 Baqqam from India was mentioned among other substances in an Arabic delivery note found in al-Qu‚ayr, dating back to the Ayyubid period.459

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 127 A consignment of twenty-five qin†ār of sappan wood was among the spices that reached Ramla in a caravan from Mecca in 1411. Half of the consignment remained in the city while the rest was sent onwards to the West.460 Consignments of sappan wood were exported to Europe from Egypt as well.461 The main distributer of sappan wood in the medieval European countries such as Italy and Spain, were the Venetians.462 Sappan wood and other spices, perfumes, dyes and drugs are mentioned as goods traded in the Levant in the fifteenth century and beyond.463 According to Ibn Juljul, sappan wood is ‘an Indian tree with red roots, branches and twigs. Its leaves are green like almond leaves.’ While quoting Abū Óanīfa (al-Dīnawarī), he writes: ‘I do not know any medical use of it, except it is said that drinking a quantity of the ground root will kill the drinker.’464 However, other medical authorities mention, sometimes from their personal experience, that a drug against poisoning and snakebites was made out of the roots and the lignin of the sappan wood.465 Al-ʾIshbīlī adds that its seeds are used to prepare purgative drugs.466 Al-Ghāfiqī notes that the tree was used to produce dye and treat wounds, blood haemorrhages and dried ulcers.467 Ibn al-Bay†ār quoted various physicians who describe a large tree that grew in India with leaves like those of the almond tree, featuring red-coloured stems and branches. The tree served to heal cuts, stop blood haemorrhages and dry abscesses and ulcers. The ground root was poisonous and lethal.468 warras

North of Íanʿāʾ, on a 60 mile-long mountain named al-madkhīr, there is water in small farms in which they cultivate the warras. It is a yellow plant, similar to the saffron, and used to dye garments.469

Warras (stain-pod) (wars) Flemingia grahamiana. Also identified as Flemingia rhodocarpa (Leguminosae)470 It is an erect tropical bush (1 m) growing in Yemen and eastern Africa. The young branches are covered with hairs featuring leaves with three elliptical foliates. The greenish-yellow or pink flowers are set in clusters. The fruits are pods 6–12 mm long. They are yellow when ripe and covered with red glands,

128 | a rabi an dr ugs staining orange whatever comes in contact with them. The clusters of fruits are cut and dried on paper in the sun to preserve the pigments. Later, the pods are rubbed and squeezed by hand over a sieve in order to filter out bits of wood and small stones (Plate 26).471 The plant was not known to the Classical medical authors; neither Dioscorides nor Galen mentioned it.472 The plant is mentioned extensively in the early Arabic sources as yellow pigment of which various kinds were found in India, Ethiopia and Yemen and differing from one another in their qualities.473 However, most of the sources mention it being indigenous to Yemen.474 Al-ʾIdrīsī asserts that the plant was cultivated in special farms north of Íanʿāʾ. It was considered a pigment similar to saffron with which clothing was dyed yellow.475 Ibn al-Faq⁄h writes that the Yemenite people were blessed with the Saʿīdī’s and Adeni’s clothing and the warras of their country.476 According to al-Kindī, warras was added to a perfume compound that was named after it thanks to its reddish hue.477 Al-ʾA‚maʿī (740–828) is quoted as describing the pods of the warras as being similar to the pods of the sesame. After the former was dried and shaken, a crushed saffron-like substance was deposited and collected.478 As long as the pods were on the plant, the fruits were red but after being crushed they turned yellow.479 Al-D⁄nawar⁄ describes the seeds of the warras as being similar to the māsh (mungo bean – Phaseolus mungo (Fabaceae)). The best kind of warras was produced from young plants, whose colour is reddish-yellow, whereas the inferior kind was made of ‘old’ plants whose colour is a ‘strong’ (bright) yellow. The Ethiopian kind produced a blackish ‘weak’ yellow. Fake warras was produced from the juniper tree (Juniperus sp.) (Cupressaceae).480 According to Ibn Juljul, the warras is ‘a plant that grows in gardens in Yemen. It has heads like cotton in which the warras is found. It is yellow, which may be used as dye like the saffron. The poets already mentioned the warras dye.’481 Some Arab scholars had never seen the plant and did not know how the pigment was produced. For example, Ibn Māsawayhi writes that ‘it is not known to us. It is a substance on a tree that, once the tree is shaken, it falls down and is collected in leather containers … Some say it falls from the tree whilst others say it falls on the tree from the air and the moisture.’482 Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī (Andalusia, thirteenth century) describes the warras

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 129 he saw in Óijāz (that was brought from Yemen) as resembling sawdust (of wood) or chamomile flowers with the same colour as safflower. However, it is not known in Andalusia. The substance known there as warras actually refers to something else.483 The warras was exported from the ports of Aden and Oman.484 An interesting idiomatic phrase appears in the book of al-ʾI‚fahānī (897–967) entitled Omani Camel. It was said about a person that his face was yellow due to an illness since the Omani camels carrying the warras from Yemen to Oman were yellow from their cargo.485 Women in eastern Yemen and in various regions in Africa still colour their body yellow with warras for ornamentation and to prevent skin diseases.486 A shipment of a small packet containing warras was mentioned in a trader’s document from Alexandria (1057) found in the Cairo Genizah.487 Warras was imported, along with saffron, sappan wood, lacca, alum, yellow myrobalan and so on, into Sicily for the process of dyeing cloth and fabric, the main production of the island under Islamic rule (827–1061).488 Warras was considered in the medieval medical Arabic writings to be a hot and astringent drug.489 It was used externally in the form of a paste that was smeared on the body to treat skin diseases such as itching, pustules, psoriasis, eczema and abscess, and to remove discolourations of the skin. It was also said that whoever wore clothing that had been dyed with warras and perspired in it would have his sexual desire enhanced.490 Warras was not mentioned in practical medical documents found in the Cairo Genizah. However, it was mentioned in medical books found there.491 Serapion recommends it for the cure of leprosy, pruritus and pustule.492 Perfumes and Incenses Perfumes have been known as practical but exclusive products since antiquity. Use of aromatic substances for rituals, funerary, therapeutic and cosmetic purposes were first mentioned in early sources and archaeological excavations of the ancient world. Perfumery is the art of making perfumes. It began in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and later was developed and improved by the ancient Israelites, Chinese, Indians, Persians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans and Arabs. The word ‘perfume’ comes from the Latin per fume meaning ‘through smoke’. Indeed, many of the fragrances of ancient times

130 | a rabi an dr ugs were incense based, that is, the burning of aromatic gums and herbs mainly in religious services. As luxury products, perfumes and spices were mainly used in temples and the homes of the elite and the nobility, constituting part of their royal treasures.493 Among the first verifications of the ‘Indian’ connection are nard, costus, cinnamon and galbanum, which were mentioned in the Bible.494 Evidence of the role of the traders of Arabia is found in the Bible’s mention of frankincense and myrrh.495 The pace of circulation of the substances was undoubtedly inconsistent both chronologically and regionally. The patterns of distribution of substances, including perfumes and incenses, from southern Asia in Biblical times and in the Hellenistic and Roman periods have already been studied.496 The patterns of distribution of the ‘Indian’ plants to the Middle East in which the Arabs were involved had existed from early times.497 Among these, cinnamon, nard and costus were known there during the Biblical era, whereas pepper, cardamom and long pepper were known from Classical times. Moreover, some of the Indian substances mentioned in Arabic sources were probably known to a limited extent in earlier periods and, therefore, were not sufficiently discussed in the sources.498 The definition of ‘new Arabian perfumes’ includes substances that were barely mentioned in ancient sources for various reasons and undetermined circumstances. They later spread again in the Middle Ages in a second and more substantial wave, this time extensively and significantly with a clear affinity to Arabic sources. Before the Islamic conquests, from Biblical times up to the seventh century, Arab tribes had a ‘history’ of being intermediaries in the spice trade on the incense routes from India through Arabia and on to Egypt, Syria and Byzantium.499 Perfumes and Incenses of the Pre-Islamic Period By reviewing Classical sources, one can reconstruct a reliable picture of the perfumes and incenses that were known and used during those periods. There is, of course, a possibility that some of the other perfumes not mentioned in the sources were of restricted local and economic distribution. In this book, we deal strictly with the list of preferred and expensive perfumes. These were probably determined by the ‘cultural and social public opinion setter’ of the higher socio-economic strata and elitist circles of each period. In most cases,

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 131 these are perfumes imported from southeastern Asia, eastern Africa or from ‘Arabia Felix’. Such substances were usually well exposed in the historical sources. In some cases, a whole entry, or even a chapter, was dedicated to their detailed description, the means of production, trading routes, prices, uses and so on. Among the important Classical authors, we should mention Theophrastus, Dioscorides and Pliny. There is significant value to information gathered sporadically from these sources. More reliable importance should be ascribed to data emerging from sources reflecting practical reality, such as the medical prescriptions and religious rituals of each period. An example of this is Jewish Halachic (mainly the Talmud)500 literature, which incidentally mentions such perfumes. Of special interest and value are the sources that rank the perfumes according to their importance. Immense value should be attributed to sources dealing with the production of perfumes, such as Theophrastus’ book Concerning Odours. This work is dedicated to the various techniques for the production of perfumes and deals with about twenty fragrant plants and compounds, half of which are of Mediterranean origin while the rest are from southern and eastern Asia. Two plants of special interest that were most often referred to are the rose and myrrh. These were followed respectively by the iris, nard, Sri Lanka cinnamon, Chinese cinnamon, marjoram, frankincense, saffron, costus, balsam, calamus, myrtle, citronella501 and laurel.502 We present below three examples that allow us to construct a reliable list of the most prestigious perfumes of the Roman period (Table 3.1). The first example is the list of prices conveyed by Pliny in his monumental work Historia Naturalis. The second example involves the perfumes mentioned on the list of the most important commodities of his time, highlighted at the end of that same book (XXXVII, 204). The third example is taken from a Jewish text that enumerates and describes the incenses that were burnt as sacrificial offerings in the Second Temple in Jerusalem (until 70 AD).503 This last list is astoundingly similar, nearly identical, to the list handed down by Pliny despite the geographical, cultural and religious differences of the two sources. It is clear that the prices of perfumes and incenses varied throughout the periods.504 Hence, the data enable us to attain a general assessment of the importance of the different perfumes and their relative classification. We

132 | a rabi an dr ugs Table 3.1  Leading perfumes and incenses in the pre-Islamic world Source

Scientific name

English Name

T, P, D P, D P, D P, T T, P, D P T, P T, P, D T, P D D P, D D P, D D T

Commiphora gileadensis (=opobalsamum) Commiphora gileadensis (=opobalsamum) Commiphora mukul Cinnamomum cassia Cinnmomum zeylanicum Cinnmomum zeylanicum Costus speciosus Boswellia carteri (= sacra) Ferula galbaniflua Iris florentina or I. Mesopotamica Cistus ladaniferus Pistacia lentiscus Lily candidum Cinnamomum citriodorum Origanum hortensis Operculum of various sp. of marine gastropods Commiphora myrrha Rosa canina Crocus sativus Nardostachys jatamansi Nardostachys jatamansi Liquidambar orientalis

Balsam (resin) Balsam (wood) Bdellium (resin) Chinese cinnamon-tree (bark) Cinnamon (bark) Cinnamon (oil) Costus Frankincense (resin) Galbanum (resin) Iris (oil) Ladanum (resin) Lentisk (resin) Lily (oil) Malabathrum Marjoram (leaves) Mollusc

T, P, D D T, D D, P T, P, D P, D

Myrrh (resin) Rose (oil) Saffron Spikenard (leaves) Spikenard (oil) Storax (resin)

Sources:  Roman (P – Pliny Historia Naturalis, XXXVII, 204 (The most expensive products in the world) and list of prices); (D – Diocletian tax list – maximum price); Jewish (T – Talmud). Prices – all prices are Dinar per libra, unless written otherwise.

have not presented herein a full list of known Classical perfumes and fragrant plants.505 Analysis of the data regarding the prices of the perfumes shows that the balsam was the most expensive perfume.506 Clove,507 rose and saffron were known and used in the Roman period; however, since it was hard to obtain them in the Mediterranean region, they are not mentioned among the prominent imported commodities. In this category, we also include expensive fragrant oils, the main use of which was medicinal, such as iris, lily and marjoram. Galbanum was not mentioned on the list of Pliny’s most expensive items, probably because its main use was medicinal and not aromatic due to its strong, pungent odour. Agarwood, cited by Dioscorides (I, 21) for its

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 133 medicinal use, is not mentioned in any of the other sources. In our opinion, this shows that during that period it was probably not traded as one of the most desired perfumes.508 Prestigious Perfumes after the Muslim Conquests The medieval sources are varied and, in general, they widely describe the perfumes used by the local population. We should mention the geographical literature among these sources that review the vast area controlled by the Arabs, from India to the Spanish coast and North Africa. This genre deals with the merits of the locations and their unique qualities;509 for instance, in Arab literature, Islamic poetry510 and other similar informative sources, the literature deals with luxury products used by the elite circles, such as The Book of Gifts and Rarities.511 Exposure to the Indian material culture and its exotic products awakened a greater demand for these products, at first among the nobility and later among the wider population. The wonders of India were exaggerated and not necessarily based on reality. For example, al-Thaʿālibī describes India as follows: Someone has described India thus: ‘Its seas are full of pearls. Its mountains are full of sapphires. Its trees are the aloes whilst its leaves give s­­ weet-smelling perfumes. Indian agarwood is mentioned together with other outstandingly fragrant products attributed to specific countries like Tibetan musk and the ambergris of al-Shiªr.’512

The theoretical medical literature is of great importance. The authors mention medicinal substances used in the Galenic–Arabic world as well as new substances from the Indian–Arabic medical legacy. However, some of the most important sources are medical prescriptions that mention the use of medicinal substances and perfumes reflecting practical medicine at that time. Other sources of great value to our research are traders’ letters. These actually record the perfumes that were traded, the routes taken, methods of transport, prices and so on. For purposes of illustration, we have incorporated data regarding perfumes from the index of the monumental book by Gil entitled In the Kingdom of Ishmael in Table 3.2.513 This book includes 845 Genizah documents that were studied by Gil and other scholars before him, most notably

134 | a rabi an dr ugs Table 3.2  Leading perfumes and incenses of the Islamic world English name, Origin Amber (A) Balsam (P)

Scientific name

Physeter catodom Commiphora gileadensis (=opobalsamum) Bdellium (P) Commiphora mukul Camphor (P) Cinnamomum camphora Cinnamon (P) Cinnmomum (zeylanicum and cassia) Costus (P) Costus speciosus Frankincense (P) Boswellia carteri (= sacra) Ghāliya Mainly musk + amber + Indian agarwood Indian Agarwood (P) Aquilaria agallocha Jasmine (P) Jasminum sp. Lentisk (P) Pistacia lentiscus Mollusk (A) Operculum of various sp. of marine gastropods Musk (A) Moschus moschiferus Myrrh (P) Commiphora myrrha Nadd Mainly musk + amber + Indian agarwood Rose (P) Rosa canina Saffron (P) Crocus sativus Sandalwood (P) Santalum album Screw pine (P) Pandanus odoratissimus Spikenard (P) Nardostachys jatamansi Violets (P) Viola odorata Wallflower (P) Cheiranthus chiri Wars (P) Flemingia rhodocarpa = Moghonia grahamiana Water lily (P) Nymphaea (nauchali, alba, lotus)

Source Q (27), G (16), J, I, K (5) G, J G G (33), Q (17), I, K (11) G (26), J, I, K (1) G (13), I G (7), J, K (1) Q (5), G (1) Q (17), G (15), J, I, K (3) G, J, K (3) G (11), I I, K (2) Q (19), G (19), J, I, K (14) G, J Q (6), G (2) Q (2), G (10), J, I Q (4), G (46), J, I, K (11) Q (3), G (4), J, I, K (1), K (1) K (1) G (8), I G, J K (3) G, J, I, K (3) G, J, K (1)

Sources:  G – Genizah, Q – Book of Gifts and Rarities, J – al-JāªiÕ, I – Ibn Māsawayhi, K – al-Kindī. Figures in the parentheses () are numbers of times the item was mentioned. (A) – Animal origin; (P) – Plant origin.

by Goitein.514 This documentation is extremely important. Thanks to its magnitude and wealth, it covers the period in which the Arabs operated at the peak of their Mediterranean commerce (tenth to twelfth centuries). Therefore, the list reconstructed on the basis of this documentation is solid and representative. This is clearly illustrated by the comparison with the data extracted from other sources such as the Book of Gifts, which consists of 414

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 135 citations,515 the Book of Trade, which is attributed to al-JāªiÕ,516 and the writings of Ibn Māsawayhi517 and al-Kindī.518 The data in Table 3.2 include the number of times the perfume was mentioned in each source. It is not statistical and does not include all the Genizah documents. Moreover, in some cases perfumes are repeated several times in one document. In any case, the data generally reflect the trend in a reliable and realistic way. According to Table 3.2, the perfumes that head the list are saffron, cinnamon, musk,519 ambergris520 and agarwood.521 Two compound perfumes made from three of the above-mentioned perfumes (musk, ambergris and agarwood), known as nadd and ghāliya, were prestigious and expensive and should be added to the list. If we exclude saffron from this list since it is of local Mediterranean origin and was used mainly as a spice (for colouring food and medicine), all the rest are of ‘Indian’ origin. Since cinnamon was used extensively during this period mainly as a spice and for medicine, we can clearly point out the five ‘new’ very popular perfumes that controlled the market after the Islamic conquests: agarwood, sandalwood,522 musk, ambergris and camphor.523 In some of the Arabic books that dedicated chapters to perfumes, only three of these perfumes appear (agarwood, musk and ambergris).524 One hundred and seven different recipes for perfumes are mentioned in al-Kindī’s Book of the Chemistry of Perfume. These have survived the test of time. There are fourteen recipes for musk, eleven for camphor, eleven for saffron, five for ambergris, five for agarwood, three for warras and two for rose. Thirty more recipes of compound perfumes such as nadd, rāmiq and ghāliya were also discussed while thirty others deal with other plants (one for each) such as myrtle, jasmine, cinnamon and frankincense.525 A similar picture is drawn by the book of the Christian physician Ibn Kaysān (end of the tenth century), which provides recipes for perfumes.526 Another example is Ibn Māsawayhi’s book On Simple Aromatic Substances. Here, the author divides the perfumes into two groups. The first one, called ‘the primary’, includes musk, ambergris, agarwood, camphor and saffron while the second, called ‘the secondary’, mentions twenty-four perfumes, some of which are not clearly identified, mainly nard, clove, sandalwood, rose, cinnamon, mace, costus, waras, mastic, ladanum, storax and operculum (ʾaÕfār al-†īb).527 A different classification was suggested by the poet al-Sarī ibn Muªammad

136 | a rabi an dr ugs al-Raffāʾ (d. 973) in his treatise on perfumes The Book on the Beloved; and On What is Smelled and What is Drunk. He starts his book with chapters of songs dedicated to more than twenty perfumed plants and some fragranced liquids made out of various fruits that were known in the Muslim world. Later, he dedicated a whole chapter entitled ‘fī mashmūm al-†īb wa-mā tastaʿmiluhu al-ʿarab’ [A chapter on the fragrances used by the Arabs for perfumes]. The order of the perfumes in this chapter is musk, ambergris, camphor, nadd and ghāliya.528 Learning about the transformation of the prestige of the precious perfumes from the Classical to the Medieval periods clearly shows trends of innovation as well as continuation. Arab perfumes can be divided into three groups, according to their level of importance. New Perfumes These come mainly from the vast region named ‘India’. Most of these perfumes, such as camphor, ambergris and sandalwood (and compounds made out of them such as nadd and ghāliya), were not known in the Middle East and the Mediterranean until the Muslim conquests. Some of the perfumes in this group, such as musk and Indian agarwood, existed and were used on a small scale. It is important to mention that musk and ambergris are of animal origin while the rest are of plant origin. These perfumes were also common and esteemed in Arabic literature and poetry. In addition, as we have already mentioned, these perfumes were often sent to Arab rulers as preferred gifts.529 The infiltration of substances from the East occurs in parallel to some channels and routes, mainly through the Indian Ocean and Persia. Among early evidence, we found one source that dealt with gifts of perfumes, agarwood and camphor that were sent by the kings of China and India to the Sasanian rulers Khusraw I (528–79) and Khusraw II (590–628).530 To support this anecdote, we should state that both musk and jasmine were mentioned in the writings of the Jewish Sages (the Babylonian Talmud, which was compiled in the fifth century).531 To this group we can also add famous perfumes, although less important than those that were already known during the pre-Islamic period in the regions of Persia and Mesopotamia, such as jasmine, water lily and violet. The inhabitants of these regions specialised in the cultivation and production

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 137 of fragrant plants that were well-known in the West, such as saffron and rose (mainly the jūrī type). These perfumes remained very popular in the Arab perfume tradition. Perfumes that Maintained their Dominance These are substances that were already considered prestigious in the Biblical and Classical periods and maintained their prestige though they were considered inferior to the substances mentioned above in the first group. The perfumes that maintained their dominance include cinnamon, costus, spikenard, frankincense, saffron and rose. Perfumes that Lost their Importance In the Arabic period two of the most prestigious perfumes of the Classical period and culture were pushed aside and lost their importance, specifically balsam and myrrh. In reference to balsam, Pliny writes, ‘But every other [perfume] ranks below balsam. The only country to which this plant has been promised is Judaea’ (XII, 111). Balsam was cultivated as a governmental monopoly only in the oases along the valley rift (such as Jericho and Ein Gedi) until the beginning of the Arabic period. During the Umayyad period, the cultivation and production of balsam was transferred to Egypt to a small garden belonging to a nobleman, situated in al-Ma†tariyya (ʿAyn Shams), northeast of modern-day Cairo. The cultivation of the plant and the production of the perfumes were negligible and were thus discontinued, according to the sources of the seventeenth century.532 Since then, balsam has been known only as a wild plant, the growth of which is restricted to its natural habitat, that is, Arabia and eastern Africa. Although balsam was extensively mentioned in Classical sources, it was almost completely absent from Arabic literature dealing with perfumes. For example, it is not mentioned at all in al-Kindī’s book533 or by Ibn Māsawayhi.534 Therefore, we can treat the information regarding its cultivation and production in the nobleman’s garden in Cairo as a fictional anecdote.535 It appears that the best and most cherished perfume to replace balsam was camphor. Ibn Juljul explicitly writes that it was the medical alternative for balsam.536 Moreover, camphor is extensively mentioned (twenty times) in the practical medical documents, mainly prescriptions and lists of drugs found in

138 | a rabi an dr ugs the Cairo Genizah, where it was compared to balsam on three occasions.537 Changes in both consumption and demand were affected, among other things, by the availability of the product to the customers. Balsam plants were cultivated during the pre-Islamic period in Judaea on a small scale; that is, in a small geographic area, a small amount of plants yielded a small amount of products. These aspects had the effect of restricting commerce and elevating the prices. The camphor, on the other hand, is a large tree that grows wild in southern and eastern Asia spread over vast geographical habitats. While analysing the sources, it is clear that the obtainable amounts of camphor were unlimited; therefore, its price was relatively low, so that it was more accessible and available to a much larger population. Like balsam, the importance of myrrh, which was imported from Arabia and eastern Africa, also declined. It appears that musk became its substitute.538 Other perfumes of this group are bdellium, iris, calamus and the citronella.539 When we mention the ‘Arabs’ as a significant factor for the distribution of perfumes and spices, we do not necessarily mean the minority elite group originating from the Quraysh tribe of Mecca. Indeed, there are some records referring to the involvement of representatives of this ethnic group and other Arabic tribes in the perfume trade during the pre-Islamic period. However, specifically in these regions, the use of perfumes such as balsam, myrrh and frankincense was not common, important as it was in the Greek and Roman cultures. Crone makes a radical comment on this, calling it ‘Arabia without spices’.540 For example, in a treatise on perfumes by the tenth-century poet al-Sarī ibn Muªammad al-Raffāʾ, these perfumes are not mentioned when quoting pre-Islamic poets.541 Moreover, the centre of the political policy that affected these processes was far from Arabia; it was mainly in Abbasid’s Iraq. A few elements influenced this progression. It was not just the designers of the contemporary political agenda but predominantly the market powers that were formed, thanks to the new opportunities that were generated by the new political situation that arose following the ascent of Islam. These changes were the outcome of a combination of historical circumstances and economic and cultural factors that transformed the trends of demands and preferences of the customers resulting from the Islamic conquests. With the rise of the Abbasid dynasty, the Islamic world controlled

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 139 vast regions extending from India to Spain and from North Africa to Arabia. This was the first time, subsequent to the conquests of Alexander the Great, that such a vast territory was controlled by Arab rulers. A medieval ‘global village’, as it were, was the result. Various kingdoms and cultures united under Arab domination, including parts of the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires. The Islamic conquests opened new trading centres that flooded the markets with luxury goods and products from all over the world,542 primarily from southern and eastern Asia. These included the new perfumes, musk and camphor, which were available and comparatively cheap and, as previously mentioned, replaced traditional perfumes. As a result, the demand for traditional aromatic goods like balsam and myrrh dropped dramatically. The abundant supply of new perfume varieties was rich and diverse, deriving from a wide range of geographical origins and assorted qualities, with their prices varying accordingly. This was the manner in which ‘Indian’ perfumes replaced ‘Arabian’ ones, while the ‘East African’ perfumes took precedence. This change had symbolic expression in Muslim religious rites. The fact that camphor and musk were mentioned in the Qurʾān (76: 5, 83: 26) probably contributed to their allure and prestige among Muslims. While balsam and myrrh of Arabian origin were included in the incense burned in the Second Jewish Temple,543 in the Umayyad period other perfumes were burned in the same location (the Islamic Dome of the Rock), specifically musk and ambergris, as described herein: ‘Every Monday and Thursday the gatekeepers used to melt musk and ambergris, rose water and saffron and prepare from this mixture ghāliya with rose water made of the roses of jūr.’544 The Arab rulers preferred the new perfumes and drugs from the East over the local products from their own region. In addition to the distribution of the new perfumes by the Arabs, alchemy evolved alongside the development of techniques for the production of perfumes and the preparation of compound drugs. One of the techniques that became famous and widespread was distillation.545 This widened the options of extracting perfumes and, in many cases, enabled the production of less expensive perfumes, such as rose water. Instead of the prestigious and expensive oil of roses that was common during the pre-Islamic period, they could now distil the rose petals.

140 | a rabi an dr ugs agarwood

Saʿīd al-Tamīmī: ‘My father told me, from knowledgeable people, about a huge tree that grows in the Indian lands, some of which [its wood] is brought from Kashmir, some from Sri Lanka and some from various islands’ … ‘I was told that it is produced from the heart of the trunk, unlike other trees whose oil is produced from the material nearer to the bark’ … The best agarwood is solid, dry, highly oily, fire- and melt-proof and stays in the clothing … There are eighteen kinds of agarwood, the first one named for its source – al-Mandalī (India). During the Jāhiliyya period until the late Umayyad, it was not imported due to its bitter smell. Once Óusayn ibn Barmak entered India running away from the Umayyad, he liked the Mandalī agarwood and decided to trade in it. After the victory of the Abbasids over the Umayyad, the Barmakis reached them [the Abbasids]. Óusayn came to al-Man‚ūr (the Abbasids ruler) and saw him freshening himself with Kamarī agarwood. Óusayn offered him the Mandalī kind saying it was the best. Since then, they imported large quantities and created a great demand amongst people. Over time, people got used to the bitter fragrance and used it, as it kills lice and prevents them from breeding.546

Agarwood (Indian Agarwood Tree) (ʿŪd Hindī, ʿŪd al-˝īb); Aquilaria agallocha (Thymelaceae) It is a tropical tree with a smooth pale trunk, thin leathery leaves and yellowish-green flowers (Plate 27). The biblical varieties of spice ‘ʾaholim’ and ‘ʾaholot’ (Psalms, 45, 9; Proverbs, 7, 17; Song of Songs, 4, 14) are identified by some researchers as the species Aquilaria agallocha and Aquilaria malaccens, respectively.547 Agarwood is mentioned in several pre-Islamic sources.548 It became very popular after the Islamic conquests with the agarwood of Cambodia (Qumār) and Champa (Íanf ), being particulary prized in literature and poetry.549 Agarwood was barely known in classical antiquity. Dioscorides states that the agallochon tree (agalochon xylon), a native of India and Arabia, was aromatic. The aromatic wood was used as a perfume, incense and chewing substance to sweeten the breath. Its medical uses were for curing the liver and dysentery

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 141 and treating stomach upsets.550 The use of the wood as incense was also mentioned by Isidore of Seville, who completed his book towards the end of his life (seventh century).551 The name ʿūd in Arabic is a generic name for all of the varieties of wood and lignin used as incense.552 However, it is a specific name for the highquality lignin of agarwood from India whose colour is yellowish red and that is filled with resin and a pleasant fragrance.553 Agarwood was in use in the Arabic pre-Islamic world.554 Nevertheless, it seems to have become one of the most desired perfumes only after the early Islamic period, from which we have evidence of its uses as a liquid perfume and as incense. According to earlier sources, Ibn Māsawayhi attested to the fact that after the tree was cut down, it was buried for one year until its bark disintegrated. Only the pure and concentrated aromatic substance survived in the heart of the dry wood. Pieces of the trunk and the large branches were used primarily to produce liquid perfume or serve as incense sticks.555 Al-ʾIshbīlī adds that the description of the production of agarwood found in the books of Dioscorides and Galen proves that neither had ever seen the plant or was familiar with it.556 According to one of the stories, agarwood was used in the Hindi ritual. In the city of ‘Multān’557 located in Sind, the perfume was dedicated to a special sculpture. The priests of the local temple used to burn incense of some agarwood as a way of expressing worship to the sculpture and would sell the rest to traders. When the city was conquered by the Muslims, they shattered the sculpture and took all the agarwood they found in the Hindi temple as booty.558 Similar to the other precious and esteemed perfumes, it was used as a royal gift. Such a liquid perfume, immersed in wax, was sent by the King of India as a gift to the Persian king Khusraw.559 This tradition continued after the Islamic conquests. For example, the King of India sent various gifts to al-Óasan ibn Sahl (in 825): ‘Amongst which a basket of Indian agarwood the likes of which had never been seen.’ In the same context, it was said that when Caliph al-Mutawakkil fell ill the physicians suggested he disinfect himself with good and fresh agarwood. So he did. The substance was taken from the above-mentioned shipment to al-Óasan ibn Sahl.560

142 | a rabi an dr ugs One of the most famous types of agarwood was the ‘al-mandalī’ (from India), probably imported from the port of Mandari. However, from the early Islamic period (Jāhiliyya) until the end of the Umayyad dynasty, the Arabs did not use it frequently due to its ‘bitter’ smell. It is also said that one member of the Barmak family (al-Barāmika) who fled from the Umayyad to India learned there about another kind of ‘al-mandalī’ agarwood. When the Abbasid Caliph Abū Jaʿfar al-Man‚ūr (754–75) gained power and controlled this region, a member of the Barmakī invited the Caliph to use this kind, which was considered the best. Since then, it has been extensively imported from India. Its demand increased, mainly due to its pungent smell and its beneficial uses in scenting cloth and in killing lice.561 Agarwood was mentioned many times in various recipes of perfumes, which are written in the alchemical book of perfume by al-Kindī called the Book of the Chemistry of Perfume.562 Arab writers describe India as a country that is rich in agarwood trees.563 Their reference to India then includes present-day Sri Lanka and Malaysia.564 Marco Polo adds that India (Chamba) and Java are rich sources of agarwood. Some of the trade in agarwood was transferred through the Persian port of Sīrāf and from there to various destinations in the medieval world.565 He mentioned the port of Zaiton (identified as Qunzhou or Xiamen, in China) as being important for the export of agarwood, sandalwood, pepper and other spices to Egypt and Europe.566 Twenty varieties of different origins were mentioned, varying in nature and price. The differences were expressed by their colour, quality of smell and characteristics (sweet or sour), thickness of their smoke, quality of the oil produced from them, the preservation of fragrance and so on.567 Some of the sources mentioned various kinds named mainly for the ports from which they were imported such as the ‘al-mandalī’;568 ‘al-samandūrī’ (from Samandūr near Bombay); ‘al-qumārī’ (Khmer, approximately ancient Cambodia);569’al-‚anfī’ (Chanf in eastern Indochina) and others. The prices varied according to type and quality. Usually, the packages were shipped as a lump of three manas (weight).570 The trade was conducted along different routes, perhaps due to the customer’s preferences. For example, the variety named qāqullī (from Malaysia) was brought to al-Shām (medieval Greater Syria) and from there distributed to other countries.571 Medicinal uses of the

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 143 agarwood were mentioned in the West at the end of the eighth century in circles close to Charles the Great (Charlemagne).572 Agarwood appears on a list of perfumes and spices that were permitted to be sold, found in the Book of the Eparch (895) from the time of the Byzantine Caesar Leo VI573 and in a Byzantine veterinary book of the tenth century.574 From a description of the medieval Jewish traders (Rādhānite), we learn that agarwood was brought from China across the Indian Ocean to Suez and from there by a land route to Parma on the northern shore of the Sinai Peninsula. From there, the agarwood was shipped across the Mediterranean to Western Europe.575 According to merchants’ letters found in the Cairo Genizah, agarwood was traded between Cairo and Alexandria and exported to the Maghrib and Sicily, mainly in the eleventh century.576 From a letter written by a trader of Fus†ā† to his partner in Jerusalem (1045), we learn of the huge demand for agarwood in Egypt because ‘the Byzantines departing from Fus†ā† do not leave any agarwood. There is a huge demand even for the sawdust.’577 Similar to other perfumes, many forgeries of agarwood were found in the markets. For example, some forgers took pieces of sandalwood, which was much cheaper, or the wood of the olive tree, and soaked it in a mixture of perfumes for a long time. The best way to reveal such a forgery was burning some of the wood and inhaling the fragrance.578 In medieval Arabic medicine, agarwood was considered a hot and dry drug. Practitioners believed that its aroma fortified the human body. Drinking an agarwood potion was considered effective for the treatment of various ailments of the digestive and intestinal system. It was also used externally by smearing the agarwood ointment and massaging the body with its oil (or crushed agarwood soaked in rosewater) and was considered beneficial for a variety of ailments.579 According to medieval Arabic medical literature, it was used for the treatment of fever, poor respiration, polishing the teeth, protecting the mouth and gums, arousing the desire for coitus, increasing sexual pleasure, boosting the spirit, calming the nerves as a carminative and as a diuretic.580 Evidence of its importance and practicality can be learnt from the fact that agarwood appears on eight lists of materia medica found in the Cairo Genizah and in eleven practical prescriptions, mainly as an aphrodisiac, linctus, ointment and for itches.581

144 | a rabi an dr ugs camphor

Camphor is the most prestigious and valued of all resins. This is due to its preference in various compounds and its inclusion in various kinds of drugs and perfumes … It is the resin of a huge tree that grows in India on the mountain slopes. The traders can identify the origin of the product, amongst them camphor from the island Qan‚ūr, also known as the ‘Land of Gold’ (Java). This kind was most preferable. Here is a description of the production of that camphor: In a certain season, the tree is approached. A ditch or groove is dug around it in which a canister is placed. With a big axe, the trunk is hit until the liquid erupts. The man should cover his face and nose whilst striking the tree with the axe and be careful of the lethal liquid. The resin accumulates in the canister and from there is divided into smaller containers. After the tree is cut, let it dry. The branches are cut as well. Some say that between the bark and the trunk there are chunks of resin. Others say that there are salt-like crystals in the lignin. It is true.582

Camphor (Kāfūr); Cinnamonum camphora (Lauraceae) It is a tall tropical evergreen tree (up to 30 m) with dark long leaves with sharp ends, yellow-green flowers and small black fruit. The plant grows in tropical southern and eastern Asia, mainly in China and Japan. The aromatic substance is found in all parts of the tree. The production process yields oil and a white crystal substance, used to produce medicine (Plate 28).583 The cultivation of the tree, production of its oil and its medical uses were widespread in early times in China and Japan. The tree and its derivatives were apparently unknown to physicians and scholars of ancient Greece and Rome, a phenomenon that had already been studied by medieval Muslim scholars.584 Its introduction to the Greco-Roman world seems to have occurred shortly before the rise of Islam.585 Camphor became widely distributed around the world and was known in the Middle East from the Sasanian period, when it served as a perfume and a condiment. It was deemed among the most important and exclusive perfumes that were given as presents to kings.586 Camphor does not appear frequently in pre-Islamic poetry since it was not

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 145 well-known in Arabia at that period.587 However, it is mentioned, for example, in the pre-Islamic period as one of the gifts brought to the Persian rulers by the kings of China and India who controlled its cultivation and production.588 Camphor was also mentioned by the Byzantine physician Aëtius of Amida in his medical ­treatise.589 According to Arabic sources, the origin of its name is Persian, similar to other Eastern medieval spices and perfumes.590 The Arabic name kāfūr derives from the Malay language kapor and the Sanskrit kar pura. Strangely enough, it seems as though the Arabs had barely heard of camphor in the very early Islamic period. They indicated explicitly that the tree did not grow in their territories.591 They discovered the tree and its uses during their conquest of the East. It was said that when the Arabs conquered the city of al-Madāʾin (Ctesiphon) in 637, they found a large amount of crystal camphor that at first glance appeared to be salt. They realised they were mistaken only after tasting the bread that had been baked with these crystals. Its taste was bitter.592 Camphor was known in ancient Arab culture because it is mentioned in the Qurʾān (76: 5) mainly as a flavouring for drinks that would have been served to the saints in the Garden of Eden. It was also mentioned by early Arab poets, who included it in their poems together with musk.593 One of the first mentions of camphor in the Arabic medical literature was by the Persian Jewish physician Māsarjawayh.594 Camphor was known in Europe at the end of the eighth century in circles close to Charles the Great (Charlemagne).595 It was probably one of the commodities brought to Europe thanks to his ties with Hārūn al-Rashīd. In The Book of the Eparch (895) describing the rules and ordinances of the Byzantine Caesar Leo VI, camphor is mentioned as one of the products sold in the local grocery shop.596 The famous description of the medieval Jewish traders (Rādhānite) written by Ibn Khurdādhbih (ninth century) mentions camphor and its import from China (probably via the Indian Ocean to Suez) and from there by land route to Farama (Pelusium) on the northern shore of the Sinai Peninsula. From there, the camphor was shipped through the Mediterranean to Western Europe.597 Camphor was among the many products that were transported through the port of Aden (Yemen) during the Ayyubid period, along with

146 | a rabi an dr ugs spices and perfumes such as lacca and tamarind.598 Camphor is mentioned in European prescriptions of the ninth and tenth centuries.599 The tree, the production of the substance, its preservation and its trade are described by chroniclers, geographers and travellers. Some describe the tree as growing mainly on the banks of streams, reaching great heights and having branches that spread widely. The full-grown tree used to be incised at a certain time of year in order to collect its resin. At the end of the process, the tree died.600 Al-Kindī writes one of the first recipes for the production of crystal camphor: ‘at the end of the process, a “white sugar-like substance is produced”’.601 More prescriptions are found in the book of perfumes written by Ibn Kaysān.602 Camphor is described by al-Nuwayrī as ‘the most distinguished and valuable of all resins thanks to its preference in various compounds and its inclusion in many kinds of perfumes and drugs’. The author also notes the debate in Arabic literature regarding the production of camphor.603 Various kinds of camphor were sold in different shapes: small coins (fulūs), thin plates and so on.604 Camphor water, for example, was produced in sind.605 The names of about ten kinds of camphor and their forgeries are found in the medieval Arabic literature. They differ from one another by their quality, colour, medical uses and efficacy.606 Various forgery techniques were used in the trade of camphor, including mixing ‘grains’ of camphor with chips of leftover marble engravings, eroded ‘grains’ of ammonia salts (nushādur) or sawdust of the castor oil plant and crushed date pits. Therefore, signs and techniques to check the authenticity of the camphor appear in the ªisba literature, which was intended to serve as a practical tool for the market supervisors.607 Al-Dimashqī, in his book on the commerce, writes that the ‘good’ (genuine) camphor has a sweet taste as well as a dry and pleasant odour, unlike kerosene. In order to store it properly, it should be preserved in a glass or Chinese ceramic jar and covered with tin chips.608 Besides ‘India’, Arabic sources mention the import of high-quality camphor from various islands near Sri Lanka,609 the area of China,610 and islands in the Red Sea near East African countries.611 The ports of Aden,612 Oman613 and Sīrāf614 were the main centres of trading in camphor. As mentioned before, there were several varieties of camphor, the vast majority of which came from the ‘land of Sofala in India’.615 The Arabic

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 147 sources also mentioned China as a source of camphor.616 The best kind was from Qan‚ūr (or Fan‚ūr/Íanfūr).617 The plant, its origin, the production process and its medicinal uses are frequently mentioned in Arabic literature. For example, we present below the entry of camphor from Ibn Juljul (there are several versions but we present the shortest): Indian [substance], it is the resin of an Indian tree similar to the pine. There, the kāfūr is like Arabic gum and pine resin. It is collected and washed in water and then steamed until it becomes as white as snow. Its colour first is yellow with a tint of red. The water in which it is washed is called kāfūr water and is a sticky oil with a pleasant fragrance, which replaces balsam oil. The kāfūr is cold and dry when steamed … Beneficial for yellow-bilious fever and inflammation of the liver and acute fevers if inhaled, it is a drug.618

According to Ibn Māsawayhi, camphor is one of the five most important aromatic substances and only a few types of it exist.619 It was a commodity traded between Egypt, Sicily and the Maghrib, imported from China by Jewish merchants.620 The Jewish traders of Sicily, mainly under the Islamic rule (827–1061), imported quantities of camphor along with various products (including drugs, dyeing materials, spices and perfumes) and other commodities, most of which were exported to Andalusia and Europe.621 In a Genizah letter, for example, Óabīb Ben Nissim of Ramla (eleventh century) describes the difficult journey from Alexandria and relates that on the way he lost the camphor he had bought in Egypt. In the thirteenth century, camphor was a commodity that was transported across the Levant en route to Europe.622 Riddle claims that the camphor was discovered only later, during the Middle Ages.623 In medieval Arabic medical literature, it is described as a cold and dry drug used for the treatment of ear conditions, jaundice, pain, liver, spleen, testicles and kidney diseases, sore throat, headaches, fevers, putrescent wounds, kidney and bladder stones in the urinary tract and swellings.624 A few drops of liquid camphor were used to stop nasal bleeding,625 while the substance was considered beneficial for the treatment of high fever and headaches (inhaled as is or with roses or sandalwood). Camphor was also used for the treatment of swellings and inflammations by massaging the body. When used in high dosage, it was considered a libido-moderating agent and was believed to alleviate problems in the digestive system.626 Evidence of the

148 | a rabi an dr ugs importance and practicality of camphor in the medieval Mediterranean may be its presence on thirteen lists of materia medica found in the Cairo Genizah and in seven practical prescriptions for eye diseases, swellings and to stop bleeding.627 ambergris

A fish known by the name al-Bāl lives in the sea of Zanj. Its length is 400–500 forearms, whose big wing’s (fin) edge is like a big sail. When it takes its head out of the water and blows out air, massive amounts of water are emitted … When fishermen catch it, they take it to the shore, open its stomach and remove the ambergris … The substance is sold to traders and perfumers in Iraq, Persia and India.628

Ambergris (ʿanbar); Physeter catodon (Physeteridae) The Arabic name serves to describe two different substances: one a semiprecious stone (fossil resin of pines and other trees) and the other a perfume that we will discuss below. Ambergris is a perfumed substance with a sweet scent similar to musk. It is flammable and burns with a bright flame. The raw material of this precious perfume is apparently derived from bile secretions of the sperm whale.629 Ambergris either floats on the surface of tropical seas or is found cast upon the shore in large lumps that weigh up to five kilograms. It was highly valued in the East both as a perfume and a medicinal substance.630 Ambergris was mentioned in the medical book of the Byzantine physician Aëtius of Amida.631 Similar to musk, ambergris became one of the most popular perfumes in the Arabic culture. One of the early Arabic poets wrote a flowery phrase: ‘If I were a perfume, I would like to be ʿanbar from al-Shiªr.’632 Ambergris was mentioned in recipes for perfumes in early Arabic alchemical literature.633 Moreover, it was used as incense in the Dome of Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the Umayyad period.634 From early Arabic sources we learn that the Arabs did not know the real source of ambergris. They mostly believed that it was created at the bottom of the ocean or in underground springs from which it was carried until reaching

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 149 the ocean.635 In most cases the sources wrote that when it floated, different kinds of marine creatures ate it, and most fish died by doing so.636 Al-JāªiÕ writes on this issue that ‘the ambergris is dragged up to the shore from the sea. Whoever eats it dies. If a bird pecks it, its beak falls off; so do its claws if the bird stands on the ambergris. The bird dies since it cannot eat. Sailors and perfume makers told us that sometimes they found beaks and nails of birds in the chunks of ambergris. The whale dies, too, if it eats ambergris.’637 Al-Muqaddasī writes that ambergris ‘is tossed on to the shore from Aden to Mukhā … Anyone who finds any part of it, a little or a lot, takes it to the governor’s deputy, who pays him a piece of canvas and a dīnār for it … I have never found out what ambergris actually is.’638 Arabic sources tell us that Hārūn al-Rashīd (786–809) sent a delegation to Yemen to inspect the quality of the local ambergris and ascertain the truth regarding its origin.639 Al-Qalqashandī, for example, and other Arabic authors cite earlier sources who describe how the dwellers on the seashores in Arabia trained special animals (probably the female camel) to smell and locate ambergris on the seashores during the night.640 Each source names several kinds of ambergris and describes their qualities and uses.641 According to al-Masʿūdī, the best ambergris was found on the shores of al-Zanj (black people’s lands = Africa) and from a region called al-Shiªr on the shores of Arabia, for example, Oman and Yemen (Óa∂ramawt).642 He asserts that the local people would catch the whale, extract its intestines and remove the ambergris while others would search the beach for ambergris brought ashore by the waves. Ibn Juljul maintains that ʿanbar is: The secretion of a marine animal that feeds on the ʿanbar weed. When it was overstuffed by swallowing the weed, this bothered the animal so much that it would spew it out as a secretion. It is in the shape of big woody arrows, and is greasy, soft, oily like asphalt, floating on the water. Its colour tends to be black and brownish. The black kind is inferior whilst the brownish is dry and low in moisture. The best is the one that is a black and brownish mix.643

According to various Arabic writers, ambergris was brought from the shores of Arabia,644 Yemen,645 Africa,646 Persia,647 Bahrain,648 India,649 various islands in the Indian Ocean,650 Andalusia651 and even from the shores of the cities of al-Shām.652 In many cases, the commerce on these islands took place

150 | a rabi an dr ugs in the form of barter. The local inhabitants preferred to exchange iron for their ambergris, with the communication being done by hand gestures.653 Al-Muqaddasī emphasised that Aden was the centre of trade in ambergris, unlike many other products for which Oman was the focal point of trade.654 Some Arab travellers and geographers recorded the uses of ambergris in the East. For example, Ibn Ba††ū†a describes an instrument for incense burning that he saw in India (in the shape of a tower made of gold). Several men carried it. They burnt two kinds of agarwood and ambergris in three different compartments until the smoke enveloped the crowd.655 Ambergris was well-known and appreciated by the perfumers of Iraq, Persia and India.656 In fact, it is an example of a substance that the Arabs introduced into India (probably from Yemen and Oman).657 One of the best kinds, which was imported from the region of Sofala (India), was named salaha†ī. It was recognised by its bluish colour and oily matter.658 Al-Qalqashandī enumerates six different kinds of ambergris, the last of which was named al-Maghribī. This kind, unlike the others, was brought to Andalusia from Egypt,659 That is, it derived from the whales of the western Mediterranean.660 Similarly to musk, ambergris became one of the most popular and expensive perfumes in Arab culture.661 It is frequently cited among the precious goods in the pre-Islamic period and later among Arab rulers.662 Al-Thaʿālib⁄ describes various kinds of ambergris and their sources and adds that every year eighty ratals were carried to the Sultans from Mecca, Medina and al-Óijāz.663 Moreover, it was said that ‘ʿAmr ibn al-Layth al-Íaffār sent to al-Muʿta∂id … three thousand ra†ls of musk, a thousand mithqāls of ambergris, fifty mann of agarwood’.664 Ambergris soon became a common perfume among vast populations of various socio-economic strata. It was imported from different locations from the shores of Africa, the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Medieval Arabic sources were not in agreement with respect to their origin. The most common descriptions depicted a substance similar to asphalt that comes from the sea floor and the secretions of marine animals.665 Ibn Rushd writes on this issue that: It is a kind of qafr [=pitch] because some have claimed that it is created in springs in the ocean and floats on the sea water. The best variety is the grey one. It is hot, dry in the second degree and strengthens the brain, heart,

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 151 stomach and senses. It is good for old people that suffer from the cold. It is useful against stomach aches, coarse winds created in the bowel and obstructions. When smeared externally, it strengthens organs, especially nerves, and, if it is used frequently, repairs the putridity of the air that causes epidemics.666

Al-Tamīmī describes the preparation of nadd (perfume made from musk and ambergris), which the mother of the Abbasid Caliph al-Muqtadir (908– 32) made and offered every Friday as incense at the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis). He adds, ‘The head of the Temple servants would give my father some of this nadd. My father would melt it in bān (oil of the fruit of the ben tree) and produce ghāliya (a perfume mixture) from it, which is unequalled for its pleasant scent.’667 Such a mixture appears in a letter describing perfumes imported from North Africa to Alexandria. Ambergris was introduced from the Middle East into Europe. It was known there from the late eighth century and the early ninth.668 According to the Book of the Eparch, a Byzantine book (895), ambergris was one of the perfumes that was permitted to be sold in Byzantine.669 Ambergris was also mentioned in a Byzantine veterinarian book.670 Moreover, it was mentioned by this name in various Western sources such as in medical books and by Jewish commentators.671 Many documents found in the Cairo Genizah deal with this expensive commodity and its trade, especially in the eleventh century between Cairo, Qayrawān, Mahdiyya, Alexandria, Palermo, the Maghrib and even Spain.672 The Jewish traders of Sicily, mainly under Islamic rule (827–1061), imported quantities of ambergris along with various products, including drugs, dyeing materials, spices, perfumes and other commodities, most of which were exported to Andalusia and Europe.673 Ambergris was traded in the Mediterranean and Levant well into the fifteenth century;674 it appears among the perfumes that were made out of animals, distributed by the Arabs and used for medicine in medieval Europe.675 Since ambergris was precious and expensive, forgeries were made by criminal traders. The sources provide us with several recipes of familiar and much cheaper aromatic substances that were combined to produce fake ambergris. The Óisba literature provides us with techniques for recognising

152 | a rabi an dr ugs these forgeries. For example, some perfume sellers would make an imitation out of the pure ambergris and blend it with other substances such as wax, other perfumes, pomis and even the droppings of the spiny-tailed lizard.676 According to medieval Arabic medical literature, ambergris was considered a hot and dry drug used in the treatment of headaches, colds, fevers, constipation, diseases of the brain and the heart, muscle spasms, stomach conditions, tension, sore throats, obstructions, diarrhoea, joint pains, mental diseases and paralysis. It was considered beneficial for strengthening the body, spirit, heart and brain and for assistance to the aged.677 Ibn Juljul, for example, writes that the nature of the ʿanbar ‘is hot and dry. It has a pleasant fragrance, strengthens the heart and the brain and is beneficial for half-body paralysis [fālaj], and half-face paralysis [laqwa] and the diseases of coarse phlegm.’678 Ambergris is included on a list of materia medica and in a prescription for linctus and an ointment found in the Cairo Genizah.679 sandalwood

Proven men of knowledge that traveled extensively to India, China and Yemen and had become experts reported that sandalwood is similar to the pomegranate tree that grows in the mountains and the colour of its leaves is a hue between green and gray. Sandalwood is created in the ‘heart’ [inside] of the old trees and has a pleasant fragrance. The wood of the trees is used to build beds, boxes, boards and combs due to its hardy wood … Sandalwood was mentioned neither by Dioscorides nor Galen.680

Sandalwood (‚andal) Arabic medieval sources mention several kinds of sandalwood (Plates 29, 30). The main one is white sandalwood, identified as Santalum album (Santalaceae). This is a tropical tree, 4–9 m high, which is cultivated in Asia. Its wood is fragrant while the leaves are oval and the flowers are yellow.681 The presence of the tree in southern Asia seems to be of considerable antiquity. Its use is deeply rooted in Indian culture.682 According to a combination of bio-geographical, historical and linguistic sources, along with archaeological evidence, the plant was introduced to India from its wild habitat in the driest parts of Indonesia as early as the Bronze Age.683 Another kind is the red sandalwood, ­­ identified

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 153 as Pterocarpus santalinus (Leguminosae). This tree, which is native to southern India and the Philippines, is used mainly for industry.684 The etymological source of the name ‘sandalwood’ is Sanskrit;the name was passed on to Persian and then to Arabic.685 According to al-Bīrūnī, the origin of the name Íaydalānī, a nickname for perfumers and sellers of medicinal substances, is derived from the Arabic term for sandalwood, which is used until the present day for a chemist or pharmacologist, and Íaydaliyya signifies a pharmacy.686 Neither kind of sandalwood is mentioned in the Classical medical literature.687 It was probably first mentioned in Western sources in the writings of Cosmas, the Byzantine monk (mid-sixth century), in a description of expensive products imported from China.688 However, the use of sandalwood became common after the Arabs were exposed to Eastern culture. Māsarjawayh was one of the earliest sources to mention sandalwood’s medicinal uses.689 The several kinds of sandalwood mentioned in the Arabic literature are defined mainly according to their colour: red, yellow and white.690 Some sources even note seven kinds, classifying them according to their qualities. The best kind, yellow, had a superb fragrance and the highest concentration of oil and was named al-maqā‚īrī due to its geographical origin.691 The origin of sandalwood, according to contemporary sources, was in various regions in India,692 China693 and Indonesia.694 Sandalwood, like musk and other spices and perfumes, was shipped across the Indian Ocean to the ports of Aden and Oman.695 Marco Polo mentions the port of Zaiton as a major hub for the export of sandalwood as well as agarwood, pepper and other spices.696 Part of its trade was done by the land route from the port of Sīrāf to Persia and the rest of the world.697 Further evidence of the trade in sandalwood was found in the Cairo Genizah. For example, according to a merchant’s document, sandalwood was exported from Egypt to Sicily (Palermo).698 Sandalwood was considered an expensive gift. It is said that some of the Abbasid rulers would distribute portions of sandalwood to their mothers, children and mistresses.699 Its main use was as a perfume and for the production of incense.700 In fact, sandalwood was mixed with almost all known women’s perfumes of the time.701 Ibn Ba††ū†a writes that during his travels he

154 | a rabi an dr ugs arrived at the Maldive Islands inhabited by Muslims with a strong ­­awareness of hygiene and cleanliness. Many of them bathed twice a day due to the heat and humidity and rubbed their bodies with perfumed oil such as sandalwood.702 The sandalwood was also used in carpentry to build unique and very expensive furniture. It was said that the king of Yemen commanded that his throne should be built of yellow sandalwood. Curved wooden tools were made from red sandalwood, including chess pieces.703 Al-Dimashqī, in his book on trade, distinguished red sandalwood, which was preferred mainly in medicine, from white sandalwood, which was also used for perfumery.704 Sandalwood was used extensively in medicine since it was considered a cold and dry drug and therefore was used mainly for the treatment of fevers and other ‘heat-related diseases’ connected with yellow bile. The medicinal uses included the use of sandalwood incense, perfume produced from the lignin (wood) and the aroma soaked in oil and pastes (in most cases in rose water). Chips of ground lignin were applied externally on bruises, skin inflammations, burns and swelling in the joints.705 According to Ibn Juljul, sandalwood has ‘a pleasant fragrance. Its nature is cold and dry and it is beneficial for fevers and the hot diseases caused by superfluous yellow bile. If included in ointments [maʿjūnāt] and inhaled in its ground form, it is beneficial for the inflammation of the chest membrane [birsām] and for burns. If the ointment is mixed with rose water or the extracts usually used with it are taken, it is beneficial for the erysipelas [ªumra] and the hot swellings of the joints and the shatar [=cut or upside down eyelids].’706 According to Ibn Rasūl, a recipe used in the treatment of headache, for example, included ground sandalwood and sarcocolla (equal parts), which should be mixed and kneaded with the white of an egg and smeared on the temples. It removes smells when massaging with it after a hot bath.707 Al-Kindī uses white sandalwood for treatment of the liver and ulcers and in tooth powder and honey syrup. White, red and yellow sandalwood is a component in poultices for the liver and the spleen and in a drug for the treatment of erysipelas.708 Ibn al-Bay†ār cited earlier medical sources, including Ibn Sīnā and al-Rāzī, stating that it was used for the heart, as an astringent and as a coolant.709 Sandalwood appears in two practical documents found in the Cairo Genizah: one list of materia medica and one prescription. It was mentioned

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 155 extensively in theoretical medical texts, specifically some medical books found in the Genizah.710 jasmine

And on the third day after the funeral, the grave is covered with expensive cloth. Around it aromatic plants such as basil, rose and jasmine are placed.711

Jasmine (yāsamīn, rāziqī, zanbaq (oil)); Jasminum officinale; J. sambac; J. fruticans (Oleaceae) Jasmine is a vigorous evergreen climber, with a dark-green compound, sharply pointed leaves and large, sweetly scented tubular flowers (white, yellow or purple).712 Jasminum is a large genus of climbing, trailing or erect shrubs that are widely distributed in the warmer parts of the world, mainly pantropical, with a large number of species centred on the Himalayas, China and Malaysia. About forty species are recorded in India, out of which only three or four are commercially important from early days as sources of fresh flowers or for extraction of jasmine oil, widely used in the perfume industry thanks to the unique scent of their flowers.713 One of the early sources that mention jasmine (oil) is the Babylonian Talmud, which was written in Iraq in the fifth century.714 Early Arabic sources report that jasmine was not mentioned by Classical sources. The plant was mentioned by both Ibn Juljul and Ibn Rushd on their lists of medicinal substances that were not mentioned by Galen and Dioscorides.715 In general, jasmine oil was called zanbaq.716 Maimonides adds that in the Maghrib its name is rāziqī.717 In most cases, it was oil (probably sesame) in which the jasmine flowers were soaked.718 Al-Qazwīnī reports that the flowers of the jasmine are yellow, white or purple. Oil was produced from the flowers of most kinds and applied for many medical uses.719 The process of jasmine distillation is described in detail by al-Kindī in his book on perfumes.720 Al-Nuwayrī writes that jasmine is a Persian name and describes its different kinds.721 Al-JāªiÕ writes that jasmine was grown in the mountains of Persia.722 Ibn Ba††ū†a adds that, besides being cultivated in Persia (Tibrīz, Samarqand), it was also grown in Asia Minor.723 Al-Qalqashand⁄ asserts that jasmine

156 | a rabi an dr ugs grows wild in Ethiopia.724 Jasmine was transferred from the area of Persia to China.725 Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, in his book on plants, describes several kinds of jasmine: the cultivated (bustānī), the wild (barrī) and the mountain (jabalī). The cultivated kinds had three varieties according to the colour of their flowers (white, yellow and black). Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ describes the white kind in detail.726 Ibn Ba††ū†a describes the wedding of ʾAmir Sayf al-Dīn, the son of the sultan Muªammad ibn Tughluq, and writes that the companions and foreign slaves held bouquets of flowers consisting mainly of aromatic flowers such as jasmine and rose.727 Most Arabic physicians and scholars, early and late (including al-˝abar⁄) write that jasmine is a hot and dry drug and therefore beneficial for colds.728 Ibn Rushd agrees and adds that ‘it is useful against moisture and phlegm. It is suitable for old men and those who suffer from cold. It is good for headaches caused by coarse humours.’729 Ibn Juljul asserts that: Its oil has a pleasant fragrance. There is a yellow [kind] whose inflourescence is cooked with sesame. Then an oil called zanbaq is produced, also called al-rāziqī… It is beneficial for cold diseases such as taut nerves and paralysis, with its nature being hot with some dryness. If cooked with olive oil, it will be dryer.’730

Al-Nuwayrī adds that its oil is beneficial for old patients and the treatment of various ailments, including coldness in the nerves, headache and cosmetic problems (to remove freckles).731 According to al-Kindī, jasmine was used in the treatment of infections and as a component in a preparation to increase sexual excitation. Jasmine oil is a component in an ointment to treat haemorrhoids.732 Ibn Māsawayhi recommends rubbing the body with jasmine oil in the month of Adar (March).733 Maimonides notes that jasmine oil constitutes a component in various compound drugs, such as ointments and pills, for the improvement of sexual performance. The juice was used as a medication to sweeten the breath.734 According to Ibn al-Bay†ār (citing contemporary physicians), jasmine was used to cure headaches, facial paralysis and colds and wounds, to eliminate phlegm, strengthen the mind and blacken the hair.735 Evidence of the practical medical uses of jasmine is found in a prescription from the Cairo Genizah, which records the use of jasmine oil for the treatment of eye

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 157 diseases. Jasmine is also mentioned in many books found in the Genizah for dyeing hair black, treating headaches and massaging the gums.736 musk

It is similar to a deer that is found in our lands, but has two canines bursting out of its jaws … Extracting the musk before the deer is mature is useless, similar to picking a fruit before it has ripened … The best musk is that which is naturally extracted by the deer. When the blood accumulates in the deer’s ‘umbilicus,’ the deer pleasurably rubs himself with a rock. The blood bursts out and dries on the rock. Then people collect it. This is the source of the good musk.737

Musk (misk); Moschus moschiferus (Cervidae) The musk deer is a medium-sized mammal (6–11 kg). Both sexes have long upper canine teeth, a gland under the tail and no antlers. This species inhabits the mountains of Central Asia (the Himalayas and Tibet). The musk, derived from the anal gland secretion, is a substance used as a perfume and in medicine. The gland is found in the male and is situated between the anus and the penis.738 It weighs thirty to fifty grams and is filled with liquid during the mating season. In its raw state, the substance is dark brown, but some time after extraction it turns black.739 Tibetan musk was considered in the past to be the best in quality. Sources attributed this to its diet, mainly the nard that grows in its habitat, and also to the fact that the people of Tibet do not add blood or other substances as the Chinese do. The Tibetans collected the perfume by trapping the deer alive in nets rather than hunting and killing it with arrows. The rectal gland was then cut off and dried in the open air. The hunters preferred adult males with mature glands. The best musk was collected, according to the sources, in the grazing meadow of the deer, where the substance was secreted on to the rocks in order to mark its territory.740 The final product was marketed in both liquid and solid form.741 Musk is not mentioned in early Classical literature.742 Nevertheless, it became very popular after the Islamic conquests. Musk perfume was mentioned in pre-Islamic poetry743 and even in the Qurʾān (83: 26). It was also

158 | a rabi an dr ugs known in pre-Islamic Persia, although on a limited scale. For example, it is said that a gift of 100 mann of musk was sent by the King of Tibet to the Persian king Khusraw.744 It is clear that musk was known in Mesopotamia throughout that period, since it is mentioned in both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds745 as a perfume of animal origin in connection with a blessing pronounced upon using it.746 The monk Cosmas describes the hunting of the musk deer in India and Sind and how the hunters ‘tied up the blood collected at the navel’.747 In Christian sources, the name first appears in Hieronymus (fourth century AD). During the Middle Ages, musk was considered a valuable perfume and imported overland from Asia,748 the trade of which was controlled by the Arabs. It was one of the most prestigious and expensive perfumes. Musk was described as one of the scarcest and most treasured items that kings could wish to possess.749 Musk was one of the substances identified in an early Egyptian druggist’s account (ninth century) written on papyrus.750 Various medieval sources, including Ibn Juljul, mention musk as an Indian drug. He describes how the substance is produced in bulges from the legs of a beast (animal) the size of a deer. The bulges never stop growing and filling up with the blood of this animal. After filling up with blood, they fall off the animal, the musk located inside.751 There are some Muslim traditions (ªadīth) that attribute a phrase to the Prophet saying that the musk is the best among all perfumes and that the Prophet himself used it. Therefore, they learnt that it is a ‘pure’ perfume that can be used and traded although its source may be an impure animal: ‘It is a secretion and not blood, just as vinegar is not wine!’752 It seems that this was one of the reasons that musk was so revered in the Muslim religious ritual. For example, musk was used as incense in the mosque of Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem during the Umayyad period.753 Ibn Ba††ū†a writes that while he was visiting the ʿAlī Mosque in al-Najaf (Iraq), he saw, between the tombs of ʿAlī, the first man, and Noah, golden bowls filled with rosewater and musk in which visitors dipped their hands and smeared the liquid on their faces as a sign of blessing.754 The following anecdote testifies to that fact and to the importance of musk. Once, the Byzantine Caesar sent a gift to al-Maʾmūn (813–29), the latter commanded that a gift be sent back that was a hundred times more precious in order to show Caesar the affluence of the Muslims. When they

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 159 discovered that musk was the most expensive product, al-Maʾmūn sent him 200 ra†l of musk and 200 skins of sable.755 In The Book of the Eparch in which the Ordinances of the Byzantine Caesar Leo VI (886–912) are written, a list of perfumes permitted for sale appears with musk on this list.756 Musk was also mentioned in Byzantine prescriptions.757 Māsarjawayh, who was active during the Umayyad period, was one of the first to mention musk.758 It was also a very common substance in the recipes of perfumes in al-Kindī’ Book of the Chemistry of Perfume.759 More recipes can be found in the book on perfumes written by Ibn Kaysān.760 There is a dispute among Arab authors regarding the production process of the musk extracted from the musk deer. Interestingly enough, some information is based on factual reality while other information is based on mystical speculation or legends.761 Some even thought that it was a kind of ambergris, but the Muʿtazila people rejected this and explained that it was a kind of deer (ghazāla).762 It was told that the dispute over the identification of the animal was the reason for the travels of Ibn ʿAqīl al-Baghdadi (1040–1119) to the Eastern countries. He brought it with him to the West in order to study it.763 As mentioned before, Tibetan musk was considered the best with the second best being the Indian and the third, the Chinese. As a matter of fact, the various kinds were sold in the markets and distinguished by their colour and scents. Al-Qalqashandī counted ten of them.764 Moreover, cases of forgery were also known.765 For example, forgers would mix various components with a real (or imitation, made in various sophisticated ways) gland in a way that the real musk constituted only one fourth of the total amount. Certain methods were therefore developed to enable the market supervisors to check this forgery.766 Likewise, instructions were given to traders on how to retain the value of the perfume, mainly by keeping it in a sealed vessel, preventing exposure to water and air (that damaged it) and covering it with a cloth soaked in wax.767 According to medieval Arabic literature, musk was imported from Tibet,768 India,769 China,770 al-Íaʿīd771 and Turkish lands772 through various trade routes.773 The lion’s share of the quality musk was brought to Khurāsān and Persia via land routes and from there to the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. On the other hand, the lengthy journey by boat along marine routes damaged the musk due to its exposure to the sea air. It appears that

160 | a rabi an dr ugs the marine trade of the musk by Muslim and Eastern traders overlapped, since there is some evidence that Muslim traders reached the Chinese city of Hanafu while Indian traders reached Bahrain774 and Oman.775 According to Akasoy and Yoeli-Tlalim, from the eighth century onwards musk was one of the main products exported from Tibet and distributed to the Islamic world. They proposed naming these distribution routes the ‘Musk Routes’ due to the importance of the trade as well as the knowledge regarding the medical uses of musk and the culture that was transferred with the product.776 Musk was mentioned in many Genizah fragments as a commodity in various Mediterranean cities, including Alexandria and Qayrawān (North Africa). The Jewish traders of Sicily, mainly under Islamic rule (827–1061), imported musk along with various other products (including drugs, dyeing materials, spices and perfumes) and other commodities, most of which were exported to Andalusia and Europe.777 Musk appears among the perfumes that were made out of animals, distributed by the Arabs and used for medicine in medieval Europe.778 According to Crusader sources, musk was exported from China by merchants and traded in Acre, probably on its way to Europe.779 We learn from a description of the medieval Jewish traders (Rādhānite) that musk was brought from China across the Indian Ocean to Suez and from there by land route to Parma on the northern shore of the Sinai Peninsula. From there the musk was shipped across the Mediterranean to Western Europe.780 Therefore, it is not surprising that musk is mentioned frequently in European medical prescriptions of the early medieval period and by medieval European Jewish physicians.781 According to medieval Arabic medical literature, musk was considered a hot and dry drug. Among the medical qualities attributed to it were warming and fortifying the body and its organs (mainly the heart) and improving the smell of the breath. It was recommended mainly for ‘cold’ people, and the elderly. Persian physicians mention its quality for the treatment of impotency. Musk was used to treat many ailments and medical conditions, including paralysis and drying inflamed eyes, psychological treatment, improving the spirit of those with an excess of black bile as well as temper and memory.782 It was also used to treat headaches, diseases of the brain, weakness of the sexual organs, infected wounds, eye ailments and diarrhoea as well as to strengthen

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 161 the limbs, heart and brain, prolong longevity, enhance the senses and sexual potency, warm internal organs, cure haemorrhoids and flatulence, alleviate sadness and fear and prevent epilepsy and black-bilious disorders. It was also described as an aphrodisiac and abortifacient.783 Ibn Rushd, who mentioned musk among the substances that were omitted by Galen, elaborated on some of its medicinal uses: ‘It has a fantastic ability to strengthen the heart and alleviate sadness and fear. It is useful against epilepsy and strangulation of the womb and, in general, all fainting diseases. It is useful against coarse winds created in the bowel, melancholia and black-bilious disorders.’784 Musk appears in the Cairo Genizah on four lists of materia medica and in two practical prescriptions, one of which is for strengthening the gums.785 screw pine

It is a palm not as tall as other palms. Once the stamens grow, they are cut before they are opened. The pollen is soaked in oil until it has absorbed the fragrance. This oil is used medicinally.786

Screw pine (al-kādhī); Pandanus odoratissimus (Pandanaceae) Plants of the genus Pandanus are prevalent in tropical areas and grow in the Pacific and Malaysian islands and Australia. Screw pine is an evergreen tree or bush, with an upright trunk extending up to 5 m high (Plate 31). The leaves are rigid and sword shaped. The yellow flowers, which are set in a spike, bloom in the summer. The collected fruit is hard. The origin of this tropical tree is East Africa and West India. Screw pine has flourished throughout the ages; their products are still being used and studied today for their medicinal benefits on islands such as Taiwan.787 Male screw pine trees grow on the shores of Yemen and in the valleys between Óays and Taʿiz (500–1500 m). The local Yemenite population still considers it a cherished perfume plant.788 Clusters of their fragranced flowers are sold covered with the leaves of the tree. Both screw pine oil and water, which are highly fragrant, are produced from the flowers.789 This plant was known to the Arabs. However, the distribution of its use was internal in Arabia; that is, it was hardly used outside of the Arab peninsula. Screw pine may be the ‘fragrant date’ mentioned by Greek ­­geographer

162 | a rabi an dr ugs Strabo (first century BC) while describing the incense and perfume-producing plants of Yemen.790 Interestingly, it was not mentioned as being part of the inventory of either perfumes or drugs by Classical physicians such as Dioscorides.791 The discovery of the new Indian perfumes by the Arabs led to their distribution including that of the screw pine perfume. However, it never attained the popularity of either musk or ambergris. It was not frequently cited in medieval commercial writings or in recipes for the production of perfumes.792 One of the Arab sources related an anecdote regarding a letter from the king of India to al-Maʾmūn (813–29) that was written on the bark of a fragrant tree from India named kādhī.793 All of the Arab sources pointed out that the screw pine was an Indian tree that was cultivated also in the Arab Peninsula, specifically in Oman and Yemen.794 Inflourescence was cut from the tree, soaked in oil and turned into a perfume for both fragrance and medicinal purposes.795 The Arab physicians cite Indian medical books praising the benefits of the screw pine in the treatment of leprosy and varicella (chickenpox).796 Ibn Juljul writes that screw pine oil (duhn al-kādhī), which was produced from the fruits of the tree, was used to ‘strengthen the weak organs and fortify them’.797 Al-Tamīmī, the tenth-century Jerusalemite physician, recommends rubbing the body with screw pine oil in the bath since it is highly beneficial for the treatment of back and thigh pain.798 Moreover, the screw pine oil was also used to treat leprosy. Al-ʾIshbīlī mentions a recipe that al-Rāzī included in his book (citing Indian physicians) that was believed beneficial for stopping varicella.799 Gemstones Gemstones, jawhar (pl. jawāhir) in Arabic, precious in the medieval period as they were in previous times, were used as ornaments, set in jewellery, seals and amulets and even as an investment and status symbol.800 Vast literature was written on gemstones by the Arab writers and scholars.801 Though some books were lost over the years, such as al-Kindī’s book, the knowledge was partly preserved in the citations found in the works of later Arabic writers.802 Vast information regarding gemstones was also found in books written by European scholars;803 in fact, both traditions are rooted in Greek and Roman origin.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 163 The identification of the names of the gemstones found in the Arabic sources is not always unequivocal804 since the stones were recognised and identified according to external characteristics, such as colour and comparative hardness, and not by definitive chemical or mineralogical analysis. This is the reason for the confusion and name-swapping between various stones. For example, red stones were identified as carnelian (cornelian), red garnet, ruby and spinel. The tradition of identification of stones mentioned in the Greek literature and its Arabic translations did not abide by the tradition of identification of medicinal plants. Some of the names underwent transformation. For example, the Greek beryllos (beryl) became ballūr805 in Arabic, and signifies rock crystal.806 Some studies have been done on ‘Arabic’ gemstones. However, in our work the focus is on examining which gemstones were most commonly used in the medieval Arab world within the various socio-economic strata. Moreover, we seek to ascertain whether there were any significant changes in comparison with earlier periods.807 Gemstones in the Arabic Literature Our research is based on the written sources. We assume that the Arabic literature dealing with this issue reflects authentic reality and presents the main stones that were actually used in that period. Table 3.3 presents a selection of stones that were dealt with mainly in the Arabic literature. In general, the inventory of Arabic gemstones is smaller (totalling about twenty) than the number of stones that were mentioned in the Greek and Roman literature (several dozen). 808 Moreover, the number of stones mentioned in works dealing with Arabic trade (such as those by al-Dimashqī and al-JāªiÕ)809 is even smaller (not more than ten).810 The literature on the gemstones allows us to categorise the precious stones according to their relative importance within medieval Arab society. In the first group of the most preferred stones we can find gems such as corundum (mainly red), emerald, diamond and pearl. These are mentioned in all works dealing with precious stones. We therefore assert that they were highly prized and used abundantly by the higher socio-economic strata, the elite and the ruling class. The second group consists of relatively less expensive stones such

luʾluʾ, marjān, durr yāqūt mās zumurrud, zabarjad Dahnaj Lāzāward Bijādī ʿaq⁄q jazʿ baqarānī Jamast fayrūzaj‘ yast, yashm, yashb bussad, marjān Ballūr bādzahr, bāzahr, fādzahr Sabaj kahrubāʾ, ʿanbarī balakhsh banafsh ʿayn al-hirr

Pearl Corundum Diamond Emerald, peridot Malachite Lazurite Red garnet Carnelian Onyx, sardonyx Amethyst Turquoise Jasper Coral Rock crystal Bezoar Sabaj Amber Spinel Zircon Chatoyancy + + + +

+

+ + + + + + + + + +

+ +

+ + + +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

+ +

+

+

+ +

+

+ + + +

+ + +

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Pseudo Aristotlea al-JāªiÕb Ibn Māsawayhic al-Bīrūnīd al-Dimashqīe al-T⁄fāsh⁄f

+

+ +

+ + +

+

+ + + + +

Ibn al-ʾAkfānīg

b

a

Ruska, Steinbuch des Aristoteles. al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur. c Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir. d al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir. e al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat. f al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār. g Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, Kitāb Nukhab.

Note:  The table mentions the names of the main stones but not the varieties of each type of stone. We did not add names of minerals and metals, but only whatever was defined as a precious stone.

Arabic names

English name

Table 3.3  Names of the common gemstones in the Arabic literature

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 165 as turquoise, carnelian, garnet, onyx, lazurite and malachite. In general, they were more popular and common among the middle class. The third group includes even cheaper and more common stones, such as jasper, amethyst and rock crystal, presumably used by the lower class. Peridot was considered less expensive in comparison with the emerald. However, due to depletion of minerals during the Ayyubid period, it became rare.811 The Arabic literature on gemstones actually portrays the interests and needs of the higher socio-economic Arab elite, including scholars and physicians, who were, after all, a minority in medieval society. A more solid and realistic picture can be drawn from the actual consumption and trade of gemstones in the medieval period. This can be obtained only from historical records of trade. However, gemstones are rarely mentioned in commercial records, as evidenced by the fact that among thousands of documents (mainly from the eleventh and twelfth centuries) dealing with medieval Arabic trade that were found in the Cairo Genizah, precious stones such as corundum and diamonds are barely mentioned at all. The explanation is that precious stones were not traded in the regular commercial system like other expensive goods and products, but personally by specialists. On the other hand, records demonstrating the trade in cheaper stones are very common in commercial documents. These give us an opportunity to assemble a picture of the prevalence and popularity of these stones in Eastern Mediterranean society. For example, we will present herein a summary of the data that Gil presented in his monumental work according to the number of documents in which precious stones were mentioned.812 In fact, the number of records is higher since each stone is repeated several times in each document: pearls [luʾluʾ and other names] (seventy-one), small pearls and corals [marjān]813 (sixty-two), carnelianʿaqīq] (twenty-six), lazurite [lāzward] (fifteen), rock crystal [ballūr] (four) and red garnet [bijādī]814 (one). There is no doubt that pearls were the most common and popular gemstones in medieval society and make up more than 75 per cent of the trade in precious stones. We based our estimation on the above-mentioned information while we assume that some of the stones that are called marjān in the sources are actually small pearls. Moreover, some of the beads mentioned in more than forty documents815 were probably also made from various kinds (different shapes, sizes, quality and colours) of pearls. The Arabic literature

166 | a rabi an dr ugs dealing with gemstones dedicates a lion’s share to pearls, more than any other stone. It is full of details regarding the different kinds of pearls, their prices according to size and weight, whether in necklaces or alone.816 Nonetheless, carnelians were the most common and widespread gems in signet rings. Apart from the stones whose names were explicitly mentioned in the Genizah, gemstones were often mentioned simply according to their colour (that is, red stones and blue stones), but without specifying their names. These stones were usually kept in small pockets.817 The Changes in the Popularity of Gemstones after the Arabic Conquests As a result of the Arab conquests and the exposure to new geographical regions, the distribution and use of gemstones by the Arabs underwent substantial changes. Among these, we will mention in particular the improvement and expansion of the trade routes (maritime as well as land) and the commercial connections with East Africa and the Persian Gulf along with India, Sri Lanka and China. Alongside the increased availability of the gemstones used during the earlier periods and the new sources for mining, several changes in style occurred on the backdrop of the appearance of new and previously unknown gemstones. The predominant ones were the ruby (red corundum), Eastern topaz, diamond and bezoar-stone (bādzahr), none of which was mentioned by the Classical medical sources.818 As stated above, the Arabs developed a whole field of mineral and gemstone science, which specialised in distinguishing the different stones and their qualities, learning the ways they are formed and locating the places to collect and mine them as well as improving the mining techniques. Moreover, Arab jewellers took an active part in inventing and developing new technologies and tools, mainly in the field of goldsmithy as well as alchemistry and heating, melting, pouring and polishing gemstones.819 In the work on stones, attributed to Aristotle (ninth century), it is written that the important gemstones in his time were the large pearl (durr), corundum (yāqūt) and emerald (zabarjad).820 There is no doubt that these precious stones were limited to the higher socio-economic strata that were part of the elite of the ruling courts since these stones were more than merely jewellery; they were a show-off product or a status symbol signifying the wealth and social position of a person. According to al-Dimashqī:

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 167 The expensive gemstones are tempting for the kings and rulers to buy them for themselves due to their high value, low weight and the opportunity to show-off and boast, mainly since the common people could not afford them. A precious stone brings the kings happiness, joy, pleasure and bliss.821

This phenomenon was not unique only among the Arabs. The records of wealth with regard to the squandering of the Arab rulers, mainly by collecting unique precious stones and showing them off, attest to the Classical influence or adoption of habits, because the Classical literature, well-known to medieval Arabs, dealt widely with gemstones.822 In any case, this phenomenon, which already existed during the time of the first Caliph and the Umayyad dynasty,823 became more prominent during the Abbasid period. Traders would travel to Southeast Asia, that is, to India, Sri Lanka and China, to purchase gemstones and sell them for a huge profit. Special delegates were sent on behalf of the Caliphs to look for and acquire rare and unique gemstones. It was said of Hārūn al-Rashīd that he was eager to obtain expensive gemstones. Therefore, he sent an emissary, an expert jeweller named Íabāª al-Kindī, to Sri Lanka to buy precious stones for him. Al-Kindī, the emissary, was rewarded with a large prize from the king of Sri Lanka.824 Similarly, we learn from al-T⁄fāsh⁄’s book on gemstones (the first half of the thirteenth century) that he had heard from Persian gemstone traders frequently traveling to China and India about diamonds possessing special quality.825 On the other hand, we hear of a tenth-century trader named Sulaymān who travelled to India and China and brought emeralds from Egypt to their rulers.826 Evidence of the importance of gemstones to the Abbasid rulers is the special ‘safe’ that they built (khizānat al-jawhar) in which they consigned their precious stones under special supervision. The main responsibility of the supervisor of that ‘safe’ was to take special care of the stones, protect them and acquire more stones for the family members of the rulers. Therefore, he employed several goldsmiths at a monthly wage.827 It seems that the rulers invested a significant portion of their wealth buying precious stones due to their lightness and the ease of transferring them. More importantly, they relied on them as a source of wealth in times of crisis or disaster.828 At their courts, the Arab Caliphs would glorify themselves with huge and unique gemstones to mark their wealthy status.829 Arabic literature is

168 | a rabi an dr ugs filled with descriptions of rare and unique gemstones in the treasuries and hoards of the Fatimid rulers. These were presented on special occasions, such as parades, processions and other festive events. On the other hand, these special stones are also mentioned in descriptions of robberies and ransacking of the hoards of the Fatimid rulers during the period of anarchy that characterised the end of their regime.830 We will present herein some examples of this luxurious pretentiousness. Among the exquisite and expensive treasures of Caliph al-Mutawakkil were prayer beads consisting of 100 beads, each one weighing one mithqāl and valued at 1,000 dīnārs.831 The most expensive gemstones, renowned for their size and rarity, received special nicknames. One such stone, dubbed ‘the orphan’, was a pearl weighing three mithqāls. Its nickname was explained by the fact that there was no other even slightly similar stone to compare it with or assess its value.832 Alongside this pearl that had a rich and interesting history, there was a red corundum shaped like a crescent weighing eleven mithqāls known as ‘the horseshoe’ (al-ªāfir), which, after being in the hoards of the Fatimids, was later transferred to Íalāª al-Dīn and other rulers.833 The Most Valued Stones The stones most appreciated by the Arabs during the medieval period were the corundum, some of which, such as the blue variety (sapphire), were already known, albeit on a small scale, from the late Roman and the early Byzantine periods.834 The ruby was highly and especially valued. There is no doubt that the reference to the ruby in the Qurʾān (55:58) only benefited its prestige. The written sources bring many anecdotes regarding the prestige of the ruby among the different rulers.835 Similarly, the pearl, which was wellknown in Arabia, was mentioned in the Qurʾān several times (22:23; 35:33; 55:22). The third stone in order of prestige after the corundum and the pearl was the emerald. This stone was well-known and highly esteemed during the Roman period.836 The superb white diamond (or transparence) was used by the Indian elite as jewellery. However, it was still rare in the Western world. Therefore, the large stones were expensive, while the smaller raw stones were usually used to process other hard gemstones.837 Bezoar-stone [bādzahr] was not used as a gemstone, but rather as a medicine. It was almost a supernatural cure for prevention and protection from poisoning, the principal threat to all Arab rulers.838

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 169 On the other hand, several gemstones that were considered expensive and precious in the pre-Islamic period were described by the Arabic sources as being less valued than in the past. Among these we note turquoise, carnelian and lazurite. The sources indicate that kings would no longer wear them or pride themselves on them unless they were very conspicuous, unique or special.839 During the medieval period, the carnelian (ʿaqīq) of Yeminite origin was still considered a precious stone, especially the bright red.840 For example, this stone, along with the Yemenite onyx, was included in the gifts that the Caliph al-Maʾmūn (813–833) gave the king of India in return for the corundums and mother of pearl (durr) he received from him.841 A few gemstones known in the Classical period have no Arabic name even though they were quite common, such as some varieties of quartz and the agate. These were probably part of the collective noun carnelian while the heliotrope was probably part of the collective noun gasper (yashb). The aquamarine stone, which was prestigious in the Roman period, was probably considered to be part of the collective noun emerald.842 The rating of the gemstones can also be learnt by their respective prices, which can be found sporadically in the literature (see Table 3.4). The prices of the stones were not fixed but set according to various parameters, including size, type, quality, demand and supply. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄ (the first half of the thirteenth century), for example, lists the prices of the stones according to their level of processing: a processed stone, ready to be set, three dirhams; a half-processed stone after washing and cleaning, less than a dīnār for one ʾūqiyya (ounce); and a raw stone – two-thirds of the price of a washed stone since the process of washing reduces its weight. He added that polishing the lazurite is a lucrative and respected occupation.843 Lazurite, like carnelian, was polished with a grindstone and water.844 Analysing changes of the prices of gemstones over the long run from the Abbasid to the Mamluk period can teach us about the commonness and availability of gemstones. For example, at the time of al-Maʾmūn, when the market was flooded with gemstones and they were easy to obtain in abundance, the demand and, consequently, the prices dropped. A Brahmin corundum valued at 5,000 dīnārs was sold for 1,000 dīnārs.845 However, we can say that in the early periods, in general, the prices of gemstones were high and were only available to the elite. In later periods,

Carnelian

Garnet

Turquois

Pearl

Emerald

1 dirham – 5 ʾistār (raw) – up to 50 dīnār 1/2 mithqāl (polished) – 20 dīnār 1 mithqāl 1/2 – 10 dīnār 1/2 (superb) – 30 dīnār 1 mithqāl – 1 dīnār

1.5 mithqāl – 2,000 dīnār 1 mithqāl – 800–1,000 dīnār 1/2 mithqāl – 400 dīnār 1/3 mithqāl – 120 dīnār 1/6 mithqāl – 30 dīnār 1 mithqāl (blue) – 200 dīnār 1/2 mithqāl – 100 dīnār 1 mithqāl – 80–200 dīnār 1 mithqāl (cheap) – 15 dīnār Size of hazelnut – 300 dīnār 3 mithqāl – 30,000 dīnār 1/2 mithqāl – 2,000 dīnār Small and cheap stones – 1–5 dīnār 1 mithqāl (best quality) – 1,000 mithqāl gold

Corundum (red)

Diamond (transparent, good quality)

Ninth centurya

Name of the stone

Table 3.4  Rates of prices of gemstones in the medieval period

1/2 mithqāl – 1,000 dīnār 4 q⁄rāt – 2,000 dīnār 12 q⁄rā† – 11,500 dīnār 2 and 1/3 mithqāl – 30,000 dīnār 1 mithqāl – (best quality) – 300 dīnār 1/2 mithqāl – 20 dīnār 1/3 mithqāl – 5 dīnār

1 mithqāl – 100 dīnār

1 mithqāl – 400 dīnār 1/2 mithqāl – 50 dīnār 1/3 mithqāl – 15 dīnār 1/4 mithqāl – 6 dīnār 1 mithqāl (yellow) – 100 dīnār

Tenth–eleventh centuriesb

Seal ring – 4 dīnār Engraved/Cone stone – 1 dirham

1 mithqāl – 1/2 dīnār

1/2 mithqāl (best quality) – 200 dīnār 1/3 mithqāl – 50 dīnār 1/4 mithqāl – 20 dīnār 1/8 mithqāl – 3 dīnār 1 dirham – 1 dīnār

1 q⁄rā† – 2 dīnār

1 mithqāl (red) – more than 100 mithqāl gold 1 mithqāl (yellow) – 100 dīnār 1 mithqāl (blue) – 10 dīnār 1 mithqāl (white) – less than 10 dīnār

Thirteenth–fourteenth centuriesc

1 mithqāl – 1/3–1 dīnār 1 mithqāl – 1–100 dīnār (depending on quality)

1 mithqāl – 5 dīnār

1 mithqāl – 4 dīnār 1 ra†l (superb) – 20 dīnār 1 ra†l (medium quality) – 10 dīnār 1 ra†l (inferior) – 3–6 dīnār

Polished stone – 3 dirham Half polish – dīnār and less for 1 ounce Raw stone – 2/3 of the half polished Bead – 1 mithqāl – 2 dirham 1 ra†l (superb) – 10 dīnār Bead – 1 mithqāl – 1/2 dirham 1 dirham – 1/2 dirham 1 ra†l 5–7 dīnār (Maghrib) 1 ra†l – 10–21 (Egypt)

Notes:  Weights: q⁄rā†: 0.186–0.176 gram; dirham: standard weight 3.125 grams; mithqāl: Egypt 4.68 grams, Iraq 4.46 grams; ʾistār: 20 grams; ra†l: Egypt 450 grams, Iraq 406.25 grams; ʾūqiyya: 1/2 of ra†l.d a Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur; Ruska, Steinbuch des Aristoteles; Levey, The Medical Formulary; Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir. b Al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat; Ibn Juljul, Maqāla; al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir; Gil, Palestine; Gil, In the Kingdom; Goitein, A Mediterranean. c Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār; Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, Kitāb Nukhab. d Hinz, Islamische Masse.

Onyx Rock crystal Jet Jasper Coral

Lazurite

 

172 | a rabi an dr ugs as the supply of and trade in stones increased, prices fell and it appears that certain gemstones could be purchased by a wider section of society. The Practical Uses of Precious Stones in Medicine In comparison with the vast information on the medicinal uses of gemstones in the theoretical literature, the information regarding their practical medical uses is poor, as can be learnt from dozens of practical prescriptions found in the Cairo Genizah, with the exception of noticeably cheap stones such as agate and lazurite.846 More expensive stones, such as corundum and emerald, appear only in the theoretical medical literature.847 Therefore, we presume that they were not common. In Book of the Pharmacists written by Saladino d’Ascoli in 1430, the author gives advice on the medicinal substances that should be dispensed at a pharmacy, including metals and gemstones. However, the list consists primarily of such inexpensive, available stones as pearl, lazurite, corals, rock crystal and antimony.848 This trend continues in the Ottoman period. In prescriptions found in the Topkapı Palace, the names of several ground gemstones of different kinds appear. However, there is no record that they were actually bought and transferred to the palace storehouse, probably due to their high price.849 It means that whoever needed them had to pay for them out of his own pocket. Inorganic materials (minerals, metals and kinds of soil) used in ancient times, and in the medieval Arabic world,850 are still widely used in traditional societies as was recorded in recent surveys conducted in Middle Eastern markets, including Israel and Jordan (about 10 per cent of the inventory).851 However, no gemstone was recorded in the market. Their use today is mainly as amulets and supernatural cures. It seems, as in the past, that today, purchasing gemstones is restricted to the elite and is done in the goldsmith’s shop, not in the medicinal markets and pharmacies. We should mention, however, that certain gemstones such as the bezoar or beaded necklace set with precious stones, were in the possession of the rich, who lent them out to laymen for the treatment of serious diseases. Gemstones for the treatment of serious diseases were given as presents. For example, the stone for the treatment of dropsy was sent by Basil, the Byzantine emperor, to Tāj al-Dawla, the governor of Sicily, at the end of the tenth century.852 The gemstones that were used for healing were hung

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 173 up or placed on the body of the ailing person. In this manner, they could be used unlimited times. This phenomenon is known in modern times as well. For example, in twentieth-century Yemen, a few well-to-do Jewish families owned beaded necklaces set with precious stones, which they lent to other families when needed for medical purposes.853 Óayyim Óabshūsh describes the use of medicinal gemstones in Yemen at the beginning of the twentieth century, especially the qualities of bezoar stone that one family possessed. He writes that ‘the owners of the stone do not charge [for its use]. They do it for the sake of heaven as alms or for righteousness.’854 corundum

When they (inhabitants of Sarandīb – Sri Lanka) did not find precious stones, they used to slaughter animals and scatter their parts at the foot of the mountains. The eagles would take these parts in their beaks and fly with them back to their nests on the mountaintop. Sometimes, pieces of meat would drop and fall to the ground. Then a yāqūt stone stuck to it. Afterwards, the eagle would seize the piece of meat again and glide in the sky. The yāqūt stone would fall back to the ground, where the local people would collect it.855

Corundum (yāqūt) Yāqūt is a generic name for the group of precious stones named corundum; the Greek hyakinthos was translated in Arabic literature into yāqūt and in Persian into yākand. They are crystalline rock-forming minerals made of aluminium oxide (Al2O3) with traces of other materials, such as titanium and iron. The corundum is second only to the diamond in its hardness (nine on the Mohs scale). These minerals are clear and transparent when pure. However, they appear in nature in various colours when impurities are present. Corundums are still considered among the most expensive precious stones in existence today. The modern name ‘corundum’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘kuruvinda’, meaning ‘ruby’. That is to say, at first it was the name of the red corundum (ruby) and afterwards it became the generic name of all stones that shared the same characteristics but had different hues. In the medieval period, the ruby was mistakenly attributed by some historical sources to the anthrax and carbunculus stone mentioned in the Classical literature.856

174 | a rabi an dr ugs Four varieties of yāqūt are mentioned in the Arabic literature857 according to their colours (Plates 32, 33, 34): 1. yāqūt ʾaªmar – red corundum – the ruby stone of present day. According to the sources, this stone also appears in shades of pink and purple. 2. yāqūt ʾazraq or kuªlī or ʾasmanjūnī – blue corundum – the present-day sapphire stone. 3. yāqūt ʾa‚far – yellow corundum – present-day topaz, or oriental topaz (Al2SiO4(F,OH)2). This is a silicate mineral consisting of aluminum and fluorine. In most cases, its colour is yellow. However, it also appears in nature in varieties of orange, brown and even red. Its hardness is eight on the Mohs scale. 4. yāqūt ʾabya∂ or al-mahāwī – white corundum. Two varieties are mentioned with respect to this stone: the crystalloid (ballūrī) – similar to a rock crystal in its transparency, and a stone called ‘moonstone’ by the inhabitants of India, which was harder than the first stone.858 Al-Qazwīnī, while summing up information from other scholarly sources of his time, characterises the yāqūt as: A dry stone in its nature that was formed, according to the ancestors, from drops of waters that were stuck in-between layers of hard rocks for a long time until transforming also into very hard stone. It does not melt in fire due to the tiny amounts of oil found in it, nor does it disintegrate due to the lack of moisture … Its origin is the lands south of the Equator. It is unique and very precious.859

Corundums were unknown in the Middle East in the Biblical period. It seems that only after the conquests of Alexander the Great were the conditions ripe and the necessary connections formed for their importation. An analysis of a figurine of the Parthian goddess Ishtar dated not before the third century BC (displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris) reveals that the red stones set in its eyes and umbilicus are ruby stones.860 This is a unique and quite exceptional finding that shows that the corundum was known but probably not very common in the Mediterranean region during the Roman period.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 175 The issue of the yāqūt stones in the literature is a characteristic example of the transformation in the identification of precious stones between the Classical and Medieval sources. Pliny mentioned the iacinthus stone from Ethiopia and its amethyst-like colour.861 Beyond that information, it is not mentioned among the common precious stones in his book. In fact, its ­­identification is not at all clear. In the Classical period, it was said that the iacinthus stone was imported from Muziris, a port city in Southwestern India. We assume it was the blue corundum.862 Isidore of Seville describes the group of purple and blue precious stones at the beginning of the seventh ­­century  mentioning the amethystus, sapphirus and iacinthus. The iacinthus is described as a blue stone and very hard to engrave on. However, it is possible to chisel it with diamond.863 It is therefore evident that the early sources (as early as the seventh century) made a clear distinction between the sapphirus and iacinthus. The first is clearly identified with lazurite stone (lapis lazuli), a blue stone that is speckled with pyrite (golden colour spots).864 The second is a very hard stone, probably the blue corundum, which first appeared as a gemstone embedded in jewellery in the archaeological findings of the Roman period.865 For example, blue corundums were found in excavations of the Roman-Egyptian city of Berenike, a port on the western shore of the Red Sea, and at Shenshef, a city southeast of Berenike.866 From this period onward, the blue corundum is called a ‘sapphire’. It fits the description of a very hard stone in the Midrash (homiletic interpretation of the Bible) of the Jewish Sages’ writings of the Roman–Byzantine period.867 In the medieval period, the process of linguistic separation between these two stones was completed. The sapphire was identified mainly with the blue corundum while the lazurite stone (lapis lazuli) designated a different and separate name – lāzward. Ibn Juljul included the yāqūt on the list of drugs that were not mentioned by Dioscorides.868 In the Arabic literature, the corundum is not specific to the blue stone, but as a generic name for a variety of stones of different hues characterised by their unique hardness. Pseudo Aristotle with reference to stones (ninth century) mentions the red, yellow and blue corundum.869 Similarly, these varieties of iacinthus are mentioned in the European medieval literature dealing with precious stones.870

176 | a rabi an dr ugs Arabic literature dealing with precious stones describes white yāqūt in addition to the red, yellow and blue variety.871 Almost all of the Arabic sources concur that the origin of the corundums is India,872 mainly Sarandīb (Sri Lanka).873 There, the Brahmins identified the sacred Rahūn mountain (known today as Adam’s Peak) on which, according to a common belief, the footprint of the first man is found, as a place near which many corundums of all colours are found.874 The island’s inhabitants used to collect the corundums from the sediments that were washed down the mountain during floods. Ibn Māsawayhi describes stones of various hues that were found in and brought from Sarandīb as light and dark red, similar to black with red veins.875 Marco Polo praises Sri Lanka for its production of gemstones thus: ‘The island produces sapphires, topazes, amethysts, garnets and many other precious stones.’876 The trade with corundums took place, among other ports, through Oman.877 Several legends regarding the finding of precious stones by the residents of the island are recorded by Arabic sources.878 Another origin of these precious stones mentioned by the Arabic sources is the Badakhshān region (Afghanistan of present day) from which red yāqūt was brought, yāqūt rummānī as well as the lāzward (lapis lazuli).879 The corundum, like the pearl and the emerald, were considered the most important and prestigious precious stones in the Arabic world.880 There is no doubt that the prestige and affinity towards the corundum among the Muslims received formal and compelling approval by its mention in the Qurʾān: ‘(In beauty) they are like al-yāqūt (rubies) and coral’ (Qurʾān, Sūrat al-Raªmān 58). This may be evidence that the traders of Óijāz were familiar with the yāqūt at the dawn of Islam and perhaps even prior to that. It was told about the Caliph Yazīd I (680–3) that he sent a small bottle made of yāqūt as a gift to the Kaʿba in Mecca.881 Due to the importance of corundum, the medieval Biblical commentators identified them, on the backdrop of the reality of their period, as part of the stones of the Biblical Óoshen (twelve precious stones in the High Priest’s breast plate). For example, Rabbi Saadia Gaon (ninth and tenth centuries) identifies the Biblical Odem (ruby) as yāqūt ʾaªmar, the Bareket (topaz) as yāqūt ʾa‚far, the Sapir (white corundum) as al-mahā and Tarshish (aquamarine) as yāqūt ʾazraq.882

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 177 The red variety of yāqūt was considered the most precious and, therefore, was expensive.883 In fact, when yāqūt is mentioned in the Arabic sources without an adjective of colour, it is probably the red stone. In contrast to the blue corundum that was already known in the Roman–Byzantine period, however relatively restricted, the red corundum became known and used in the medieval period. According to the Arabic sources, it could tolerate fire and heat, which improved, elucidated and strengthened the red colour, thereby increasing its value.884 This technique was used on dark stones in India by which heating removed the blackness and improved the uniformity of the red colour of the stone. In regard to the other varieties of yāqūt stones, it is said that they were cut and polished with diamonds in India and Iraq.885 Arabic literature distinguishes between several varieties of red yāqūt whose hues differ from one another: al-rummānī (looks like pomegranate seeds), bahramānī (Brahmin; an orange colour similar to that of the safflower – Carthamus tinctorius), ʾurjuwānī (bordeaux red), laªmī (red meat colour), banafsajī (purple like the flowers of the sweet violet – Viola odorata), jullanārī (yellowish hue) and wardī (red mixed with white). Similarly, the yellow and the blue yāqūt stones varied in their hues and names. One of the blue hues was yāqūt ʾakhab (dark grey), the value of a superb one being ten dirham for one mithqāl. Al-Bīrūnī cites an Indian book in which it is written that the superb variety of al-ʾakhab is the one that ‘if you look at it under the sunlight, its colour tends to seem black’.886 The value of each stone was determined by its colour, transparency and smoothness. Top-quality stones were shiny corundums with strong colours and no speckles or deficiencies.887 The Arabic sources assert that the yāqūt is the hardest precious stone except for the diamond, which was the only stone with which they could cut and polish the yāqūt.888 One of the earliest Arabic sources describes the vast booty that the Arabs seized from the Sasanians after the Battle of Nahāwand in 642. It included yāqūt and other precious stones that had never been seen before.889 At first, corundums were rare; therefore, their price was high. The Arabic sources tell, by the name of the ‘ancestors’ (probably from the early Arabic period), that the value of one mithqāl of corundum was 3,000 dīnārs. Al-JāªiÕ even writes about one pure red yāqūt stone of the Brahmin variety whose value was 5,000 dīnārs.890 Over the years, the prices dropped, but corundums

178 | a rabi an dr ugs nonetheless remained expensive. Their value was calculated according to their size.891 Corundums that are not red were valued as well. It is told that one of the soldiers of Mu‚ʿab ibn al-Zubayr found in the treasures of one of the Sasanian kings a golden date tree set with gems, including a yellow corundum and emerald, and brought it to his commander.892 Another anecdote is about Abū al-Óusayn Bajkam al-Makānī, a commander in the Abbasid army (938–41), who gave his wife a jewellery box filled with large pearls and red and blue corundums.893 After the death of his master, the Abbasid ruler al-Rā∂ī took over the treasuries of the palace, which included jewellery, gems and yellow corundums.894 Here are some examples of prices of corundums during the Abbasid Caliphate. Top-quality corundums sold at a price of thirty dīnārs for onesixth of a mithqāl, 120 dīnārs for one-third of a mithqāl, 400 dīnārs for one half of a mithqāl, 1,000 dīnārs for one mithqāl and 2,000 dīnārs for a mithqāl and a half. At the time of al-Maʾmūn, corundums were available in abundance. Their prices were calculated according to hue. For example, the price of one mithqāl of the Brahmin variety was 800 dīnārs, ʾurjuwānī 500 dīnārs, laªmī and banafsajī 200 dīnārs and the wardī even less.895 In the second half of the eleventh century and during the twelfth century, the prices of these precious stones dropped dramatically. One mithqāl red yāqūt of dark hue sold for 400 dīnārs, one half of a mithqāl for fifty dīnārs, one-third of a mithqāl fifteen dīnārs and one-fourth of a mithqāl for six dīnārs.896 Al-T⁄fāsh⁄ describes the yāqūt’s rates in relation to the value of gold. For example, the average value of half a dirham of red yāqūt in Egypt and Iraq was equivalent to six mithqāls of gold. However, a high-quality yāqūt stone (Brahmin variety) was valued at more than 100 mithqāls of gold.897 Ibn al-ʾAkfānī (the beginning of the fourteenth century) indicates that the price of the red corundums was the highest while yāqūt stones of other colours were much cheaper. For example, one mithqāl of a yellow corundum was sold for 100 dīnārs, down to one dīnār for the poorest quality,898 a blue one was sold for ten dīnārs and the white one for even less.899 In any case, relative to the Abbasid period, these prices are much lower. For example, in the case of the blue corundum the prices dropped to the rate of 1:10, since al-JāªiÕ quoted a price of 200 dīnārs for a one-mithqāl stone.900

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 179 In light of this, it is clear that the corundums, mainly the red ones, were popular consumer goods only among the elite and the monarchs. This may be the reason that they were not mentioned in the vast number of trader letters and documents found in the Cairo Genizah. The medieval middle class could only afford to buy much cheaper corundums. For example, a white corundum appears along with less expensive precious stones such as rock crystal (ballūr) on a list of jewellery as part of a girl’s dowry, which was documented in Fus†ā† in 1156.901 Many anecdotes are dispersed within the Arabic literature regarding the existence of unique corundums in the courts of the various Caliphs. Their existence was a sign of high status and prestige. It was told of a man named Óamza ibn Bī∂ who received a big red yāqūt as a present from Yazīd ibn al-Muhallab, one of the military leaders of the Umayyad Caliphate (about 725). The man sold the stone to a rich Jew in Khurāsān for 30,000 dirhams. Later, the buyer told him that he would have spent even 50,000 dirhams.902 In another case, Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (724–43) received a present of a huge red corundum that was so large that its two ends stuck out of the hand that held it. This stone was bought for 73,000 dīnārs.903 Much evidence comes, in particular, from the Abbasid Caliphates. Abū Jaʿfar al-Man‚ūr (ruled 754–75) had a two mithqāl corundum called al-jabal in his seal ring. Its value was estimated at 100,000 dīnārs. However, he bought it for just 40,000 dīnārs.904 It is also told that Jibrīl ibn Bukhtīshūʿ, the Nestorian physician of Ibn Yaªyā al-Barmakī, the vizier of Hārūn al-Rashīd, came to visit the ailing mother of Jaʿfar. Jibrīl found that her blood pressure was high and treated her by administrating phlebotomy. In return, the mother gave him a ball and a spoon with which she ate – both made out of yellow yāqūt. Jibrīl sold the presents and said that this was the source of his wealth until his last day.905 These stories should be seen on the background of the relationship of the Barmakī’s viziers with India. It was their initiative to invite scholars and physicians to Baghdad and import medicinal substances and other goods from India.906 The Caliph al-Muqtadir had a corundum called ‘myrtle’s leaf’ (waraqat al-ʾās), because of its unusual shape, which he had bought for 60,000 dīnārs. Al-Thaʿālib⁄ writes that it was said that one time al-Muqtadir asked a rich gemstone trader, ‘How do you discern a superb corundum?’ The

180 | a rabi an dr ugs trader answered him, ‘Oh Emir of believers; its beauty, its lucidity in my eyes, its weight in my hand, and its coldness in my mouth.’907 The Ghaznavid Emir Yamīn al-Dawla, Maªmūd ibn Subuktikīn the Sultan of Ghazna (971– 1030), had a twelve mithqāl corundum whose price was estimated at 20,000 dīnārs.908 This should be seen on the backdrop of his wars and conquests in India and the vast booty that he collected. The wife of the vizier Abū al-Qāsim al-Maghribī, al-Óusayn ibn ʿAlī (980–1027), brought a small red vessel for mixing scents cut from bahramānī and white rummānī yāqūt.909 Ibn al-˝uwayr mentions in his book dealing with the administration of the Fatimid Caliphate that they had an eleven mithqāl red corundum shaped like a crescent in their possession. The stone, known as al-ªāfir, was placed, together with a pearl, on the forehead of the Caliph’s horse set between his eyes while he was riding his horse at the parade.910 Ibn Ba††ū†a, the famous traveller, writes extensively about the abundance of precious stones in Sri Lanka. When he visited the capital city of Sarnadib, Kanker, situated in a valley named Yāqūt, he saw during the holy days the Sultan riding on a white elephant whose forehead was adorned with yāqūt stones bigger than chicken eggs. When the Sultan saw Ibn Ba††ū†a’s astonishment in seeing the yāqūt stones the size of the Sultan’s hand, he told him that he had even bigger stones. Ibn Ba††ū†a testified that most of the women of Sarandīb wore necklaces embedded with corundums. The inhabitants of the island could have any stones they found up to the value of 100 fanams (six gold dīnārs). If they found any bigger and more valuable stones, they had to give them to the rulers and would be paid their equivalent value.911 The author of a book on precious stones and minerals, al-T⁄fāsh⁄, tells about a man, al-Sharīf al-Jawharī (an expert on precious stones), who lived in Cairo in about the year 1232. This man had acquired his knowledge in India and learned that whoever owns a valuable yāqūt stone will have increased strength, status and prestige.912 Indeed, as is the case with all prestigious goods, large corundums were sent as presents between rulers, especially the kings of India and the Muslim rulers.913 One example is the female camel that the king of India sent to al-Junayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raªmān al-Murrī, the ruler of Sind at the time of Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik. Its body was filled with gems, its udder with small pearls and its neck with red yāqūt stones. The Caliph was astonished to see the gift, which he kept in his treasury until transferring

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 181 it to the possession of the Abbasid Caliphate.914 Similar gifts and precious goods from India were also bestowed on rulers at the time of al-Maʾmūn.915 Ibn Ba††ū†a testifies that he saw with his own eyes gifts that were given to the Sultan of India and Sind, Muªmmad ibn ˝ughluq, including one tray laden with yāqūt stones, a second tray full of emeralds and a third full of pearls.916 From the medicinal point of view, the nature of the red and yellow corundums was considered hot and dry; the blue – cold and dry; and the white – cold and humid.917 Wearing a yāqūt stone was considered beneficial against the evil eye, being hit by lightning and thunder, plagues and epilepsy. Grinding and drinking it was considered beneficial for strengthening the heart, fighting fear, increasing courage and counteracting poisons.918 It was also mentioned that the yāqūt quenches thirst if placed in the mouth or under the tongue and prevents bleeding. The yellow variety was used to prevent nightmares and nocturnal emission.919 The white variety was administered and smeared on the tongue, along with other medicinal substances, for the treatment of speech impediments. It was believed that when it was hung on the thigh of a woman giving birth, the childbirth was faster and easier.920 diamond

Motupalli (West India) is a kingdom … the kingdom produces diamonds. Let me tell you how they are obtained. You must know that in the kingdom there are many mountains in which the diamonds are contained, as you will hear. When it rains the water rushes down through these mountains, making its way through mighty gorges and caverns. When the rain has stopped and the water has dried up, men go in search of diamonds through these gorges from which the water has come, and they find plenty.921

Diamond (ªajar al-mās) The diamond is a mineral formed from pure crystallised carbon. The most expensive and precious is the clear colourless diamond. Diamonds have the greatest hardness of any bulk material (ten on the Mohs scale). Diamonds are formed in magmatic rocks rich in carbonate at high temperatures; they are brought close to Earth´s surface through deep volcanic eruptions by magma, which cools into rocks known as kimberlites. When the kimberlites erode, the diamonds are scattered by the flow of the rivers to produce secondary

182 | a rabi an dr ugs deposits in the alluvium. It was there, in the past, that they were usually collected. The most ancient deposits of diamonds were found in India. Only in the modern period were more deposits found in South Africa and America. Until the Middle Ages, diamonds were rare and expensive, but were not used as preferred jewellery since their processing was primitive and produced transparent stones that, mostly due to a lack of lustre, resembled pieces of glass. The main use of the diamonds, at first, was for cutting and polishing other hard gemstones (Plate 35).922 The technology of cleaving diamonds and removing deficiencies by polishing them using a special grindstone with water on a surface of black lead (ʾasrub) was already described in ninth-century India.923 However, the sophisticated art of polishing diamonds in the modern sense known today was invented only in the Medieval era. In the thirteenth century, Europeans already knew the simple cosmetic processing that had been done in India hundreds of years before. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the method of splitting the rough diamond according to the octahedron structure was learnt, a process preventing loss of material. Meanwhile, the technology of polishing the diamonds improved. An important milestone of this long process is attributed to Ludwig van Berquem, a Belgian goldsmith who invented the scaif machine in 1476, using old technology and improving it significantly.924 The diamond is probably not the Biblical (Hebrew) yahalom.925 No Bible translations or commentaries mention diamonds as one of the Óoshen (High Priest breastplate) stones or even the yahalom. Moreover, there is no historical or archaeological evidence for the existence of diamonds in the Middle East before the Muslim conquests. It seems that the Greeks were first introduced to diamonds only after the conquests of Alexander the Great. Due to its unique hardness, the Greeks named the diamond adamas, meaning ‘unconquerable or unbreakable’.926 The diamond is mentioned by the Roman authors as a precious stone deriving from India. However, it was not included among the precious stones used in the Classical period. In fact, a specific reference to diamonds exists only from the Roman period. 927 Marcus Manilius (first century) writes, ‘The diamond is a stone not bigger than a dot, more expensive than gold.’928 Pliny mentions the adamas at the top of the list of the most expensive goods found

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 183 in the ground in the Roman Empire.929 In a special chapter dedicated to the diamond, he adds that for a long time it ‘was known only to kings and to very few of them’.930 Regarding its geographical origin, he writes that diamonds come from India, Ethiopia, Arabia and Cyprus, but the strongest come from India. According to Pliny, the diamond is similar in its transparent colour and smooth hexagonal faces to rock crystal. The diamond can be identified by its hardness and its resistance to fire. If it is struck with an iron (hammer) on a breech block, the diamond repulses the blow. In the meantime, the hammer and the breech block may break. Pliny writes that he devised a technique for cracking a diamond. The precious stone should be soaked in hot fresh goat buck’s blood. After it is struck many times, it breaks into small pieces.931 Pliny provides realistic information together with rumours and even legendry characteristics. However, it is clear that the information on this specific stone comes from India. In the same period, we read about the trade with the adamas stone and blue corundum imported from Muziris (a port city in Southwestern India).932 Another option for the identification of the hard adamas (besides the diamond) is that it may be the colourless corundum, which was brought from Sri Lanka.933 In any case, it is clear that it was a rare and expensive precious stone. Along with the expansion of the Arab trade with Southeast Asia in the medieval period, the diamond was one of the best known gemstones of the time. Only then did its medicinal virtues start to emerge in the medical literature. Ibn Juljul insistes that the ªajar al-mās was not mentioned either by Dioscorides or by Galen934 and provides us with its description: ‘an Indian stone, sometimes white and sometimes yellow. It is a stone that destroys everything and breaks all the other stones. It is used for piercing pearls. Lead breaks and rends it. It is a precious stone. This stone, if its weight is about a mithqāl, is sold for 100 golden dīnārs. The white is better than the yellow and if drunk it will kill you immediately.’935 There are many legends regarding the discovery of the diamond.936 In the book of precious stones attributed to Aristotle, there is a legendary description of the way that Alexander the Great found diamonds in a steep deserted wādī in Khurāsān full of poisonous snakes, which could kill by looking into one’s eyes. Alexander the Great managed to overpower the snakes thanks to a mirror trick he played on them. Once the snakes saw themselves

184 | a rabi an dr ugs in the mirrors he placed there, they died. Then, he threw pieces of meat into the wadi. The diamonds there stuck to the meat pieces and were brought up by eagles, which were attracted to the meat.937 The diamond was considered among the Arabs as the preferred and noblest of all gemstones except for the red corundum (yāqūt) and the pearl, and kings were proud to have it. Wearing this stone or setting it in a ring enhanced one’s glory and respect.938 Most of the Arabic writers mention India939 and the rivers of Sri Lanka as the source of diamonds, close to the places where corundum was found.940 The diamonds resembled small pebbles and in most cases were about the size of mustard or barley seeds.941 Al-Kindī, in his book on minerals, writes that he had never seen a diamond bigger than a nut.942 At that period, diamonds were not polished, but rough stones usually of white or yellowish colour. A transparent stone was rarely found. Al-Dimashqī was more reserved, asserting that diamonds could be found from the size of a barley seed up to one mithqāl. The diamonds appear in various shapes as well, according to their angles. Their colour is mainly white, similar to the ballūr (rock crystal). However, in many cases it is a bit reddish and opaque, similar to glass. Two varieties of diamond are described in the literature. The first is the ‘olive’, a superb stone, with a white-to-yellow hue like olive oil and similar to the zujāj Firʿawnī. The second variety is the ‘rock crystal’, white as glass.943 Ibn Māsawayhi describes the way a diamond was processed. It was broken with the help of corundums, polished and cleaned using a special grindstone from India and intensive rubbing with water.944 He adds that there are some polished diamonds that disseminate rays of light similar to a rainbow on the walls if a glass cup is placed over them. The Indians set such stones in jewellery.945 In his book on minerals, al-T⁄fāsh⁄ relays information he received from Persian traders dealing with gemstones who would travel to India and China to import the finest precious stones. According to these traders, there is a variety of a diamond with a strong sheen and rays of colourful light, similar to the rainbow, reflected on it. This variety is highly sought after among the Indian nobility, who wear it as an ornament and never sell it.946 Perhaps, at early stages, the Indian authorities controlled or supervised the trade in diamonds. They banned the trade in high-quality diamonds and left the rest to be traded.947 Another historical source mentions that

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 185 the Indians preferred the white (transparent) and the yellow diamond while the people and traders of Iraq and Khurāsān did not care about the colour of the diamonds since they used them for drilling and polishing, not for jewellery.948 Medieval Arab sources describe the diamond as an isometric stone with eight or more facets.949 It is the hardest stone in existence, according to their writings. They describe various techniques for breaking it. The diamond was used for polishing and piercing holes in pearls and other hard gems, such as corundum and emerald. They would pulverise the diamonds with black lead (ʾasrub). The powder was set on an iron file with which precious stones were polished. Holes were made by placing a diamond at the head of sculptor and rapidly drilling a hole with it.950 Cutting and polishing corundums with diamonds were done in India and Iraq as was mentioned by Ibn Māsawayhi.951 A tenth-century source mentions that the Chinese knew the diamond as a hard stone with which they cut and polished jade.952 The unique hardness of the diamond was the basis for identification of the Biblical yahalom.953 This identification is first brought up in the medieval period among the Spanish Bible commentators who translated the Hebrew word from an etymological point of view. They found support for their identification since halam in Hebrew is to strike. That signified, in their opinion, the hardness of the diamond enabling the breaking of other precious stones with it. For example, Ibn Ezra writes, ‘and a great Spanish scholar said that the diamond, which is called al-mās in Arabic, breaks all stones and penetrates rock crystal’.954 This commentary spread and was accepted by various European commentators. By contrast, Rabbi Saadia Gaon and others identified the al-mās as a stone called shamīr, known for its hardness,955 with which, according to the Jewish tradition, Moses engraved the names of the tribes on the shoham (onyx) and Óoshen (breastplate) stones.956 Al-Dimashqī notes an extraordinary use of diamonds by Arab rulers. They would wear a diamond with the intent to kill themselves in the event they fall into captivity and choose to avoid torture or execution.957 Diamonds were also mentioned by European scholars. Albertus Magnus (thirteenth century), for example, mentions diamant in his book on minerals De Mineralibus and writes that it was often mistakenly identified and confused with other

186 | a rabi an dr ugs stones.958 In any case, this is one of the first times that the diamond was mentioned and called by its modern name. The value of diamonds increased during the medieval period and, accordingly, their price was extremely high. It seems that diamonds were traded extensively among the upper social strata. Prices differed between various geographical locations according to the size and quality of the stones. Furthermore, over the years, more and more diamonds became available among the sellers of gemstones. Therefore, their prices dropped relatively. The commercial book of al-JāªiÕ teaches us that a transparent crystallic diamond (al-mās al-ballūrī) of a half mithqāl sold for up to 100 dīnārs. The bigger and heavier the diamond is, the higher its value.959 at-Tamīmī (tenth century AD) indicated that a diamond weighing ªabb960 was sold in the region of three to four dīnārs.961 Ibn al-ʾAkfānī writes that ‘in the old days, the price of one mithqāl was 200 dīnārs and for [a stone] the size of a hazelnut between 300–500 dīnārs’. He adds a story attributed to Muʿizz al-dawla ibn Buwayhi al-Daylamī, who gave a three mithqāl diamond as a present to his brother Rukn al-Dawla (tenth century): ‘a bigger one was never heard of’.962 Likewise, the Emir Nūª ibn Man‚ūr al-Sāmānī (died 997) had two seal rings, each of which was called a ba††īkha. One was a corundum (yāqūt) the size of a grape, while the second was a diamond (al-mās), similar to the first in size and weight. It was told that a bigger diamond had never been seen.963 The Spanish writer Ibn Juljul quoted a price of 100 dīnārs for each mithqāl of diamond.964 The Arab sources mention additional diamond prices. Ibn Māsawayhi writes that a high-quality diamond in Iraq cost fifty dīnārs, with its processing and polishing possibly costing thirty dīnārs more.965 At the same period, al-Kindī mentions that the highest price for a diamond in Baghdad was eighty dīnārs for one mithqāl while the cheapest was fifty dīnārs per mithqāl. The bigger the stone was, the greater the option to cut it into more (smaller) stones, thereby increasing its value two to five times.966 The diamond had medicinal uses in the medieval Arab medical school. It was considered a cold and dry drug mainly used to treat stones in the urinary tracts. This was done either by drinking the diamond’s powder or by an operation that was considered dangerous. An iron wire to which a very

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 187 small diamond was glued with pistachio resin to its end was injected through the urethra in an attempt to crumble the stone and open the obstruction.967 However, some contemporary physicians warn that the diamond should never be administered internally due to the risk it poses for the internal organs (of being ruptured), causing death.968 The act of taking powder into the mouth was also considered dangerous since it could break teeth.969 In external use, placing diamonds on the stomach was deemed useful in the treatment of acute stomach aches.970 bezoar - stone

Whoever is harmed by any poison must put the bezoar-stone on the place of the ‘bite’. This neutralises the poison completely.971 But the animal bezoar has been proven by experience and confirmed empirically. It should be prepared in the following manner. Rub it in olive oil on a grindstone until it lacks no less than one qīrā† up to an eighth of a mithqāl. Let the person who has been bitten or who has ingested a poison lick this up. One should also rub [some] of it on the site of the bite. The patient will recover and be saved.972

Bezoar-Stone (bādzahr, bāzahr, fādzahr) The Arabic scholars already wrote that this drug was not mentioned among the known medicinal substances dealt with in the important Greek medical literature of Galen and Dioscorides.973 The origin of the Arabic name bādzahr is Persian and means ‘protection from poison’. The name penetrated the Arabic language974 as well as several European languages (Bezoar). The Arabic medical literature attributed exceptional medical qualities to the bezoar-stone as a serum for the treatment of animal poisons (snakes, scorpions, various insects and dog bites), poisonous plants and various diseases. Many rulers used the bezoar-stone on a regular basis975 due to their fear of being poisoned by their adversaries. Therefore, kings and dignitaries used tableware made of bezoar-stone at their feasts. An early Arabic author writes that he saw a cup of wine belonging to one of the kings made of bezoar-stone and ornamented with precious stones.976, 977 Yaªyā (Yūªannā) ibn al-Bi†rīq (d. 815), a close associate of al-Maʾmūn,978 writes in his treatise on deadly

188 | a rabi an dr ugs poisons and theriac that a powder of the bezoar-stone placed on the location of the bite stops the poison and defuses it. If the stone is placed on poisoned foods or beverages, it induces the extraction of the poisonous agents. Therefore, kings used knives with handles made of bezoar-stone when eating.979 Due to the difficulty in obtaining the bezoarstone, it was among the precious presents given to kings. For example, it was told that Óasan ibn Sahl sent precious gifts to the Abassid ruler al-Muʿta‚im (833–42), al-Maʾmūn’s brother from the area of the Turkish tribes, including knives with handles made of bezoar-stone.980 Similarly, from the region of Fāris (Iran), knife handles made from bezoar-stones were produce.981 Moreover, it was told that more than one hundred mugs made of ‘blood stone bezoar’ were found in the hoard of the palace of the Shiʿite Fatimid Caliphs. They would pour drinks into these mugs before serving the Caliph. When the drink was poisonous the mug would change its colour. It was also told that the name of the Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd was carved on some of the mugs. They did not hesitate to use it even though he was a Sunnī.982 Bezoar-stone was described in the early Arabic medical literature (ninth and tenth centuries) as having various hues, the yellow considered the best variety and then the grey. The origins of these stones were in China, India, Sind, Khurāsān, the Kirmān region (Iran) and from the ‘East’ in general, all of which were considered excellent.983 In later sources, such as Maimonides, a bezoar-stone from Spain, deep green in colour, was described. Maimonides mentions two varieties of bezoarstones in his writings: one of mineral (inorganic) origin and the other of animal origin.984 Maimonides writes that the first one was found in Egypt and ʿIdhāb.985 However, unlike what was written in the medical literature,986 it was not at all beneficial, according to his experience with many patients. On the other hand, the medical benefit of the animal variety was proven. It was used by rubbing it with oil on a grindstone and applying it in small quantities, drinking or smearing it on the place that was bitten.987 The poison was secreted later through the sweat.988 Another method of treatment in which the stone remained whole was to place it inside the mouth of the poisoned person or externally on the bite.989 Real bezoar-stones were probably very expensive and hard to attain. Therefore, their use was restricted to the monarchy and high ­­socio-economic

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 189 strata. It was told that the Amir Sayf al-Dīn Qalaj (Ayyubid period) used to wear a rounded yellow bezoar-stone on his hand as a defence against poisons. He said that the stone was given to him by al-Malik al-ʾAshraf, ibn al-ʿĀdil (ruling Damascus 1229–38). Such stones were in the hands of al-Malik al-ʾAshraf himself and the Caliph al-Mustaʿīn bi-llāh (1085–1109).990 Most of the medieval sources agree that the bezoar-stone that was most beneficial against poison was produced from an animal secretion. However, they disagree with regard to the identification of the animal as well as the part of the body out of which it was secreted. The following are several theories from the Arabic literature, as documented in al-Qalqashand⁄’s encyclopedia: And its origin is of a known animal called the deer in China. This animal eats snakes and is used to be fed on them [snakes]. As a result, the stone [bezoar] derives from it, as we shall see. The people of that era disagreed with regard to the organ of its origin: eleven said it was produced in the ducts of falling tears whilst the snakes were being eaten. As the stone gets bigger, the deer scratches it, causing the stone to fall down. Another eleven said that the stone was produced in the deer’s heart. This is the reason the animal was hunted and slaughtered, so as to extract the stone. Another eleven said [that the stone was produced] in the deer’s gall bladder.991

The common line of all of the above-mentioned explanations is that the bezoar-stone was considered a poisonous secretion that accumulates in the body of animals that feed on snakes and is, therefore, used as an antidote. There is no doubt that some of the explanations are ‘contaminated’ with legends. Maimonides presents a more critical view: ‘It is created in a way of accumulation. Therefore, we find it layer upon layer.992 Some say it is found in the internal part of the eyes of certain deer in the East whilst others say it is found in their gall bladder. This is true.’993 Interestingly, al-T⁄fāsh⁄ reaches a similar conclusion after quoting all the different views: ‘and the bezoar-stone is extracted from the gall bladder after the deer is hunted … whoever said so is correct since once the stone is licked, the bitter taste is sensed. This is the view of the most renowned gemologists and the best experts amongst them. This is, in my opinion, the correct answer.’994

190 | a rabi an dr ugs Ibn al-ʾAkfānī presents a more specific description. He claims that the origin of the bezoar-stone, excised from the gall bladder of deer from the region of Shankārah in the mountains of Shīrāz (southern Persia), is shaped like the fruit of the oak tree (acorn) and its colour is green or grey.995 Indeed, according to modern studies, bezoar-stones are made of the residue of calcium and other minerals that accumulate in various species and animal organs, such as the gall bladder. It seems that the origin of bezoar-stones was a mountain goat (Capra aegagrus aegagrus), also known as the Bezoar Ibex. This species is dispersed throughout the mountains of Asia Minor and around the Middle East, Persia and Afghanistan. It is under threat of extinction mainly due to the unrestrained hunting in the past that was done in order to acquire the bezoar-stone.996 Besides the use of the bezoar-stone in the treatment of poisoning, the medieval practitioners ascribed other medical benefits to this stone, such as the treatment of fever and eye inflammations. According to some of these physicians, it was the best drug for the treatment of all poisonous agents, cold and hot alike (according to the classification of the basic characteristics of the Galenic–Arabic medical theory).997 Unlike the vast majority of medicinal substances, its uses were restricted in accordance with the nature and individual temperament of each patient. This was true especially for the various poisons whose action is usually specific.998 The bezoar-stone was used externally, placed on the bitten organ, or internally. It was pulverised with a file. The powder was placed on the site of the bite and drained, thereby removing the poison. The dosage was twelve shaʿīra (grains of barley).999 Bezoar-stones were introduced into Europe during the twelfth century by Arabian doctors. They were used as antidotes to arsenic. According to Barroso, the use of bezoar-stones was widespread in Europe during the sixteenth century. Since they were rare, their value was ten times greater than their weight in gold. Therefore, many kings owned one or more specimens, some of which were set in pieces of jewellery.1000 Notes

1. Watson, Agricultural Innovation. 2. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268. 3. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 342.

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4. Wendrich et al., ‘Berenike Crossroads’, p. 70. 5. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 7. 6. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 7. 7. Zohary, The Plant World, p. 459; Hill, Economic Botany, pp. 123–4. 8. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 54. 9. Farag, ‘Why Europe’. 10. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, II, p. 195; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 66–7. 11. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, p. 337. 12. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 276, IV, p. 589. 13. Goitein, A Mediterranean, III, pp. 903, 912; Ben-Sasson, The Jews, pp. 266, 273 14. Goitein, A Mediterranean, IV, p. 110. 15. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 16. 16. Ibid., III, p. 170, IV, p. 101. 17. Ben-Sasson, The Jews, p. 626; Gil, In the Kingdom, II, p. 465, No. 158. 18. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 276. 19. Gil, Palestine, III, pp. 187–8. 20. Ibid., III, p. 210. 21. Ibid., III, p. 217. 22. Ibid., II, p. 421. 23. Ibid., III, pp. 106, 108. 24. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, pp. 80–2. 25. Beugnot, ‘Les Assises’, II, p. 176. 26. Gil, In the Kingdom, II, p. 709. 27. Gil, In the Kingdom: III, p. 905, No. 574, p. 912, No. 474; Ben-Sasson, The Jews, pp. 226, 273. 28. Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, p. 447. 29. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 252; Ben-Sasson, The Jews, p. 401. 30. Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, pp. 586, 589; Goitein, A Mediterranean, IV, p. 110. 31. Ben-Sasson, The Jews, pp. 159, 163. 32. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, p. 77. 33. Levey, The Medical Formulary, pp. 84, 88–91, 202–5; Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, pp. 271–2; Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 76, II, pp. 80, 104; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 190; al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, p. 62; Ben Maimon, Sexual, 1: 5; Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 124; Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 73. 34. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 66–7; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, pp. 196–8.

192 | a rabi an dr ugs



35. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 474. 36. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, pp. 393, 417. 37. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 606. 38. In some cases, ʾihlīlaj kābulī is called ʾihlīlaj ʾaswad, which should not be ­­confused with the ‘Chinese kind’; see Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 196. 39. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268. 40. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 77. 41. Al-Shayzar⁄, Nihāyat, pp. 45–6. 42. Al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 125. 43. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 218–21. 44. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, pp. 393, 417. 45. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 7. 46. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268. 47. Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk, Mufarriª al-Nafs, p. 75. 48. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 196. 49. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 7. 50. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268. 51. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 196. 52. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, pp. 393, 417. 53. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 7. 54. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268. 55. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 196. 56. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p.78. 57. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 7. 58. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268. 59. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, pp. 393, 403. 60. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268. 61. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 7. 62. Sbath and Avierinos, Deux Traits. 63. Levey, The Medical Formulary, pp. 69–70. 64. Lev, ‘Mediators’. 65. Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk, Mufarriª al-Nafs, p. 75. 66. Abravanel, Naªalat Avot, p. 351. 67. King, ‘A unique’. 68. Grover, ‘Man and plants’. 69. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 14; Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 268.

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70. Meyerhof, ‘Medieval Jewish’, p. 436. 71. See in detail: Bos, ‘“Balādhur”’. 72. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, pp. 420, 509. 73. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 105. 74. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 72. 75. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 87; Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 204. 76. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p.268. 77. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 14. 78. According to another version it was his grandfather. 79. Yāqūt, Muʿjam al-ʾUdabāʾ, II, pp. 49–50. 80. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 72. 81. Al-Rāzī, al-Óāwī, I, p. 51 (2957). 82. Citation of the translation of the Arabic manuscript, see: Bos, Ibn al-Jazzār, pp. 34, 35, 42. 83. Ibid. 57; regarding the substances, see: Lev and Amar, Practical. 84. Amar, Pri Megadim, pp. 57–9. 85. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17. 86. 1. East Indian Dragon’s blood (from the fruit of Daemonorops draco); 2. Socotran or Zanzibar Dragon’s blood (exudates of Dracaena cinnabari); 3. Canary Dragon’s blood (exudates formed from incisions of the trunk of Dracaena draco); 4. West Indian Dragon’s blood (exudates of Pterocarpus draco); 5. Mexican Dragon’s blood (resin of Croton lechleri); 6. Venezuelan Dragon’s blood (resin of Croton gossypifolium); the last two species are from the new world and therefore are not relevant for medieval dragon’s blood. 87. Gupta et al., ‘Dragon’s blood’. 88. Howell et al., ‘Raman’; Gupta et al. ‘Dragon’s blood’; Pearson, ‘Daemonorops’. 89. Attorrea et al., ‘Will dragonblood survive?’ 90. Casson, The Periplus Maris, pp. 168–9. 91. Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXIII, 116. 92. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17. 93. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 596. 94. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17 ; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 317. 95. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 596; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 317; al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, I, p. 170; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 17. 96. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 102. 97. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, I, pp. 39, 170.

194 | a rabi an dr ugs 98. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 17; al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 124; al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, p. 49. 99. Al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, p. 52. 100. Al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 124. 101. Ibid., p. 47. 102. Ben-Sasson, The Jews, p. 238, no. 58, p. 355, no. 72; Gil, In the Kingdom, p. 865, no. 562. 103. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 268, no. 101. 104. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17. 105. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 406; al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, I, p. 39. 106. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 400. 107. Amar and Buchman, Íori ha-Guf, p. 177. 108. Ducros, ‘Essai’, p. 59, no. 103. 109. Hooper, Useful Plants, p. 114. 110. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 97–8. 111. Lev and Amar, Ethnic, p. 246. 112. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 251, no. 58. 113. Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants, IV, 7, 8 (p. 345), but this identification is not certain. 114. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 8; Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 115. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, I, p. 134. 116. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, pp. 398–9. 117. Al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, p. 43; al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 122. 118. Smith, ‘Have you’. 119. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, p. 200, IV, p. 261. 120. Gil, In the Kingdom, II, p. 864, no. 287, III, p. 252, no. 373, p. 263, no. 376, p. 679, no. 309, and more. Ben-Sasson, The Jews, pp. 402, 466, 533. 121. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 251, no. 58. 122. Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk, Mufarriª al-Nafs, p. 101. 123. Ben Maimon, Medical Responses, p. 143. 124. Polo, The Travels, p. 291. 125. Al-˝abarī, Firdaws al-Óikma, III. pp. 382, 417. 126. Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’, p. 92. 127. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 97–8. 128. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 8; Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 129. Amar and Buchman, Íori ha-Guf, p. 251. 130. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 301–2.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 195 131. Al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 122. 132. B. arundinacea is still being used in traditional medicine in India and China. 133. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 300, no. 186. 134. Käs, Die Mineralien, pp. 765–99. 135. Babylonian Talmud, Baba Mez’a, 103b. 136. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 222. 137. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 92, 95, 104; Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, pp. 10, 16, 251. 138. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 139. Al-ʾI‚†akhr⁄, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 154. 140. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, p. 156. 141. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 283, no. 380, p. 865, no. 562, p. 903, no. 574, Ben-Sasson, The Jews, p. 273. 142. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, pp. 80–2. 143. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 11; Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 144. Al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, p. 43; al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 122. 145. Al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 122. 146. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 300, no. 186. 147. Al-˝abari, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 405. 148. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 11; Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul‘. 149. Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’. 150. Amar and Buchman, Íori ha-Guf, p. 191. 151. Ben Maimon, Medical Responses, p. 145, no. 19. 152. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 106–8. 153. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. 154. See, for example: Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk, Mufarriª al-Nafs, p. 86. 155. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 158. 156. Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb al-Qānūn, II, p. 303; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 90; Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 155; al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 273. 157. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 273. 158. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 402. 159. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 270. 160. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. 161. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, pp. 157–8. 162. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 220. 163. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 164. Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’.

196 | a rabi an dr ugs 165. Muntner, ‘Assaph’, p. 394. 166. Meyerhof, ‘Medieval Jewish’, p. 436. 167. Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, no. 387. 168. Ben Mrād, Al-Mu‚†alaª al-ʾAʿjamī fī, pp. 361–2. 169. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 140. 170. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 19. 171. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 81; Ibn ʾIyās, Badāʾiʿ, I/1, p. 42; Ben Zimra, Sheʾelot ʾU-Teshuvot, I, no. 499. 172. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 220; al-Ghassānī, Óadīqat, p. 315. 173. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 220; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, 8. 174. Ibn ʾIyās, Badāʾiʿ, I/1, p. 42; Ben Zimra, Sheʾelot ʾU-Teshuvot, I, no. 499. 175. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 81. 176. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 220; al-Ghassānī, Óadīqat, p. 315. 177. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 220. 178. Gil, Palestine, II, p. 794, No. 395; III, p. 60; Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 258, No. 374; Goitein, A Mediterranean, II, p. 574, see more: Amar, The Use. 179. Gil, Palestine, II, 724, No. 395; III, 60–1, No. 445. 180. Pegolotti, La Pratica, p. 63. 181. Heyd, Histoire du Commerce, II, pp. 602–3. 182. Summary of the sources in detail is in Amar, ‘The use’, p. 62. 183. Shohetman, ‘New sources’. 184. Hasselquist, Voyages, p. 299. The original text was published as Hasselquist, Iter Palaestinum. 185. Al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, p. 46. 186. Al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 120. 187. Muntner, ‘Assaph’, IV, p. 394. 188. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, pp. 140–1. 189. Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’. 190. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, p. 81. 191. Ben Maimon, On Asthma, 12: 8, p. 366; Ben Maimon, Regimen, 2: 11; 3: 4, 9. 192. Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 96. 193. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 194. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 130–2. 195. Muntner, Saladino d’Ascoli, pp. 79, 112. 196. Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 69, italics in the original.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 197 197. On the history of cloves and its various names, see in detail: Singh and Singh, ‘Impact’; Ben Maimon, Regimen, p. 97. 198. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, 271; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. 199. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, p. 502. 200. Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XII, 30. 201. Paulus Aegineta, III, p. 160. 202. McCrindle, The Christians Topography, p. 366. 203. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 403. 204. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 104; Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 72; al-Thaʿālib⁄, La†āʾif, p. 215; Polo, The Travels, p. 290. 205. Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, II, p. 416; Polo, The Travels, p. 176. 206. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 98. 207. Polo, The Travels, p. 258. 208. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, V, p. 306. 209. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 54. 210. Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 69. 211. Polo, The Travels, p. 251. 212. Levi Della Vida, ‘A druggist’s account’. 213. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 117–18. 214. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 45–6. 215. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 82. 216. al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, p. 299. 217. A similar version was presented by Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 69. He said that it is the island Bar†āʾīl (Bar†āyīl) near the island al-Zābaj. 218. al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 47–8. 219. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, p. 152, III, p. 202; Gil, In the Kingdom, I, p. 565, IV, p. 932 (references to eleven fragments), also see indices. 220. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, pp. 80–2. 221. Beugnot, ‘Les Assises’, II, p. 174. 222. Pegolotti, La Pratica, p. 63. 223. Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’, p. 290. In detail: Ashtor, ‘Spice prices’. 224. Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’, p. 33. 225. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, p. 205. 226. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 131. 227. Al-Kind⁄, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, pp. 55–6, prescriptions nos 97–9. 228. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 46–7; Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 403.

198 | a rabi an dr ugs 229. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 397. 230. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 403. 231. In the text ‘ʾaªshāʾ’, which may also be translated ‘intestine’. 232. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. 233. Levey, The Medical Formulary, nos 3, 106, 108, 152, 213, 225–6; Compare Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 265; II, pp. 101–2. 234. Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 96. 235. Al-Rāz⁄, al-Óāw⁄, VIIb, p. 126. 236. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 46–7. 237. Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk, Mufarriª al-Nafs, p. 99. 238. Ben Maimon, Medical Responses, 21:6. 239. Ben Maimon, Sexual, Introduction, 15. 240. Wood, Benevenutus, p. 37. 241. Al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, pp. 229–30. 242. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 151–3. 243. Polo, The Travels, p. 286, italics in the original. 244. Fuller et al., ‘Across the Indian Ocean’, p. 549. 245. Chevallier, The Encyclopedia, p. 248. 246. Adams, The Seven Books, p. 454–5. 247. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, II, p. 127. 248. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium, I, p. 71. 249. Ibid. 250. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, I, pp. 334, 395; II, pp. 115, 116; III, pp. 163, 164, 242; IV, pp. 69, 100. 251. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, V, pp. 12, 306. 252. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, I, p, 395; II, pp. 116, 127; III, pp. 93, 141, 162, 164, 173, 179, 225, 226, 227; IV, pp, 158–9. 253. Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, I, p. 445. 254. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 255. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 357–8. 256. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, p. 154. 257. Gil, In the Kingdom, II, p. 866, no. 294; IV, p. 586, no. 794. 258. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, III, p, 164. 259. Lev and Amar, Ethnic, p. 100. 260. Fuller et al., ‘Across the Indian Ocean’, p. 549. 261. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, pp. 194, 296. 262. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 183.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 199 263. Ibn Waªshiyya, L’Agriculture Nabateenne, p. 1,301. 264. A group of islands in the Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal) between Burma and the Indian Peninsula. 265. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp, 107–8, 113, 117. 266. Ibid., I, p, 395; II, pp. 116, 127; III, pp. 93, 141, 162, 164, 173, 179, 225, 226, 227; IV, pp, 158–9. 267. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, pp. 229–30. 268. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 53, II, p. 488. 269. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 11. 270. Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’. 271. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium, I, pp. 2–3. 272. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 130. 273. Ibn Waªshiyya, L’Agriculture Nabateenne, p. 1,301. 274. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 357. 275. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 25. 276. Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, no. 205; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 205. 277. Chevallier, The Encyclopedia, p. 88; Loewenfeld and Back, The Complete, p. 255. 278. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 303. 279. Song of Songs, 4, 14. 280. Amar, Flora of the Bible, pp. 97–8. 281. Ibid., p. 98. 282. Miller, The Spice Trade, pp. 62–4. 283. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 311. 284. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, p. 201. 285. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 311. 286. Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’, p. 285. 287. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 25. 288. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 85. 289. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 311. 290. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, III, p. 79. 291. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 65; moreover, in another place he writes (citing ʾIsªāq ibn ʿAmrān) that the rhizomes are imported from China, see: IV, p. 191. 292. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, p. 238. 293. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, pp. 311–12.

200 | a rabi an dr ugs 294. See, for example, Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 81–3. 295. Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’, p. 285. 296. Gil, In the Kingdom, I, p. 565. 297. Yaʾari, Travels, p. 278. 298. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 303. 299. Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 80. 300. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 305–7. 301. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 25. 302. Levey, The Medical Formulary, nos 69, 74, 104, 125; al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, p. 272; Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, II, p. 55; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, pp. 38–9; IV, p. 65. 303. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 305–7. 304. Uphof, Dictionary, p. 165. 305. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 303. 306. Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 251. 307. Wren, Potter’s New Encyclopaedia, p. 122; for etymological history and analysis, see: Hoogervorst, ‘If only’, pp. 82–4. 308. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9 ; Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 269. 309. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 219. 310. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, I, p. 159. 311. Aëtius of Amida, Libri Medicinalis, I, p. 131; see also: Miller, The Spice Trade, pp. 51–2. 312. McCabe, Anne, ‘Imported materia medica’, pp. 288–9. 313. For detailed discussion regarding the ships that were used by the Arabs, see: Agius, Classic Ships. 314. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 54. 315. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 103. 316. Polo, The Travels, p. 251. 317. Riddle, ‘The introduction’, p. 192. 318. See in detail (including prices): Ashtor, ‘Profits’. 319. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 864, no. 562; Ben-Sasson, The Jews, p. 240, no. 58. 320. Al-Dimashqī, al-ʾIshāra, p.36. 321. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. 322. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 269. 323. Levey, The Medical Formulary, nos 4, 101, 213, 226. Compare Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 138.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 201 324. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, pp. 79–80. Compare al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, p. 148. 325. Ben Maimon, Sexual, 9; Ben Maimon, Regimen, 3: 11; Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 80; 22: 66. 326. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 409–10. 327. Freedman, Out of the East, p. 22; regarding prices see p. 128. 328. Jirovetz et al., ‘Analysis of the’. 329. Ducros, ‘Essai’, p. 57, no. 100. 330. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. 331. Zohary, The Plant World, p. 306. 332. Epstein, The Gaonic, p. 145. 333. Ben Maimon, Mishna, p. 452. 334. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 144; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. In contradiction to Miller’s idea, there is no clear evidence that nutmeg was mentioned by Classical sources such as Theophrastus or Dioscorides; see Miller, The Spice Trade, pp. 59–60. 335. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 144. 336. Al-Thaʿālib⁄, La†āʾif, II, p. 215, note 6. 337. Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 72. 338. Ibid., p. 10. 339. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 89. 340. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 104; al-Thaʿālib⁄, La†āʾif, II, p. 215, note 6. 341. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 117–18. 342. Watson, Agricultural Innovation, p. 195. 343. Ashtor, ‘European trade’, p. 297. 344. Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’, p. 33. 345. Oder and Hoppe, Corpus Hippiatricorum, VII, p. 48. 346. Polo, The Travels, p. 251. 347. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, pp. 253, 337; Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 403, no. 574, p. 913, no. 575, IV, p. 101, no. 672. 348. Beugnot, ‘Les Assises’, II, p. 174, par. 8; Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’, p. 53. 349. Ashtor, ‘European trade’, p. 297. 350. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 213. 351. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 269. 352. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9. 353. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Tafsīr, p. 132.

202 | a rabi an dr ugs 354. Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 75; Ben Maimon, Regimen, p. 109. 355. Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 96. 356. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 456–7. 357. Wood, Benevenutus, p. 33. 358. Freedman, Out of the East, p. 63. 359. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, pp. 12–13 360. Uphof, Dictionary, p. 431; Rushforth, Trees of Britain, pp. 1,023–4. 361. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 12. 362. Adams, The Seven Books, p. 458. 363. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 363. 364. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 72; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 141. 365. Ibn al-ʿAwwām, Kitāb al-Felahah, II, pp. 367–8. 366. Gil, In the Kingdom, II, pp. 321–3, no. 114; III, p. 334, no. 392; Ben-Sasson, The Jews, p. 262, no. 63. 367. Levi Della Vida, ‘A druggist’s account’. 368. Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 71. Compare and see additional uses in Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, p. 369. 369. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 397. 370. Ibn Waªshiyya, L’Agriculture Nabateene, II, p. 1,224. 371. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 301. 372. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 57–8. 373. Al-Kind⁄, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, p. 15, recipe no. 30. 374. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 239–40. 375. Meyerhof, and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 181, pp. 361–71; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 111; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, pp. 132–3; Bos, ‘The treatise’, p. 141. 376. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 205, pp. 416–19; Adams, The Seven Books, p. 434; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, pp. 159–60; Ashtor, ‘European trade’, pp. 285, 419; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 81; Bos, ‘The treatise’, p. 141. 377. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 251, pp. 522–7; Adams, The Seven Books, p. 446; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 232; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, II, pp. 97–8; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 97. 378. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 128–30; Adams, The Seven Books, p. 431; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 36; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 267; al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 98; Gil, In the Kingdom, I, p. 564.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 203 379. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 15, pp. 83–4; Adams, The Seven Books, p. 445; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, pp. 57–8; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 17; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, p. 55; al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat, p. 199; Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 114; Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 112. 380. Gopal et al., ‘Marine organisms’, p. 140; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 10; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 286; al-Damīr⁄, Óayāt al-Óayawān, II, p. 27. 381. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 568; Sbath, ‘Mukhta‚ar fī al-˝ibb’, pp. 211–12; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 290; Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 177, no. 357; Aziz, ‘Arabs’ knowledge’, p. 225. 382. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 445; Adams, The Seven Books, p. 443; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, p. 137, II, p. 3; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 166; al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 119; al-Thaʿālib⁄, La†āʾif, p. 237. 383. Adams, The Seven Books, p. 451; Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, p. 586, no. 794; Amar and Buchman, Íori ha-Guf, p. 195. 384. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 307–8; Adams, The Seven Books, p. 445; Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, pp. 21, 80; Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 865, no. 562; Amar, and Buchman, Íori ha-Guf, p. 253; Ashtor, ‘European trade’, p. 298; Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, p. 98. 385. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 14, pp. 81–2; Ibn Waªshiyya, L’Agriculture Nabateenne, p. 167; Adams, The Seven Books, p. 449; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, pp. 22–3; al-Qazw⁄n⁄, ʿAjāʾib, p. 217. 386. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 9; Adams, The Seven Books, pp. 455–6; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 304; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 104; Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, II, p. 339; al-Fīrūzābādī, al-Qāmūs, p. 119; Levey, The Medical, prescriptions nos 69, 77, 91 102, 106; Polo, The Travels, p. 251; Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 393; Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk, Mufarriª al-Nafs, p. 91. 387. For other problematic identification, see: Ibn Juljul list: Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 388. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 140, pp. 298–301; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, p. 128; Adams, The Seven Books, pp. 459; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 56. 389. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 28; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 327. 390. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 222, pp. 453–99; Amar and Serri, The Land, pp. 108–9.

204 | a rabi an dr ugs 391. See, for example: Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 438. 392. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 590. 393. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, pp. 438–9; for more on the problematic identification, see: Adams, The Seven Books, pp. 461–2. 394. Komane et al., ‘Trichilia emetica’; Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 438–9. 395. See, for example: Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 16; al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, pp. 145–7. 396. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 590; Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 438. 397. Frédérich et al. ‘Metabolomic analysis’. 398. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, p. 260. 399. Donkin, ‘The insect’, p. 864; Cardon, Natural Dyes, p. 663. 400. Aelian, On the Characteristics, IV, p. 46. 401. Ibn Rushd insisted that it was not mentioned by Galen, see: Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 271. 402. Forbes, Studies in Ancient, IV, pp. 105–6; Donkin, ‘The insect’, p. 864; Amar, Tracking, p. 91. 403. Casson, The Periplus Maris, pp. 114–15. 404. Babylonian Talmud, Pesaªim, 42b; Óulin, 28a. Mentioned in the print as ‘labba’ and in the manuscript as ‘lakka’. 405. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 344. 406. Sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan) tree was distributed by the Arabs and red colour was produced from its wood. 407. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 344. 408. Ibid. 409. Smith, ‘Have you’. 410. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, p. 260. 411. Heyd, Histoire du Commerce, II, p. 624. 412. Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, p. 107, VI, p. 173; Gil, Palestine, II, p. 301, no. 176, III, p. 272, no. 508; Gil presents more than sixty documents in which the Lacca is mentioned; see: Gil, In the Kingdom, VI, p. 930 (indices). 413. Forbes, Studies, p. 107. 414. Abū al-Khayr al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ writes that it is equivalent to the colour of scarlet dye, see: al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 344. 415. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, p. 77. 416. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 271.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 205 417. Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb al-Qānūn, I, p. 351. 418. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 405. 419. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 344. 420. Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’. 421. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 110. 422. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 193. 423. Al-Shayzar⁄, Nihāyat, p. 47. 424. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 528. 425. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p.18. 426. Some scholars claim that the teak tree is described by Theophrastus (V 4,7); however, this identification is unclear: Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants. 427. Casson, The Periplus Maris, p. 73. 428. See in detail: Casson, ‘Periplus Maris Erythraei’. 429. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 219, a. 430. Babylonian Talmud, Rosh ha-Shana, 23, a. 431. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, pp. 2–3. 432. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, I, p. 353. 433. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 92. 434. Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 251. 435. Al-Thaʿālib⁄, Thimār, II, p. 769. 436. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 437. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p.18. 438. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, pp. 2–3. 439. Ibn Waªshiyya, L’Agriculture Nabateenne, p. 1,303. 440. Ecaballium elaterium – bitter medicinal plant, known and used by the Arabs throughout the Middle East. 441. Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 10. 442. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 18; al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄,ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, p. 105. 443. See evidence: Cardon, Natural Dyes, p. 286. 444. Ibid, p. 275. According to Ben Mrād it is a Persian name; Ben Mrād, Al-Mu‚†alaª al-ʾAʿjamī, pp. 212–13. 445. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 18; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, p. 103. 446. Al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, p. 52. 447. Such as Ibn Farªun (Salerno, Italy), entry g.f.r; and Rabbi David Kimªī (Radak), of Provence France, see: Kimªī, Sefer ha-Shorashim, entry l.g.m. 448. Hill, Economic Botany, p. 128. 449. Al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, p. 41.

206 | a rabi an dr ugs 450. Al-Shayzar⁄, Nihāyat, p. 52. 451. Al-Dimashqī, al-ʾIshāra, p. 34. 452. Ibn Shahriyār, Livre des Merveilles, p. 180. 453. Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, pp. 10, 16, 22, 251; al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, V, pp. 75, 79, 81; Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 49, 79; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 39; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 95, 104; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 76. 454. Polo, The Travels, pp. 251, 258. 455. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 456. Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, p. 929; Goitein, A Mediterranean, II, p. 178, IV, p. 173. 457. Gil, Palestine, III, pp. 186–90. no. 487. 458. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, p. 77. 459. Regourd, ‘Arabic language’, p. 343. 460. Ashtor, ‘European trade’, p. 297. 461. Ashtor, ‘The Crusader’, p. 53. 462. Leggett, Ancient, pp. 49–50. 463. See in detail (including prices): Ashtor, ‘Profits’. 464. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 18. 465. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 10; Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 10; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 76. 466. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 105. 467. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, no. 123. 468. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, I, p. 103; al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, p. 80; Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 71; II, p. 79; Kopf, ‘Bak·k·am’. 469. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 53. 470. Also identified by some scholars as Memecylon tinctorium Blume (Melastomataceae). 471. Wood, A Handbook, p. 162; Edwards and Hedberg, Flora, pp. 193–5. 472. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 25; al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, p. 619. 473. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 85; al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄,ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, p. 619; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 328. al-Ghāfiqī quoted Ibn ʿImrān who asserted that the wars was imported from Yemen as well as from China, see: Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 568, no. 274. 474. Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 36; al-Thaʿālib⁄, La†āʾif, p. 166; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 104; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 27; Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 123; Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 406.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 207 475. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Compendium; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 53. 476. Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 252. 477. Al-Kind⁄, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, p. 14. 478. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄,ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, p. 619. 479. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 328. 480. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 568, no. 274; al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, p. 66. al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄ differentiates between warras of ‘new’ quality, which fall off the tree, and the ‘old’ quality, which stays on the tree for a long time; al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, p. 619. 481. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 25. 482. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 407; Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 36; they fall on trees similar to al-taranjubīn. 483. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 191. 484. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, pp. 93, 98. 485. Al-ʾI‚fahānī, Kitāb al-ʾAghānī, pp. 18, 231. We thank Dr Yaron Serri for this reference. 486. Rodionov, The Western Hadarmawt, pp. 133, 138, 144; ʿAfīf et al., al-Mawsūʿa al-Yamaniyya, II, pp. 1,006–7; Schönig, Schminken, p. 297. 487. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 356, no. 399. 488. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, p. 77. 489. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 398. 490. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 25; Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, pp. 568–71, no. 274; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 191. 491. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 558. 492. Adams,The Seven Books, p. 457. 493. See, for example, the case of the Judaean Kings who kept their perfumes in the treasure house – Kings, II, 20, 13. 494. For example: Exodus, 30, 34; Song of Songs, 4, 12. 495. For example: Song of Songs, 3, 6. 496. See, for example: Zohary, ‘The diffusion’. 497. Nadvi, ‘The early relations’. 498. Watson, Agricultural Innovation, pp. 24–30. 499. Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,852; Watson, Agricultural Innovation, pp. 77–83; Amar, ‘The ancient trade’; Dan, The City, pp. 187–8; Crone, Meccan Trade, pp. 7–11, 34–7. 500. A collection of Rabbinical notes about the Mishna (the Mishna is Jewish oral tradition that was written during the second to fifth centuries).

208 | a rabi an dr ugs 501. Probably Cymbopogon nardus = Andropogon nardus. 502. Theophrastus, Enquiry into Plants, II, pp. 325–89. 503. Babylonian Talmud, Keritot 6a: Jerusalemite Talmud, Yoma 41 d. 504. On prices of perfumes in the first century AD, see: Groom, Frankincense, pp. 154–5. For comparison we have presented data from the list of maximum prices compiled by Dioclitanius (301 AD), see: Frank, Rome and Italy, V, pp. 417–21. In his time, the Empire had a deep economic crisis, in which inflation increased and prices rose. This explains the huge gap of prices between the two lists (Pliny vs. Dioclitanius). 505. Pybus and Sell, The Chemistry, pp. 8–9. 506. Amar and Lev, ‘Trends in the use’. 507. See entry below. 508. See entry below. 509. See, for example: Ibn Shahriyār,  Livre des Merveilles. 510. King, ‘The importance’. 511. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts. 512. The book of curious and entertaining information: Bosworth, The La†āʾif, p. 139. 513. Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, pp. 929–32. 514. Goitein, A Mediterranean; Gil, Palestine; Ben-Sasson, The Jews. 515. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts. 516. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur. 517. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’. 518. Al-Kindī, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ. 519. See entry below. 520. See entry below. 521. See entry below. 522. See entry below. 523. See entry below. 524. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 119–30; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, pp. 16–19. 525. Al-Kindī, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ 526. Sbath, ‘Mukhta‚ar fī †-˝ibb’. 527. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’. 528. Al-Sarī, al-Muªibb. 529. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, pp. 84, 87, 234. 530. Ibid., pp. 61–2.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 209 531. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 43a; Shabbat 50b. 532. Amar, Incense, pp. 58–71; Rosen and Ben-Yehoshua, ‘The agriculture’, pp. 626–40. 533. Al-Kindī, Kitāb al-Kimiyāʾ. 534. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’. 535. Milwright, ‘The balsam’; Milwright, ‘The balsam’. 536. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 15. 537. Lev and Amar, Practical pp. 71, 350. 538. The musk was identified by few of the medieval Arabic-speaking Jewish commentators such as Maimonides and Rav Saadia Gaon as the ‘mor’ (myrrh) mentioned in the Jewish Sages’ writings. See: Amar, Incense, pp. 100–2. 539. Probably Cymbopogon nardus= Andropogon nardus. 540. Crone, Meccan Trade, p. 85. 541. Sarī, al-Muªibb. 542. Amar, Agricultural Produce, pp. 333, 338. 543. Babylonian Talmud Keritot 6a: Jeruslmite Talmud, Yoma 41d. 544. Sib† ibn al-Jawzī; according to the translation of Elad. See: Elad, Medieval Jerusalem, p. 55. 545. Hill, Islamic Science; Hamarneh, ‘Climax of chemical’; al-Hassan and Hill, Islamic Technology. 546. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 125–30. 547. Chizik, Otsar, p. 756; Löw, Die Flora, II, p. 104; Ben Maimon, Regimen, p. 106; Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire; Feldman, Plants, p. 233; Feliks, Plant World, pp. 124, 125. 548. Miller, The Spice Trade, pp. 34–6. 549. King, ‘The importance’, p. 181. 550. Gunther, The Greek Herbal, I. 21; regarding the medical uses of, and the trade in, agarwood during the Classical period see: Scarborough, Roman Pharmacy. 551. Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies, p. 349; The Byzantine monk Cosmas (midsixth century) describes how it was imported from China, see: McCrindle, The Christians Topography, p. 366. 552. See in detail: Dietrich, ʿŪd. 553. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝abīb, II, p. 448. 554. Crone, Meccan Trade, p. 75. 555. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 401; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 23–4; al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 125–30; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur,

210 | a rabi an dr ugs p. 125; Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 118; Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, p. 346. 556. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 449. 557. ‘al-Multān’- a town in India (today in Pakistan) also named ‘farj bayt aldhahab’, and was given that name because Muªammad ibn Yūsuf, the brother of al-Óajjāj, had found in it the house that was full in a vast amount of gold. 558. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 26–7. 559. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 62. 560. Ibid., p. 80. 561. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 126–7. 562. Al-Kindī, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, pp. 15, 56. 563. Al-Thaʿālibī, La†āʾif, p. 215. 564. See, for example, Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 79, 117. 565. Al-ʾI‚†akhr⁄, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 154. 566. Polo, The Travels, p. 237. 567. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 25–37; al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 126–30. 568. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 16. 569. On a shipment of agarwood from Qumār (India) see: al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, pp. 102–3; al-Qalqashandī, II, Kitāb Íubª, p. 127 where agarwood from Kashmir is mentioned; Ibn Shahriyār,  Livre des Merveilles, p. 117. 570. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 401. 571. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 448. 572. McCormick, Origin, p. 715, note 86. 573. Freshfield, Roman Law, p. 30. 574. Oder and Hoppe, Corpus Hippiatricorum, VII, 48. 575. Ibn al-Faqīh al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 270; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 153–4. 576. Gil, Palestine, II, p. 179, No. 485a; Gil, In the Kingdom; Goitein, A Mediterranean, see indices. 577. Gil, Palestine, III, p. 179, no. 485. 578. Al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, p. 54; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 16; al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 126. 579. Al-˝abari, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 398; Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, p. 346. 580. Levey, The Medical Formulary, nos 6, 106. Compare Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, pp. 298–9; Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 75; Ben Maimon, Sexual,

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 211 Introduction, pp. 15, 16; Ben Maimon, Regimen, 2: 10; 3: 11; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 143; al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, pp. 241–2; Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 97–8. For more medicinal uses from Arabic sources, see: Dietrich, ‘ʿŪd’. 581. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 97–8. 582. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 292. 583. Chevallier, The Encyclopedia, p. 188. 584. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 271; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 15. 585. For a wide range and detailed monograph on camphor, see: Donkin, Dragon’s Brain. 586. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 131. 587. King, ‘The importance’, p. 181. 588. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, pp. 61–2. 589. Miller, ‘The spice trade’, pp. 25, 41; Aëtius of Amida, Libri Medicinalis, XII, 63. 590. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, I, p. 159. 591. Al-ʾIshbīlī,ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 301; al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, pp. 229–30. 592. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 168. 593. King, ‘The importance’, p. 181. 594. Meyerhof, ‘Medieval Jewish’, p. 436. 595. McCormick, Origins, pp. 714–15. 596. Freshfield, Roman Law, p. 35. 597. Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 153–4. 598. Smith, ‘Have you’. 599. Riddle, ‘The introduction’, pp. 190–1. 600. Dietrich, ‘Kāfūr’; Morton, Major, p. 103. 601. Al-Kindī, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, p. 50. 602. Sbath, ‘Mukhta‚ar fī al-˝ibb’, pp. 196–8. 603. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 292. 604. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 302. 605. Ibn al-Faqīh al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 16. 606. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 292. 607. Al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, p. 51; al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 126. 608. Al-Dimashqī, al-ʾIshāra, p. 32. 609. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, V, pp. 79–80; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 96–7; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 77.

212 | a rabi an dr ugs 610. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 302; al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, p 135; Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 140; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 43; Ibn Shahriyār,  Livre des Merveilles, p. 117. 611. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, pp. 61, 80–1. 612. Ibid., p. 54. 613. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 614. Al-ʾI‚†akhr⁄, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 154. 615. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 402; al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, p. 299. 616. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 140; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 302; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 43; Ibn Shahriyār,  Livre des Merveilles, p. 117. 617. al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 302; Ibn al-bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, 4, p. 42; al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 234. 618. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 15. 619. For details: Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 402. A summary of the plant and its medical uses in Arabic literature is in Dietrich, ‘ʿŪd’. 620. Gil, Palestine, I, pp. 565, 615, 622; II, 519; Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, pp. 154–5; IV, p. 176; Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, p. 930, see indices. 621. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, pp. 80–2. 622. Nuovo Archivio, IV, 285; Beugnot, ‘Les Assises’, II, p. 173; Prawer, The Crusaders, p. 480; regarding the prices of camphor in medieval Europe, see: Freedman, Out of the East, p. 128. 623. Riddle, ‘Methodology’, p. 13. 624. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 123–5; Levey, The Medical Formulary, nos 11, 24, 61, 77, 89, 91, 104, 152; Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, pp. 336–7; Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 83; Ben Maimon, Sexual, 18: 1, 2, 4; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, pp. 42–4, IV, p. 136. Compare al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, p. 235. 625. Al-˝abarī, Firdaws al-Óikma, p 398. 626. For more medical uses, see: Dietrich, ‘Kāfūr’; al-Rāz⁄, al-Óāw⁄, VIIb, p. 150; Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, pp. 404–5. 627. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 123–5. 628. Al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, pp. 174–5. 629. Ruska, ‘ʿAnbar’. 630. Riddle, ‘Amber’; Riddle, ‘Pomum ambrae’. 631. Aëtius of Amida, Libri Medicinalis, I, p. 131. 632. Al-Thaʿālib⁄, Thimār, II, p. 771. 633. Al-Kind⁄, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, pp. 6–7; Sbath, ‘Mukhta‚ar fī †-˝ibb’, pp. 191–3.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 213 634. Amikam, Medieval Jerusalem, p. 55 (translation of information by Sib† ibn al-Jawzī). 635. Dannenfeld, ‘Ambergris’. 636. Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, pp. 339–40; al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 122–3; al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, pp. 164, 281; al-Damīr⁄, Óayāt al-Óayawān, I, p. 163, II, pp. 214–16; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 17; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Óayawān, V, p. 362, VII, p. 109; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 18. 637. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Óayawān, V, p. 362. 638. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, pp. 101–2. 639. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 66. 640. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 122–5; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 18. 641. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 122–5. 642. Al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, I, p. 366. 643. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 16. 644. Al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, I, pp. 150–1; Ibn Khurdādhbih, Al-Masālik, p. 90. 645. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 122–5; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 16. 646. Al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, I, pp. 150–1. 647. Ibid.; al-ʾI‚†akhr⁄, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 154. 648. Al-˝abarī, Firdaws al-Óikma, XII, pp. 394 649. Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, pp. 339–0. 650. Al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, I, pp. 150–1; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, pp. 52, 66, 77; Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 72; al-Thaʿālib⁄, Thimār, II, pp. 771–2. 651. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 122–5; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, III, p. 221; al-ʾI‚†akhr⁄, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 42. 652. Al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, I, p. 366. 653. Ibn Khurdādhbih, Al-Masālik, p. 95; Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 12. 654. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, pp. 97. 655. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, III, p. 160. 656. Al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, I, pp. 150–1; for details on the ambergris from alShiªr, see: Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 234; on the kind that comes from al-Zanj (written there mistakenly as al-Zabjī) see: al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p.18. 657. On the history of the ambergris in India from the eighth to the twentieth century, see: Gode, ‘History of ambergris’. 658. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 400. 659. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 123–4. 660. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 20; al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, p. 124.

214 | a rabi an dr ugs 661. See, for example, Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, p. 91. 662. King, ‘The importance’, p. 180. 663. Al-Thaʿālib⁄, Thimār, II, pp. 7712. 664. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 87. 665. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 134–5; al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, pp. 174–5, 281; al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 122–3; Ibn Sīnā, Kitāb, pp. 298–9. 666. Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’. 667. Amar and Serri, al-Tamīmī’s, p. 51; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 64. 668. Riddle, ‘The introduction’, p. 190; McCormick, Origins, pp. 714–15. 669. Freshfield, Roman Law, p. 30. 670. Oder and Hoppe, Corpus Hippiatricorum, VII, p. 48. 671. Steiner, ‘Linguistic traces’. 672. Gil, In the Kingdom, I, p. 693, IV, p. 934 – see indices; Ben-Sasson, The Jews, p. 445, no. 92, p. 508, no. 103; Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, 153–5, 200; II, 78; Prawer, The Latin Kingdom, II, p. 402. 673. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, pp. 80–2. 674. See in detail (including prices): Ashtor, ‘Profits’. 675. Freedman, Out of the East, pp. 63, 88. 676. Al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, pp. 125–6; al-Shayzar⁄, Nihāyat, pp. 50–1. 677. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 331–3; Levey, The Medical Formulary, no. 77; Ben Maimon, Medical Responses, 21: 75; Ben Maimon, Regimen, 2: 20; Ben Maimon, Medical Responses, 3: 19; al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, pp. 214–15; Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, pp. 339–40; al-˝abarī, Firdaws al-Óikma, XII, pp. 394, 397; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 22. 678. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’. 679. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 331–3. 680. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, pp. 504–5. 681. Wren, Potter’s New Encyclopaedia, p. 242. 682. Hoogervorst, ‘If only’, pp. 69–70. 683. Fuller et al., ‘Across the Indian Ocean’, p. 549. 684. Ibid. 685. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, I, p. 159. 686. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 206. 687. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17; Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 270; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 405. 688. McCrindle, The Christians Topography, p. 366. 689. Al-Rāz⁄, al-Óāw⁄, VIIb, p. 65.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 215 690. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 404; al-Qazw⁄n⁄, ʿAjāʾib, p. 294; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 104; Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbakk, Mufarriª al-Nafs, p. 98. 691. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 130–1; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 39–40. Trading in these substances appears in a Genizah commercial letter sent from Alexandria to Cairo at 1065, see: Gil, In the Kingdom, p. 588, no. 794. 692. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 40. (Sofala in India); Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 251; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 98. Other sources mention mainly the white sandalwood, see: al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, pp. 25–6; al-Thaʿālīb⁄, La†āʾif, p. 215. 693. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 136; Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 16 (Zābaj); al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, p. 405; Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, p. 293. 694. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 82. 695. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 696. Polo, The Travels, p. 237. 697. Al-ʾI‚†akhr⁄, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 154. 698. Gil, In the Kingdom, II, p. 853, no. 284, III, p. 865, no. 562. 699. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 130. 700. Al-Kind⁄, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, p. 57. 701. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 404. 702. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, p. 57. 703. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 130–1; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 41. 704. Al-Dimashqī, al-ʾIshāra, p. 33. 705. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, p. 41; al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 397. 706. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17. 707. Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, p. 294. 708. Levey, The Medical Formulary, p. 298, no. 183. 709. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 89. 710. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 476–7. 711. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, I, p. 333, III, p. 227. 712. Chevallier, The Encyclopedia, p. 222. 713. Bhattacharya and Bhattacharyya, ‘Rapid’. 714. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 50b. 715. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 272; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 14. 716. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 274.

216 | a rabi an dr ugs 717. Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 356. 718. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 274. 719. Al-Qazwīnī, ʿ Ajāʾib, p. 237. 720. Al-Kind⁄, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, p. 106. 721. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 236. 722. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, pp. 30–2. 723. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, II, pp. 77, 179. 724. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, V, p. 306. 725. Aziz, ‘Arabs’ knowledge’, p. 227. 726. Al-ʾIshb⁄l⁄, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, II, pp. 623–4. 727. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, III, p. 179. 728. Al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 396. 729. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 272. 730. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 14. 731. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 236. 732. Levey, The Medical Formulary, nos 14, 107, 188. Compare Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 340; II, p. 105. 733. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-ʾAzmina, pp. 247, 249–50. 734. Ben Maimon, Sexual (Introduction), 19; 6: 4; 8: 1; 12: 2; Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 21: 75. 735. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, pp. 201–2. 736. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 425–6. 737. Al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, p. 413 738. Groves and Grubb, ‘Relationships’, pp. 21–59. 739. Lev and Amar, Practical, p. 215. 740. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 155; al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, p. 413; al-Masʿūdī, al-Dhahab, I, pp. 157–9; for more sources and detailed citations, see: King, ‘Tibetan musk’. 741. Chizik, Otsar, pp. 29–30; Shapira, ‘On perfume’, p. 95. 742. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 16; Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 271; According to Ibn Zuhr, Kitāb al-ʾAghdhiya, p. 89, The musk is not mentioned by Galen; only the ‘late’ Physicians mentioned it. Who claims that Galen mentioned it in his book ‘Monks’ Advices’; this book is mistakenly attributed to him. 743. King, ‘The importance’, p. 182–7. 744. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 62. 745. Compiled in Mesopotamia in the Holy Land (respectively) during the fourth and fifth centuries.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 217 746. Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 43a; in fact it was mentioned before in the Jerusalem Talmud, in the name of Rav Óisda, a Babylonian scholar (d. 309 AD). See Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot, 6, 10d. 747. McCrindle, The Christians Topography, pp. 360, 366. See also McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, p. 282. 748. Prawer, The Latin Kingdom, I, p. 402. 749. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 118. 750. Levi Della Vida, ‘A druggist’s account’. 751. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 16. 752. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Óayawān, V, p. 304; al-Damīri, Óayāt al-Óayawān, II, p. 144. 753. From Sib† ibn al-Jawzī, see: Elad, Medieval Jerusalem, p.55. 754. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, I, p. 423. 755. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 77. 756. Freshfield, Roman Law, p. 30. 757. McCabe, ‘Imported materia medica’, pp. 288–9. 758. Meyerhof, ‘Medieval Jewish physicians’, p. 436. 759. Al-Kindī, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, pp. 1–6. 760. Sbath, ‘Mukhta‚ar fī †-˝ibb’, pp. 187–90. 761. See, for example, the discussion about musk and its origin in al-Damīrī, Óayāt al-Óayawān, II, pp. 143–4. 762. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Óayawān, V, p. 304. 763. Al-Damīr⁄, Óayāt al-Óayawān, II, p. 144. 764. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 120–1. 765. Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, p. 399. 766. Al-Shayzarī, Nihāyat, pp. 48–50; al-Qurashī, Maʿālim, p. 124. 767. Al-Dimashqī, al-ʾIshāra, p. 31. 768. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 234; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 17; see also a detailed description in: Polo, The Travels, p. 173. 769. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 16. 770. Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 70; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 103. 771. Ibn al-Jazzār, al-ʾIʿtimād, p. 61. 772. Al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 121; Bosworth, The La†āʾif, p. 142; al-Thaʿālib⁄, La†āʾif, p. 224; al-Thaʿālib⁄, Thimār, p. 785. 773. Akasoy and Yoeli-Tlalim, ‘Along the musk’. For more details regarding the origin and trade of musk, see Dietrich, ‘Musk’.

218 | a rabi an dr ugs 774. See especially al-Qalqashandī, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 120–1; al-ʾI‚†akhr⁄, Masālik al-Mamālik, p. 280. 775. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 776. Akasoy and Yoeli-Tlalim, ‘Along the musk’. 777. Greif, The Sicilian Jews, pp. 80–2. 778. Freedman, Out of the East, pp. 63, 88. 779. Gil, In the Kingdom, I, pp. 616, 623, 689, IV, p. 930 (twenty references to trading in musk); Beugnot, ‘Les Assises’, II, p. 174; Goitein, A Mediterranean, I, pp. 153–5, 219, 373, IV, p. 316. 780. Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 79; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 153–4. 781. For a complete historical survey, see: Chizik, Otsar, pp. 29–30; Shapira, ‘On perfume’, pp. 95–101. 782. al-Rāzī, al-Óāwī, VIIb, p. 217; al-˝abar⁄, Firdaws al-Óikma, p. 397; Ibn al-Rasūl, al-Muʿtamad fī al-ʾAdwiya, pp. 496–7. 783. Amar and Serri, al-Tamīmī’s, p. 51; al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XII, pp. 64, 90; Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 215–17; Ben Maimon, Aphorisms, 3: 11; 4: 11; 9: 30; 14: 49; 21: 75; Ben Maimon, Sexual, 18: 3; Levey, The Medical Formulary, nos 16, 56, 93, 147; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, 4, p. 155; al-ʾAn†ākī, Tadhkirat, pp. 297–8; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 16. See also: Levey, ‘Ibn Māsawaih’, pp. 398–9. 784. Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 271; for more medicinal uses, see: Dietrich, ‘Musk’. 785. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 215–17. 786. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 131. 787. Jong and Chau, ‘Antioxidative activities’. 788. Wood, A Handbook, p. 122. 789. ʿAfīf et al., al-Yamaniyya, II, pp. 780–2. 790. Strabo, The Geography, XVI, 4, 19. 791. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 17. 792. Al-Kind⁄, Kitāb f ⁄ K ⁄miyāʾ, p. 38. 793. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 75. 794. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝abīb, I, p. 299; al-Rāzī, al-Óāwī, VII, p. 149; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 45. 795. Al-Nuwayrī, Nihāyat, XI, p. 131; al-D⁄nawar⁄, Kitāb al-Nabāt, II, p. 228. 796. Al-Rāzī, al-Óāwī, VIIb, p. 149; al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, p. 299. 797. Ibn Juljul, ˝abaqāt, p. 17.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 219 798. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 45. 799. Al-ʾIshbīlī, ʿUmdat al-˝ab⁄b, I, p. 299. 800. The term ‘jawhar’ in Arabic has various meanings: jewelry, gem stone or pearl; see: Keene, and Jenkins, ‘Djawhar’. 801. Among them we should mention: Pseudo Aristotle, al-Tamīmī, Ibn Māsawayhi, al-Bīrūnī, al-T⁄fāsh⁄ and Ibn al-ʾAkfānī. Vast information can also be found in medical treatises written by practitioners such as Ibn al-Bay†ār and in encyclopaedias written by scholars such as al-Qazwīnī and al-Qalqashandī and al-Maqrīzī (Käs, al-Maqrīzīs). 802. Wiedemann, ‘Zur Mineralogie’; Ruska, ‘Die Mineralogie’; al-Muraikhi, ‘The Arab trade’, p. 58. 803. Among all the works written we will mention the following authors: Marbode of Rennes (Riddle, Marbode of Rennes (1035–1123)); Hildegard of Bingen (Hildegard von Bingen, Physica) [1098–1179]; Albertus Magnus (Albertus, Book of Minerals) [d. 1280]; Bartholomaeus Anglicus (Anglicus, On the Properties, pp. 825–81) [d. 1272] and in encyclopaedias that were written by Jews, see: Zonta, ‘Mineralogy’. 804. See, for example, works by Clément-Mullet (Clément-Mullet, ‘Essai sur la Minéralogie Arabe’) and the tables at the end of the work of al-T⁄fāsh⁄ (al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār). 805. Ballūr or billawr or bilawr. 806. However, according to other scholars, the name ballūr kept the ancient name verliru, a pronoun for colourless stones, such as rock crystal, in Hindu’s languages; see: Biswas, ‘Vaidurya’. 807. We would mention here only a small part of the vast literature dealing with this issue: al Muraikhi, ‘The Arab trade’; Sezgin and Neubauer, ‘Mineral and fossils’; Käs, Die Mineralien; Sersen, ‘Gem minerals’; Keene and Jenkins, ‘Djawhar’; and the various entries in the present book. 808. See: Theophrastus, On Stones, and Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXVII. 809. Al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur. 810. These are collective nouns. For example, a few quartz stones, such as the heliotrope and the agate, were considered to be part of the jaspers. Regarding the emerald and the peridot, these were two different precious stones that were called the same name for a while, due to the opinion that they derive from the same origin; see: Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 98. Another example is the red karkand, which was identified as a kind of carnelian or red corundum (yāqūt), see: al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 51; Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 52.

220 | a rabi an dr ugs 811. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 92–3. 812. Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, pp. 933–4. 813. The phrase ‘luʾluʾ marjān’ is mentioned in several Genizah fragments. It means a small pearl named marjān; see: Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 338, line 7 (document no. 394). This is in contrast to other places in which the phrase ‘luʾluʾ’ appears (ibid., line 18). When the name marjān appears alone without an adjective, it designates a coral. 814. Gil, Palestine, III, p. 168, appearing there as bijātī. The beads called ªabb rummān [seeds of pomegranate] may be a phrase for the rock crystal of the red garnet, which look alike. Rabbi Don Isaac ben Judah Abravanel (Abarbanel) identified this stone as the Biblical Odem (ruby) (Exodus, 28, 17). These beads are mentioned in 10 Genizah fragments; see: Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, p. 933. We suspect they were in great demand, see ibid., III, p. 252, document 373, line 17. 815. Gil, In the Kingdom, IV, p. 933. 816. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 52–3; al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 131. 817. Gil, In the Kingdom, III, p. 528. 818. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, pp. 19–20; Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 269. 819. Al-Muraikhi, ‘The Arab trade’, pp. 55–7, 70. 820. Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 96; compare with al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 81. 821. Al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat, p. 25. 822. On the vast number of anecdotes about special precious stones that the Roman rulers possessed, see: Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXII, 1–29. 823. See summary: al-Muraikhi, ‘The Arab trade’, pp. 45–8. 824. Keene and Jenkins, ‘Djawhar’; al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, pp. 62–3. 825. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 106. 826. Sīrāfī, Relation des Voyages, p. 147. 827. Al-Muraikhi, ‘The Arab trade’, pp. 49–50. 828. Ibid., p. 69. 829. Ibid., pp. 48–9. 830. Óasan, Kunūz al-Fā†imiyyīna, pp. 40–3. 831. Sīrāfī, Relation des Voyages, p. 179. 832. Shalem, ‘Jewels and Journeys’. 833. Óasan, Kunūz al-Fā†imiyyīna, p. 41. 834. Al-Qaddumi, ‘Yāk·ūt’. 835. See entry for corundum. 836. Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXVII, 62, 204.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 221 837. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 106–7; al-Muraikhi, ‘The Arab trade’, p. 60; Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 757. 838. See entry for bezoar-stone. 839. Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 107; al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat, pp. 28–30; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 172. 840. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 15. 841. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 76. 842. This stone was also called al-zumurrud al-rayªānī; see al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 83. Today it is known as zumurrud ʾazraq, zabarjad, that is, the blue emerald. 843. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 174–5. 844. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 15. 845. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, Kitāb Nukhab, p. 754; al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, pp. 49–50. 846. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 518–19, and see the entries in detail. 847. Ibid., p.553. 848. Muntner, Saladino d’Ascoli, p. 116. 849. Shefer-Mossensohn, Ottoman Medicine, p. 63. 850. Lev, ‘Healing with minerals’. 851. Lev and Amar, ‘Ethnopharmacological survey of traditional drugs sold in the Kingdom’; Lev and Amar, ‘Ethnopharmacological survey of traditional drugs sold in Israel’. 852. al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 115, paragraphs 100, 101. 853. See Levy, Sefer ha-Teʿuda, pp. 418–19; Beaded necklaces are well-known among the Yemenite Jews. The author’s family (Z. Amar) possesses a beaded necklace that was used to treat sore throat. The owner of the necklace, originally brought from Yemen, Mr Yosef Amar, testified that the Yemenite ʾImām (1940s) had a beaded necklace called misbaªat al-ʾamn that was used to ease women’s labour. In special cases, laywomen would apply to the king and ask to wear it in order to have a safe and easy labour. 854. Goitein, Joseph Halevy’s Journey, p. 40. 855. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 100; al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 84; interestingly enough, a similar legend was recorded by fourth-century Epiphanius, see: Blake, Epiphanius de Gemmis, p. 221. 856. Albertus, Book of Minerals, p. 77. 857. Al-Qaddumi, ‘Yāqūt’; Käs, Die Mineralien, pp. 1,107–111. 858. Al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 79; Schönfeld, Über die Steine, p. 97. 859. Al-Qazwīnī, ʿAjāʾib, p. 212. 860. Bradley and Creagh, Physical Techniques, I, p. 21.

222 | a rabi an dr ugs 861. Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXVII, 125–6. 862. Casson, The Periplus Maris, pp. 84–5, 223. 863. Isidore of Seville, The Etymologies, p. 324. 864. Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXVII, 119–20, 139. 865. Higgins, Greek and Roman, pp. 177, 179, 184. 866. Tomber, ‘Indo-Roman trade’, pp. 76, 85; Wendrich et al., ‘Berenike Crossroads’, p. 62. 867. Song of Songs Rabba 5, 14; Lamentation Rabba 4, 7. 868. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 19. 869. Ruska, Steinbuch, pp. 99–100. 870. Riddle, Marbode of Rennes (1035–1123), p. 52; more stones and several other hues beyond these three were described there. It shows the confusion in identification of the corundum. See in-depth discussion in: Albertus, Book of Minerals, p. 97. 871. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 67. 872. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 100; al-Thaʿālib⁄, La†āʾif, pp. 214–15; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, pp. 25, 38; Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 251. 873. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 19; al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 64–77; Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, IV, pp. 81–3; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, p. 94; Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, pp. 752–4; Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 94; Ibn Shahriyār, Livre des Merveilles, p. 179; Ibn al-Faq⁄h al-Hamadhān⁄, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 16. 874. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, V, p. 78, II, 100; al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, I, p. 73; Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 754. 875. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 45. 876. Polo, The Travels, p. 259. 877. Al-Muqaddasī, ʾAªsan al-Taqāsīm, p. 97. 878. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 100; al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 84; interestingly enough, a similar legend was recorded by fourth-century Epiphanius, see: Blake, Epiphanius de Gemmis, p. 221. 879. Al-ʾIdrīsī, Kitāb Nuzhat, IV, p. 487. 880. Keene and Jenkins, ‘Djawhar’. 881. Al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 67. 882. Saadia Gaon’s Judaeo-Arabic translation of Exodus 28, 17–20; 39, 10–13. 883. Schönfeld, Über die Steine, p. 39. 884. Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 99.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 223 885. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, pp. 46–7. 886. Al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, pp. 75–6. 887. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 67–9, 76; Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, pp. 752–3. 888. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 102. 889. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 173. 890. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 13. 891. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 754. 892. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 179; Ibn al-Zubayr, Kitāb al-Dhakhāʾir. 893. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 90. 894. Ibid., pp. 191, 217. 895. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 754. 896. Al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat, p. 26. 897. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 76. 898. Al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 74. 899. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 754. 900. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 14. 901. Goitein and Friedman, India Book, III, p. 390. 902. Al-ʾI‚fahānī, Kitāb al-ʾAghānī, XVI, p. 138. 903. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 69. 904. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, pp. 13–14; however, at the end of the tenth century Tāj al-Dawla Abū al-Futūª Yūsuf ibn Abī al-Óusayn, the ruler of Sicily, possessed a seven dirham yāqūt stone, which was compared with the ‘Jabalī’ stone worth 11,000 dīnārs. The stone was sold later for 4,000 dīnārs. See: al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 193. 905. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 77. 906. Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, p. 26; Dodge, The Fihrist, II, pp. 826–7. 907. Al-Thaʿālib⁄, Thimār, p. 770. 908. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 754; it was also said about the Emir Yamīn al-Dawla that he took from the pagan temple in Nāhūra a green yāqūt stone weighing thirty-five mithqāl, which had been brought from India (al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 78). 909. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 112. 910. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 103; Óasan, Kunūz al-Fā†imiyyīna, p. 41. 911. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, pp. 81–3. 912. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 73–74. 913. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, I, p. 395, II, p. 48.

224 | a rabi an dr ugs 914. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 68. 915. Ibid., p. 75. 916. Ibn Ba††ū†a, Riªlat Ibn Ba††ū†a, III, p. 157. 917. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 70. 918. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 19; Schönfeld, Über die Steine, p. 41; Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 755; Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 100. 919. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 73–4. 920. Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 168. 921. Polo, The Travels, pp. 272–3, italics in the original. 922. Ruska and Plessner, ‘ʾAlmās’. 923. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, pp. 49–50. 924. Tolansky, The History, pp. 53, 56; Dickinson, The Book of Diamonds, p. 50–2. 925. Exodus 28, 18; Ezekiel 28, 13. 926. Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXVII, 57. 927. Higgins, Greek and Roman, pp. 37, 175. 928. Manilius, Astronomica, IV, p. 926. 929. Pliny, Naturalis Historia, XXXVII, 204 ; interstingly ‘adama’ means ground or soil in Hebrew. 930. Ibid., XXXVII, p. 55. 931. Ibid., XXXVII, pp. 55–60. 932. Casson, The Periplus Maris, pp. 84–5, 223. 933. Wendrich et al., ‘Berenike Crossroads’, p. 62. 934. Indeed some sources assumed that the smuris lithos mentioned by Diascorides (V, 166) and called in Arabic sunbādaj is equivalent to the al-Mās (Ibn Wāfid, for example). However, Ibn al-Bay†ār disagreed (Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, III, p. 40), suggesting that was a hard stone that jewellers used to polish other stones and that it may have been a kind of corundum. 935. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 20; imaginary mention of lead as a metal stronger than diamonds appears in the ancient literature; see summary in: Laufer, The Diamond, pp. 26–8. 936. See summary: Laufer, The Diamond, pp. 5–14; Dickinson, The Book of Diamonds, pp. 1–3. 937. Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 106. 938. Schönfeld, Über die Steine, pp. 111–13. 939. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 61; al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 38; Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, pp. 38, 47; Ibn al-Faq⁄h, Kitāb al-Buldān, p. 251.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 225 940. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 78; Ibn Khurdādhbih, al-Masālik, pp. 94, 104; Ibn Shahriyār,  Livre des Merveilles, p. 179. 941. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 106; Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 48. 942. See: al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 106. 943. Al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat, p. 28. 944. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, pp. 49–50. 945. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, p. 41; Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 48. 946. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 106–7. 947. Al-Muraikhi, ‘The Arab trade’, p. 60. 948. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 757. 949. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 106. 950. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 49; al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 102, 106–7; Ruska, Steinbuch, pp. 105, 107; Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 20; Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, pp. 756–7. 951. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 47. 952. Laufer, The Diamond, pp. 28–31. 953. Exodus, 28, 18. 954. In Abraham Ibn Ezra’s Commentary on the Pentateuch (Exodus 28, 9) and in a similar way that he wrote in his short interpretation for Exodus 28, 30. Rabbi Don Isaac ben Judah Abravanel (Abarbanel) of Lisbon also known as “diamante”, completed his interpretation for the Bible in Italy. 955. Jeremiah, 17, 1; Ezekiel 3, 9; Zechariah, 7, 12. 956. Schechter, Saadyana, p. 60. It seems that the basis of this identification is found in some Greek translations such as Aquila and Symmachus for Jeremiah, 17, 1, and in the Vulgata as admantinus and this is the term in the Greek literature for diamond of which they gained knowledge, along with all the other precious products of India, only after the conquests of Alexander the Great. 957. Al-Dimashqī, Nukhbat, p. 28. 958. Albertus, Book of Minerals, pp. 70–1. 959. Al-JāªiÕ, Kitāb al-Taba‚‚ur, p. 16; al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 97. 960. Óabb is a grain (of wheat or barley), representing a unit of weight of average 0.05 gram. In most cases it was a hundreth mithqāl. In Egypt it was 0.068 gram, and in Iraq 0.046 gram. It was used as the smallest unit of weight in the East. 961. Schönfeld, Über die Steine, p. 111. 962. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 757.

226 | a rabi an dr ugs 963. Al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, p. 66. 964. Ibn Juljul, Die Ergänzung, p. 20. 965. Ibn Māsawayhi, Kitāb al-Jawāhir, p. 49. 966. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 111; al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 107. 967. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 110–11; al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, pp. 106–7; Ibn al-Bay†ār, Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ, IV, p. 127. 968. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 107; al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Jamāhir, pp. 41–2. 969. Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 106. 970. Leibowitz and Marcus, The Book, p. 202. 971. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 121. 972. Ben Maimon, Poisons, p. 19. 973. Ibn Juljul, Die Erganzung, p. 20; Ibn Rushd, Kitāb al-Kulliyyāt, p. 269; compare: Ben Maimon, Poisons, p. 18; and al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, p. 131. 974. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 377; on the bezoar stone in the Arabic mineralogical literature, see: Käs, Die Mineralien, pp. 299–306; Ben Mrād, Al-Mu‚†alaª al-Aʿjamī, pp. 172–3. 975. ‘and it is famous and found amongst the most prestigious kings’; Ibn Juljul, Die Erganzung, p. 20; evidence regarding its early use in Egypt, see: Bos, ‘The treatise’, p. 141. 976. See in detail: Dietrich, ʿŪd. 977. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, p. 123. 978. On the books and translations of al-Bi†rīq see: Dunlop, ‘The translations’. 979. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts, p. 176. 980. Ibid., p. 83. 981. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 123. 982. Óasan, Kunūz al-Fā†imiyyīna, p. 45. 983. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, pp. 377–8; Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 69; Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 105; al-Qazw⁄n⁄, ʿAjāʾib, p. 202; Schönfeld, Über die Steine, p. 115. 984. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄ wrote an extensive review on these two varieties; see: al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 11–141. 985. A port city on the western shore of the Red Sea through which commercial goods were transferred from Yemen to Egypt. 986. For example, al-Rāz⁄ wrote about the inorganic bezoar-stones: ‘I realised that it is of a great power that neutralises the poisonous aconite (Aconitum ssp)’, al-Rāz⁄, al-Óāw⁄, pp. 310–11. 987. Ben Maimon, Poisons, pp. 18–19; Schönfeld, Über die Steine, pp. 115–17.

‘a rabi an’ substa nces | 227 988. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 69. 989. Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 105. 990. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 120–1. 991. Al-Qalqashand⁄, Kitāb Íubª, II, p. 124–5. 992. Meaning: material built of layers. 993. Ben Maimon, Poisons, p. 18. 994. Al-T⁄fāsh⁄, Kitāb ʾAzhār, pp. 121–2. 995. Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, ‘Kitāb Nukhab’, p. 764. 996. Nowak, Walker’s Mammals, II, pp. 1220–2. 997. Meyerhof and Sobhy, The Abridged, p. 377. 998. The medieval physicians were aware of the differences between the various toxins (for example, snakes bites versus scorpions), their effect on the body and the specific treatment required by each of them. This is corroborated in Maimonides’ book; see Ben Maimon, Poisons, p. 17; see also Muntner, ‘Gedulato ve-h.iddushav’. 999. Ruska, Steinbuch, p. 105; it seems to be twelve grains of oat, 0.6 grams each. 1000. Barroso, ‘Bezoar stones’.

4 Discussion and Conclusions

D

ols rightly remarks in his article that despite the great contribution of the Indians to the inventory of medicinal substances in the early Islamic period, their documentation is very vague: ‘Consequently, although Indian medicine made a substantial contribution to early Islamic medicine, these men remain shadowy figures.’1 Indeed, even though remnants of the Indian medical legacy can be found in the medical books of al-˝abarī, al-Rāzī and others, it is the Greek medical tradition that predominates in their writings. The two authors named represent physicians hailing, geographically, from the margins of influence of the Indian legacy. The Indian healing tradition was deferred to the Greek tradition at an early stage during the rule of the Abbasids in Baghdad. One of the reasons for this, as mentioned previously, was the influence of many of the translators of the Bayt al-Óikma, who were typical representatives and propagators of the Classical school. After all, this was an ancient heritage in the Middle Eastern sphere and was well-known for its culture, languages, customs and patterns of thought. The Christians had already ‘rendered’ Galenic medicine, in which, in their opinion, pagan traces remained. They translated it selectively and in such a way that Judaism and Islam could adopt it without demur. True, the Arabs appreciated the Indian legacy, but it was too foreign in its spiritual, physical and philosophical culture. Al-Bīrūnī, a physician whose writings embody a great deal of Indian knowledge and who was well acquainted with Indian medicinal substances unknown to the Greeks, describes the case quite well. Notwithstanding the contribution of the Indian medical legacy, in the end it seems as if al-Bīrūnī believed that precedence should be given to the Greeks, not only because they were more advanced and superior in their 228

d iscussi on a nd conclusi o n s | 229 medical knowledge and practice, but also because their legacy better suited the people of the Near East and their mentality: Every nation has specialised in one art or technology. The Greeks, before the Christians, surpassed the latter in the discussion of this art and took it to the pinnacle of perfection. Were Dioscorides living amongst us, he would have searched our mountains and forests for herbs. All our wild plants would have become drugs and used as cures. The people of the West have surpassed us in such arts and, through scholarly and experimental work, have benefited us. Amongst the people of the East no one but the people of Hindustan has advanced in this field. Their principles, however, are different from those of the West. Moreover, they and we are at different poles with regard to language, religion, customs, ceremonies and habits. As they overemphasise cleanliness to the point of exaggeration and avoid uncleanliness as much as possible, there is no possibility of a dialogue between us.2

Indeed, the influence of Indian physicians can barely be found in the medieval Arabic glossary of drugs.3 Some of these physicians and translators were retained in historical memory and were perpetuated in a minor way in late Arab medical historiography, namely by Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa and al-Qif†ī. However, the others have faded from the pages of history. Still, according to Ibn al-Nadīm, the Sasanians (during the rule of Ardeshir and his son Shahpur, and later rulers) copied and translated various books from India into Persian.4 Also, as we have seen, some were re-translated later into Arabic while others were translated directly from Hindi into Arabic.5 The picture differs with regard to the medicinal substances themselves. The dominance of the Galenic approach failed to erase the contribution of the competing doctrines, specifically the Indian, Persian and Babylonian. As we have mentioned, a multiplicity of ‘new’ medicinal substances from India and Persia penetrated Galenic–Arab pharmacology. Some even came to hold a central position in the practical medicine of the medieval period, such as various kinds of myrobalan and sugar. This undoubtedly happened – first due to their effectiveness and, then, because they filled a gap or were better alternatives to ancient ‘Greek’ drugs. Furthermore, there was an inverse movement of Greco-Arab drugs permeating into Indian medicine due to the influence of Arab pharmacology on Indian physicians.6

230 | a rabi an dr ugs The influence of the Indian–Mesopotamian region on the inventory of Arab drugs or, even more, on the Greek drugs can be learnt from the names of drugs in common use among physicians at that time, as found in medical books. Having multiple synonyms for each medical substance is a wellknown phenomenon that has even created a literary genre.7 Nevertheless, each substance had one or two more common names that in most cases ‘gave away’ its origin. With all of the challenges posed by this issue, an analysis of plant names can still provide a primary indication of their origin. Several scholars have already dealt with this issue. Levey demonstrates this from al-Kindī’s book: 31 per cent of the substances’ names are of Mesopotamian origin (Aramaic, Syriac and Hebrew), 23 per cent Greek, 18 per cent Persian, 13 per cent Indian, 5 per cent Arabic and 3 per cent Egyptian; the rest are unknown. He states that the Persian and Indian names should be taken together, totalling 31 per cent, equal in fact to the Mesopotamian percentage. In that case, the Greek names take third place.8 Similar data, for example, the connection between the Greek, Persian and Sanskrit terms, are derived from the analysis made mainly by Oliver Kahl of the prescriptions found in the books of Sābūr Ibn Sahl,9 Ibn Tilmīdh,10 al-˝abarī11 and al-Rāz⁄.12 In addition, Ben Mrād made a statistical linguistic analysis regarding the origin of the names of drugs mentioned in medieval Arabic literature.13 This trend is even more evident in the pharmacological book of al-Samarqandī (died in Herāt, Persia, in 1222). Although this book appears considerably later, it points to a strong Indian–Persian influence, accounting for 54 per cent of all medicinal substances, followed by Mesopotamian 20 per cent and Greek 17 per cent, with the rest being ancient Arab, Egyptian and Chinese.14 Table 4.1 displays this information:

Table 4.1  Greek vs Persian/Sanskrit names of drugs in various medical books Author

Greek

Persian/Sanskrit

Sābūr ibn Sahl Ibn al-Tilmīdh Al- ˝abarī Al-Kindī Al-Samarqandī

12.5 % 12.7 % 14.4% 23% 17%

30.7% 34.9 % 38.3 % 31% 54%

d iscussi on a nd conclusi o n s | 231 It appears that in the beginning, the main attraction to the Asian medicinal substances was caused by Arab contact with India and its treasures. This process also generated a new literary genre named ‘News of India’ or ‘Wonders of India’.15 This genre dealt mainly with gifts, objects and precious articles that were brought from the newly occupied territories (that is India) to the Umayyad and Abbasid rulers.16 Nevertheless, the dramatic change occurred when these prestigious articles, which were originally designated for the upper socio-economic strata, became available, over time, to a wider public. This was due to the market forces (supply and demand) that facilitated their distribution in large quantities, thus lowering the prices. Typical examples of this phenomenon are commercial documents from the Cairo Genizah, especially those dealing with India trade17 and trading posts along these routes, such as Aden.18 These drugs were distributed due to the ‘strong market forces’, namely the new trading routes and economic conditions created by the Arab conquests and their governmental policies. The vast majority of these substances were fully accepted, first, as spices, perfumes, incense and ingredients for dyeing and tanning and, later, as medicines. Literature and translations were just one way to transmit medical knowledge from the Classical to the Arab world and from there to the West; others were trade, diplomacy, pilgrimage and waves of conquests. These exposed the population to a new medical tradition, new physicians from various schools of thought and new medicinal substances.19 As noted above, the Arabs rendered a transformation of the entire medieval world, including the comprehensive dominance of Greek pharmacology along with Persian and Ayurvedic drugs. This was the case until the eighteenth century. At that time, a disengagement from GalenoArab medicine began first in Europe and later in the Middle East. Its ‘relics’ can still be seen in traditional societies in different parts of the world: North Africa, the Middle East and Arabia.20 However, in the culinary world of the West, Indian spices such as coconut, turmeric and nutmeg dominate to this day. The ‘triumph’ of the Galenic legacy during the Abbasid period stands out, therefore, mainly on the theoretical level. At the same time, the Indian medical legacy ‘conquered’ its own vast domain in a practical way by introducing a notable representation of medicinal substances that became assimilated into Galenic medicine.

232 | a rabi an dr ugs The pace of the distribution of the substances was undoubtedly ­­inconsistent chronologically and regionally.21 The waves of distribution of the ‘Indian’ plants were known to the Arabs and in the Middle East from early times.22 For example, cinnamon and nard were known there during the Biblical period. Pepper, cardamom, aloe and the Indian agarwood were known from Classical times.23 So, some of the Indian substances mentioned in the Arab sources were probably known to a limited extent in earlier periods and spread again, later, in a second and more substantial wave during the Middle Ages.24 Nevertheless, even in that period there were some substances whose medicinal uses were introduced relatively later, such as those used to preserve the Egyptian mummies. In passing, we should note that medicinal substances were distributed in the opposite direction, too, from the West (Middle East and Europe) to the East, as exemplified by poppy and saffron,25 two plants with a long and rich history. As previously mentioned, Arab sources assumed that some of the abovementioned substances were Chinese.26 To these we should add such plants as Chinese species of rhubarb, rose, castor oil plant and celadine. Some substances are mentioned as Yemenite though their primary origin is Indian: warras (wars; Flemingia grahamiana = Flemingia rhodocarpa), mungo bean (māsh; Phaseolus mungo) and screw pine (duhn al-kādhī; Pandanus odoratissimus). Since Yemen and Eastern Africa (Ethiopia) were on one of the main trading and distribution routes of these substances, it is likely that they were culturally very deeply integrated there, perhaps even before the Islamic conquests. In this group we should include some Indian precious stones such as diamond, agate, cornaline, pearl and corundum.27 While most of these substances are tropical plants and only their dry products were distributed, certain plants were introduced into the Middle East as agricultural crops in places where the tropical and subtropical climate allowed for their cultivation, including oranges, lemons, bananas, mangos, eggplants and cucumbers. A close investigation of the ‘Indian’ substances and crops reveals that not all of them were ‘new’ to the territory of the Muslim empire. Some had been in use in Persia and Mesopotamia even before the rise of Islam.28 In sixth-century Persia, spinach (ʾisfānākh; Spinacia oleracea), apple cucumber (dastabuya; Cucumis melo var. dudaim) and sugar cane appear to have been known. The last-mentioned is an example of a product

d iscussi on a nd conclusi o n s | 233 already appearing in the Classical sources. However, as an agricultural crop, it was introduced to the Middle East much later.29 By the same token, we may mention substances probably known in Mesopotamia before the Islamic conquests, including jasmine (yāsamīn; Jasminum sp.), musk (misk; Moschus moschiferus), coconut palm (al-jawz al-hindī; Cocos nucifera) and lacca (lakk; Laccifer lacca). All of these appear in the Babylonian Talmud, dated to the fourth and fifth centuries AD, in which valuable practical data can be found.30 This means that the Arab erasure of the border between the Sasanian and Byzantine domains furthered the spread of these products and crops which had begun beforehand. The use of other crops known on a limited scale in the Middle East before the Islamic conquests expanded after it, as is the case of cotton (qu†n; Gossypium herbaceum), sebesten (sabistān; Cordia myxa), hemp (qunnab; Cannabis sativus var. indica), and indigo (nīl; Indigofera tinctoria). Persian substances (in some cases identified by their names), the use of which expanded due to the Arab conquests, include berberry (ʾamīrbārīs; Berberis sp.), perfumed cherry (maªlab; Prunus mahaleb), neem (ʾazādadrakht; Melia azedarach), manna (taranjubīn; Alhagi maurorum) and bezoar-stone (ªajar al-bādazuhr) (Map, p. xiv). Not all medicinal substances defined as ‘new’ are identified with certainty. From writings as far back as Ibn Juljul and Ibn Rushd one learns that some of the substances were unknown in the tenth century or their identification was open to debate among contemporary scholars.31 Some of these substances were featured on Ibn Juljul’s list under the category of those ‘not used but will not be forgotten.’32 This seems to reflect the fact that in early times, the influence of the Ayurveda and the Mesopotamian legacy, especially in the first half of the ninth century, was strong. So the omission of some of them from the inventory of practical drugs in later periods may testify to their rejection, possibly as part of the competition with Galenic pharmacology. Nevertheless, in the test of time and actual circumstances, the vast majority of the new substances from southern and eastern Asia became the most common and sought-after drugs in medieval practical pharmacology. A study based on documents from the Cairo Genizah, which are a reflection of Mediterranean society as a whole, shows that different categories of information emanating from the fragments may be distinguished as theoretical

234 | a rabi an dr ugs medical writings, contained primarily in medical books (translated Classical books as well as original Arabic), and practical medical knowledge, ­­customarily found in prescriptions, lists of drugs and letters. The differences between the practical and theoretical inventories may be learned and even quantified. Sure enough, this study shows that, in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries, only two-thirds of the substances (278) out of a fuller list based on theoretical sources as well (414) were actually used in practical medicine.33 It stands to reason that some medicines and medicinal substances were used more often than others, depending on price, availability, practitioners’ choices and even local medical trends. Analysis of the inventory of practical medicinal substances shows that it contains the vast majority of the ‘Indian’ substances, which were described as ‘new.’ The most striking example of this are the various species of myrobalan, which appear among the most prevalent practical medicinal substances in prescriptions in the Cairo Genizah34 and symbolically appear as leading substances on the lists of Ibn Juljul, al-ʾIdrīsī and Ibn Rushd.35 Furthermore, the foodstuffs and medicinal substances were fully adopted by and assimilated into the Galenic theories. Arab physicians categorised and classified them according to the Greek theories and doctrines, for instance by determining their nature and degree according to the doctrine of temperament. The major achievement of Arab medicine is, therefore, the incorporation of the practical aspects of both Indian and Persian medicine into the Galenic frame. The theories of the Indian medical tradition, however, did not significantly influence medieval Arab medical thinking and, in fact, left no long-range impact. Notes   1. Dols, ‘The origins’, p. 383.  2. Said, al-Bīrūnī’s, I, p. 7 (in the Arabic source, pp. 10–11); the translation of this important paragraph was already published by Meyerhof, ‘On the transmission’, p. 27.  3. Serri, Arabic Medical Dictionaries, p. 130; Levey, Early Arabic, pp. 10–19.  4. Dodge, The Fihrist, II, pp. 575–8, 581.   5. Ibid., II, pp. 589–90.   6. Hameed, ‘History of drugs’, pp. 14–19.

d iscussi on a nd conclusi o n s | 235   7. See: Ben Maimon, Un Glossaire, mainly the introduction, pp. 62–7; Maimonides, in his book on the names of the drugs named twenty substances of Indian origin and, in one case, even cites the Indian name; see Ben Maimon, Glossary of Drug Names, no. 112.  8. Levey, Early Arabic, p. 63.  9. Kahl, Sābūr ibn Sahl, pp. 24–5. 10. Kahl, The Dispensatory, p. 32 11. Schmucker, Die pflanzliche. 12. Kahl, The Sanskrit. 13. Ben Mrād, Al-Mu‚†alaª al-Aʿjamī, pp. 212–13. 14. Levey and al-Khaledy, The Medical Formulary, p. 27. 15. Flood, Objects of Translation, p. 19. 16. Al-Qaddumi, Book of Gifts. 17. Goitein and Friedman, India Traders. 18. Margariti, Aden. 19. Conrad, ‘The Arab-Islamic’, p. 93. 20. Mahdihassan, Bazar Drugs, pp. 82–9. Lev and Amar, ‘Ethnopharmacological survey of traditional drugs sold in the Kingdom’; Lev and Amar, ‘Ethno­ pharmacological survey of traditional drugs sold in Israel’; Ahmed et al., Herb Drugs; Honda et al. Herb Drugs; Ducros, ‘Essai sur le droguier’; Hooper, Useful Plants; al-Rawi and Chaakravarty, Medicinal Plants of Iraq. 21. Waves of the continuous dissemination of substances and plants from southern Asia in biblical times and in the Hellenistic and Roman periods are beyond the scope of this article; see, for example, Zohary, ‘The diffusion’. 22. Nadvi, ‘The early relations’. 23. Scarborough, ‘Roman pharmacy’. 24. Before the Islamic conquests, from biblical times to the seventh century, Arab tribes (the Nabataeans) had a ‘history’ of trade and of being middlemen for spices on the incense routes from India through Arabia to Egypt, Syria and Byzantium; see Meyerhof, ‘The background’, p. 1,852; Watson, Agricultural Innovation, pp. 77–83; Amar, ‘The ancient trade’; Dan, The City, pp. 187–8; De Lacy, How Greek Science, pp. 68–9. 25. Amar and Lev, ‘The significance’; Abulafia, ‘Crocuses and crusaders’. 26. On the transport of Arabic drugs to China (such as jasmine, saffron, fenugreek and henna) see: Aziz, ‘Arabs’ knowledge’; Ambergris is another example of a substance that the Arabs introduced into India (probably from Yemen and Oman), see: Gode, ‘History of ambergris’.

236 | a rabi an dr ugs 27. See entries in Chapter 3. 28. On the connection between Iran and Tibet see: Melikian-Chirvani, ‘Iran to Tibet’. 29. Watson, Agricultural Innovation, pp. 24–30. 30. Lacca in Bavli Óullin 28a; Pesaªim 42b; Jasmine in Shabbat 50b; Musk in Berachot 43a; Coconut palm in ʿEruvin 58a. 31. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’, nos 15–18, 22–3, 50, 52 in the table; Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’, nos 12, 19 in Table no. 2. 32. Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, ʿUyūn, p. 495. 33. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 71–4; Lev and Amar, ‘Practice versus theory’. 34. Lev and Amar, Practical, pp. 79–85; Amar and Lev, ‘The significance’. 35. Amar et al., ‘On Ibn Juljul’; Amar et al., ‘Ibn Rushd’.

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Index of English Names

Abbasids, 1, 140, 228 Abou Hershkovitz, Karen, 8–9 Abulafia, David, 18, 20 acorn, 190 Acre, 77n, 84, 98, 113, 118, 160 Adam’s Peak, 176 adamas, 182–3 Aden, 17, 20–1, 23–4, 34–5, 84, 93, 101, 111, 113, 119, 122, 129, 145–6, 149–50, 153, 231 Aelian, 121 Aëtius of Amida, 31, 73, 110, 145, 148 Afghanistan, 75, 84, 116, 176, 190 Africa, 1, 11, 14–16, 18, 20–2, 27–8, 33, 35, 50, 58, 60, 63–4, 70, 74–5, 77n, 79n, 83, 93, 98, 101, 105, 111, 117–18, 120, 125–7, 129, 131, 133, 137–9, 146, 149–51, 160–1, 166, 182, 231–2 agallochon, 140 agalochon xylon, 140 agarwood, xiv, 21, 31, 33, 68, 110–11, 132–6, 140–3, 150, 153, 209n–10n, 232 agate, 169, 219n, 232 ʾaholim, 140 ʾaholot, 140 ajwain, 67 Akasoy, Anna, 160 Alexander the Great, 1, 16, 139, 174, 182–3, 225n Alexandria, 4, 6–7, 12, 17, 22, 24, 27–9, 32, 35, 37, 39n, 84–5, 98, 102, 106, 113, 117–18, 129, 143, 147, 151, 160, 215n almog wood, 126 almond oil, 90 aloe, 24, 28, 124, 133, 232

alum, 28, 30, 85, 122, 126, 129 aluminium, 173–4 aluminium oxide, 173 Amalfi, 27, 30, 36 amaranth, 67 amber, 134, 164 ambergris, xiv, 18, 21, 23, 28, 31, 49, 67, 110, 133, 135–6, 139, 148–52, 159, 162, 213n, 235n, 246, 250, 266 amethyst, 164–5, 175 amethystus, 175–6 gammonia salts, 146 ʿAmram ha-Rofe, 84 anacardium, xiv, 67, 88–90 Andalusia, 28, 57–60, 77n, 95, 102, 117, 128–9, 147, 149–51, 160 Andaman, 106 antimony, 172 Antioch, 28, 33, 39n apple cucumber, 232 aquamarine, 169, 176 Arabian Hartwort, 68 arae tree, 68 arar, 118 Ardeshir, 229 areca nut, 67, 106 Aristotle, 3, 60, 164, 166, 175, 183, 219n Armenia, 121–2 Ascalon, 27, 84 ash, 28, 68, 94–5, 110, 125 Ashkelon, 126 Ashtor, Eliyahu, 17, 26, 34, 37, 51, 102 Asia, x, xiii, 1–2, 7, 14–15, 17–18, 22, 33, 37, 48, 51, 53, 55, 57–8, 61, 65, 73–4, 83, 93, 95–6, 104–6, 110, 112–13, 120, 123, 126, 130–1, 138–9, 144, 152, 157–8, 167, 183, 233, 235n

275

276 | a rabi an dr ugs Assaf, 98–9 Assyrian plum, 63 ʾava†iaª (pl. ʾava†iªim), 53–5, 57 Avierinos, Christo D., 87 Ayurveda, 7, 11, 233 Azerbaijan, 115 Baghdad, 3–5, 7–10, 12, 16, 19, 32–3, 62, 70, 102, 123, 179, 186, 228 Bahrain, 149, 160 balsam, 31, 50, 131–2, 134, 137–9, 147 bamboo, xiv, 21, 24, 28, 67, 83, 94–5, 97, 110, 124–5 banana, 51–2, 67, 73, 100, 123, 232 Barcelona, 26 bareket, 176 Barroso, D. S. Maria, 190 basil, 67–8, 155, 172 basswood, 96 bdellium, 132, 134, 138 beaver testicles, 90, 103 belleric myrobalan, 66, 83, 87 Ben Mrād, Ibrāhīm, 78n, 205n, 230 Ben Nissim, Óabīb, 147 Ben Nissim, Naharay, 84 Ben-Sasson, Menahem, 28 Ben Shlomo, Rabbi Yitzªak (the ʾAri), 99 Ben Yeªezkel, ʿEli ha-Kohen, 98 Ben Yoel Falaquera, Nathan, 92, 94, 96 Ben Yosef, Yaʿakov, 126 Benevenutus, 103, 114 Benjamin of Tudela, 21 berberry, xiv, 67, 117, 233 Berenike, 22, 83, 175 beryl, 163 betel palm, xiv, 67, 106–7 betel pepper, xiv, 67, 104–6 bezoar, xiv, 67, 79n, 116, 164, 166, 168, 172–3, 187–90, 221n, 226n–7n, 233, 241 bezoar ibex, 190 birthwort, 97 black myrobalan, 66, 83, 86 black pepper, 15–6, 90 blue corundum, 174–5, 177–8, 183 Bombay, 142 Brahmin, 169, 177–8 Brazil Wood, 24, 67, 125 Bresel Wood, 126 Browne, G. Edward, 7 buffalo, 50 Burma, 83, 88, 121, 199n

Burzo, 7 butcher’s broom, 67 Cadiz, 90 Caesar Leo VI, 143, 145 Caesarea, 29 Cairo, 19–20, 22–3, 25, 28–9, 32–6, 59, 74, 86–7, 92–3, 95–6, 98, 100, 102–3, 106–7, 110–11, 113–16, 118, 122–3, 126, 129, 137–8, 143, 148, 151–4, 156, 161, 165, 172, 179–80, 215n, 231, 233–4 calamus, 131, 138 Cambodia, 140, 142 camphor, xiv, 21, 23–4, 28, 31, 33, 49, 60, 67, 88, 93, 103–4, 110–12, 115, 122, 125, 134–9, 144–8, 211n–21n, 247 Canary Islands, 115 Cape Guardafui, 91 cardamom, 22, 68, 111, 130, 232 carnelian, 163–6, 169–70, 219n carob, 97–8, 125 caryophyllon, 100–1 Caspian Sea, 33, 61 castor oil, 115–16, 232 celadine, 232 chalk, 67, 92, 94–6 Chamba, 142 chamomile, 90, 129 Champa, 140 Chanf, 142 Charles the Great (Charlemagne), 143, 145 Chatoyancy, 164 chebulic myrobalan, 66, 84–5, 87 cherry plum, 83 chestnut, 89 China, x, xiv, 1, 6, 15–16, 18, 21–3, 31, 33, 49, 61, 64–6, 73–5n, 83, 88, 96–7, 101, 106–7, 109, 111–13, 116–17, 119, 121, 125, 136, 142–7, 152–3, 155–6, 159–60, 166–7, 184, 188–9, 195n, 199n, 206n, 209n, 235n Chinese Castor Oil, 116 Chinese cinnamon, 131–2 Christ’s jujube thorn, 101 cinnabar, 193n cinnamon, 14–15, 22, 31, 33, 64, 74, 100, 110–11, 130–2, 134–5, 137, 144, 232

i ndex of eng li sh name s | 277 citron, 67 citronella, 131, 138 clove, xi, xiv, 14, 18, 22, 24, 28, 31, 49, 66, 90, 100–4, 110–13, 124, 132, 135, 197n coconut, 24, 31, 51–2, 64, 67, 83, 100, 103–5, 107, 110–11, 231, 233 coconut palm, 24, 31, 51–2, 64, 67, 76n, 83, 100, 103–5, 107, 110–11, 231, 233, 236n colcasia, 52 collyrium, 67, 117 colocynth, 53–4, 58 common jujube, 63, 68 Constable, R. Olivia, 25–7 Constantinople, 33, 37, 62 coral, 164–5, 171–2, 176, 220n Cordoba, 26, 57–8, 62, 65 corindon, 67, 110 cornaline, 68, 232 cornelian, 163 corundum, xiv, 31, 67, 79n, 110, 124, 163–6, 168–70, 172–81, 183–6, 219n–20n, 222n, 224n, 232 Cosmas, 24, 31, 101, 153, 158, 209n costus, 130–2, 134–5, 137 cotton, 22, 26, 36, 51–2, 128, 233 Crone, Patricia, 138 Crusaders, 59, 84 102 Ctesias, 121 Ctesiphon, 145 cubeb pepper, xiv, 28, 66, 101, 111, 113, 119 cucumber, 51, 53, 56–8, 67, 77n–8n, 125, 232, 239, 263 Cyprus, 183 Damascus, 12, 17, 28, 33, 113, 189 deer, 64, 124, 157–9, 189–90 Delhi, 109 diamant, 185, 225n diamond, xiv, 67, 79, 110, 163–8, 170, 173, 175, 177, 181–7, 224n–5n, 232, 246, 258, 272 Dietrich, Albert, 57, 63n Diocletian, 24, 132 Dioscorides, xii, 24, 57, 60–6, 69–71, 73, 78n–80n, 83, 91, 107, 112, 123, 125, 128, 131–2, 140–1, 152, 155, 162, 175, 183, 187, 201n, 229 dodder, 68, 126 Dome of the Rock, 139, 151, 158

doronicum, 66 dragon’s blood, xiv, 67, 90–2, 123, 193n, 211n, 241, 251, 253 Ducros, M. A. H., 72 dudaʾim melon, 51, 53, 57–8 earth almond, 64, 68 ebony, 24, 123 eggplant, 51–2, 68, 73, 79n, 232 Egypt, xiv, 7, 14, 16–20, 22–3, 26–7, 29–30, 32–7, 53–6, 61, 69n, 77n, 79n, 83–4, 92–3, 95, 97–9, 111–13, 116, 118–19, 121–2, 127, 129–30, 137, 142–3, 147, 150, 153, 158, 167, 171, 178, 188, 225n–6n, 235n Ein Gedi, 137 elephant, 67, 95 123–4, 180 elephant bones, 67, 95 embelic myrobalan, 66, 83, 87 emerald, 68, 163–70, 172, 176, 178, 181, 185, 219n, 221n, 232 emetic nut, 120 Equator, 174 Ethiopia, 14, 99, 101 105 109 128 156 175 183 Europe, 18, 20–1, 25–31, 33, 36–7, 46n, 48, 51, 53, 59–61, 64, 70, 73–4, 83–4, 95, 100, 102, 108–9, 111, 113–14, 117, 119, 122, 125–7, 142–3, 145, 147, 151, 160, 190, 212n, 231–2 European aconite, 116 Farama, 33, 145 Fez, 26 Fischel, J. Walter, 34 fluorine, 174 Forbes, R. J., 122 fossil crab, xiv, 69, 117 Franz-Murphy, Gladys, 17 Friedman, Mordechai A., 24 galangal, 88 galbanum, 130, 132 Galen, xii, 3, 13, 42n, 60–1, 63, 65–6, 69, 71, 73, 79n–80n, 83, 93, 105, 107, 110, 128, 141, 152, 155, 161, 183, 187, 216n galingale, xiv, 20, 31, 66, 101, 110–13 gall nut, 87, 117, 126 garnet, 68, 163–5, 170, 176, 220n gastropods, 132, 134

278 | a rabi an dr ugs Genizah, xii, 20, 23, 25, 28–9, 32, 34–5, 46n, 74, 84, 86–7, 92–6, 98, 100, 102–4, 106–7, 109–11, 113–16, 118, 122–3, 126, 129, 133–5, 138, 143, 147–8, 151–7, 160–1, 165–6, 172, 179, 215n, 220n, 231, 233–4 Ghazna, 180 Gil, Moshe, 133, 165 ginger, 24, 90, 96–7, 108 gingerhorse ginger, 96 girofle, 102 Gocha, 33 gofer wood, 126 Goitein, D. Shlomo, 23, 134 gold, 1, 19–20, 28, 30, 105, 125–6, 144, 150, 170, 178, 180, 182, 190, 210n Goldberg, L. Jessica, 20, 24–5, 27 Gondēshāpūr, 4–7, 12, 40n grains of Paradise, xiv, 66 Greek, x–xi, 3–8, 10–13, 18, 31, 33, 41n, 48, 56–7, 60–62, 69n, 74, 77n, 83, 88, 91, 100–1, 121, 123, 129, 138, 161–3, 173, 182, 187, 225n, 228–31, 234 green watermelon, 54 Greif, Avner, 35 Gujarat, 93 Haggeher Mountains, 91 Óamath, 109 Hanafu, 160 Hasselquist, Fredrik, 71, 99 Óayyim Óabshūsh, 173 hazel nut, 87, 107, 112, 170, 186 heliotrope, 169, 219n hemp, 233 henna, 115, 235 Herodotus, 15 Himalayas, 155, 157 Hippocrates, 3, 13, 65 honey, 29, 88–90, 93, 99, 103, 154 honey-dew melon, 121 Hormuz, 21, 123 Óoshen, 176, 182, 185 Óula Lake, 50 hyakinthos, 173 iacinthus, 175 India, x–xii, xiv, 1, 3–4, 6–18, 20–1, 23–6, 30–1, 33–4, 48–51, 54, 56, 61, 63–4, 66, 69n, 73, 75, 79n, 83, 86, 88–9, 91–8, 100–2, 104–7, 109–13, 116–28, 130, 133, 136, 139–42, 144–6,

148–50, 152–3, 155, 158–9, 161–2, 166–7, 169, 174–7, 179–85, 188, 195n, 210n, 213n, 215n, 223n, 225n, 229, 231, 235n Indian aconite, xiv, 10, 116 Indian agarwood, 133–4, 136, 140–1, 232 Indian cane, 95 Indian chate melon, 98 Indian crab, 117 Indian garden cress, 91 Indian laburnum, 97 Indian myrobalan, 68, 83, 86 Indian Ocean, 112, 136, 143, 145, 149–50, 153, 160, 199n Indian saffron, 108 indigo, 22, 26, 233 Indonesia, 1, 64, 66, 100–1, 125, 152–3 Iraq, 5, 8–9, 11, 17, 19, 22, 33, 50, 57, 71, 73, 79n, 106, 108–9, 117, 120, 123, 138, 148, 150, 155, 158, 171, 177–8, 185–6, 225n iris, 24, 131–2, 138 iron, 18, 20, 24, 29, 53, 124, 150, 173, 183, 185–6 Isaac Judaeus, 58 Isidore of Seville, 141, 175 Israel, 14, 37, 52–4, 59–60, 72–3, 76n, 172 Italy, 26–7, 30, 36–7, 111, 118, 127, 205n, 225n ivory, 22, 24, 124 Jacoby, David, 37 Japan, 125, 144 jasmine, xiv, 67, 76n, 79n, 134–6, 155–7, 233, 235n–6n jasper, 164–5, 171, 219n Java, 101, 106, 110–11, 113, 119, 126, 142, 144 Jericho, 50, 137 Jericho balsam, 50 Jerusalem, 37, 50–1, 56, 58, 73, 84, 90, 98, 102–3, 109, 131, 143, 148, 151, 158 Jordan, 53, 172 Jordan Valley, 50 Judaea, 137–8, 207n juniper, 128 kahl, 230 Kalkh, 33 kamala, 120 karkom, 108

i ndex of eng li sh name s | 279 Kashmir, 140, 210n kermes, 122 Khalileh, Hassan, 24, 30 Khazar, 33 Khmer, 142 Kish, 21 kishuʾim, 53, 55–6, 77n kney de-ªizra, 95 Kolzum, 33 lacca, xiv, 23, 28, 68, 85, 92–3, 120–3, 126, 129, 146, 204n, 233 ladanum, 132, 135 lakkha, 121 laksha, 121 Laos, 123 lapis lazuli, 175–6 Laufer, L. Berthold, 10 laurel, 131 lazurite, 164–5, 169, 171–2, 175 lead, 24 Lebanon berberry, 67 Lebanon, 65, 67, 115, 117 lemon, 51, 67, 232 lentisk, 132, 134 Leo VI, 31, 143, 145, 159 leopard’s bane, 66 Levant, 21, 23, 26, 37, 47n, 53–6, 65, 84, 95, 97–8, 102, 108–9, 111, 113, 115, 127, 147, 151 Levey, Martin, 87 Lewicka, Paulina, 4 Lewis, Bernard, 17 lichen, 68, 80n, 120, 256 lily, 132 long pepper, 90, 130 Lopez, S. Roberto, 30 lotus, 101, 120, 134 mace, 101, 112–14, 135 Madagascar, 1, 15, 64, 66, 73, 83, 100 mahaleb cherry, 114 Mahdiyya, 20, 27–8, 84–5, 95, 98, 102, 113, 151 Maimonides, 60, 69–70, 79n, 93, 96, 99, 103, 108, 111–12, 114–15, 117, 119, 155–5, 188–9, 209n, 227n Malabathrum, 132 malachite, 164–5 Malaysia, 125, 142, 155, 161 Maldive Islands, 1, 64, 66, 154 Mandari, 142

mango, 51, 232 Manka, 7–8 manna, xiv, 68, 118, 121, 233 Marcus Manilius, 182 Margariti, Roxani, 23, 34 marjoram, 131–2 marking-nut, 67, 88 marsh-nut, 67, 88 mastic, 24, 135 McCabe, Anne, 24, 26, 31 Mecca, 93, 113, 127, 138, 150, 176 medical skink, 109 Medina, 93, 150 Mediterranean, x–xi, xiv, 14–17, 21–33, 35–7, 42n, 46n–7n, 51, 56–9, 70, 83, 86–7, 95, 108, 115, 117–18, 122, 126, 131–2, 134–6, 143, 145, 148, 150–1, 160, 165, 171, 174, 233 melafefon, 56–7 melon, 52–8, 77n Meloy, 16 Mesopotamia, 17, 49, 64, 75, 129, 136, 158, 216n, 232–3 Mexico, 93 Meyerhof, Max, 72, 120 Middle East, x, 15, 17, 26, 36, 48, 51–3, 56–7, 59, 61, 64, 70, 72–5, 83, 98, 111, 114–15, 121–3, 125, 130, 136, 144, 151, 159, 172, 174, 182, 190, 205n, 228, 231–3 milk, 87, 103, 115 Miller, J. Innes, 108 mint, 103 mollusk, 134 moonstone, 174 Moscha, 21 Moses, 185 Moshe Poriat, 109 Motupalli, 181 mountain goat, 190 Mozambique, 126 Muluk Islands, 100 mungo bean, 51, 68, 83, 128, 232 musk, xiv, 24, 28, 31, 33, 49, 52, 64, 67–8, 75–6n, 88, 91–2, 111, 117, 124–5, 133–6, 138–9, 145, 148, 150–1, 153, 157–62, 209, 216n–18n, 233, 236n, 238, 247, 257, 261, 272–3 musk deer, 157–9 Muziris, 175, 183 Myanmar, 123 Myos Hormos, 16, 22

280 | a rabi an dr ugs myrobalan, xi, xiv, 24, 28, 32, 50, 66, 68, 84–8, 90–1, 110–11, 122, 126, 129, 229, 234 myrrh, 24, 31, 130–2, 134 137–9 209n myrtle, 131, 135, 179 nard, 14, 31, 64, 80n, 103, 124, 130–1, 135, 157, 232 narwhal, 67 Nasiri Khosraw, 59 nauchali, 134 Necho, Pharaoh, 15 neem, 119, 233 Nicobar islands, 101, 126 Nile, 21–2, 34–5, 46n Noah, 158 nutmeg, xi, xiv, 15, 22, 31, 49, 66, 100–1, 111–14, 125, 201n, 231 oak, 190 Obolla, 33 odem, 176, 220 Olaf, Celsius, 71 oleaster, 59 olive, 30, 143, 156, 184, 187 olivine, 68 Oman, 21, 24, 33, 79n, 93, 95, 124, 126, 129, 146, 149–50, 153, 160, 162, 176 Omana, 123 onyx, 24, 164–5, 169, 171, 185 orange, 49, 51, 67, 73, 79n, 232 pain ginger, 96 Pakistan, 50, 54, 73, 75, 121, 210n Palermo, 26–7, 92, 95, 102, 111, 113, 118, 151, 153 Palestinian watermelon, 54 Palmira, 15, 121 panther strangler, 66 Parma, 143, 160 parrot, 124 Paulus Aegineta, 101 pearl, 22, 24–5, 68–9n, 124, 133, 163–6, 168–70, 172, 176, 178, 180–1, 183–5, 219n–20n, 232, 258 Pegolotti, F. Balduccio, 26 pepper, 15–6, 21–4, 26, 29–32, 64, 85, 100–1, 110–11, 113, 124, 130, 142, 153, 232 perfumed cherry, xiv, 67, 79n, 114–15, 233 peridot, 164–5, 219n Persia, 1, 3, 6, 10, 12–3, 18, 21, 33, 49,

55, 57–8, 75, 95, 98, 119, 121, 124, 136, 148–50, 153, 155–6, 158–9, 190, 229–30, 232 Persian Gulf, 16–7, 20–1, 166 Persian manna, 118 Petra, 15 Philippines, 153 pinecone, 96 Pisa, 27 pistachio, 87, 187 Plato, 3 Pliny, 63, 73, 91, 100, 131–2, 137, 175, 182–3 plum, 93–4 Polo, Marco, 93, 101, 111, 113, 126, 142, 153, 176 poppy, 232 pudding-pipe, 97 purging cassia, 28, 66, 88, 97–100 purging croton, 116 purple murex, 122 Qayrawān, 20, 27–9, 32–3, 58, 84, 92, 95, 102, 113, 115, 151, 160 quartz, 169, 219n Qunzhou, 142 Rādhānites, 19, 31, 33, 46n Ramla, 29, 33, 84, 98, 102, 109, 113, 116, 127, 147 Ramses II, Pharaoh, 15 rashey besamim, 112 red corundum, 166, 168, 173–4, 177–80, 184, 219n red garnet, 68, 163–5, 220n Red Sea, 14–17, 20–2, 25, 34–5, 83, 91, 146, 175, 226n rhinoceros, 69n, 124 rhubarb, 68, 88, 91, 232 rice, 51–2, 83 rock crystal, 90, 163–5, 171–2, 174, 179, 183–5, 219n–20n Roman, 14–16, 21–2, 51–3, 57, 61, 77n, 83, 88–9, 91, 121, 124, 129–32, 138, 144, 162–3, 168–9, 174–5, 177, 182–3, 220n, 235n Romanus I, Emperor, 62 rose, 24, 103, 105, 131–2, 134–5, 137, 139, 143, 147, 154–6, 158, 232 ruby, 163, 166, 168, 173–4, 176, 220n rush-nut, 64,68 rye, 69, 79

i ndex of eng li sh name s | 281 Saadia Gaon, Rabbi 176, 185, 209n, 222n sabaj, 164 sacred fig, 121 Safed, 99 safflower, 129, 177 saffron, 24, 28, 85, 91, 103, 108–9, 122, 124, 126–9, 131–2, 134–5, 137, 139, 232, 235n saga, 123 sagun, 123 saka, 123 Saladino d’Ascoli, 100, 172 Saliba, George, 2, 6 salt, 93, 144–6 Samandūr, 142 Samarqand, 155 sandalwood, xiv, 10, 21, 24, 31, 49, 67, 107, 110, 112, 123–5, 134–6, 142–3, 147, 152–4, 215n, 244, 260 sandarus, 24, 118 sapir, 176 sappan wood, xiv, 28, 67, 85, 110, 121–2, 124–7, 129, 204n sapphire, 24, 133, 168, 174–6 sapphirus, 175 sarcocolla, 154 sardonyx, 164 Sbath, Paul, 87 scarlet scale, 122 screw pine, xiv, 67, 91, 134, 161–4, 232 sea crab, 117 seal ring, 170, 179, 186 sebesten, 68, 233 senna, 49, 61, 68, 116 senna maki, 61 Serapion, 129 sesame, 115, 128, 155–6 Seville, 65, 97–8 Shahpur, 229 Shalheh Island, 101 shamīr, 185 shampoo ginger, 66, 96 Shatzmiller, Maya, 17–9, 22 Shefer-Mossensohna, Miri, 8–9 shoham, 185 Sicily, 20, 26–8, 32, 36, 84–5, 93, 95, 102, 109, 111, 115, 117–19, 122, 126, 129, 143, 147, 151, 153, 160, 172, 223n Sidon, 27 Sinai, 143, 145, 160 snapdragon, 59 Sobhy, G. P., 120

Socotra, 91–2 Sofala, 101, 126, 146, 150 Somalia, 91, 116 sour cherry, 115 Sous al-Akza, 33 Spain, 1, 11, 19, 27–8, 33, 48, 65, 69n–70, 115–16, 118, 127–39, 151, 188 spikenard, 22, 101, 111, 113, 132, 134, 137 spinach, 51, 68, 232 spinel, 163–4 spurge, 59 Sri Lanka, 1, 6, 24, 31, 64, 66, 68, 95, 105, 112, 125–6, 131, 140, 142, 146, 166–7, 173, 176, 180, 183–4 stain-pod, 127 stick-lacca, 121–2 Stillman, A. Norman, 24 storax, 132, 135 Strabo, 162 Suez, 21, 33–4, 143, 145 160 sugar, 29–30, 54, 63, 90, 103, 146, 229, 232 sugar cane, 52, 232 sukk, 117 Susa, 27 sweet basil, 68 sweet lime, 101 Syria, 12, 15, 17–18, 22, 27, 33–4, 37 Syrian watermelon, 54 tabashir, 67, 94 Taiwan, 161 tamarind, xiv, 23, 66, 88, 92–4, 99, 122, 146 tambur, 104 Tangier, 33 tarangabin, 118 taro, 52 tarragon, 68 tarshish, 176 teak, xiv, 24, 67, 123–5, 205n Temple Mount, 148 Thailand, 121, 123 Theophrastus, 60, 63, 73, 131, 201n, 205n thyme, 90 Tibet, 1, 49, 61, 64, 66, 73, 157–60, 236n tidhar, 124 Tigris river, 33 titanium, 173 topaz, 166, 174, 176 Topkapı Palace, 172 triphala, 87

282 | a rabi an dr ugs Tripoli, 26–7, 84, 102 trivrit, 118 Turkistan, 125 turmeric, xiv, 68, 108–10, 231 turpeth, 118 turquoise, 164–5, 169 Tustaris, 19, 31–2 Tyre, 27, 84 Tzinista, 101 Udovitch, L. Abraham, 30 Usceri, 35 Vallet, Eric, 34 van Berquem, Ludwig, 182 Venice, 27, 30, 36–7, 47n vetch, 68 vinegar, 93, 158 violet, 134, 136, 177 visha, 116 wallflower, 134 walnut, 87, 89, 97, 120, 123 Wansbrough, John, 34 warras, xiv, 28, 68, 127–9, 135, 207n, 232

water lily, 134, 136 watermelon, 51–6, 59 Watson, 38n, 49, 51–3, 55–6, 76n, 82, 113 wax, 29–30, 93, 141, 152, 159 Whitcomb, David, 22 white corundum, 174, 176, 179 white-behen, 67 wormwood, 59–60 Xiamen, 142 yahalom, 182, 185 yellow corundum, 174, 178, 181 yellow melon, 54 yellow myrobalan, 28, 66, 83–6, 122, 126, 129 Yemen, xiv, 14, 23, 34–5, 61, 84, 91, 98–9, 101, 105, 109, 117, 120, 122, 127–9, 145, 149–50, 152, 154, 161–2, 169, 173, 206n, 221n, 226n, 232, 235n Yoeli-Tlalim, Ronit, 160 Zaiton, 142, 153 zedoary, 116 zircon, 164

Index of Arabic Names

ʿAbd Allāh Ibn Íālih, 95 ʿAbd al-Maliq ibn Marwān, 102 ʿAbd-Allāh Ibn ˝āhir, 55 ʿAbd-Allāh Ibn ˝āhir, 55 ʿAbdallāwī melon, 55 ʿAbdallī melon, 55 Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Nabātī, 70, 98–9,

128 Abū al-Óusayn Bajkam al-Makānī, 178 Abū al-Qāsim al-Maghribi, 180 Abū Man‚ūr Muwaffaq, 10 ʿaf‚, 68, 117 al-ʾAhwāz, 32 ʾamīrbārīs, 67, 117, 233 ʾamlaj, 66, 83, 85, 87 ʿAmr ibn al-Layth al-Íaffār, 150 ʿanbar, 67, 148–9, 152, 267 ʿanbarī, 164 al-Andalus, 33, 62, 70, 90 ʿAqaba, 22 ʿaqīq, 68, 165, 169 ʾās, 179 al-ʾA‚maʿī, 128 ʾa†mā†, 106–7 ʾa†rīfal, 87 ʾa††, 107 ʾaydaʿ, 90 ʿayn al-hirr, 164 ʿAyn Shams, 137 ʾazādadrakht, 119, 233 ʾaÕfār al-†īb, 135 ba††īkh filas†īnī 54 Bāb al-Dhirāʿ, 53 Badakhshān, 176 bādhinjān, 68 bādzahr, 164, 166, 168, 187 al-Baghdādī, 55, 77n

bahman ʾabya∂, 64, 67 bahman ʾaªmar, 64, 67 baht, 68 Bāl, 148 balādhur, 67, 88–90, 243 al-Balādhurī, 89 balakhsh, 164 balīlaj, 66, 83, 85, 87 ballūr, 163–5, 179, 184, 219n Baluza, 33 banafsh, 164 baqqam, 67, 88, 121, 125–6 Barmakid, 7–8, 11–12, 40n, 140 Bar†ayīl, 101, 197n basbāsa, 112–13 Ba‚ra, 16–18, 33, 93, 98, 109, 120 ba††īkh ʾakh∂ar, 54 ba††īkh ʾa‚far, 54 ba††īkh hindī, 54 ba††īkh shāmī 54 ba††īkh shatawī, 54 ba††īkh sindī, 54, 77n ba††īkha, 186 Bayt al-Óikma, 3–5, 228 bāzahr, 67, 164, 187 bijādī, 68, 164–5 binnī, 50 al-Bīrūnī, 9–10, 57–8, 69n, 77n, 88–9, 98–9, 115, 153, 164, 171, 177, 219n, 223n, 228 bīsh, 10, 116 Bukhārā, 55 Bukhtīshūʿ, 5, 12 Būlus, 97 bunduq hindī, 107 bussad, 164 bustān ʾabrūz, 64, 67, 69n būzīdān, 64, 67, 69n

283

284 | a rabi an dr ugs al-daf ʿ, 120 dahnaj, 164 dam al-ʾakhawayn, 90, 123 dand, 116 darawnaj, 66 dārkīsa, 112, 114 dār‚īnī, 74 dastabuya, 58–9, 232 al-Dayr al-Baªrī, 15 al-Dimashqī, 20, 111, 126, 146, 154, 163–4, 166, 171, 184–5 Dīnār al-Marwāniyya’, 102 al-Dīnawarī, 124–5, 127 dullāʿ, 54 durr, 164, 166, 169 fādzahr, 164, 187 Fan‚ūr, 147 faqqūs, 77n Farama, 33, 145 Fāris, 188 fawfal, 67, 105–7 fayrūzaj, 164 fulayfila, 67 fulūs, 99, 146 Fus†ā†, 17, 20, 22, 27–9, 35, 84–5, 126, 143, 179 fu‚ū‚ī, 90 al-Ghāfiqī, 60–1, 70–1, 119, 127, 206n ghāliya, 134–6, 139, 151 GhayÕa, 84 ghazāla, 159 ªabaq qaranfulī, 68 ªabb al-ʿarūs, 119 ªabb al-mulūk, 116 ªabb al-zalam, 63, 68 Óa∂ramawt, 149 al-ªāfir, 168, 180 ªajar al-ʿaqīq, 68, 164–5, 169 ªajar al-bijādī, 68, 164–5 ªajar al-zabarjad, 68, 164, 166, 221n halīlaj ʾa‚far, 66, 83, 86

halīlaj ʾaswad, 83 halīlaj kābulī, 50, 65–6, 69n, 75, 83–6, 192n halīlaj, 66, 83 Óamā, 109 Óamza ibn Bī∂, 179 ªanÕal, 54 harnuwa, 67

Óarrān, 5, 12, 39n

Hārūn al-Rashīd, 4, 7–8, 11, 36, 145, 149, 167, 179, 188 Óasan ibn Sahl, 141, 188 Óays, 161 Herāt, 10, 230 Hieronymus, 158 Óijāz, 117, 124, 129, 150, 176 al-Óīra, 5 ªisba, 91, 95, 99, 146, 151 Hishām ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, 179–80 Óubaysh ibn al-Óasan, 5 ªumar, 93 Óunayn ibn ʾIsªāq, 5, 12, 62 hurd, 108 Óusayn ibn Barmak, 140 Ibn Abī U‚aybiʿa, 11, 229 Ibn al-ʾAkfānī, 164, 171, 178, 186, 190, 219n Ibn al-ʿAwwām, 115 Ibn al-Bannāʾ, 58 Ibn al-Bay†ār, 58–61, 69n–70, 77n, 79n, 85–7, 97–9, 109, 111, 114, 123–5, 127, 154, 156, 219n, 224n Ibn al-Faqīh, 124 Ibn al-Jazzār, 89, 106, 109 Ibn al-Qif†ī, 229 Ibn al-Shiªna, 54 Ibn al-Tilmīdh, 230 Ibn al-˝uwayr, 180 Ibn ʿAqīl al-Baghdadi, 159 Ibn ʿAwkal, 25, 45n Ibn Ba††ū†a, 55, 94, 101, 104–6, 109, 113, 124, 150, 153, 155–6, 158, 180–1 Ibn Dahn, 7 Ibn Ezra, 185, 225n ibn Óawqal, 58 Ibn Juljul, 57, 60, 62–6, 69n–70, 73, 79n–80n, 83, 85–7, 89, 92–9, 103, 105, 107–11, 114, 124, 127–8, 137, 147, 149, 152, 154–6, 158, 162, 171, 175, 186, 233–4, 254, 256 Ibn Kaysān, 117, 135, 146, 159 Ibn Khaldūn, 2, 5, 39n Ibn Khurdādhbih, 33, 111, 124, 145 Ibn Māsawayhi, 5, 9, 12, 58, 85, 103, 128, 134–5, 137, 141, 147, 156, 164, 171, 176, 184–6, 219n Ibn Qā∂ī Baʿalbak, 86, 88 Ibn Rasūl, 154 Ibn Ri∂wān, 59, 79

i ndex of ara bi c names | 285 Ibn Rushd, 60, 65–6, 69–70, 73, 79n–80n, 83, 85–8, 94, 96–9, 107, 110–11, 114, 122, 150, 155–6, 161, 190n, 204n, 233–4, 240, 254 Ibn Samajūn, 61 Ibn Sīnā, 9, 69n, 71, 103, 105, 118, 122, 154 Ibn Waªshiyya, 9, 106–7, 115, 125 Ibn Yaªyā al-Barmakī, 8, 179 Ibn Zuhr, 60, 70, 73 ʿĪdhāb, 22, 34, 188 al-ʾIdrīsī, 60, 63, 66, 69n, 73, 78–80n, 101, 104–5, 107, 111, 113, 128, 234

ʾihlīlaj ʾa‚far, 83, 85 ʾihlīlaj ʾaswad, 66, 69n, 83, 85, 192n ʾihlīlaj hindī, 68, 83, 85–6 ʾihlīlaj kābulī, 50, 65–6, 69n, 75, 83–6, 192n

ʾihlīlaj zaqqūmī, 50 ʾihlīlaj, 50, 65, 66, 68, 69n, 75, 83, 85–6, 88, 192n

ʿĪsā ibn ʿAlī, 5 ʾI‚fahān, 55 al-ʾI‚fahānī, 129 ʾisfānākh, 64, 68, 232 ʾIsªāq ibn Óunayn, 58 Isªāq ibn Sulaymān al-ʾIsrāʾīlī, 58 al-ʾIshbīlī, 54, 69n, 88, 93, 95, 98, 107–9, 115, 127, 141, 162

ʾi†rifil, 87 ʾi†rīfil, 87, 111 ʾi†riful, 87 ʾi†rīful, 87

al-jabal, 179 Jabal al-Nār, 88 al-Jābiya, 33 jadwār, 116 Jaʿfar ibn Yaªyā al-Barmakī, 8, 179 al-JāªiÕ, 8, 134–5, 149, 155, 163–4, 171, 177–8, 186 Jamast, 164 jāmūs, 50 jawhar (pl. jawāhir), 162, 167, 219n jawz al-balādhur, 88 jawz hindī, 67, 233 jawz jundum, 68, 80n, 120 jawz kundum, 120 Jawz al-qayʾ, 120 jawz al-†īb, 112 jawzbuwā, 66, 112–13

jazʿ baqarānī, 164 Jibrīl ibn Bukhtīshūʿ, 179 al-Juªfa, 91 Jūkhā, 33 julubbān, 68 al-Junayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raªmān al-Murrī, 180 jūr, 139 jūrī rose, 137 kabāba, 66, 119 Kābul, 50, 75, 84, 86–7, 98 kādhī, 67, 161–2, 232 kāfūr, 49, 67, 144–5, 147, 247 kahrubāʾ, 164 Kamarī agarwood, 140 Kārimī, 26, 31, 34–3 kashūth, 68 Khālid al-Barmakī, 8 khālīdūnyūn †ūmāghā, 108 khall (stone), 68 kharrūb, 97–8 khawlanjān, 110 khayzurān, 67, 95 khirwaʿ ‚īnī, 116 khiyār shanbar, 66, 97–9 khiyār, 56–8, 67, 77n–8n khūlanjān, 66, 110 Khurāsān, 33, 57, 59, 118, 120, 159, 179, 183, 185, 188 Khusraw I ʾAnūshīrwān, 7, 136 Khusraw II, 136 Khūzistān, 32 Khwārizm, 55 al-Kindī, 9, 42n, 92–3, 95, 103, 111, 113, 128, 134–5, 137, 142, 146, 154–6, 159, 162, 167, 184, 186, 230 Kirmān, 188 Kūfa, 17, 33 kurkam, 108 kurkum, 68, 108 lakk, 68, 121–2, 233 lakkāʾ, 120, 204n laymūn, 67 lāzward, 165, 175–6 lisān al-ʿa‚āfīr, 68, 80n luffāª, 58–9 lukk, 120 luʾluʾ, 68, 164–5, 220n al-Madāʾin, 145 al-Madīna, 124

286 | a rabi an dr ugs madkhīr, 127 Ma∂mūn, 23 maghra, 92 Maghrib, x, 18, 28–30, 32–3, 35, 70, 93, 97, 143, 147, 151, 155, 171 mahā, 176 māhī zahra, 64, 68 maªlab, 67, 79, 114–15, 233 maʿjūn ʾanaqardiyā, 89 al-Malik al-ʾAshraf, 189 al-Maʾmūn, 3–5, 11, 13, 41n–2n, 55, 158–9, 162, 169, 178, 181, 187–8 Mandalī agarwood, 140, 142 al-Man‚ūr, 2, 7–8, 140, 142, 179 maqā‚īrī, 153 marjān, 164–5, 220n Marw, 59 mās, 67, 79n, 164, 181, 183, 185–6, 224, 267 mās ballūrī, 186 Māsarjawayh, 3, 88, 98, 145, 153, 159 māsh, 51, 68, 128, 232 al-Masʿūdī, 79n, 149 Ma†ariyya, 137 mawz, 67 misk, 49, 67, 68, 157, 233 Muªammad ibn al-ʿAbbās al-Misqī, 102 Muªmmad ibn ˝ughluq, 156, 181 Muʿizz al-dawla ibn Buwayhi al-Daylamī, 186 Multān, 141, 210n Mu‚ʿab ibn al-Zubayr, 178 mūsh dārbandī, 67 Muʿtazila, 159 al-Muqaddasī, 23–4, 124, 149–50 al-Muqtadir, 151, 179 al-Mustaʿīn bi-llāh, 189 al-Muʿta∂id, 150 al-Muʿta‚im, 188 al-Mutawakkil, 4–5, 11, 62, 89, 141, 168 al-Nābulsī, 55 nadd, 134–6, 151 al-Nadīm, 6, 229 Nahāwand, 177 Najaf, 158 nāranj, 49, 67 nard, 14,31, 64, 80n,103, 124, 130–1, 135, 157, 232 Na‚ir ʿAbd al-Raªmān, 62 nīl, 233 Nisibis, 6

Nūª ibn Man‚ūr al-Sāmānī, 186 Nu‚aybīn, 6 nushādur, 146 al-Nuwayrī, 103, 107, 146, 155–6 qafr, 150 al-Qalqashandī, 105, 149–50, 159, 219n qanbīl, 68 Qan‚ūr, 112, 144, 147 qāqulla kabīr, 66 qāqulla ‚aghīra, 68 qāqullī, 142 qaranful, 66, 100–2 qarn al-khutuww, 67, 69n qas†al, 89 al-Qazwīnī, 101, 103, 155, 174, 219n qinā, 95–6 qinbīl, 119 qirfat qaranful, 102 qirmiz, 121 qiththāʾ hindī, 97–8 qiththāʾ, 56–7, 77n Qumār, 140, 210n qunnab, 233 al-Qurashī, 86, 91, 93, 95 Quraysh, 138 qurunful, 101 Qū‚, 35 Qu‚eir al-Qadīm, 22, 34 Qu‚eir, 22 Qus†ā ibn Lūqā, 5 qu†n, 233 Rahūn, 176 Rāminī, 125 rāmiq, 135 al-Rāzī, 9, 89, 103, 154, 162, 228 rībās, 68 Rukn al-Dawla, 186 sabaj, 164 sabistān, 63, 68, 233 Sābūr ibn Sahl, 5, 58, 230 al-Íaʿīd, 159 sāj, 67, 123–4 Íalāª al-Dīn, 71, 168 Íāliª ibn Bahla, 8 Samarqand, 155, 230 al-Samarqandī, 230 sanā makkī, 116 Íanʿāʾ, 127–8 sanā, 68, 116

i ndex of ara bi c names | 287 ‚andal, 10, 67, 107, 152

Sandān, 124 sandarūs, 24, 68, 118 Íanf, 113, 140 Íanfūr, 147 Sarandīb, 173, 176, 180 sara†ān baªrī, 69 sara†ān hindī, 69, 117 al-Sarī ibn Muªammad al-Raffāʾ, 135–6, 138 Sayf al-Dīn ibn Muªammad ibn ˝ughluq, 156 Sayf al-Dīn Qalaj, 189 Sayf al-Dīn Qalaj, 189 shajarat al-kaff, 68 shajarat al-kha†ā†īf, 108–9 Shām, 7, 11, 27, 50, 55, 61, 65, 79n, 98, 108, 114, 142, 149 shammām, 58–9 Shankārah, 190 shaqāqul, 68 al-Sharīf al-Jawharī, 180 shayyān, 67, 90 al-Shayzarī, 92–3, 95 Shiªr, 105, 133, 148–9, 213 Shīrāz, 190 shiyyān, 90 Sind, xiv, 33, 49–50, 73, 75, 95, 110–11, 113, 124, 141, 146, 158, 180–1, 188 Íiqilliya, 88 Sīrāf, 21–2, 142, 146, 153 sqanqūr, 109 ‚ubbār, 93 sukk al-ʿaf‚, 68, 117 sukk al-misk, 68 sult, 69, 79n al-˝abarī (historian), 8 al-˝abarī (physician), 9, 96, 228, 230 †abāshīr, 67, 94 Taʿiz, 35, 161 Tāj al-Dawla, 172, 223n al-Tamīmī, 50, 58, 99, 103, 114, 140, 151, 162, 186, 219n tamr hindī, 66 tānbūl, 67, 104–6 taranjubīn, 68, 118, 207n, 233 †arkhūn, 68 al-Thaʿālibī, 124, 133 †ibb al-nabī, 5 †ibb nabawī, 5 Tibrīz, 155

al-Tīfāshī, 115, 164, 167, 169, 171, 168, 180, 184, 189, 219n Tinnīs, 27 al- ˝ūr, 34 turbad, 118 turunj, 67 Tustar, 32

ʿūd al-†īb, 68, 140 ʿūd Hindī, 140 ʿūd qumārī, 142 ʿūd Samandūrī, 142 ʿūd ‚anfī, 142 ʿūd ‚anfī, 142 ʾūmālī, 118 ʿUmān, 24 ʿUmar ibn al-Kha††āb, 39n, 124 ʿUmar II, 39n ʿunnāb, 63, 68, 233 ʾurjuwān, 126 ʿurūq ‚ufr, 108 al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik, 124 wars, 68, 127, 134, 206, 232 Wāsi†, 50 al-Wāthiq, 55 Yaªyā (Yūªannā) ibn al-Bi†rīq, 187, 226n Yaªyā ibn Khālid al-Barmakī, 8 yākand, 173 Yamīn al-Dawla, Maªmūd ibn Subuktikīn, 180 yāqūt (place), 180 yāqūt (stone), 67, 79n, 164, 166, 173–81, 184, 186, 219, 223n yāqūt ʾabya∂, 174 yāqūt ʾaªmar, 174, 176 yāqūt ʾakhab, 177 yāqūt ʾa‚far, 174, 176 yāqūt ʾasmanjūnī, 174 yāqūt ʾazraq, 174, 176 yāqūt bahramānī, 177, 180 yāqūt banafsajī, 177–8 yāqūt jullanārī, 177 yāqūt kuªlī, 174 yāqūt laªmī, 177–8 yāqūt mahāwī, 174 yāqūt rummānī, 176–7, 180 yāqūt ʾurjuwānī, 177–8 yāqūt wardī, 177–8 yāsamīn rāziqī, 155–6 yāsamīn, 65, 67, 79, 155, 233

288 | a rabi an dr ugs yashb, 164, 169 yashm, 164 yast, 164 Yazīd I, 176 Yazīd ibn al-Muhallab, 179 al-Zābaj, 112, 197n, 215n zabarjad, 68, 164, 166, 221n Zabīd, 35 zadwār, 116 Êafār, 105

zaʿfarān hindī, 108 zanbaq, 155–6 Zanj, 50, 125, 148–9, 213n zaqqūm, 50 zarnab, 67 zirishk, 117 zujāj Firʿawnī, 184 zumurrud, 68, 164, 221n zumurrud, 68, 164, 221n zurunbād, 66, 96–7 zu††, 50

Index of Scientific Names Aconitum anthora, 116 Aconitum ferox, 116 Aconitum napellus, 116 Aconitum sp., 226n Alhagi camelorum, 118 Alhagi maurorum, 68, 118, 233 Alpinia galanga, 66, 110, 256 Amaranthus sp., 67 Amomum melegueta, 66 Anamirta paniculata, 68 Antirrhinum siculum, 59 Antirrhinun majus, 59 Aquilaria agallocha, 68–9n, 134, 140 Aquilaria malaccens, 140 Areca catechu, 67, 106 Aristolochia sp., 97 Artemisia arborescens, 59–60 Artemisia dracunculus, 68 Balanites aegyptiaca, 50 Bambusa arundinacea, 94, 195n Bambusa sp., 67 Bambusa vulgaris, 67, 94 Berberis libanotica, 117 Berberis sp., 67, 117, 233 Berberis vulgaris, 117 Boswellia carteri (= sacra), 132, 134 Caesalpinia sappan, 67, 121, 125, 204n Callitris quadrivalvis, 68, 118 Cannabis sativus var. indica, 233 Capra aegagrus aegagrus, 190 Carthamus tinctorius, 177 Carum copticum, 67 Cassia acutifolia, 61, 68, 116 Cassia acutifolia, 61, 68, 116 Cassia fistula, 66, 97–8, 238

Cassia sp., 116 Centaurea behen, 67 Cheiranthus chiri, 134 Cinnamomum camphora, 67, 134 Cinnamomum cassia, 132 Cinnamomum citriodorum, 132 Cinnmomum zeylanicum, 132 Cistus ladaniferus, 132 Citrullus colocynthis, 53, 58 Citrullus lanatus, 53–4 Citrullus vulgaris, 53 Citrus aurantium, 67 Citrus limon, 67 Citrus medica, 67, 101 Cocculus indicus, 68 Cocos nucifera, 67, 233 Commiphora gileadensis (= opobalsamum), 132, 134 Commiphora mukul, 132, 134 Commiphora myrrha, 132, 134 Cordia myxia, 63, 68, 233 Costus speciosus, 132, 134 Crocus sativus, 108, 132, 134 Croton gossypifolium, 193n Croton lechleri, 193n Croton tiglium, 116 Cucumis melo, 53, 56 Cucumis melo var. chate, 55–6 Cucumis melo var. dudaim, 57, 232 Cucumis sativus, 56–8, 67 Curcuma longa, 68, 108 Curcuma zedoria, 116 Cuscuta sp., 68, 126 Cyperus esculentus, 64, 68 Daucus carota ssp. Maximus, 67 Doronicum sp., 66 Dracaena cinnabari, 90–1, 193n Dracaena draco, 67, 90, 123, 193n

289

290 | a rabi an dr ugs Elaeagnus angustifolia, 59 Elettaria cardamomum, 68 Embelic officinalis, 66 Emblica officinalis, 66, 83 Eugenia caryophyllata, 66, 100 Euphorbia dendroides, 59 Ferula galbaniflua, 132 Ficus religiosa, 121 Flemingia grahamiana, 68, 127, 232 Flemingia rhodocarpa, 68, 127, 134, 232 Fraxinus sp., 68, 80n Gossypium herbaceum, 233 Indigofera tinctoria, 233 Ipomoea turpethum, 118 Iris florentina, 132 Iris Mesopotamica, 132 Jasminum fruticans, 155 Jasminum officinale, 155 Jasminum sambac, 155 Jasminum sp., 67, 79n, 134, 233 Juniperus sp., 128 Kermes sp., 122 Laccifer lacca, 68, 121, 233 Lathyrus sp., 68 Lawsonia inermis, 115 Lily candidum, 132 Liquidambar orientalis, 132 Malabaila secacul, 68 Mallotus philippinensis, 120 Melia azedarach, 119, 233 Memecylon tincrorum, 68 Menispermum cocculus, 68 Moghonia grahamiana, 134 Moschus moschiferus, 67, 134, 157, 233 Murex brandaris, 122 Musa paradisiaca, 67 Myristica fragrans, 66, 112 Nardostachys jatamansi, 80n, 132, 134

Ocimum basilicum var. pilosum, 68–9n Operculina turpethum, 118 Origanum hortensis, 132 Pandanus odoratissimus, 67, 134, 161, 232 Pastinaca schekakul, 68 Phaseolus mungo, 68, 128, 232 Phyllanthus emblica, 66, 83 Phyllanthus emblica, 66, 83 Physeter catodon, 67, 134, 148 Piper betel, 67, 104 Piper cubeba, 66, 119 Pistacia lentiscus, 132, 134 Prunus cerasia, 115 Prunus mahaleb, 67, 79n, 114, 233 Pterocarpus santalinus, 67, 153 Rheum sp., 68 Rosa canina, 132, 134 Rottlera tinctoria, 120 Ruscus aculeatus, 67 Santalum album, 67, 134, 152 Scincus scincus, 109 Secale cereale, 69, 79n Semecarpus anacrdium, 67, 88 Senna alexandrina, 116 Solanum melongena, 68 Spinacia oleracea, 68, 232 Strychnos nux-vomica, 120 Tamarindus indica, 66, 93 Tectona grandis, 67, 123 Terminalia arjuna, 68, 83 Terminalia bellerica, 66, 83 Terminalia chebula, 50, 66, 75, 83 Terminalia citrina, 66, 83 Terminalia emblica, 66 Terminalia sp., vii, 50, 83 Trichilia emetica, 120 Vigna mungo, 51 Vigna radiata, 51 Viola odorata, 134, 177 Vitex agnus castus, 67 Zingiber zerumbet, 66, 96 Ziziphus spina-christi, 101 Ziziphus vulgaris, 63, 68