An Investigation of Translations of Hayat al-Heivan and Veterinary Books in Iran from the Beginning to the Qajar Time

Veterinary in Iran has a long history. The writing of zoological books after Islam besides translation of Aristotle’s works like Ajza’ al-Heivan and Taba’ al-Heivan، and also using verses and hadiths of the Prophet of Islam and his family (P. B. U. T) in which the relation between man and animals and the rules for preying and sacrificing them are explained، have travelled a long way to the extent that the number of existent veterinary and zoological books is said to be three hundred. Among these، Damiri’s Hayat al-Heivan has a privileged status and after him various translations of this book into Persian and Turkish have been done some of which are still unknown and there is no complete correction of any of them. This article aims to explore the abridged versions and translations of Damiri’s Hayat al-Heivan into different languages، in general، and into Persian، in particular.