Medical Developments During the Reign of Salah al-Dîn al-Ayyûbî and the Famous Physicians of the Period

During the reign of Salah al-din al-Ayyubi (Saladin), the founder of the Ayyubid state, the activities in the field of medicine and pharmacy have made considerable progress. Saladin gave great importance to the medical science and medical institutions and constructed the hospitals in important regions such as Egypt, Bilâd al-Sham and al-Jazirah, and these hospitals gradually became medical centers where theoretical and applied medical courses were processed. From these hospitals, the Bîmâristan al-Nûrî in Damascus and the Bîmâristân al-Nâsiri in Cairo continued to operate as two important medical centers, and Muslim, Christian and Jewish physicians came to these hospitals from various parts of the world and practiced medicine. Clinical medicine has emerged as the result of medical researches conducted in these hospitals. One of the most important developments in this period is the establishment of a madrasah by Rais al-Atibba Muhazzab al-Dîn al-Dakhwar, who only teaches medicine in the history of Islam. Famous physicians who have made great contributions to the medical science have lived during Saladin reign. Maimonides, Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi, Muhazzab al-Dîn al-Dakhwar and Ibn Baytar are the leading figures of these pyhsicians. In the present article medical education in the reign of Saladin and the famous physicians of the period will be examined and developments in the field of medicine will be evaluated.