The Assessment of the Evolution of Medical Knowledge and Treatment in Shiraz during the Afsharid and Zand Periods

As “Darolelm1”, Shiraz has always been a pioneer in various fields of knowledge including medical sciences. The physicians of this city have played an important role in advancing medical sciences since the fourth century AH and especially in the Buyid period. The medical knowledge in Shiraz continued its life from the Buyid period to the Safavid period but declined with the Afghan invasion and the fall of the Safavid government. After the Afghan rule, even with the coming to power of the Afsharid government, medical knowledge could not be restored and the eminent physicians of Shiraz migrated to India due to the welcoming of the Indian rulers. Although Karim Khan Zand tried to improve the economic and social conditions of Shiraz, conflicts in various parts of the country led to the of medical knowledge. In general, the prevalence of various diseases (to which many factors contributed), such as cholera, plague, and syphilis, indicated the decline of medical knowledge in this period. Using a descriptive approach along with the analysis and collection of data based on a library method, the current research examines medical knowledge with an emphasis on the diseases of people in Shiraz and the efforts of Shirazi physicians during the Afsharid and Zand periods to cure these diseases.