Ibn al Baitar

 *1. Ibn al-Baitar*  

*Full Name*: Abu Muhammad Abdullah ibn Ahmad al-Baitar al-Maliki  

*Born*: 1197, Malaga  

*Died*: 1248, Damascus  

*Nationality*: Andalusian-Arab  

*Field*: Botanist, Scientist, Pharmacist, Physician  

*Known For*: Scientific classification, oncology, hematology, and cancer medicine  

*Influenced By*: Al-Ghafiqi, Maimonides  

Ahmad Ibn al-Baitar was born in the Andalusian city of Malaga in 1197 CE. He received his education in Seville under the guidance of Abu al-Abbas Ahmad as a physician. He had a deep interest in botany, which he learned from his teacher, who was also a botanist. He first began collecting plants in and around Andalusia. In 1219 CE, he left Spain on a plant-collecting expedition and traveled the North African coast and parts of Asia Minor. In 1224 CE, he entered the service of the Egyptian ruler Al-Malik al-Kamil and was appointed chief herbalist. When Al-Kamil extended his kingdom to Damascus, Ibn al-Baitar went there with him.

Ibn al-Baitar was a great botanist, pharmacist, and physician of the Middle Ages. He is credited with introducing an early scientific method in experiments. Ibn al-Baitar’s major contribution, _Kitab al-Jami fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada_ (The Comprehensive Book of Simple Drugs and Foods), is one of the greatest treatises on botany and medicinal plants. It held high status among botanists until the 18th century. This treatise includes about 1,400 different items, largely medicinal plants and vegetables, of which about 300 plants were new and previously unknown. The book cites the works of about 150 authors, mostly Arabs, and also quotes some early Greek scientists. 

Ibn al-Baitar’s second monumental work, _Kitab al-Mughni fi al-Adwiya al-Mufrada_ (The Comprehensive Book on Drugs and Nutrition), is an encyclopedia of medicine. He critically studied medicinal plants and relevant literature from Greece, Spain, North Africa, and Turkey, resulting in over 150 manuscripts. He listed the properties of more than a thousand items, including plants, minerals, and animals. Drugs are listed according to their therapeutic value. Different chapters deal with plants significant for diseases of various parts of the body. 

According to George Sarton, author of _Introduction to the History of Science_, Ibn al-Baitar was the greatest herbalist of the Middle Ages. Until the 17th century, no one surpassed him in volume and quality. Professor M.M. Sharif, author of _Muslim Thought, Its Origin and Achievements_, says Ibn al-Baitar’s book attained the status of a standard _materia medica_ in Europe for centuries. It was translated into Latin during the 15th century and printed many times thereafter. Parts of its Latin version were printed as late as 1758 CE. Ibn al-Baitar is credited with transforming pharmacy into the modern era and introducing hundred

s of new drugs.