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 hundreds of new drugs.
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