Efraim Lev – författare

Explores the impact of drugs introduced by the Arabs on medieval Mediterranean medicineFor more than one thousand years Arab medicine held sway in the ancient world, from the shores of Spain in the West to China, India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in the East. This book explores the impact of Greek (as well as Indian and Persian) medical heritage on the evolution of Arab medicine and pharmacology, investigating it from the perspective of 'materia medica' a reliable indication of the contribution of this medical legacy.Focusing on the main substances introduced and traded by the Arabs in the medieval Mediterranean including Ambergris, camphor, musk, myrobalan, nutmeg, sandalwood and turmeric the authors show how they enriched the existing inventory of drugs influenced by Galenic-Arab pharmacology. Further, they look at how these substances merged with the development and distribution of new technologies and industries that evolved in the Middle Ages such as textiles, paper, dyeing and tanning, and with the new trends, demands and fashions regarding spices, perfumes, ornaments (gemstones) and foodstuffs some of which can be found in our modern-day food basket.Key FeaturesAssesses the assimilation of theoretical and practical Greek, Indian and Persian medicine into Arabic medical cultureReconstructs and presents a list of medicinal substances distributed by the Arabs as a result of their conquestsTells the stories of 33 new Arabic drugs within the context of their natural historyDescribes the contribution of the Arabs to the daily medieval cultural material (medicine, cosmetics, perfumery, dyeing of materials, industrial products and precious stones)Includes 35 colour illustrations

This book collects and analyses the available biographical data on 600 Jewish medical practitioners in the Muslim world in the 9–16th centuries. The biographies are based mainly on information gathered from the wealth of primary sources found in the Cairo Geniza (letters, commercial documents, court orders, lists of donors) and Muslim Arabic sources (biographical dictionaries, historical and geographical literature). The practitioners come from various socio-economic strata and lived in urban as well as rural locations in Muslim countries. Both the biographies and the accompanying discussion shed light on various views and aspects of the medicine practised in this period by Muslim, Jews and Christians, as well as issues such as professional, daily and personal lives; successes and failures; families; Jewish communities; and inter-religious affairs.

Explores the lives of over 600 Jewish physicians and pharmacists in medieval Muslim lands Offers a unique insight into the life of Jewish physicians and pharmacists, their families and communities in medieval Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Iran, North Africa, Sicily and AndalusiaShows how Jewish practitioners participated in community leadership, in hospitals and in the courts of the Muslim rulersAnalyses the biographical data to provide information on the relationships among Jews, Muslims and Christians, and between the common people and the eliteIncludes 6 maps, 29 family trees of key dynasties and 10 tables of main periods and dynasties, main Muslim rulers, practitioners serving in courts and hospitals, converts to Islam, Karaite and Samaritan practitionersThis book collects and analyses the available biographical data on Jewish medical practitioners in the Muslim world from the 9th to the 16th century. The biographies are based mainly on information gathered from the wealth of primary sources found in the Cairo Geniza (letters, commercial documents, court orders, lists of donors) and Muslim Arabic sources (biographical dictionaries, historical and geographical literature). The practitioners come from various socio-economic strata and lived in urban as well as rural locations in Muslim countries.Both the biographies and the accompanying discussion shed light on various views and aspects of the medicine practised in this period by Muslim, Jews and Christians, as well as issues such as professional, daily and personal lives; successes and failures; families; Jewish communities; and inter-religious affairs.

"Modern Medicine in the Holy Land" provides an in-depth assessment of the pioneering work of British Hospitals in Palestine in the nineteenth century, and finds these institutions made great contributions to the modernization of the country. The large numbers of Europeans, spearheaded by British missionaries, who began to visit Palestine and the Levant, brought modern medical practices to the region. The driving factor for this change was the medical enterprise of the London Mission and the series of hospitals it established. This pioneering initiative led to the development of competition among the Great Powers in Palestine and by the end of the nineteenth century there were scores of medical institutions that were representative of the modern age. Using a wide selection of primary sources from both Britain and Israel, Perry and Lev bring together for the first time the history of medical service men who fought to improve the health of the inhabitants of the Holy Land under the most difficult conditions of climate and disease.

The manuscripts of the Cairo Genizah are a unique source for medieval medical history. In Medical Prescriptions in the Cambridge Genizah Collections, Lev and Chipman offer an insight into the everyday practical medicine of medieval Egypt, which reflects medical practice in the Eastern Mediterranean as a whole, by analysing thirty selected prescriptions from the Taylor-Schechter Genizah Collection (Cambridge University Library). The prescriptions, which are in Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic, are transcribed and translated, with accompanying commentaries, photographs and glossaries. Introductory chapters discuss the theoretical background of the prescriptions and the practical medicine of the Cairo Genizah, while the conclusion considers their significance for the study of the medieval medical tradition.

This volume uniquely looks into the practice of medical care in the medieval world, particularly amongst the Jewish communities of Egypt. It examines the medicinal prescriptions, lists of materia medica and letters between physicians, pharmacists and patients found in the Cairo Genizah. Most histories of medieval medicine of the eastern Mediterranean are based upon theoretical Arabic writings. Here the authors examine, analyze and contextualize these medieval prescriptions also from the perspective of ethnobotanists, and as a result, provide an innovative insight into the everyday practice of medieval medicine and the historical use of the medicinal substances in the Medieval Mediterranean world. The result is a much needed contribution to medical-historical scholarship interested in the everyday practice of medicine of the common people of the medieval period.

For more than one thousand years Arab medicine held sway in the ancient world, from the shores of Spain in the West to China, India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) in the East. This book explores the impact of Greek (as well as Indian and Persian) medical heritage on the evolution of Arab medicine and pharmacology, investigating it from the perspective of materia medica – a reliable indication of the contribution of this medical legacy. Focusing on the main substances introduced and traded by the Arabs in the medieval Mediterranean – including Ambergris, camphor, musk, myrobalan, nutmeg, sandalwood and turmeric – the authors show how they enriched the existing inventory of drugs influenced by Galenic-Arab pharmacology. Further, they look at how these substances merged with the development and distribution of new technologies and industries that evolved in the Middle Ages such as textiles, paper, dyeing and tanning, and with the new trends, demands and fashions regarding spices, perfumes, ornaments (gemstones) and foodstuffs some of which can be found in our modern-day food basket.