Avicenna (980–1037 AD)

Excerpt

Avicenna (Ibn-e-Sīnā), a Persian physician, was arguably one of the most outstanding medical scientists and practitioners ever, and had a deep influence on medical science in the golden ages of Islamic medicine (9–12th century AD) and in Europe as well. He contributed to various aspects of medicine including neurology, a discipline that was very well known and widely accepted in that period [5, 8]. Avicenna was born in Afshaneh, near the city of Bokhara (in old Persia) in 980 AD. His father, Abdollah, was a local governor and his mother’s name was Setareh. His cleverness was obvious since his childhood. He finished learning the Quran and important Persian writings when he was only 10 years old, started to learn philosophy and medicine, and became a famous physician when he was just 18. When the prince of the Samanid dynasty (Nuh) had been treated by him, he gave Avicenna permission to use the royal library as a reward. It was a great chance for him to get access to many important and unique books and complete his knowledge. After the Samanid dynasty was defeated by the Turkish leader (Mahmood Ghaznavi), Avicenna went to Jorjan, in the north of Iran. He also lived in other parts of Iran such as Ray (near Tehran), Hamedan (west of Iran), and Isfahan (central Iran). After he became involved in politics he had a tough life, becoming a prisoner as well as prime minister. He wrote more than 450 treatises on medicine, philosophy, logic, and astronomy, many of these manuscripts were created in prison [3]. …