Medieval medical schools in the Seljuk and Ottoman empires

Excerpt

Throughout the Middle Ages, two Turkish empires (Seljuks and Ottomans), placed between the East and West, influenced the surrounding world in a powerful way. It is accepted that they used Islamic medical doctrines derived basically from Greco-Roman scientists, such as Hippocrates and Galen, and Islamic scientists, such as Avicenna and Al-Zahrawi [1, 2]. The Turkish (Anatolian) Seljuks attributed much importance to the sciences and they set up a specific building consisting of a “medrese” (medical schools) and a medical center, named “Darush-Shifa,” “Dar al-Shifa,” “Darul-Afiye,” or “Darus-Sihna” in Anatolia dating back to 1217 in which experienced physicians trained medical students (Fig. 1) (http://​www.​kayseri.​gov.​tr/​images/​resim_​random/​gevher_​nesibe_​tedavi.​jpg). The most famous of these are the Gevher Nesibe in Kayseri (1205), the Izzettin I Keykavus in Sivas (1217), the Torumtay in Amasya (1266), the Pervaneoglu Ali in Kastamonu (1272), and the Muinuddin Pervane in Tokat (1275) (http://​www.​kayseri.​gov.​tr/​images/​resim_​random/​gevher_​nesibe_​tedavi.​jpg).

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