Regimen of elders in Kitāb al-Dhakhīra fī ʿIlm al-Ṭibb by Thābit b. Qurra

Abstract

Regimen of elders in Kitāb al-Dhakhīra fī 'Ilm al-Tibb by Thābit b. Qurra. Objective: This study aimed to examine the chapter related to regimen of elders in Kitāb al-Dhakhīra fī ʿIlm al-Ṭibb by Thābit b. Qurra (836-901 AD), a renowned translator and scholar of the translation period of Islamic science and medicine. Materials and Methods: An exact copy of Kitāb al-Dhakhīra fī ʿIlm al-Ṭibb edited by G. Sobhy and printed in al-Ma ba'at al-Āmīriyye was examined and compared to the manuscript in the Şehit Ali Paşa Collection, nr. 2028, in the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library in Istanbul. The subchapter on regimen of elders was translated and has been discussed. Results: Information on regimen of elders is the last subheading of the first chapter, which is on health protection. Considering the content, the physiology and pathology of senility and its related regimen are coherent with the principles of the humoral theory. Conclusion: As Thābit b. Qurra mentioned, the main source of information regarding regimen of elders in Kitāb al-Dhakhīra fī ʿIlm al-Ṭibb seems to be the writings of Galen.