A Non-Muslim Source of Ottoman Medicine: The Case of Garshuni Manuscript in Mardin
Bildiriler > Özet Bildiri · 2025
Yazarlar: Kadir ÇELİK
Scientiae 2025: Istanbul, 16-19 September, Annual Conference, Türkiye, İstanbul, Uluslararası, Sözlü Sunum, Özet Bildiri, 2025-2025, ss 13-13
Özet
<p>This study aims to analyze an anonymous Garshuni-Arabic medical manuscript, which refers to Arabic text written in Syriac script, cataloged by the Hill Manuscript Museum and Library under project number CFMM00557. Studies on Ottoman medicine have primarily focused on Muslim sources, while non-Muslim sources, such as Hebrew, Armenian, Greek, Syriac and Garshuni manuscripts, have yet to be recognized as significant contributions to Ottoman medical historiography. The Garshuni-Arabic manuscript examined in this study, dated 1754, is housed in the Church of the Forty Martyrs in Mardin. It encompasses a diverse range of materials, including folkloric, religious, and historical content, within the domains of medicine, anatomy, and pharmacology. The anonymous author of the work references not only Greek, Persian and Turkish sources, but also incorporates the knowledge of European and Ottoman scholars. The unique script, along with the Christian elements within the manuscript, highlights the distinct characteristics of the Anatolian Assyrians within the broader context of Ottoman and Mediterranean medicine. For this reason, our study aims to analyze this medical manuscript by an anonymous non-Muslim author, which offers valuable insights into the development of medicine in Anatolia and sheds light on the non-Muslim sources of Ottoman medicine, thereby contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of the field.</p>